Tag: DavidsTea

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DavidsTea’s The Earl’s Garden

The Earl’s Garden by DavidsTea
Black Tea / Flavoured
$7.98 for 50g

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First Impressions

I love a good Earl Grey, I cannot lie. I received this bag of The Earl’s Garden as part of a Christmas present and I’ve been happily sipping it ever since (spoiler alert: I will probably get more). What I love about the classic Earl Grey is the good black tea base with the fresh citrus scent of the bergamot. The Earl’s Garden does not disappoint with the strong citrus aroma that is laced with strawberries.

The Earl’s Garden consists of: organic black tea, marigold petals, strawberry, cornflower petals, natural strawberry & bergamot flavouring. I like that I can see and/or smell all of the ingredients. The strong bergamot and strawberry aromas are almost intoxicating because they’re that strong, it really does make me more eager for a cup!

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Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping The Earl’s Garden in 96°C (204°F) water for 4-7 minutes. I steeped my pot of The Earl’s Garden for about 5 minutes.

First Taste

The Earl’s Garden steeps to a clear reddish brown that has a very subtle strawberry aroma to it. The fragrance of strawberries overpowers the bergamot, which is a bit surprising considerin the fact that bergamot is often the starring ingredient in an Earl Grey. First sips of a cup of this tea does not disappoint though. The citrus taste of the bergamot mingles very well with the subdued strawberry taste in the steeped tea. There’s just a touch of sweetness to the tea that makes the berry flavour come out even more. The black tea base is fairly similar to the other Earl Grey-inspired teas I’ve had from DavidsTea – no bitterness for the amount of time I steeped it for, and it tastes like a strong black tea base. What really sets this tea apart is the strawberry and bergamot combination. Just a mild sweetness that would be good for anyone wanting a little treat. I did add a bit of sweetener (white sugar, for those curious) to my tea and it does brighten up the flavour a lot by bringing out more of the strawberry taste.

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A Second Cup?

I tried resteeping The Earl’s Garden and it sadly didn’t work out. The tea was weak and the magical strawberry and bergamot combination was sorely lacking. This tea is a one time trip to The Earl’s Garden and doesn’t hold up for one more steep.

My Overall Impression

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I loved DavidsTea’s The Earl’s Garden. I’m a sucker for Earl Grey in general, and the strawberry addition just works for this tea. The mild sweetness of the strawberry in the steeped tea really makes the tea stand out from other Earl Grey-inspired teas. I do think I will continue to add a sweetener to this tea though, as that does make the flavours pop out more for me. It is a nice change from the classic Earl Grey, which I still love, and it can definitely be doctored up with sugar and cream.

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DavidsTea’s Bai Hao Yin Zhen

Bai Hao Yin Zhen by DavidsTea
White Tea / Straight
$14.90 for 50g

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First Impressions

I don’t often drink white teas, but I opted for DavidsTea’s Bai Hao Yin Zhen when I had a Frequent Steeper reward to use (I usually save those for the more expensive teas to try out). This tea is quite light and airy, I got my 50g of this tea in a larger bag than usual. The leaves themselves are quite long and pale in colour, if you touch them you can feel how soft they are because the leaves have a light layer of fuzzy down that adds to the silvery colour. DavidsTea’s description of the tea that it “is a true luxury”. At $14.90 for 50g, it is not one of their most expensive teas, but it is on the higher end of their prices. Bai Hao Yin Zhen’s ingredient list is simply “high-grown white tea from the mountains of Fujian Province, China”. The dry tea leaves have a sweet honey smell to it, and also has very subtle hints at a grassy/vegetal fragrance.

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Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Bai Hao Yin Zhen in 90°C (194°F) water for 4-5 minutes. I consider that suggested water temperature to be too high for white teas, I opted to steep in 80°C (176°F) water for close to 3 minutes.

First Taste

Bai Hao Yin Zhen steeps to a beautiful pale, golden yellow colour. The smell of the steeped tea reminds me a lot of grass and dry hay. On first sip, the tea is smooth. There’s a very mild sweetness with a light taste of grassy notes in each sip. There’s zero bitterness, and it’s overall a very nice cup of tea. The flavours aren’t particularly strong, but I have never found silver needle to be the type of tea that you make and have on the go, it’s more of a tea that you have to relax with and sip.

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The silvery down layer of the tea leaves isn’t visible after being steeped, the leaves open up and they’re a bit of an olive green.

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A Second Cup?

Bai Hao Yin Zhen resteeps well! I resteeped the same leaves four times in my tea pot and the flavour improves for the second steeping (the flavour is richer, a little bit stronger, and the colour is a deeper golden yellow). The flavour holds true for the third steeping, but doesn’t hold out very well for the fourth steeping. So overall, I found that Bai Hao Yin Zhen resteeps well for two additional times.

My Overall Impression

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I liked DavidsTea’s Bai Hao Yin Zhen. I think it’s a nice quality silver needle and it makes a great cup of tea. It resteeps well, something I always appreciate when the tea is on the pricier side of things. I gave Bai Hao Yin Zhen only three cups out of four because of the steeping directions given by DavidsTea. Their directions are much too long and too hot for a white tea, something that would probably result in a lackluster cup of tea for someone who followed the directions to the letter (and would be disappointed by their Bai Hao Yin Zhen, considering how pricey it is).

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DavidsTea’s Roasted Gyokuro

Roasted Gyokuro by DavidsTea
Green Tea / Straight
$19.90 for 50g

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First Impressions

Roasted Gyokuro was another one of my free Frequent Steeper rewards. It’s one of DavidsTea’s pricier green teas, which meant that I really wanted to give it a try. I haven’t tried other gyokuro teas before, so bear with me. The dry tea leaves has a saltiness to the tea, the smell of it reminds me of the smell of grass and steamed spinach. It’s an interesting combination, but not so odd that it stops me from trying it. Roasted Gyokuro is made of organic green tea from Kagosima, Japan.

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Preparation

DavidsTea recommends seeping in 80C water for 2-3 minutes. I steeped it closer to 2 minutes since I wanted to resteep it and increase the steeping time for each additional steep.

First Taste

Roasted Gyokuro is a lovely pale yellow. It definitely has a fragrance that is unique to itself – it has a bit of saltiness, some grassy-spinach notes still. On first sip, I’m pleasantly surprised. There’s a bit of a buttery quality to the tea that mingles well with the grassy-spinach flavours. It does have a mild saltiness that I don’t find unpleasant. It adds to a different level of intrigue to the tea, which I quite enjoy because the flavour profile is different from the other green teas I’ve had in the past. The description from DavidsTea suggests that Roasted Gyokuro has a brown butter flavour to it, with a nutty aroma. While I do get some of the butter, I can’t really pick out any of the nutty smell, but it still makes for a very nice cup of tea.

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When I steeped for just the two minutes, it made for a very pleasant cup of tea. It wasn’t bitter at all. I think 3 minutes would be pushing it and might result in a sad cup of tea. I would recommend steeping for the 2 minutes for the initial steep.

A Second Cup?

Roasted Gyokuro resteeps well! The salty buttery-grass taste is a bit more pronounced with the second steep. It does fairly well for a third and fourth steep as well. It makes for a delicious pot of tea, I think it would pair well with sushi since it has that salty taste to it that would go well with fish.

My Overall Impression

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I liked DavidsTea’s Roasted Gyokuro. While I haven’t tried other gyokuro teas, I found this one to be tasty! It makes for a great cup of tea. The salty vegetal taste does lend itself to an enjoyable cup of tea, although I was a bit skeptical at first. there’s a lovely buttery taste to it. I wish I got some of that nutty aroma that DavidsTea mentioned in the tea’s description because I think that would have been a nice addition to the flavour profile of the gyokuro. As it is, it’s a great cup of tea, I just wish it had lived up a bit more to the expectations I had after reading the tea’s description. It resteeps well, so even though it is a bit on the more expensive side, it has great value from the amount of times that you can resteep it.

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