6

Tre left today for his Christmas trip with his Dad (although, not before they had both sat down for some tea first) this morning, so I now have the apartment all to myself until about the 30th. That’s kinda exciting!

He also left his bus card for me to use, so that’s almost equally exciting! Now I can take the bus to work and downtown without worrying about using up all my rides

However, as soon as I got to work things turned around really fast, and now I’m having a kinda crummy day. First off, my most incompetent employee (honestly, she’s so nice and hard working, bless her soul, but she just doesn’t understand how to do ANYTHING on the till and has the worst cash handling skills I’ve ever seen) screwed up a whole bunch of refunds and didn’t keep any of the receipts so I have NO CLUE what was and wasn’t supposed to be refunded and I have no way of fixing anything. It
s infuriating, really, because now out till is thirty dollars over which means I not only have to report all the stock/inventory/refund issues to head office (my boss) but have to fill out a giant stack of paperwork because are till is (significantly) off. I’ve explained how to do refunds to her at least six times and each time I tell her that if she doesn’t understand she needs to let me know so I can keep going through things with her, and each time she says she understands but then the very next refund she does she completely fucks up the very next refund she does! Urgggg!!!

And, someone also sprayed a WHOLE BUTT FUCKING TON of cheap, perfume right next to my stand and now I can’t stop sneezing and everything smells absolutely disgusting. Urghhh…

I received this tea in my very first swap with VariaTEA and I’m only just now having it. Ultimately I had wanted my first time drinking this to be as a direct comparison with Della Terra’s Cherry Cola and Cake but I kept putting off brewing them up at the same time and now I’ve swapped away all of the Cherry Cola and Cake so there was nothing preventing me from brewing this up other than my own procrastination.

So, for 8 oz. of boiling water I used 1 1/2 tsp. of leaf steeped for five minutes. That used up about half my sample. Smell wise, there was definitely a cola scent and some mild cherry notes too – but everything was very chemical smelling. Ultimately I’ve heard only bad things about this tea, so I’m only trying it to have tried it – I had low expectations well before brewing it and do not expect to love this.

Taste wise, I am very right to have kept my expectations super low. This tastes God awful. The words that comes to mind are “burnt” and “tobacco” with some very butchered and nasty cherry/cola taste. It’s SO chemical, and just… no.

So, not a great addition to my lousy work day but at least I wasn’t expecting it to be. I’m definitely not finishing off what’s left in my water bottle, and I doubt that I’ll be the one drinking the rest of the sample I have. I guess, when he returns, this was be something I make for Tre and get him to choke down…

VariaTEA

I really do not understand why I bought this at all. I mean, I am super picky about Cola (if a restaurant only has pepsi, I drink water – that is how picky I am) and I don’t like warm or flat soda so I really don’t see the appeal. Plus, because it was when I first found teas, I didn’t know I could buy less than 50 g so now I am stuck with it. I am sorry to hear that you did not have a better experience with it. Hopefully some of the other teas I sent have been better.

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VariaTEA

I really do not understand why I bought this at all. I mean, I am super picky about Cola (if a restaurant only has pepsi, I drink water – that is how picky I am) and I don’t like warm or flat soda so I really don’t see the appeal. Plus, because it was when I first found teas, I didn’t know I could buy less than 50 g so now I am stuck with it. I am sorry to hear that you did not have a better experience with it. Hopefully some of the other teas I sent have been better.

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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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