Tag: White Tea

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DavidsTea’s Flamingo Fresca

Flamingo Fresca by DavidsTea
White Tea / Flavoured
$9.98 for 50g

Flamingo Fresca was available as an online exclusive.

First Impressions

I’m forever a sucker for pretty teas, and even though I know better than to trust how good a tea will taste based on how pretty the dry blend looks, I still want to give it a try. Flamingo Fresca is one of those teas that snuck into my house based on how pretty it looked in photographs. I know, I know, I’m my own worst enemy sometimes. But this is Flamingo Fresca, it comes in a sealed, resealable silver pouch with a pale blue label across the front with all the information you’ll need about this pretty tea blend.

Flamingo Fresca consists of: apple, pineapple, hibiscus blossoms, white tea, sprinkles, carrots, orange peel, lemongrass, strawberry, passion fruit, marigold blossoms, and natural flavouring. Flamingo Fresca basically smells like all the tropical fruits in the world fell into a blender. It has really strong aromas of pineapple, strawberry and passion fruit. I really don’t smell the white tea, but I’m also not surprised based on the other ingredients present in this blend. Plus, look at the cute pink flamingo sprinkles!

Preparation

Davidstea recommends steeping Flamingo Fresca in 90°C (195°F) water for 3 to 5 minutes. I followed the steeping instructions and did an initial steep for 4 minutes.

First Taste

Surprise, surprise, Flamingo Fresca steeps to a bright, deep pink. Thank you to the hibiscus in this blend because it has that beautiful, rich pink colour. The aroma is very similar to the dry leaf – pineapple, strawberry, apples. It’s very fruity and quite sweet, but not to the point that I feel like it’s too much. It has a great flavour, there’s the tartness from the hibiscus that makes me think that this really needs to be made as an iced tea (and perhaps with a fresh squeeze of lemon or lime). Good thing that summer is just around the corner!

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Flamingo Fresca, but I was unsurprised to find that the first resteep (second steep of the same leaves) did not render a very good tasting cup of tea. Such is the nature of a fruity blended tea.

My Overall Impression

I liked DavidsTea’s Flamingo Fresca. I think the flavour was good and it’ll be really nice as an iced tea versus having hot. The level of fruitiness is good, but I feel like it really needs more of a citrus punch to make me think of fresca (which has grapefruit), and it would be perfect for patio if prepared with ice, a splash of lemonade, and an extra lemon wedge for that punch of flavour.

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Angry Alpaca’s Be Excellent To Each Other!

Be Excellent To Each Other! by Angry Alpaca
Black Tea & White Tea / Flavoured

I received Be Excellent To Each Other! as a gift as part of a tea swap for the holidays in December 2020 from the lovely Jann of Tea With Jann (check her out on YouTube!). As it was a gift, I won’t be looking up the price, but I will include the link to the company’s Facebook page so you can check out their other available tea blends as well as Be Excellent To Each Other!

First Impressions

Be Excellent To Each Other! came in a nice papery-feeling pouch that’s resealable and as a plastic liner layer. The front features a colourful label with beautiful artwork, while the back has a clear window to see the tea, information about the tea (ingredients, steeping instructions), information about the artist (“Still Lake Sunrise” by Ontario artist Stefan Hartman), as well as a sticker indicating that proceeds of the sale of the tea have been donated to an organization called Youth Project, which provides support and services to youth around issues of sexual orientation and gender identity. So much to unpack and read on the bag, which I’m more than happy to share with all of you.

Be Excellent To Each Other! is described by Angry Alpaca as a blueberry flavoured black & white tea. The tea itself is gorgeous – I love the very obvious difference between the tea leaves present in the blend. I can see the white tea, I can see the black tea, I can see some beautiful petals and berries in the mix. This tea smells like blueberries and reminds me of a blueberry jam – which I would really like to get some freshly made preserves right now for a warm oven-fresh scone… Be Excellent To Each Other! consists of all organic: black tea, white tea, blueberries, elderberry, calendula petals, cornflower petals, and natural essences.

Preparation

Angry Alpaca recommends steeping Be Excellent To Each Other! in 85°C (185°F) water for 3 to 5 minutes. My initial steep ended up being for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Be Excellent To Each Other! steeps to a really pretty golden orange colour, and has a nice clarity to it. The aroma of the tea is both fruity-berry and floral. It’s definitely a “spring” or “summer” time tea to me because of those aroma notes. The flavour is just a little bit sweet – there’s a mix of floral, sweet, blueberries with something in it that makes me think of dried apricots. Be Excellent To Each Other! has a nice crispness to it that remind me of that first hit of bubbles from a sip of sparkling water.

A Second Cup?

I tried resteeping Be Excellent To Each Other!, but I found that the berry flavour was lacking in the first resteep which made me a bit disappointed. I would recommend steeping Be Excellent To Each Other! just the one time.

My Overall Impression

I loved Angry Alpaca’s Be Excellent To Each Other! I was smitten with the artwork, the fact that proceeds gets donated to a youth initiative, and the fact that the tea just smells and tastes good. I think this is definitely a ‘spring’ tea and I’m going to be having this iced very, very soon (perhaps even topped off with some sparkling water…). The blend of white and black tea with the berries really makes it tasty, and it’s not overly sweet so there’s opportunity to change it up a little bit to your liking.

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TeaSource’s Earl Grey White Tip

Earl Grey White Tip by TeaSource
Black Tea & White Tea / Flavoured
$12.00USD for 4oz

I received Earl Grey White Tip as part of my swag bag from the 2020 Virtual International Tea Festival.

First Impressions

First things first, this review was completely unsolicited by TeaSource. I just happened to get it as part of my swag bag and decided to add the tea to my queue of teas to review because why not? I’m always down for trying new teas, and why not share my experience about it? Earl Grey White Tip comes in a sealed, resealable pouch – shiny black on the front and clear in the back so you can see all of the leaves. What really intrigues me about this because it’s a blend of black and white teas… and Earl Grey inspired (and if you’ve been following me for a while, you know how much I love a good Earl Grey!).

Looking at the tea though, I don’t see a difference between the tea leaves. It seems quite uniform – the leaves are a deep brown, short wiry leaves. Earl Grey White Tip consists of: black tea, natural flavour, and white tea. It has a really strong bergamot aroma, which is one of the shining attributes of an Earl Grey that I greatly enjoy. It has just such a good citrus aroma to it that reminds me of a nice Earl Grey, so already getting some points for that.

Preparation

TeaSource recommends steeping Earl Grey White Tip in 212°F (100°C) water for 3 minutes. I followed the steeping instructions for the initial steep.

First Taste

Earl Grey White Tip steeps to a golden reddish orange colour, and is quite clear (also, how cute is my mug with its messages of positivity on the top?). The aroma is definitely bergamot, which is what I’m looking for. The flavour is primarily the citrus notes of the bergamot, coupled with a mild sweetness, a slight astringency, and just a pleasant malty flavour from the black tea. I don’t really make out any flavours within the tea that make me think that there is white tea in the blend.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Earl Grey White Tip a few times (adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep) and found that the flavour was most similar to the initial steep for the first resteep, but really lost the bergamot flavouring after that. I would recommend Earl Grey White Tip for just one more steep.

My Overall Impression

I liked TeaSource’s Earl Grey White Tip. As an Earl Grey blend, it’s pleasant and tasty and has all the things that I generally appreciate and look for in the classic blend. However, as a blend containing white tea, I wouldn’t go back to it expecting anything resembling white tea because it’s just not present in terms of the blend itself and within the flavour profile. The bergamot is really what ‘saved’ the tea for me in terms of wanting to continue to drink it, so I’m a bit disappointed that there wasn’t any white tea leaves present when it’s mentioned as part of the blend and the name of the tea.

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