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Gongfu!

Here’s the thing that I wrote on instagram since this was my last Gongfu session of 2019:

Possibly my last tea & tea session not only of the year, but of the decade!! As many of my close friends & coworkers know, I really like to have symbolic or themed teas on holidays and special occasions & I spent a good portion of the afternoon today trying to decide what tea could possibly be “worthy” of being the last tea of the decade. Would it be an aged tea from 2010? There was something poetic in the idea of a tea from the start of the decade closing it out. Maybe some champagne flavoured, as a celebration!? I don’t think anything would have REALLY felt ‘right’ though, and I realized that heading into next year I want to shake the idea that I “need” to find the perfect teas for the right occasions; the time spent thinking about what might be the “best fit” is time often wasted where I could have just been having a nice experience regardless. Just having a nice session or mug of tea should be enough. So I picked something arbitrarily, and I’m doing my best to be ok with the fact it doesn’t have any significance…

Ultimately, I didn’t end up liking this tea all that much. Maybe a full coin was too big for the 100ml glass pot I was brewing in? Maybe my water was too hot or my steeps too long? Or, possibly, it’s just not my thing…

I gave it five steeps before I decided I was done with trying to make it work; I just found the infusions incredibly tannic and bitter along with a strange mix of tobacco/cannabis and toasty grain notes that were NOT sitting well with me. It was like drinking skunky marijuana and burnt toast, with some rocks tossed in for good measure.

I’ll try it again with an open mind – but it just might not be my thing. That’s fine too; you can’t really love everything and it’s crazy to expect to…

Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/B6wP1TagZSr/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_OwQQF_3qU

Martin Bednář

If it is big as their flapjacks, I really think one coin is too big. I would go for half :)

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Martin Bednář

If it is big as their flapjacks, I really think one coin is too big. I would go for half :)

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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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