Name: Jumpy Monkey
Brand: David's Tea
Primary Type: Maté
Dry Scent: Coffee definitely, but there is also a strong dry grassy scent here, and it's underlaid by the more musty green scent of the maté itself, and lightened and lifted by the almost floral notes from the almonds. There is also a deep richness in the scent from the carob, cocoa nibs and white chocolate.
Steeping Time: 5-6 min
Steeped Flavour: There is definitely the flavour of coffee in this, but no bitterness, and the richness of the coffee is balanced and enhanced by the musky deep green-ness of the maté and the straw-like flavours of some other other herbal ingredients. There is also the faint sweetness of chocolate to keep this from being too bitter overall.
Food/Drink Pairings: This is good for breakfast or any time you might normally drink coffee, and is also very good with a little splash of cream (Irish or otherwise).
Rating out of Six Tails:
4.5/6
Buy/Don't Buy
Wednesday, 13 November 2013
Monday, 11 November 2013
Belgian Chocolate
Name: Belgian Chocolate
Brand: Naturally for You
Primary Type: Rooibos
Dry Scent: The strongest scent in this is rooibos with its warm, red, desert wind sort of scent, but it is deepened and rounded nicely by the chocolate bits, and the result is mouth-watering, for sure.
Steeping Time: 8-10 min
Steeped Flavour: Smooth and chocolatey. There is a faint mintiness from the rooibos, and the tea is warm and comforting. Heck, anything with chocolate, right?
Food/Drink Pairings: This is perfect for dipping cookies into, or to accompany any rich dessert, such as chocolate mousse or chocolate cake. Anything rich and chocolatey. It is also very good with a little chocolate liqueur added.
Rating out of Six Tails:
5/6
Buy/Don't Buy
Brand: Naturally for You
Primary Type: Rooibos
Dry Scent: The strongest scent in this is rooibos with its warm, red, desert wind sort of scent, but it is deepened and rounded nicely by the chocolate bits, and the result is mouth-watering, for sure.
Steeping Time: 8-10 min
Steeped Flavour: Smooth and chocolatey. There is a faint mintiness from the rooibos, and the tea is warm and comforting. Heck, anything with chocolate, right?
Food/Drink Pairings: This is perfect for dipping cookies into, or to accompany any rich dessert, such as chocolate mousse or chocolate cake. Anything rich and chocolatey. It is also very good with a little chocolate liqueur added.
Rating out of Six Tails:
5/6
Buy/Don't Buy
Fig Rose
Name: Fig Rose
Brand: Teavana
Primary Type: Herbal
Dry Scent: Very figgy, with a little tropical sweetness from the pineapple, a little nutty scent of almonds and a very light floral from the rose petals. It's a lovely scent though, and almost Christmassy, although probably that's because of the dried figs, which always make me think of the holidays.
Steeping Time: 6-7 min
Steeped Flavour: This is sweet, although not so much that it tastes like fruit juice. There is a deep, ruby red colour which tells the tale of hibiscus, but there's little enough that the flavour blends nicely in with the rest of the fruits in this infusion. The tea itself is very smooth on the tongue, almost silky and a little thick. Very nice.
Food/Drink Pairings: This would go nicely with breakfast, but it's also really nice after dinner as a replacement for dessert. It could possibly pair with something like a fruit cobbler or pie, but nothing too sweet.
Rating out of Six Tails:
5/6
Buy/Don't Buy
Brand: Teavana
Primary Type: Herbal
Dry Scent: Very figgy, with a little tropical sweetness from the pineapple, a little nutty scent of almonds and a very light floral from the rose petals. It's a lovely scent though, and almost Christmassy, although probably that's because of the dried figs, which always make me think of the holidays.
Steeping Time: 6-7 min
Steeped Flavour: This is sweet, although not so much that it tastes like fruit juice. There is a deep, ruby red colour which tells the tale of hibiscus, but there's little enough that the flavour blends nicely in with the rest of the fruits in this infusion. The tea itself is very smooth on the tongue, almost silky and a little thick. Very nice.
Food/Drink Pairings: This would go nicely with breakfast, but it's also really nice after dinner as a replacement for dessert. It could possibly pair with something like a fruit cobbler or pie, but nothing too sweet.
Rating out of Six Tails:
5/6
Buy/Don't Buy
Saturday, 9 November 2013
Chocolate Chili Chai
Name: Chocolate Chili Chai
Brand: David's Tea
Primary Type: Black
Dry Scent: This smells rich, chocolatey and has has a peppery, chili bite overtop and the dark, earthy and slightly musty scent of black tea and the chilies. There is a sense of depth and richness in the nose, and they did a really good job of stabilizing the blend of scents.
Steeping Time:4-5 min
Steeped Flavour: Yummy, spicy and rich, with a dark earthiness, almost musty, a little like the smell of sundried chilies, but not in an objectionable way. This has a rich, thick mouthfeel, and it's warm on the tongue from the spice but not to the point of being "too hot to handle". The sweetness of the chocolate is here, but it reminds me more of a "Mexican hot chocolate" kind of thing, or perhaps molé. Perfect for a cold winter evening.
Food/Drink Pairings: This is good with desserts, especially anything with chocolate where you can double down. It's also amazing with Bailey's, or Godiva...any chocolate, creamy liqueur!
Rating out of Six Tails:
6/6
Buy/Don't Buy
So, so, SO happy this one is back! I missed it when it went away after last winter, but now it's back for good. Yay!
Brand: David's Tea
Primary Type: Black
Dry Scent: This smells rich, chocolatey and has has a peppery, chili bite overtop and the dark, earthy and slightly musty scent of black tea and the chilies. There is a sense of depth and richness in the nose, and they did a really good job of stabilizing the blend of scents.
Steeping Time:4-5 min
Steeped Flavour: Yummy, spicy and rich, with a dark earthiness, almost musty, a little like the smell of sundried chilies, but not in an objectionable way. This has a rich, thick mouthfeel, and it's warm on the tongue from the spice but not to the point of being "too hot to handle". The sweetness of the chocolate is here, but it reminds me more of a "Mexican hot chocolate" kind of thing, or perhaps molé. Perfect for a cold winter evening.
Food/Drink Pairings: This is good with desserts, especially anything with chocolate where you can double down. It's also amazing with Bailey's, or Godiva...any chocolate, creamy liqueur!
Rating out of Six Tails:
6/6
Buy/Don't Buy
So, so, SO happy this one is back! I missed it when it went away after last winter, but now it's back for good. Yay!
Strawberry Slender
Name: Strawberry Slender
Brand: Teavana
Primary Type: Pu'erh
Dry Scent: Rich, sweet berry scent, with the earthy pu'erh supporting the juicy strawberry scent, making it robust and more like the actual berries, almost like the scent of strawberries in the garden warmed by the summer sun.
Steeping Time: 4-5 min
Steeped Flavour: This tastes like good-quality stawberry jam, with the basis of thick, earthy pu'erh tea. Even more than the strawberry flavour, there is a strong, sweet strawberry scent that rises off the tea as you drink it. Yum. This is definitely a weight-loss tea I can see drinking lots of.
Food/Drink Pairings: This goes really nicely with breakfast, perhaps toast and a little strawberry jam!
Rating out of Six Tails:
5.5/6
Buy/Don't Buy
Brand: Teavana
Primary Type: Pu'erh
Dry Scent: Rich, sweet berry scent, with the earthy pu'erh supporting the juicy strawberry scent, making it robust and more like the actual berries, almost like the scent of strawberries in the garden warmed by the summer sun.
Steeping Time: 4-5 min
Steeped Flavour: This tastes like good-quality stawberry jam, with the basis of thick, earthy pu'erh tea. Even more than the strawberry flavour, there is a strong, sweet strawberry scent that rises off the tea as you drink it. Yum. This is definitely a weight-loss tea I can see drinking lots of.
Food/Drink Pairings: This goes really nicely with breakfast, perhaps toast and a little strawberry jam!
Rating out of Six Tails:
5.5/6
Buy/Don't Buy
Friday, 8 November 2013
Tea and Chocolates!
So today, lucky lucky me, I happened to find out that our local downtown David's Tea shop was going to be having a Tea and Chocolate Pairings tasting event with Purdy's Chocolates.
Even luckier, I happened to be off work tonight so I could actually go!
There were three pairings of tea and chocolates: Blueberry Jam paired with White Silk chocolates, Assam Banaspaty with Petit Chocolat, and Quangzhou Milk Oolong with Caramel Carnival or Maple Walnut Cream.
In order:
Blueberry Jam and White Silk: Delicious! A perfect pairing. A nibble of the white chocolate followed by a sip of the hot tea lends juicy berry flavours over the creamy sweetness of the chocolate, and keeps the white chocolate itself from being cloying or coating the mouth. Delicious, and it also manages to clear the palate after it's done.
Assam Banaspaty and Petit Chocolat: Also a very good pairing. The dark bitterness of the dark chocolate and the creaminess of the ganache lend depth to the strong, malty assam black tea. A very clean, smooth feeling in the mouth and a lingering soft sweetness.
Quangzhou Milk Oolong with Caramel Carnival: This oolong is a delicate, faintly floral one, and it is lent an incredible sweetness by the liquid caramel inside this chocolate. The sweet caramel somehow enhances the floral notes, and it makes this combination surprisingly fragrant and almost perfumed.
Quangzhou Milk Oolong with Maple Walnut Cream: In this combination, the deep, earthy flavours from the walnuts bring out different notes from the oolong, sweetness and slightly musty green flavours burst into smoothness in the mouth.
Overall, very grateful to the David's Tea folks for putting this on, and the Purdy's people as well. This was an amazing evening, and a great deal of fun!
Even luckier, I happened to be off work tonight so I could actually go!
There were three pairings of tea and chocolates: Blueberry Jam paired with White Silk chocolates, Assam Banaspaty with Petit Chocolat, and Quangzhou Milk Oolong with Caramel Carnival or Maple Walnut Cream.
In order:
Blueberry Jam and White Silk: Delicious! A perfect pairing. A nibble of the white chocolate followed by a sip of the hot tea lends juicy berry flavours over the creamy sweetness of the chocolate, and keeps the white chocolate itself from being cloying or coating the mouth. Delicious, and it also manages to clear the palate after it's done.
Assam Banaspaty and Petit Chocolat: Also a very good pairing. The dark bitterness of the dark chocolate and the creaminess of the ganache lend depth to the strong, malty assam black tea. A very clean, smooth feeling in the mouth and a lingering soft sweetness.
Quangzhou Milk Oolong with Caramel Carnival: This oolong is a delicate, faintly floral one, and it is lent an incredible sweetness by the liquid caramel inside this chocolate. The sweet caramel somehow enhances the floral notes, and it makes this combination surprisingly fragrant and almost perfumed.
Quangzhou Milk Oolong with Maple Walnut Cream: In this combination, the deep, earthy flavours from the walnuts bring out different notes from the oolong, sweetness and slightly musty green flavours burst into smoothness in the mouth.
Overall, very grateful to the David's Tea folks for putting this on, and the Purdy's people as well. This was an amazing evening, and a great deal of fun!
Slimful Chocolate Decadence
Name: Slimful Chocolate Decadence
Brand: Teavana
Primary Type: Oolong
Dry Scent: Chocolatey scent, with hints of nuts and the slightly greenish scent of the oolong tea, however, all of this is overlaid with an unfortunately almost turpentine smell, perhaps from the licorice root.
Steeping Time: 3 min
Steeped Flavour: This is nice, chocolate and carob are the strongest flavours in this, and the coconut adds richness to the body and mouthfeel of the tea. There is an overlaying taste of greenish earthy oolong and almost the perfume of rose as an aftertaste.
Food/Drink Pairings: This is good on its own, or with cookies to dip in it.
Rating out of Six Tails:
5/6
Buy/Don't Buy
Brand: Teavana
Primary Type: Oolong
Dry Scent: Chocolatey scent, with hints of nuts and the slightly greenish scent of the oolong tea, however, all of this is overlaid with an unfortunately almost turpentine smell, perhaps from the licorice root.
Steeping Time: 3 min
Steeped Flavour: This is nice, chocolate and carob are the strongest flavours in this, and the coconut adds richness to the body and mouthfeel of the tea. There is an overlaying taste of greenish earthy oolong and almost the perfume of rose as an aftertaste.
Food/Drink Pairings: This is good on its own, or with cookies to dip in it.
Rating out of Six Tails:
5/6
Buy/Don't Buy
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