62
drank Earl Grey by Tazo
15915 tasting notes

Tonight, after my Dad came over, we went out for supper at Boston Pizza (my favourite restaurant, and the one I request to go to everytime he comes over – which he’s probably sick of by now). Since I last saw him, I’ve completely cut soda from my diet as well as most juices so I asked the waitress what teas they had. She kind of floundered a bit over the question, but I made sure she knew it was ok: if she just gave me a broad idea that would be fine. She said there were two varieties of green tea (ick), peppermint, and something that was a black tea. I opted for the black tea, and much to my approval was presented with an Earl Grey! Yum!

I actually made notes on how it tasted on a napkin using a purple crayon she was nice enough to grab for me. My Dad kind of teased me the whole time on how much of a “tea snob” I’ve become. The whole time I was thinking “If you only knew some of the people on Steepster” (no offense to anyone – the degree to which fellow steepster users love tea is something I, intern, love about you all).

So, these are the notes I made on my napkin:

- Dry Leaf (Bagged) smelled smooth with strong bergamot notes and faint notes of lavendar
- The hot water provided was definitely not 100 degress celcius as recommended by the brewing instructions – my best guess would be around 80 degress celcius
- I steeped my tea for 5 min. exactly using a timer setting on my phone (5 min. was the recommended steep time)
- The liquor came out to a very deep amber
- As far as taste goes, the tea was midly astringent and mildly bitter with an unpleasant aftertaste (which I was happy to mask with my pizza, once it arrived)
- There were strong notes of bergamot and less noticible but still present notes of lavendar and honey
- The front of the sip had a distinct taste of black tea right before the flavour of the bargamot kicked in

Overall, the tea wasn’t too bad as far bagged tea goes, but not the best Earl Grey I’ve had (by far) – some of that might be because of the brewing conditions, however.

PS. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 was AMAZING! If you liked the first one at all (even a little) you’ll love this one. 10/10 would totally recommend.

Preparation
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Bio

Hello! My name is Kelly, though many people in the tea community call me Ros or Roswell.

I am a mid-twenties tea addict, blogger, and all around nerd. I grew up in the Prairies, but a few years ago I relocated to Quebec to pursue a career with DAVIDsTEA in the tea industry! I’m still working on getting my French language skills down…

My first introduction to tea, in any form outside of instant and bottled iced tea, was about seven years ago when I happened to stumble upon DAVIDsTEA while looking for a birthday present for a friend! I tried their Birthday Cake rooibos blend, and I’ve been hooked on tea ever since! In those seven years; I was introduced to the online tea community, expanded my interest in flavoured teas to include a deep love and appreciation for straight teas and traditional brewing methods, got a tea themed tattoo, started reviewing teas, amassed a sizable tea and teaware collection, became a TAC certified Tea Sommelier, & even came full circle by beginning a career in the tea industry with DAVIDsTEA!

I consider myself a Jack of all Teas, and strive to have a knowledge and appreciation of all tea types, formats, and styles of drinking. I don’t like to feel boxed in to just being a “flavoured tea” or “straight tea” drinker – my expectations may vary depending on the type of tea or how it’s been processed/prepared but if it’s good tea, it’s good tea no matter how it’s been made!

You name it, I probably drink it- and I’ll absolutely try anything at least once.

My default method of preparation is hot, Western style, and straight – but I’m not opposed to additions if I’m in the right mood. If I ever add something to a tea or use a different method of preparation I will ALWAYS call it out in the tasting note though.

I like to listen to music when drinking tea, especially when I’m brewing a large pot at a time or steeping Gongfu. Often I curate very intentional tea and music pairings, and sometimes I share them here in my tasting reviews. Music is something that I find can deeply affect the experience of having tea.

I’m also one half of the “tea and fandom” podcast GeekSteep where, weekly, we discuss newly explored fandoms over tea as well as try to figure out the perfect tea to pair with each fandom. You can find us on Spotify and Apple & Google podcasts.

Favourite flavour notes/ingredients: Pear, lychee, cranberry, cream, melon, pineapple, malt, roasty, petrichor, sweet potato, heady florals like rose, hazelnut or walnut, sesame, honey (in moderation), and very woody shou.

Least favourite flavour notes/ingredients:
Lemongrass, ginger, strongly spiced profiles (and most Chai in general), mushrooms, seaweed, chamomile, stevia, saltiness or anything that reminds me too much of meat that isn’t supposed to taste like meat…

Currently exploring/obsessed with: Sheng from Yiwu, Yancha (Qilan in particular), anything with a strong sweet potato note. Also, I need to try ALL the root beer teas! Searching for a really good caramel flavoured blend, ideally with a black tea base.

Please contact me at the instagram account listed below if you would like me to review your teas.

Currently I’m employed in the tea department of the DAVIDsTEA head office. While I’m still sharing my own personal thoughts on new & existing DAVIDsTEA blends, I am no longer numerically rating them due to the obvious conflict of interest. Any comments expressed are a reflection of my own thoughts and opinions, and do not reflect the thoughts and opinions of the company. Any DAVIDsTEA blends you currently see with a numeric score were reviewed prior to my being hired there and have not been adjusted since becoming a DAVIDsTEA employee.

Location

Montreal, QC, CA

Website

https://www.instagram.com/ros...

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