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drank The Tea of Kings by RiverTea
16374 tasting notes

This is the first tea I’m trying from the teas I won in RiverTea’s “what would you do for 100g of your favourite tea” contest. Although, it was really hard to pick out of the five teas they sent me. This one, along with two other cherry teas, was a sample size and then I got what I’m guessing is 50g each of two different teas: a mango vanilla black (which I just totally love the name of) and a mulberry white. Admittedly, I think I decided on this one because when I opened my Butiki order up the first smell I was hit with was the very intense smell of the lychee in the Lychee Oolong that I ordered.

I took a few pictures of everything as I was opening the package up, and just a few moments ago uploading everything to Tumblr. This is the link if you’re curious:

http://guyfierithirdandfinalantichrist.tumblr.com/post/68299190362/pictures-of-the-tea-i-recieved-from-the-tea

Personally, I love the packaging. Everything is beautifully packaged and has a very personal and humble feel to it. It get the impression everything was put together with time, attention, and care. My only complaint would be that the teas I received in larger quantity have no listed ingredients or steeping parameters. For Boatsman, the mango vanilla black, I can sorta just stick with the parameters on the two black samples I received but for the mulberry white I’m going to have to do a bit more guess work.

Also, I can’t believe a company with a mulberry tea would pass at the opportunity to name it something fun like “Pop Goes The Weasle” :P

You have to see the opportunity and then seize it! I love teas with fun names – it really makes them stand out and, personally, it draws me in more when I’m shopping online. If I see something like “Mango Black” listed on a website I’m less likely to click on it for additional details than I am to click on something like “Boatsman” (I just really love the name of this one, for whatever reason, so it’s my example tea right now) so I can find out what’s in that blend. That’s part of why I love DAVIDsTEA so much: a lot of the time their blends have really fun names.

Anyway, dry this tea has a very light and subtle lychee smell. It’s somewhere in between the realm of artificial and natural smelling, but leaning more towards natural. I’m so determined to find the perfect lychee tea – so I do have high hopes (especially for a tea named “The Tea of Kings”).

I steeped 1 tsp. in boiling water for three minutes, as per RiverTea’s steeping guide. As it steeped, the aroma got to be significantly stronger. As it’s brewing now, the lychee doesn’t smell artificial at all and the black base smells a lot more strong and bold.

Here are a couple more pictures:

http://guyfierithirdandfinalantichrist.tumblr.com/post/68302362032/the-tea-of-kings-lychee-black-tea-blend-from

Sipping at this slowly now; the black tea base is the first flavour present each sip. It’s strong and bold – so I get the “of kings” comparison. There’s also ZERO bitterness and astringency: this is a very good black tea base that goes down quite easily. The black tea taste then transitions quite smoothly into this very sweet and lush lychee taste that reminds me of eating straight lychees. The lychee does NOT taste artificial or perfumey to me, which I’m so thankful of. This delicious fruity tastes lingers for a very, very long time in the aftertaste which really allows you to draw out each sip and take your time enjoying every last bit of the cup.

I’m really enjoying how this is very rich and flavourful and gives the impression of being complex without actually relying on a large variety of ingredients to create a huge taste profile. Often times that translates into a very overwhelming and overly complicated tea. This is simple and I appreciate that. I don’t think I can call it the “perfect” lychee tea, and it’s not the best lychee tea I’ve ever tried in general – however it IS the best black lychee tea I’ve ever had, and by a long shot too.

So as a first tasting of RiverTea I’m very impressed!

EDIT: As it cools down, the lychee gets even more intense and flavourful which just makes this SO good!

EDIT: I take back my complaint about lack of ingredients lists/no steeping parameters on the two larger amounts of tea I recieved. Apparently I just wasn’t looking hard enough: both the steeping parameters and ingredients are listed on the bottoms of the tins.
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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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