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Sipdown (124)!

My crazy tea twin VariaTEA signed me up for three months of Amoda boxes for Christmas, the first of which came last week. It looks like I’m going to be the first to review 3/4 of them since I had to add them to the Steepster database. I wonder, who else gets Amoda boxes? I’m interested in seeing other people’s thoughts on the offerings. I’ve already had one of the other teas in the box, but the note for that one is buried somewhere in my queue. This one I’m drinking currently since I don’t start work today until late this afternoon.

Honestly, I wasn’t excited to see this one in the box. It’s got a lot of things in it that I’m not really a fan of like ginger and green tea. I’m also usually pretty fickle towards overly floral teas too, though jasmine is one floral aspect that I handle better than others so long as it doesn’t taste chemical/artificial. The only way I could have been less excited about this tea is if they’d added raisins to the blend. But I’m still going to try it, and in as opened minded a way as humanely possible.

Visually, the leaf is actually very beautiful: This uses jasmine scented pearls for the base and then there’s lots of visible ginger and light orange pieces of orange peel that contrast the pearls and add colour. The dry smell is really heavy on the ginger in the blend; I can hardly smell anything else, but if I concentrate I can sort of smell the jasmine. Measuring out my cup I noticed pretty quickly I was going to have to really shake up the sample bag; everything but the pearls was sinking to the bottom!

My first few sips were hesitant. Initially all I could taste was ginger. It was pretty spicy too; and it was lingering long after I had finished the tip. But the more I drink my cup, and the larger I make my sips, the more I’m noticing the jasmine in the blend. And, it’s honestly a very tasty jasmine flavour; I don’t think it gets anywhere close to tasting artificial or like I’ve just sprayed perfume right onto my tongue. Instead it’s supple and sweet! Which is good, because this tea needed something to contrast the ginger, that’s for sure. As for the pearls; they’re sort of just contributing an underlying vegetal flavour; it’s easier to pick them apart in the finish of the sip, when the ginger flavour is at its weakest and is easing up. I don’t taste the orange in the blend; I think it’s just competing with too many other dominant flavours.

I don’t think I’d personally drink this again because I just can’t do this much ginger in one cup of tea; but surprisingly there were more layers to this one than I had imagined there being and it was decidedly drinkable overall. I think people who actually like ginger will love this one; there’s a very interesting juxtaposition between the spicy ginger and sweet jasmine; it works more than I thought it would initially!

Flavors: Ginger, Jasmine, Peas, Vegetal

Fjellrev

I’ve been toying with the idea but it just seems so expensive. I’d rather just buy the full amounts off them, but then again, they tend to also pick expensive teas, or large amounts of something.

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Fjellrev

I’ve been toying with the idea but it just seems so expensive. I’d rather just buy the full amounts off them, but then again, they tend to also pick expensive teas, or large amounts of something.

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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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