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And so begins the Pu’erh journey…

Over Christmas, one of the presents I got was $75 towards whatever I wanted on Camellia Sinensis (‘cause my family knows it’s one of my favourite tea companies, and they’re Canadian so no shitty exchange rates) and I fully took advantage of that to buy several different kinds of Pu’erh to further explore this complex and interesting tea type. And, on Tuesday that tea arrived! Actually, a lot of tea arrived – I received my orders from Red Leaf Tea, Teaware House, and Camellia Sinensis all in the same day! Well, I immediately had to try something so I brewed up one of the mini bricks in my new gaiwan from Teaware House!

Now, I don’t think I’ve ever had Jingmai before – and someone here on Steepster (who definitely knows more about Pu’erh than I do) told me it’s odd to see a Jingmai shou so I had weird/low expectations brewing this one up. I really, really enjoyed it though! I only did six infusions because it was after two in the morning and I was already starting to feel tea buzzed on top of just plain exhausted so I decided it was in my best interest to cut the session early and just go to bed before I was too wired/slap happy to sleep properly.

This was really smooth with a rich, thick mouthfeel and a sort of softness to it. Every sip was really round, and pleasant – I don’t know why I expected more ‘bite’ or astringency to this, but I didn’t find it nor did I really miss it. I could really ‘feel’ the tea on the roof of my mouth and middle/surface of my tongue.

The flavour was also delightful; it was much sweeter than I think I’ve experienced with a lot of pu’erh! Right from the start of the infusions this had really consistent notes of honey, molasses, earth, and a dark fruitiness. That fruitiness later became more intense and picked up a more distinct fig/date flavour as well as a dark cherry-like note in the last few infusions. I also found this had an almost ‘oat’ like flavour as well. Quaker sells a ‘Honey Oatmeal’ (or something close to that) flavour and that in particular is a little like what I thought this was tasting like. The last few infusions were definitely more woody, as well.

This was so tasty! And to be perfectly honest, I’m just so incredibly psyched for my next session with this one because it was so lovely! It just makes me all the more excited to try the rest of the different Pu’erh I picked up from Camellia Sinensis…

Sil

YAY! So glad your journey started out with a bang!

Stephanie

Sounds delicious!

kristinalee

I’ve never bought from them because I always thought the prices looked insanely expensive, and then just now I realized they weren’t automatically converting things to USD based on my IP address. What-cha does do that, but I’d have automatically noticed from the pound sign if they didn’t. With the dollar sign… I bet they’d get more US business if they did the automatic conversions. I didn’t notice I could change it myself until just now, and I’ve known of this company for a few years.

kristinalee

And OMG, they are selling that Breville for half of what I’ve seen it go for in the US… Hm…

kristinalee

BTW, I hope wages there aren’t as stagnant as they are here, and have gone up to accommodate the dollar’s loss of value. That’s been an extreme and quick decline. I can’t imagine.

OMGsrsly

My union has processed a 0.045% raise for Jan 1. Super exciting, eh?

kristinalee

Ugh, I’m sorry to hear that. Wow… Unions were strong when I was in Montreal, even the graduate student union I was in (these barely exist in the US).

kristinalee

Honestly, I was jealous of the labor practices there — they were so much better, much higher graduate student pay and minimum wage. It was 2007.

OMGsrsly

Honestly it depends on the institution, if a union was able to form, who was included in the union, and what the union was able to negotiate. UBC is my shining example here on the West Coast, but BCIT is pretty close as well. :)

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Comments

Sil

YAY! So glad your journey started out with a bang!

Stephanie

Sounds delicious!

kristinalee

I’ve never bought from them because I always thought the prices looked insanely expensive, and then just now I realized they weren’t automatically converting things to USD based on my IP address. What-cha does do that, but I’d have automatically noticed from the pound sign if they didn’t. With the dollar sign… I bet they’d get more US business if they did the automatic conversions. I didn’t notice I could change it myself until just now, and I’ve known of this company for a few years.

kristinalee

And OMG, they are selling that Breville for half of what I’ve seen it go for in the US… Hm…

kristinalee

BTW, I hope wages there aren’t as stagnant as they are here, and have gone up to accommodate the dollar’s loss of value. That’s been an extreme and quick decline. I can’t imagine.

OMGsrsly

My union has processed a 0.045% raise for Jan 1. Super exciting, eh?

kristinalee

Ugh, I’m sorry to hear that. Wow… Unions were strong when I was in Montreal, even the graduate student union I was in (these barely exist in the US).

kristinalee

Honestly, I was jealous of the labor practices there — they were so much better, much higher graduate student pay and minimum wage. It was 2007.

OMGsrsly

Honestly it depends on the institution, if a union was able to form, who was included in the union, and what the union was able to negotiate. UBC is my shining example here on the West Coast, but BCIT is pretty close as well. :)

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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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