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Well, there goes the days sipdown efforts…

I got home from work today only to find that my swap from akgrowngirl had arrived, and she’d added in an extra tea – negating my two sipdowns of the day. Curse the generosity on Steepster (not really though, you people are lovely)! Anyway, because I was back at where I’d started I felt I had to make the last tea of the day a sipdown so I’d made at least a little progress. I also really wanted to make this sipdown count so I picked this tea which I recieved as a surprise add in from VariaTEA in our first swap.

First time around I used half the leaf for a timolino full of this that I took to work – and I hated it! I’ve been dreading siping down the last little bit, and I always feel horrible throwing leaf out. I can’t pawn it off on Robyn either because the two things she flat out wont drink (she accepts most of my ‘toss away’ tea quite graciously) are coconut and pineapple, and this definitely has pineapple. I know I’m going to feel SUPER relieved once it’s out of my cupboard officially! So, this sipdown is definitely worth it and will make me feel like I’ve accomplished something significant today.

(Also, I think this is my first time noticing it – but this blend has raisins in it! YUCK!)

So for preparation I used the last of the leaf (nearly a tablespoon) for a 10 oz. mug, steeped in 10 oz. of water for a very brief 2 minutes (in the hopes of balancing out the fact I heavily overleafed). The colour is a funky purple. And the smell is majorly artificial blueberry with a generic, tart “tang”. Ick…

As far as taste goes, this is just about as bad as I remember it being the first time. Everything about it tastes artificial, cloying, and borderline chemical. It leaves a really funny “sour” taste in my mouth (sour as in “gone bad”), and the pineapple is so warped and distorted from any kind of actual pineapple taste. I’m drinking as big of gulps as I can manage, and choking it down like a champ. I can do this!

Semi side note: In anticipation of this being awful, I started cold brewing a jug of Blueberry Jam to enjoy tomorrow morning so I can have a real blueberry tea first thing – to counteract this lousy tea experience.

ALL GONE! Like. A. Fucking. Boss.

I feel very accomplished right now. I could have just tossed the leaf, but instead I fought through the cuppa, making this sipdown so much more worth it! Hell yeah! SIPDOWN!

VariaTEA

OMG I am so sorry to put you through that torture. Honestly, life is too short to suffer through bad teas so just throw it out or send it away or swap it. At least it is done now and I will never send it to you again. Also, after our many swaps and reading your reviews, I am quite aware of your hatred for raisins and keep that in mind when I decided to add things.

Roswell Strange

It’s ok! Honestly, even if I had of noticed the raisins initially, I would probably have still tried it because I love pineapple. I don’t think there’s a single pineapple tea I’m not willing to try at least once. Pineapple trumps raisins :P Anyway, I’ve tried lots of good teas from you – so that more than makes up for the occasional lousy one.

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VariaTEA

OMG I am so sorry to put you through that torture. Honestly, life is too short to suffer through bad teas so just throw it out or send it away or swap it. At least it is done now and I will never send it to you again. Also, after our many swaps and reading your reviews, I am quite aware of your hatred for raisins and keep that in mind when I decided to add things.

Roswell Strange

It’s ok! Honestly, even if I had of noticed the raisins initially, I would probably have still tried it because I love pineapple. I don’t think there’s a single pineapple tea I’m not willing to try at least once. Pineapple trumps raisins :P Anyway, I’ve tried lots of good teas from you – so that more than makes up for the occasional lousy one.

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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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