70

Gongfu!

I’m trying to sipdown my stash and get back under 600 teas again, and this seemed like a good choice to work on finishing off – it’s a little bit older now, I don’t have a large quantity of it left and I have zero desire to hoard green teas. Getting four tea packages in last that two weeks was super exciting, but also meant my cupboard total blew up more than I’d like it to; so gotta put in the work and finish some shit off!

I actually steeped this one up with some apple mint leaves added into the glass pot I was brewing with – part of the tea and herb experimentation I’ve been dabbling with as of late. I liked the idea of doing a Chinese green tea with mint because it’s so similar to the concept of a Moroccan Mint blend, and Apple Mint seemed like a fun twist on that since it’s sweeter/fruitier and has less menthol in the finish: sort of a brighter, sweeter and more “Summery” Moroccan Mint…

I didn’t bruise the mint I used because I knew it would come through pretty strong without the extra hand – and I wasn’t sure how much to use to not overpower the tea. I think, in the end, I went with six average sized apple mint leaves – and honestly that was probably one or two too many since the infusions for the first three steeps were definitely majority apple mint flavoured, with just a bit of grassiness from the green tea and some astringency in the finish. It was delicious but not a super great balance.

Infusion four was actually really nice; more even balance of apple mint and green tea notes. However, after infusion four the apple mint and green tea were both starting to get too mild to be really enjoyable.

If nothing, this was a good learning experience and it did help me to nearly finish off this tea!

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/BxvSvkoAa5W/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43n1wghXRGM

Shanie O Maniac

I don’t usually comment on the song pairings, but that is a good song, if really depressing.

Roswell Strange

King Princess is great – hard to go wrong with her music, imo.

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Shanie O Maniac

I don’t usually comment on the song pairings, but that is a good song, if really depressing.

Roswell Strange

King Princess is great – hard to go wrong with her music, imo.

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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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