77

Sipdown (107)!

Thank you 221Tea and Brian for the sample; sorry it took so long to get to!

Steeped this one up Western style; I thought it produced a very nice, smooth malty cup with some sweeter cocoa notes and some light handed earth notes. It was pleasant to sip on while I was getting ready to go out!

I ended up going out to work, on my day off, since we just hired four new people. I wanted to meet them on their “first day” when I was off the clock – and they wouldn’t yet know who I was or that I’m in a position of authority over them. That’s sorta the best way to form an impression of them. You can tell a lot about how someone is going to be based on the way they treat total strangers going through their checkout.

Do they smile? Make conversation? Do they seem confidant counting back change?

So it was a good afternoon out of the house. And they all seemed ok based on that one snap impression (which I have since expanded on working alongside and training them).

Michelle is my age and very fun and friendly; great people skills. She lacks a lot of work experience, but is trying very hard to learn and is catching on to things at a consistent pace. Ka Yan is the only one of the four who isn’t a cashier; she’s a fulltime stocker/aisle owner. She’s pretty quiet/shy but very kind and soft spoken when she does talk to you. She works very independently and doesn’t need much direction. Laura is absolutely the strongest worker/cashier of them all and catches on to new things the quickest of all of ‘em – but she’s not good with people at all and has a very brash/harsh demeanor. So we’re gonna have to work on that.

And then there’s Noah. Noah is also my age and they’re probably the one I’d most likely be friends with outside of work. We’re both pretty damn nerdy, Tumblr/fandom type people. This is their first job – so they have lots to learn but Noah’s definitely making an effort. I know they’re having the hardest time, out of all the new hires, connecting with other coworkers though – there’s NO ONE else “nerdy” or like them at work other than me – it’s the same thing I kinda had difficulties with (my at work BFF Bobbi has admitted to really disliking me at first because I was “weird”) but I kinda had an advantage since I was in more of a position of authority – and Bobbi had to spend time with me for our position and got to know me that way. I also had more confidence because I had previous work experience very similar to what I do now. And then, there’ the fact that Noah’s “real” name is Maryam, but they don’t identify that way and they’ve asked people to please refer to them as Noah. No one we work with other than myself has even the slightest clue how to broach that request and people feel a little unsure about what that even means. So currently I’m the only person doing it, even though I’ve tried to advocate on their behalf and explain why it’s important and respectful.

I’m hoping they’re stop being so ignorant the longer they work with Noah. But all in all, I’m rooting for them! I like Noah as a person, we get along great! They have some room for improvement as an employee – but they’re learning! Like Bobbi did with me, they’ll just have to first connect with other things to grow close as coworkers…

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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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