35
drank Currant Affair by DAVIDsTEA
15575 tasting notes

I received this in a swap with LovelyLotus.

This one was on my low priority shopping list because I love currants but I also have a couple currant teas already so I wasn’t entirely sure if I could justify buying another one, so getting it in a swap was perfect!

Dry, the leaf smells similar to Champagne Cassis from Tea Desire which is a personal favourite (I have it ranked 100, and it’d probably be in my 5 favourites teas of all time) – but a little less sweet. For preparing it today, I steeped 2 tsp. in my 12 oz. timolino in boiling water for eight minutes. I didn’t have the brewing guide/suggestions pulled up so I just went with something that seemed reasonable in comparison to my other rooibos blends from DAVIDsTEA.

The smell of this one is intensly black currant and cherry (what the heck? is there even cherry in the blend?) – but in a HEAVILY medicinal way, which does not bode well for this tea…

I was kind of hesitant to try it out, and thankfully I was busy enough working the first two hours (of my three hour) shift so I could put it off. However, I’m finally trying it now and, to be honest, my thoughts are simply “yuck”. I’m getting incredibly strong notes of cherry and black currant in a strongly and overpoweringly medicinal way that leaves a very unpleasant and lingering aftertaste in my mouth. This is just rude :/

And that’s actually really disappointing because I LOVE currants and was hoping for this to be a caffeine free equivalent to Champagne Cassis – and it’s definitely not. Boo :(

Anyway, I’m still thankful to LovelyLotus for sending some my way – if nothing else this satisfied my curiosity and prevented me from actually spending money on it. I think this is getting dumped when I get home, though (sad because I only brought one thing of tea to work today because my shift was so short)…

Plunkybug

I was very disappointed with this one, though ’d had such high hopes for it.

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Plunkybug

I was very disappointed with this one, though ’d had such high hopes for it.

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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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