15575 Tasting Notes

50

Made this on the weekend as a hot cashew milk latte with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream in top. I came to two conclusions. Conclusion one was that lavender and cashew are not a combination that I much enjoy. I felt like something here was drawing out a savory sort of note instead of the soft, creamy floral I was going for. Conclusion two? Adding a scoop of ice cream to a hot latte is a brilliant idea and made for a wonderful sipping experience. Plus, the lavender and vanilla went together nicely so that helped with the weird savory situation happening in the rest of the mug.

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79

It’s been a long time since I last had this tea but it was raining pretty heavily all day Saturday and that made me nostalgic for when I used to drink this tea regularly back in Saskatchewan during summer thunderstorms. You know what’s crazy? Sipping on this weird potpourri like mug of tea with cinnamon, citrus, floral, and slightly rancid coconut notes I know with absolute confidence that if I was trying it for the first time today that I would hate it. And yet this mug filled me with nothing but positive, warm recollections of the past and I had a great time with it.

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86

Clearly sweet apple was on my mind the last few days because I steeped this one yesterday, just a day after making Biscuit & Brew’s Caramel Apple Betty black tea blend. Honestly, the baked apple notes are quite similar between the two. Gentle fruity offsets to the mellow sweetness they’ve been paired with. In this case, the maple note is very distinct without being cloying. I like it as a more modern interpretation of a “caramel apple” profile. Plus, the maple is a deeper, denser sort of sweetness which is especially interesting on the green tea base which is more medium bodied and has a lighter grassier vibe that allows both maple and apple flavours to read with more clarity…

Anyway, very good. I’m bumping up my rating.

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This was almost painfully familiar tasting but I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what “in real life” thing it was reminding me of. I mean, something caramel apple flavoured obviously. But it was like an exact food/bev product and I just couldn’t land on the brand or product type. Really great sweetness balance though! Mostly buttery but brisk black tea with an almost phyllo dough/pie crust note alongside just a hint of caramel and a smooth, gentle baked apple note. So spot on for my mood that day!

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drank Strawberry & Kiwi by Jaf Tea
15575 tasting notes

Smooth, fruity, and no off notes with (surprisingly) more kiwi than strawberry overall. I do think, of the many fruity flavours Jaf carries, this is one of their least interesting but it was still a very approachable, pleasant fruity cuppa. I slurped it back yesterday morning, and it was the kind of tea that caught just enough of my attention while working to make me smile but not enough to distract me from what I was trying to accomplish.

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Doubled up on sticks of this to make a super large iced tumbler, which was really refreshing. Definitely still more of a juicy, tart and intense souped up lemonade kind of vibe. So little ginger. I mean, really, the more I think about it the more I feel like it was a misnomer on Blume’s part to put ginger in the name instead of going the lemonade route.

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drank Jelly Donut by DAVIDsTEA
15575 tasting notes

Cold Brew!

Definitely a very sweet cold brew, but dang if it doesn’t taste like a strawberry donut. In this case a little more like a Simpson’s style glazed donut but with the icing sugar airy sweetness as well. Rich, fruity, and flavourful. Still one of my all time favourite teas I’ve gotten to make.

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

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Sprinkled a few scoops of this over some vanilla ice cream because I thought it might contribute a nice watermelon flavour. I did get the odd pop of watermelon in some of the places with a higher powder concentration, but overall I think I’d need a lot more matcha to get the effect that I wanted.

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

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100
drank Cranberry Pear by DAVIDsTEA
15575 tasting notes

Got a little worried when I opened up one of the (many) tins I keep of this tea and didn’t smell a whole lot coming off the dry leaf, but the moment the water hit the tea magic started happening and it sprung to life. Smooth, creamy pear with that perfect lightly tart cranberry note. A forever favourite.

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

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Sipdown (2527)!

Tastes very much like what you’d expect. That typical, highly roasted and dark profile with notes of chicory, date, carob, and barley. Very typical Teeccino composition. Just has a little bit of a sweeter finish with a chocolate-y note. More that chocolate liqueur vibe, but not quite so artificial. Very complimentary. I really enjoyed it.

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Profile

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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