Roswell Strange Send Message

608 Followers / 387 Following

Roswell Strange drank Salted Caramel by DAVIDsTEA

16384 tasting notes

I’m learning, the more I drink this tea, that less is more. Less dry leaf and less steep time has been yielding really great results and I think this is probably the best cup of this I’ve yet to have.

So, for this cup I steeped 1 tsp. for 4 minutes – the minimum steep time that DAVIDsTEA suggests. I’m left with a deep caramel brown liquor with lots of murkyness and floaty bits (the ‘salt’ in the dry leaf) with an oily coat on the top that smells like black tea and really rich, high quality, caramel and toffee. The kind that comes in giant bars that you have to wrestle with the pull of a chunk to eat – which then becomes this elaborate procedure because it’s so thick and sticky it’s nearly impossible to chew. Yum. That’s the best kind of caramel.

For the first time ever, I’m actually getting the “salt” notes that the title of this tea promises yet, up until this point, had never delivered. I also have this great, almost malty black tea base which is standing strongly on its own and the deep, slightly burnt taste of caramel. There is NO astringency or bitterness at all in this cup. Seriously, I’m going to have to say the only reason I haven’t loved drinking this as much as I’m loving drinking it now has got to be user error completely – too much leaf and too much steep time, something I’m guilty of more frequently than I care to admit.

So, as a note to myself, DO NOT OVERLEAF THIS BEAUTY AND DO NOT OVERSTEEP IT. FOUR MINUTES IS YOUR GOLDEN TIME! And, that said (or shouted) I’m going to have to increase my rating.

I Like This

7 likes

1 comments

TeaLady441
Delete

That’s great! I’ll add it to my shopping list so I can experiment!

People who liked this

Comments

TeaLady441
Delete

That’s great! I’ll add it to my shopping list so I can experiment!

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...

Following These People

Moderator Tools

Mark as Spammer