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Sipdown (118)!

My daily cold brew! Sample provided by the lovely MissB.

I’m wondering if I should have prepared this one hot; I saw the rose petals in the blend and immediately thought it’d do well cold brewed but it was pretty weird. Initial flavours I noticed with the very first few sips were rose, cardamom and clove – but the more I drank the less clove-y flavour there was and the more the cardamom built along with a bit of heat from something else – chili? The rose stayed light but consistent and noticeable throughout. It took a while to actually pick up any substantial fruit notes; and the first one I noticed was the orange.

The whole thing was weird and very muddled; I knew I was tasting a fruit note other than orange, but I couldn’t tell what and the cardamom was very strong. I’m not the biggest fan of cardamom in the first place; it’s better as a supporting note rather than the dominant one, in my opinion. Eventually I went and looked up the ingredients – which I hadn’t prior. Mango! That was what I was missing. I’m not really a huge mango fan either; and paired with cardamom? The idea of that is one big shoulder shrug, at best.

Turns out this also is a green/black mix, which I definitely didn’t realize. I thought it was all black, so the confusion of thinking it was a black base but actually tasting green tea as well probably didn’t help with the weird muddled mess of flavours I was getting.

Hot definitely would have been better, as well as having a more clear idea of what was in the blend. As it stands, I didn’t dislike this one but it was a mess to get through and far from impressive. There’s a lot of ingredients here that I’m not big on in the first place, as well. I’d be up for trying it again hot – but otherwise I think this will be one that’s easily dismissed and forgotten.

Today was my last day off from my “Mini Easter Vacation”. I enjoyed the extended time off immensely; I’m so very much not ready to go back to work tomorrow. At least I get to sleep in since I’m working a night/closing shift. Oh boy, my favourite…

Flavors: Cardamom, Orange, Rose, Spices

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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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