17229 Tasting Notes

Gongfu!

This fragrant, full-bodied black tea is an explosion of sweet, juicy fruity and floral flavours. The osmanthus contributes such a fresh ripened apricot or peach-like flavour with undertones of persimmon and golden honey. The finish is slightly nut, but still retains much of the sweetness present throughout the rest of the sip. It makes me think a little bit of almond extract or amaretto. Overall a wonderfully summery feeling and well balanced tea!!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DJhAoSbtg31/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSswmFErgxc&ab_channel=daisyveacock-Topic

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Gongfu!

This mini had such a thick and brothy liquor once steeped up. Though woodier in its undertones with a bit of a subtle “brown” burnt sugar sweetness like the torched top of a creme brulee, I mostly was reminded of bouillon while drinking this tea, with an especially umami finish that made me think of soy sauce. It’s a beautiful dance between rich caramelized goodness and a more unctuous savory flavout. Miso caramel, in some ways, but heavy and dense. I’m glad I took the time to revisit this ripe pu’erh as it was a very grounding way to start the day!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DJkLKAhSueh/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJFTh_QlOgU&ab_channel=DavidDeanBurkhart

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drank Honey Needle by white2tea
17229 tasting notes

Gongfu!

I love a bud heavy black and the bright, coppery liquor practically glows in the sunlight. It’s quite a sweet black tea, with a velvety smooth mouthfeel and more of a medium body. As expected, it tastes a lot like honey, with warm floral undertones that make me think of wildflowers. More unexpected are the sweet, airy, and creamy confection notes – like marshmallow fluff! They don’t eclipse the honeycomb that takes center stage, but they’re an undeniably present supporting role. It’s probably one of the more standout black teas I’ve brewed up as of late.

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DJmacE0Nja2/?img_index=1

This set looks right at home out here among the grass and stones; AKA my favourite spot for outdoor tea as of late.

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRBa34X5Hwg&ab_channel=SayaGray-Topic

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drank Mango by Brisk
17229 tasting notes

…aaaannd finished off the last RTD I’d stocked piled while grocery shopping a little while back. I think I will probably take a break on this one since drinking it so bunched together is just starting to make me feeling a touch sick of the tropical flavour. However, I am sure I’ll probably revisit this in the future. It’s quick, easy, and perfectly fine for the type of tea it’s trying to be.

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Trying this Western style for the first time as that’s how I usually would drink a breakfast tea, but no milk or sugar for this first tasting. Part of me expected this to be brisker and more tannic, but I’m also delightfully surprised to be met with a very rich and full-bodied cup that is actually quite smooth and velvety. Though there is a woodiness and almost oak-like note, mostly I found this quite chocolate-y tasting. A less refined and more bittersweet cacao chocolate, sure, but chocolate forward nonetheless.

I have had other black teas from W2T steeped Western style that have left a more immediately striking first impression, but I thought this was solid and it’s something that I could see servicing that early morning breakfast cuppa role quite well.

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I’m so glad I restocked this tea because it was an absolutely joy to sip on this morning. The cherry note is stronger to me than the marzipan/almond, though that nuttiness lingers longer and ties in with some of the more roasted and mineral notes of the oolong base. In general I quite like the cherry flavouring that Adagio uses, and think it’s one of their better flavourings. Bright, fresh, sweet and distinctly red cherry. Elements of the mug made me think of Amaretto Sour cocktails (a nostalgic flavourite of mine) but also Sour Cherry Blaster candies – but in both cases not so sugary or aggressively acidic.

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I made a mug of this today at work, but ultimately it was just really, really sweet and artificial banana candy flavoured. Though I sometimes seek out that kind of profile, today it just felt like a little too much for the mood I was in. Though I did finish the mug, the lingering sweetness after each sip for sure crossed into cloying territory for me today…

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drank Enturmeric by BrutaliTeas
17229 tasting notes

I felt like the bag of this tea was just staring daggers at me from it’s bin all throughout the start of the week, so finally I just pulled it out and brewed up a cup. Definitely quite tropical and refreshing with more of the mango coming out than I’d remembered there usually being. I liked that it was fresh, a little bright and very tropical without necessarily being sweet or feeling heavy/syrupy either. The turmeric added a gentle nudge of spice and earthiness, and the whole mug was just rather balanced feeling to me.

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Sipdown (2925)!

Is this a unique lemon ginger blend? Nah. Is it a good one? Yeah, pretty solid! Mostly I was just impressed by how fresh and zesty the bold notes of lemongrass and ginger were. There was a lot of brightness to the sip, but then it finished with a warm, tingly heat and earthiness from the ginger. Dynamic, and full of life and flavour. Would have been quite good with some honey, I think.

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drank Tummy Kiss by Paper & Tea
17229 tasting notes

This tea made me think of Mastress Alita while I was drinking it. Probably because it’s really, really licorice-y and if I remember correctly Mastress Alita is a fan of licorice teas. Definitely fennel forward but also anise notes and a bit of the lingering sweet flavour you might expect from licorice root, too. I happen to like the taste of black licorice (even if I don’t love licorice root) and so this highly fennel-y blend did appeal to me a lot.

Mastress Alita

One of my dedicated jobs at the office is picking out and eating all the black licorice taffy from the communal candy bowl because no one else around here likes it, hahaha.

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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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