70
drank Apple Barley Tea by Lupicia
15662 tasting notes

Sipdown (118)!

Gonna try and get a few more reviews in from my queue; in less than an hour Tre’s four best friends from highschool are gonna be showing up for the night to visit and I doubt I’ll be able to focus a whole lot. It’s gonna be such a “nerdy frat boy” environment, what with there being five guys in their early twenties, who haven’t seen each other in months, in such close proximity…

Thanks VariaTEA for passing on a sachet of this one! It’s not one of the barley teas I ever found making its way into a cart for a mock order (ie. Pineapple or Watermelon) but I was curious about it, and having now tried Pineapple Barley from Lupicia I think it’s worthwhile to compare the two see if some of the things I observed with Pineapple (aka FISH SMELL) are consistent with this one.

I think Barley tea is gonna forever remind me at least a little bit of coffee; that’s definitely what I imagined I was first tasting when I had a sip of this one – it’s just really, really roasty and strong. And I suppose I don’t drink coffee enough to really differentiate in the first place. Blah. Not that it reminding me of coffee is really a bad thing, per say?

One definite positive thing about this one is that it doesn’t smell OR taste like fish at all. Hooray! So, in that aspect this far surpasses the pineapple barley. The downside? Compared to pineapple this is far less juicy/flavoured – yes, I tasted apple – a more supple red apple flavour like a Gala perhaps, but it was so much lighter than I was led to believe it would be after tasting Pineapple first.

I guess I’d call this average overall. Since I didn’t have high expectations in the first place I certainly wasn’t let down at all – it kind of just met my mild expectations for what they were? Uh, mild?

AllanK

I wonder what Barley tea tastes like but as I am allergic will probably never know.

OMGsrsly

It’s really similar to the roasted buckwheat teas, AllanK, except with more of a chicory/coffee flavour. I haven’t seen a flavoured buckwheat tea, sadly. But the plain one (I liked the H&S one!) is really nice with milk and sugar.

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AllanK

I wonder what Barley tea tastes like but as I am allergic will probably never know.

OMGsrsly

It’s really similar to the roasted buckwheat teas, AllanK, except with more of a chicory/coffee flavour. I haven’t seen a flavoured buckwheat tea, sadly. But the plain one (I liked the H&S one!) is really nice with milk and sugar.

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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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