74

Ooh! A challenge!

This tea came with my Liquid Proust Teas order as an added bonus; thank you Andrew! I have to say, the idea of guessing what’s in the blend fascinates me. I think I did a pretty good job with this for Lupicia’s Cache-cache blend – though I didn’t get a chance to with Butiki’s mystery blends.

The the green base is an obvious given but if I’m going to try and guess what makes up this blend then I’m going to use every angle I can get: taking a look at the dry leaf, the infused liquor’s colour, the smell and obviously the taste.

Starting with the dry leaf: I definitely see fruity chunks. My initial thought is strawberry or raspberry; it’s hard to tell whether they’re freeze dried strawberry chunks or little bits of raspberry with all the sections/seeds. There’s also another visible fruit; something much paler. Going on the smell of the dry leaf I certainly want to say dragonfruit. It also doesn’t seem like a stretch for LP to want to experiment with something more exotic. However, visually this looks more like sections of kiwi because of how the seeds are arranged. The flesh of a dragonfruit has seeds all throughout the fruit while kiwi’s are more central. I also clearly see a piece of chocolate (or ‘chocolate yogurt’) in the dry leaf I’ve measured out for myself. Right now I’m leaning towards strawberry kiwi chocolate. That definitely seems like compatible flavours, but just different enough to intrigue LP.

I did this one as a cold brew, so I don’t really get to use the aroma of the steeping tea as an indicator. However, the visual liquor is giving me a lot to go off – it’s this really cloudly ‘blush pink’ colour and I know this beautiful shade of pink couldn’t be achieved with dried fruit alone so even though I didn’t see any in the leaf I have a hunch there’s some hibiscus in this blend. The cloudiness is also a tip off; teas with chocolate or yogurt definitely tend to look that way so this is in my mind validating that I did indeed see chocolate in the dry leaf.

And finally the taste test! Let me start by saying that despite the green base I do like the way this tea tastes and first and foremost that’s the most important thing here – not solving LP’s mystery tea flavour. Though that’s certainly fun and a part of the experience too.

I have to say, I was leaning towards strawberry before trying the tea but now I definitely get more of a raspberry note – especially in the lingering aftertaste. The base is really grassy and kind of marine tasting too, I like the flavour but unfortunately I feel like it’s masking some of the ingredients LP has used here. Other than raspberry and base, there’s a tartness that’s clearly hibiscus but not a lot of it. If the colour hadn’t tipped me off I may not have noticed? Or, at least, I’d probably have attributed it to the raspberry. What I’m really trying to figure out is this whole kiwi/dragonfruit dilemma. I wonder if there’s a possibility this has both? When I thought the raspberry was strawberry, kiwi seemed a lot more plausible than it does now and whatever the flavour it’s a little too mild to really stand out as something distinct and not just ‘tropical’.

Alright Andrew, here’s my final(ish) guess:

- Green Tea Base (duh)
- Chocolate of some kind
- Hibiscus
- Raspberry
- Dragonfruit

and possibly…

- Strawberry
- Kiwi

How’d I do?

Nichole/CuppaGeek

I knew I should have cold brewed this one. Looks like you got way more flavors to pop than I did.

Liquid Proust

You got it all :)
Now… did you know that was dried dragonfruit without reading? Dragonfruit looks so weird.
I’m surprised you picked out the chocolate, I thought I hid it well enough that no one would fine it; also, it’s a dumb idea to put with green tea… I kind of fouled that up.
No way you’ll figure the base out… it’s a mixture of Japanese and Chinese sencha :)

Roswell Strange

I did know what a dragonfruit was without looking it up (well mostly; like I said it’s kind of similar looking to kiwi) but to be fair that was like 95% because I worked in a grocery store and had to memorize what all of the produce looked like in addition to memorizing PLU numbers. Dragonfruit also has a really distinct smell when concentrated; the tisane I’ve got from Cuppa’T that uses it smells so wonderful. Was there kiwi/strawberry or was I reading into things too much?

Roswell Strange

I could have told you it was sencha; visually you can tell because of the pressed/flat appearance and the grassy and marine note combo gives it away. I certainly wouldn’t have been able to tell you that it was Chinese sencha in addition to the traditional Japanese, though.

Liquid Proust

The long ones are the Japanese from Fukuya. As for the fruit, yeah… I kind of packed a lot in there to make it look all cool. Dragonfruit is expensive though… no more of that.

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Comments

Nichole/CuppaGeek

I knew I should have cold brewed this one. Looks like you got way more flavors to pop than I did.

Liquid Proust

You got it all :)
Now… did you know that was dried dragonfruit without reading? Dragonfruit looks so weird.
I’m surprised you picked out the chocolate, I thought I hid it well enough that no one would fine it; also, it’s a dumb idea to put with green tea… I kind of fouled that up.
No way you’ll figure the base out… it’s a mixture of Japanese and Chinese sencha :)

Roswell Strange

I did know what a dragonfruit was without looking it up (well mostly; like I said it’s kind of similar looking to kiwi) but to be fair that was like 95% because I worked in a grocery store and had to memorize what all of the produce looked like in addition to memorizing PLU numbers. Dragonfruit also has a really distinct smell when concentrated; the tisane I’ve got from Cuppa’T that uses it smells so wonderful. Was there kiwi/strawberry or was I reading into things too much?

Roswell Strange

I could have told you it was sencha; visually you can tell because of the pressed/flat appearance and the grassy and marine note combo gives it away. I certainly wouldn’t have been able to tell you that it was Chinese sencha in addition to the traditional Japanese, though.

Liquid Proust

The long ones are the Japanese from Fukuya. As for the fruit, yeah… I kind of packed a lot in there to make it look all cool. Dragonfruit is expensive though… no more of that.

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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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