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Roswell Strange drank Salted Caramel by DAVIDsTEA

16875 tasting notes

I’m really having a difficult time getting used to the new layout of the tea pages. I’m sure that I’ll eventually just adjust, but I’m having a really hard time grasping certain things like why the ingredients are being sorted alphabetically. Like this one shows “Artificial Sweetener” as the first thing and I’ve been taught the first thing shown is what there’s the most of. Well shit, I don’t want to drink something that’s mostly made up of artificial sweetener. It’s simple things like that with the layout that bug me the most because it’s not just having to adjust how I’m used to the Steepster layout but how I’m used to the layout of ingredients in general…

Also, the “recommended steep time”. How the balls is that decided? Because this is recommending to me that I steep up 16 fucking ounces of this – and I know that’s not what DT recommends. Their brewing guidelines are based on 8 oz. measurements.

But anyway, I made two cups of this last night: one for myself and one for Tre since I was in the mood for caramel and he also wanted tea. I’ve made this for him in the past and he really liked it, but last night all he did was complain about how it was weak in flavour/tasted funny. I would have defended my precious tea, except I sorta really agreed with him.

I have a lot of this left, but I’m finding increasingly that, while I’ve mastered the best way to prepare so there’s no bitterness/astringency, it the taste isn’t really doing it for me anymore – and I do think I know why. It’s the salt. When I first got this I couldn’t taste it at all – but I was brewing this in a less than satisfactory way. Now that I’m brewing it better (and have a more developed palette) I pick up the salt and I dislike it. Then again, I’ve always loved caramel but disliked salted caramel.

So ultimately, I kind of prefer to reach for a plain caramel tea over this salted version. And, for that reason I doubt I’ll be restocking when I run out…

Also, I lowered my rating a little bit.

And I’m assuming my measurement is going to round down, so for clarification I used 1.5 tsp. of leaf not 1

Flavors: Butter, Caramel

Preparation

Boiling 5 min, 45 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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1 comments

Courtney
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I totally agree with the ingredients, and that is exactly how I determine if I can handle a tea with hibiscus.

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Courtney
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I totally agree with the ingredients, and that is exactly how I determine if I can handle a tea with hibiscus.

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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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