Alright – I’ve been casually working on tasting notes since landing in Montreal but I think it’s time to put more of a serious dent into the queue that I’m accumulating: I don’t know how busy I might be throughout the week since I have my very first day at the new office tomorrow (squeee!) so this might be my best chance before the weekend hits…

This was almost the last tea that I had in Regina; I had intended for it to be the last tea but I ended up doing a spontaneous Gong Fu session at like 2AM while I was waiting to leave for the plane – but more on that session in a different tasting note. I had originally selected this as my “last tea” because I had it during a really, really lovely afternoon tea with my parents at the British Style tea room less than a block from my house. This isn’t a tea that they carry year round; it only makes an appearance at the tea room in the winter so I wanted to seize the opportunity to have a pot of it before leaving. It’s very rich and decadent; basically just two main tasting notes – chocolate and vanilla. It’s perhaps not the flavour profile that I usually go for, but I just think it pairs so nicely with all of the lovely dessert items that this tea room carries. So, it seemed like a special moment to end things on in Regina: tea shared with family, at my favourite local tea room.

I know I’ve written about this tea room before – but I can’t for the life of me remember in what tasting note(s). But basically it’s a family owned business run by a husband/wife who immigrated to Regina from London. In addition to being a very traditional style British tea room they have a rotating menu of tea and food items in addition to year round staples and everything is made from in house. They also import lots of British food items, and so serve as a grocery store in some ways too. It was quite LITERALLY less than two blocks from my house; for a while I was going there for tea REALLY regularly, but in the last year I stopped going as frequently (money…) and so it become more of a special occasion sort of thing.

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bqs71VsFpGL/

Of course, for my last visit to this tea room in what will likely be a LONG time I went all out and got a full meal; something I don’t usually do. So in addition to my pot of Swiss Hot Chocolate tea I also got my favourite sandwich that they carry – cucumber cranberry cream cheese, with a side of slaw. It’s just such light, airy finger food but still sweet and crisp and flavourful. Then, for dessert, something far richer and more decadent: English Toffee cake!! Honestly, paired with a tea that’s already insanely rich this might have been a bit over kill/too decadent, but it was also soooooo good! I mean, I’m already a sucker for toffee/caramel so I would probably be won over if I was just served a bowl of toffee. The cake itself is very good though; kind of a burnt sugar/molasses thing going on. Best when you take a LARGE bite then a big swig of tea and let it all mingle around in your mouth.

Yum!

I will miss this tea room a lot, though I’m sure I’ll also find some new favourites here in Montreal too.

derk

Have fun tomorrow!

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derk

Have fun tomorrow!

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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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