Tag: DavidsTea

Posted on

DavidsTea’s Oolong Supreme

Oolong Supreme by DavidsTea
Oolong Tea / Straight
$19.90 for 50g

20160209-davidsteaoolongsupreme1

First Impressions

Oolong Supreme is a tea that I had been eyeing at DavidsTea for a long time but it is fairly expensive in comparison to the less expensive options like Cream of Earl Grey or Santa’s Secret. The description of Oolong Supreme states that the tea is Dang Cong Oolong tea from the Wudang Mountains of China. It’s a bulky tea, it’s a much larger bag than what I’m used to for 50g of tea from DavidsTea. I picked out Oolong Supreme as a reward with my frequent steeper points. The tea leaves from this tea are amazing, the dry leaves are huge! They have this beautiful fruity smell, which reminds me of a mix of apricots and plums.

20160209-davidsteaoolongsupreme2

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping in 85°C (185°F) for 4 to 7 minutes. I did the first steep for close to 3 minutes (as per the Tea Association of Canada) instead as I felt 4-7 minutes was a long time.

First Taste

Oolong Supreme steeps to a pale yellow with a very mild aroma. It smells very much like the dry leaf – plums and apricots! It has a mild sweetness that mingles well with the taste of plums and apricots. The description of Oolong Supreme mentions notes of shea butter and “roastiness” which I can’t seem to find, but that’s okay because this is just the first steep and I will be trying at least one more steep. No bitterness or astringency to note, Oolong Supreme is a nice smooth cup of fruity oolong tea.

20160209-davidsteaoolongsupreme3

A Second Cup?

Surprise, surprise, Oolong Supreme resteeps well! I resteeped Oolong Supreme a total of five times (so six steeps with the same leaves). Each time I used water that was about 85°C and I added an extra minute or so for each subsequent steep. The flavours developed with each steep, I feel that the flavours were the boldest with the second and third resteep. There was a stronger sweet fruity taste with each resteep – definitely more apricot than plum by the end. The sweetness doesn’t get too strong that it overwhelms the fruit flavours as they develop, they grow a bit bolder together. Try as I might, I didn’t find the shea butter or roastiness in the tea for any of the resteeps. The fifth resteep was when the flavour began to be less strong.

My Overall Impression

rating4

I loved DavidsTea’s Oolong Supreme. The smell of the dry leaf is just how the tea tastes like after steeping, and the tea leaves do amazingly well with resteeping – as one might expect from a good quality oolong. In total I steeped the same leaves six times and got five wonderful steeps out of. The flavours really developed with each steep as the leaves would unfurl just a little bit more and I think it’s a great time to have if you have the time to resteep and appreciate the changes in the flavour. This is definitely not the type of tea that you would steep once and throw the leaves away – that would be a terrible waste! While Oolong Supreme is on the pricier end of DavidsTea’s product collection, I think it’s a wonderful addition to your tea stash if you happen to like oolongs. If you’re unsure about oolong tea and you do live near a DavidsTea, you can opt to purchase a small amount just to try (I’ve gone as low as asking for 10g in a little baggie) or you could use your frequent steeper rewards on this tea if you’ve hit 100 points in a redemption period.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.

Posted on

DavidsTea’s Tea For One

Tea For One (White) by DavidsTea
Glass and Porcelain
$25.00 each

20160202-davidsteateaforone1

First Impressions

I got my Tea For One as part of an online promotion that DavidsTea was having (spend $75 or more and receive a free Tea For One), so I received this in the mail. The packaging is quite sturdy – it comes in a nice cube box that has some details about the product on either side in English and French. The DavidsTea website claims that the cup is ceramic in the title of the product, but in the description it is porcelain, while the packaging states that it is porcelain – ceramic and porcelain are not the same thing! Both are made of clay and fired in a kiln, but porcelain is more refined clay. The majority of the descriptions state porcelain, so I’m going to assume it is actually made of porcelain. The infuser is stainless steel.

20160202-davidsteateaforone3

The tea pot holds 600ml (20oz) and the cup holds 200ml (6.7oz), which is a fairly decent amount. I find that the tea pot doesn’t sit well in the cup because it can rock. But the material feels sturdy, I’m sure it’d break if dropped, but it has nice smooth edges on all the parts that you can touch.

Preparation

Prior to using my Tea For One, I hand washed it in warm soapy water. The bottom of the tea cup states that it is microwave and dishwasher safe. There are no markings on the glass tea pot or stainless steel infuser. Because of the delicate nature of the product, I would opt to hand wash it always anyways.

First Use

I used my Tea For One when I was steeping some oolong (review coming soon!). There was exactly one little piece of tea leaf that escaped the stainless steel infuser on all five of the steepings that I did, I feel that the infuser did a really good job overall. The stainless steel infuser itself does not have a little tab to remove it with, but I find that the edges extend just enough that I can remove it and it did not burn my fingers.

20160202-davidsteateaforone2

The tea pot itself does get hot (it is not double-walled), but the handle remains cool to the touch. The stem of the tea pot lid remains cool, there’s a small hole for venting in the lid as well. The lid of the tea pot does sit nicely in the tea pot with and without the infuser in place.

20160202-davidsteateaforone4

Overall Impression

I love the DavidsTea’s Tea For One. I think that it’s very cute and functions well. While I wish that the tea pot and tea cup fit better together when stacked, I don’t think it matters to me that much that I would rate the product lower. I like the fact that the infuser does have holes on the bottom, and it did a fantastic job of keeping tea leaves out of my cup of tea. I think that DavidsTea could do a better job in the description of the product (ceramic, porcelain), but the fact that the product comes in sturdy packaging and functions as promised does help a lot. I think it is good value for $25.00 and it makes for a more enjoyable tea experience and for better solo tea parties.

Posted on

DavidsTea’s Honey Black

Honey Black by DavidsTea
Black Tea / Straight
$14.50 for 50g

20160129-davidsteahoneyblack1

First Impressions

First off, this was DavidsTea’s December Tea of the Month. Since I’ve started on my tea adventure (addiction? obsession? hobby?) they had not had a straight tea be their tea of the month, so I was quite excited. I find that straight teas resteep much better than flavoured teas, and the overall quality is generally higher. This may also be reflected by the higher price tag. If you’re interested in trying Honey Black, DavidsTea recently announced via Facebook that they were discontinuing this tea due to issues with the supply.

20160129-davidsteahoneyblack2

Honey Black is described as being “from a small garden on the east coast of Taiwan” and that the leaves are hand-plucked. The tea leaves are definitely lovely, there’s so much detail to be seen in the twisted tea leaves. The smell of the dry tea is a very mild sweet aroma that mingles with the natural tea fragrance itself. The ingredient listed is simply “Black tea from the east coast of Taiwan”.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping in 96°C (204°F) water for 4-7 minutes. I steeped mine for about 4 minutes.

First Taste

The tea itself smells great once steeped. There’s an aroma that is a bit malty, like an Assam tea, with very slight smell of sweetness. The tea is a lovely golden brown colour that is quite welcoming. It does taste a bit malty but not as strong as Assam teas generally are, but it’s also a bit bitter and astringent. True to its name, there is a bit of honey taste to it, but it’s not overwhelming or overly sweet. The sweetness is just enough that I don’t think additional sweetener is necessary. The astringency and bitterness isn’t completely unpleasant, but I do think it would be if I had steeped for the full 7 minutes. I would definitely recommend steeping for a lower amount of time.

20160129-davidsteahoneyblack3

A Second Cup?

Because Honey Black is a straight tea, I really wanted to see how it would do with being resteeped. It does well for the second resteep. I steeped it for about 4 minutes and had less of the bitterness that the first cup had, but the bitterness and astringency was still there.

My Overall Impression

2cups-2

I thought that DavidsTea’s Honey Black was just okay. While the tea itself is nice and enjoyable (especially if steeped for less than 4 minutes at the recommended water temperature), I think that it’s expensive for what it is – which is a solid black tea. Honey Black makes for a good cup of tea, but there are better options out there for black teas that aren’t as expensive. If you are interested in trying it before it leaves DavidsTea forever, I’d recommend heading to a store to get a small sample bag (I’ve gotten 10g bags before in store!) before committing to a larger purchase, if you have a local store nearby.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.