82
drank Genmaicha by DAVIDsTEA
16414 tasting notes

This is a queued tasting note.

So, a lot has been going on for me this week and much of that has actually directly correlated to DAVIDsTEA. I’ll be finishing up my Sommelier classes in less than a month now so I’ve been thinking about what I want to do afterwards. A fairly good friend of mine works at DAVIDsTEA and she recommended applying to work there as one of the seasonal tea guides just to get some tea related work experience on my resume and I thought that was an awesome idea. If nothing else, I think it’s a work environment I’d genuinely enjoy and it’ll be nice having that extra cash flow for the Christmas season.

So I actually got my cup of this during my group interview! One of the things they told us to expect for the interview was a free cup of tea and then my friend tipped me off that sometimes in smaller interviews one of the questions is to “sell” the tea you picked to the interviewer. So picking this one was definitely more strategic for me because it’s a tea I have LOTS of familiarity with and I knew there would be tons of different ways I could spin it. I could have talked about the “myth” based origins of the blend that relate to how it got its name because I know I’m always more interested in a tea when there’s a story or its nickname “The People’s Tea” and how that originated. I also know a ton of ways to cook with Genmaicha or pair it with different cheeses and chocolates so I thought that could be a unique approach as well. It’s also a great evening tea because of the lower caffeine amount and the fact the roasty notes are very soothing. Finally, I think it’s a perfect tea to bride the gap between traditional and “pure” teas and more fun, flavored ones. Also, I just really fucking like Genmaicha.

Turns out – that wasn’t even one of the interview questions. Probably because my group interview was gargantuan: roughly twenty people! Everyone wants to work for DAVIDsTEA…

Questions they did ask, for anyone curious, were availability (that was a huge focus) and what ‘defines’ good customer service as well as examples of how you could provide it at their store as well as how its been provided or not provided for you at other stores. Our interviewer (the store manager) also wanted to know our general preexisting knowledge of tea fucking nailed that part and then to finish and to get a sense of our personalities we were asked to either describe the person who has been our biggest influence in life/motivation in life OR an object that we feel close to that directly ties into our identity. I chose to talk about my tattoos – specifically the three I feel hold the most meaning, which would be my memorial tattoo, my Shel Silverstein piece, and my Camellia Sinensis tattoo.

Apart from the sheer size of the group, I’d say it was a pretty straight forward interview that, even if I hadn’t prepped before hand, would have been really easy to navigate. I’m a big fan of group interviews in general and I think finding a balance between having personality and standing out without ‘screaming for attention’ or talking over other applicants is something I’ve always done well with.

Oh, and I got the job! I should start somewhere between a week from now and two weeks. Once I start I think I’m going to continue to rate DAVIDsTEA blends, just without assigning any numerical score to them unless the Steepster community seems to have objections to that approach. I think that’s a good balance between continuing to write about them while still remaining impartial and not skewing the average rating here on the site. In the mean time, I’m going to continue to to review as normal. Also, any numerical ratings I currently have up for existing blends I think I will just leave untouched as they were before I was hired.

Thoughts?

Rasseru

Youve got a tea tat? Born for this :) & yeah just keep up with it, seems a fair balance to not score

Roswell Strange

I do! It’s pretty simple though; literally just the words “Camellia Sinensis”. It seemed the best approach for me because I like to stay away from coloured tattoos so getting the tea flower was out (because without colour it’s hard to distinguish from other flowers) and I wasn’t a fan of getting any teaware done because there’s no one style of teaware I feel particularly drawn to or use more than any other. And definitely no “tea bag” tattoos ;)

Rosehips

Congrats on the job!
And I think that would be a good system, to review but not rate, at least for the time being. It seems very fair.

Kaylee

Congratulations! Drink ALL THE TEA. I agree that you can keep reviewing and just not rate. Some tea company owners review their own blends on here and it is fine as long as they don’t rate.

Kristal

Congrats! And good idea about not rating the teas. Sometimes (rarely anymore) I buy from Steeped Tea and looking here on steepster the other day it makes me mad when reps create profiles and rate every tea 100

carol who

Awesome!! Now we can get all the inside scoop on the newest teas. I hope you enjoy the new job.

Evol Ving Ness

Congratulations! I hope this with be rewarding and fun and useful to you.

A question—or two. How does a group interview work? How many people interviewed you? etc. etc.

Roswell Strange

So, in a group interview it’s typically one (maybe two) interviewer but a large group of people being interviewed. They’re typically less questions and generally those questions are more personality or team based. They want to get a sense of your personality and how you’ll communicate and interact with coworkers and customers. They also run much longer – about an hour in this case.

Also, thanks for all the congrats!

mrmopar

Way to go!

VariaTEA

I think you are pretty unbiased so I know even if you work for the company, your reviews will be honest. So no qualms here…though you probably already knew that. Also, I was thinking about you getting hired and all I could think is “I would drink so many eggnog lattes if I had that job :P”…I would basically try the wall as an eggnog latte so when someone asked which tea was best that way, I could give an educated and informed answer

sundaysipping

Congratulations!

Scheherazade

Congrats on the job!

Evol Ving Ness

Thanks, Ms. Strange. When the interviewers ask a question, do they address it to a particular person? or to the group up for grabs? or same question one by one continuing whatever the person before you said?

Evol Ving Ness

I also would be eggnog latteing myself to death.

Roswell Strange

@Evol,

This interview was a combination of “up for grabs” questions (basically, answer if you can contribute) and questions that everyone was expected to answer. Personally, I’ve yet to do a group interview where they directed questions to specific individuals.

Evol Ving Ness

Thanks. I’ve never attended a group interview though I have been interviewed by a group of people from various departments as the single interviewee.

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Comments

Rasseru

Youve got a tea tat? Born for this :) & yeah just keep up with it, seems a fair balance to not score

Roswell Strange

I do! It’s pretty simple though; literally just the words “Camellia Sinensis”. It seemed the best approach for me because I like to stay away from coloured tattoos so getting the tea flower was out (because without colour it’s hard to distinguish from other flowers) and I wasn’t a fan of getting any teaware done because there’s no one style of teaware I feel particularly drawn to or use more than any other. And definitely no “tea bag” tattoos ;)

Rosehips

Congrats on the job!
And I think that would be a good system, to review but not rate, at least for the time being. It seems very fair.

Kaylee

Congratulations! Drink ALL THE TEA. I agree that you can keep reviewing and just not rate. Some tea company owners review their own blends on here and it is fine as long as they don’t rate.

Kristal

Congrats! And good idea about not rating the teas. Sometimes (rarely anymore) I buy from Steeped Tea and looking here on steepster the other day it makes me mad when reps create profiles and rate every tea 100

carol who

Awesome!! Now we can get all the inside scoop on the newest teas. I hope you enjoy the new job.

Evol Ving Ness

Congratulations! I hope this with be rewarding and fun and useful to you.

A question—or two. How does a group interview work? How many people interviewed you? etc. etc.

Roswell Strange

So, in a group interview it’s typically one (maybe two) interviewer but a large group of people being interviewed. They’re typically less questions and generally those questions are more personality or team based. They want to get a sense of your personality and how you’ll communicate and interact with coworkers and customers. They also run much longer – about an hour in this case.

Also, thanks for all the congrats!

mrmopar

Way to go!

VariaTEA

I think you are pretty unbiased so I know even if you work for the company, your reviews will be honest. So no qualms here…though you probably already knew that. Also, I was thinking about you getting hired and all I could think is “I would drink so many eggnog lattes if I had that job :P”…I would basically try the wall as an eggnog latte so when someone asked which tea was best that way, I could give an educated and informed answer

sundaysipping

Congratulations!

Scheherazade

Congrats on the job!

Evol Ving Ness

Thanks, Ms. Strange. When the interviewers ask a question, do they address it to a particular person? or to the group up for grabs? or same question one by one continuing whatever the person before you said?

Evol Ving Ness

I also would be eggnog latteing myself to death.

Roswell Strange

@Evol,

This interview was a combination of “up for grabs” questions (basically, answer if you can contribute) and questions that everyone was expected to answer. Personally, I’ve yet to do a group interview where they directed questions to specific individuals.

Evol Ving Ness

Thanks. I’ve never attended a group interview though I have been interviewed by a group of people from various departments as the single interviewee.

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Profile

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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