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Roswell Strange drank Whatever 95 Private Collection Ripe Puer by Bitterleaf Teas

15662 tasting notes

Gongfu, shared at work with coworkers.

I’ll be honest; I’d forgotten that I owned this tea so I was somewhat surprised when I saw it in my shou sample drawer earlier in the week. I was looking for a sample that was close to being at a sipdown; something I could bring to work and share and either finish off or get close to finishing off. This fit that bill, and had stood out to me so I picked it to come to the office with me for the day…

I shared this with two coworkers; one who is very familiar with shou and one who has only had four or five different shou pu’erhs to mixed success. They both enjoyed the tea, but the more familiar with shou coworker and I both agreed that we were craving more depth/body from this tea – while my other coworker really enjoyed how soft and clean it was. I’ll be honest, I do really love a very clean and smooth tasting shou and this certainly fits that description – but a shou can have A LOT of body and still taste clean…

It took a little while for a clear, identifiable flavour note to emerge throughout the session as the tea is quite soft/delicate for a pu’erh – but when it did that flavour note was intensely and unabashedly “sticky rice”. Such a strong, rice tasting pu’erh! Like some of the other people who’ve reviewed this, I think it’s such an intense and clear sticky rice note that I wouldn’t at all be surprised to find out that this shou was scented in some way.

Good session; even if not deeply satisfying. Lots of life to the leaf; we got a dozen infusions out of the tea. It just doesn’t build up in intensity the way that I crave from it…

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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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