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Roswell Strange drank 2017 Snoozefest by white2tea

16396 tasting notes

First session of the new year – though not the first tea.

I don’t normally lean towards Sheng, but when this one popped up on Black Friday I simply could not resist getting a cake of it – and I was lucky to, these babies sold out so incredibly fast! Something about limited edition stuff really gets to me…

I hadn’t heard much about this one going into my session today other than the fact that it’s apparently pretty smooth/mellow for such a young cake; so I was pretty pleasantly surprised to find that the first half of my session was dominated by really smooth, sweet fruit notes of apricot and nectarines with subtle floral undertones and hints of cream. First half of the session was definitely the better half for me; when I do drink Sheng I generally find I appreciate the sweeter, fruitier stuff a lot more. I’ve had pretty good success with stuff from the Yiwu region for this same reason.

The second half of the session wasn’t bad though; the flavours just progressed in a way that was less pleasant to my palate. More focus on notes of camphor/wood and a heavier cream, with very faint touches of astringency. Kind of an eleuthero flavour, too. Still some floral/apricot going on in the undertones, but it was no longer the focus of the sip. Regardless of the transition of flavours, it was still very smooth and mellow and was still drinkable for me as someone not often into those more overtly ‘Sheng like’ profiles. I did brew the tea out until the leaf was completely spent.

Definitely a Sheng that I don’t regret buying, but it’s certainly not something that I think I’ll find myself craving often. For those rare times when a Sheng mood strikes, it’ll be nice to have on hand though! And perhaps it’s for the best that I didn’t fall madly in love with it – it’s not like I can get another cake once I finish this one.

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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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