SSTTB: Pick #21

So this is/was the last tea that I pulled out of the box to try for myself. I did take a couple of the DT blooming teas because I find them really pretty and more enjoyable than most bloom teas because of their black base, and I kept the Sweet Cinnamon Pu’Erh from Verdant – but otherwise everything that I didn’t finish off and all my contributions are now sealed up and ready to be sent away!

…I just have to get around to actually mailing everything off. Ugh.

I don’t really know why I picked this one; there wasn’t much appeal from the ingredients/flavours – I guess it was just the allure of trying a limited edition blend? I made it in my timolino anyway, and I don’t recall much about what it tasted like. In my notes that I wrote for myself on the computer I just said:

- Very Flavourless
- Cup of hot Blah
- Tell them the Subway story!!!

So there you have it. Looking back right now I feel like the “Subway Story” is not as exciting/irritating as it was in the moment – but I suppose I’ll share it anyway if for no other reason than to not let “Past Me” down.

Basically I went, on my break at work, to get a Sub from the foodcourt. I only have a half hour break though, and it takes like 15 min. of it to actually acquire said Sub but I really, really wanted to get a sub. I hadn’t had anything to eat all day (and it was like 6PM) and nothing sounded better than hot bread, cheddar cheese, lettuce, spinach, and mother fucking shit tonne of pineapple, and sweet onion sauce. Mmm!

So I was in line and had picked my bread size and style as well as cheese for my VEGETARIAN sub (given I am a very strict VEGETARIAN) and was waiting to pick veggies while the Sandwhich Artist toasted it. However, in the down time the SA decided that was the PERFECT opportunity to organize ALL of the MEAT by systematically grabbing the different slices with her gloved hands and making them into nice piles. And then, when my sub was done toasting, she went back to adding my requested stuff WITHOUT CHANGING THE GLOVES.

Ugh! Are you fucking kidding me!? I even called her out on it; you’re making a VEGETARIAN sub but you’re going to handle all the meat then touch my veggies and try to serve it to me? I hate people who are rude to customer service/food service workers but I just don’t think that’s cool. It’s not vegetarian friendly any more! I understand it’s Subway and there’s a certain level of cross contamination that’s bound to happen but that’s pretty fucking direct.

To me, that’s not really any different than assholes who say “Well what if we order a Pepperoni Pizza and then you just pick the meat off it? Isn’t that vegetarian friendly?”. Excuse me? Fuck you, no it’s not! If I pee in a cup then dump the pee out, but don’t wash it before I pour your soda into the cup for you to drink that doesn’t change the fact that at least a little bit you’re drinking my pee. The whole thing is ruined.

So yeah, I called her out on it and she was all “no, I didn’t put meat on it!” so I tried explaining the whole contamination bit to her and she just went "Well I’ll give it to you for free to shut you up ". That doesn’t make me feel better; now I have a free sandwich that I wont/can’t eat and no time to wait for you to make another one for me because I’m on a fucking timed break. So yeah, no food for me. I went from fucking 11AM to 10:30PM when I got home with nothing to eat. Bad mood all day.

Tldr; this tea was blah and flavourless, and fuck Subway.

OMGsrsly

That happens a lot with me re: gluten. Sadly a lot of people in low paying or non-tip food service just don’t seem to care.

VariaTEA

That sucks about Subway. People really don’t get it sometimes. I have a friend who was vegetarian (I say was because she is vegan now) and even her mom occasionally forgot/overlooked the contamination thing and would do stuff like cook her food in fish oil and what not. Btw, is the Subway cheese rennet free?

Roswell Strange

Most Subway cheese are rennet free; there’s one kind that has rennet in it (can’t remember which off the top of my head). I always get Cheddar though and it doesn’t have rennet.

VariaTEA

That’s good. I remember my friend telling me some of the cheese had rennet because I used to get subs for her when we were in res together but I couldn’t remember if she thought they all did or just certain kinds.

ohfancythat

I am a strictly vicious carnivore but I loved your pee-cup analogy. Very true.

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OMGsrsly

That happens a lot with me re: gluten. Sadly a lot of people in low paying or non-tip food service just don’t seem to care.

VariaTEA

That sucks about Subway. People really don’t get it sometimes. I have a friend who was vegetarian (I say was because she is vegan now) and even her mom occasionally forgot/overlooked the contamination thing and would do stuff like cook her food in fish oil and what not. Btw, is the Subway cheese rennet free?

Roswell Strange

Most Subway cheese are rennet free; there’s one kind that has rennet in it (can’t remember which off the top of my head). I always get Cheddar though and it doesn’t have rennet.

VariaTEA

That’s good. I remember my friend telling me some of the cheese had rennet because I used to get subs for her when we were in res together but I couldn’t remember if she thought they all did or just certain kinds.

ohfancythat

I am a strictly vicious carnivore but I loved your pee-cup analogy. Very true.

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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.

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Montreal, QC, CA

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

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