Welp, that’s a ginger tea.

This was a Christmas present from my lovely friend and colleague, Marika.

I can’t remember if I brought this up in a tasting note closer to Christmas, but she and her family actually drove to my apartment this Christmas for a quick socially distanced present drop off and ‘Merry Christmas’ exchange. We’re on a pretty strict lockdown here in Montreal and, because of the pandemic, I didn’t fly home for Christmas this year so I was spending Christmas alone for the first time in… years. So it was just an extra nice thing that she did to make the day feel that much less lonely.

Added bonus to the sweetness of all of that – this tea is actually from the store that her family owns! It’s almost shameful to admit, but prior to this tea the only teas I’ve had from what they carry are some avocado leaves – which really aren’t meant to be tea, but are just something that I enjoyed steeping as a tisane.

I’m normally not at all about ginger teas and I fully expected to not love this one because it is an INTENSE amount of veeerrryyy fresh and veeerrryyyy high quality ginger used in the blend. Like, when I open up the package of it and give it a smell the amount of ginger immediately makes my eyes still a little bit and I can’t help but sneeze a little. That said, it’s not half bad. If I actually liked the taste of straight ginger I would probably love it, but I don’t and so instead I feel more of a deep respect for the quality of the ingredients used and the level of freshness. It’s such a punch of spicy, tingly ginger that really opens up your sinuses in a profound way.

I should ask Marika what specifically the three types of ginger in the blend are – I can see large chunks of ginger and finer threads of it mixed throughout the black tea base but I’m not educated enough on ginger varieties to be able to identify all of the types at a glance. I would wager, however, that one of them is probably Galangal. The punch and intensity here sort of comes across in a way that I’ve almost exclusively experienced with Galangal – at least when it comes to Ginger…

Tiffany :)

This sounds delicious (ginger is one of my favorites) — is your friend’s shop something one could access online to try this or just in Montreal? Is it just three types of ginger on a black tea base?

Roswell Strange

I think they just have the physical location here in Montreal – they’re actually an Artisan Spice store, but do have a small selection of teas as well (largely Spiced, of course). And yes – this is a simple blend of just black tea and the three gingers.

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Tiffany :)

This sounds delicious (ginger is one of my favorites) — is your friend’s shop something one could access online to try this or just in Montreal? Is it just three types of ginger on a black tea base?

Roswell Strange

I think they just have the physical location here in Montreal – they’re actually an Artisan Spice store, but do have a small selection of teas as well (largely Spiced, of course). And yes – this is a simple blend of just black tea and the three gingers.

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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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