516 Tasting Notes
Had a group interview for LUSH today – I have been looking forward to it all week. Frick. This job I have now.. well.. it is NOT what I thought it would be. It’s just that I thought it would be different. Also, I was training to use the computer. And I found out on Friday that I won’t be given computer access. Um, what? So that’s interesting! So I went to this LUSH interview and unfortunately got lost in the crowd. Ah group interviews. But man I want to get out of this job!
SO – I speedwalked to DT to get some crack. Happy crack tea! HAD to try this one after smelling it – a nice frothy hot latte. Thank you DT for some happiness haha.
It tastes a lot like toasted walnut/secret weapon. Reminds me a lot of those anyways! But the ingredients in this one are unique – there is a sweetness from the raisins that is so pleasant, but doesn’t necessarily give it a “raisin” taste.
Anyways! Sorry to make Steepster my blog again… don’t I have a blog for that kind of thing? ;)
J’adore my Steepster friends!
A group interview? I’ve never heard of that, but I’m a techie, so I don’t think IT does that. It sounds horrible – how the heck can you tell someone’s skills and personality without a 1 on 1 interview?
We did group interviews for positions as RAs and Orientation Mentors at my school. I suppose the thinking is that it’s faster (lots of applicants, one time slot) and you see how people work with others / in groups. Which can be helpful if you’re interviewing for, well, any job. But they’re harder because you have to fight for attention without making it appear that way.
How many people at once do they have in a group?
This group was about 15-20 – I was expecting maybe 5-10. I think a smaller group would have been a bit more manageable, because you’re so right Michelle – it was just a fight for attention or a fight to stand out. I’m pretty assertive and I’m certainly not shy, but the amount of people in a small room was a bit much. I didn’t want to come across as needy and loud, so I erred on the side of.. well – being myself! So we’ll see what happens of course – it was definitely a new experience for me!
Wow… It sounds overwhelming! Good luck getting the job!
Group interviews aren’t really fair in my opinion. I hope you were able to stand out in a positive light and are called for more of a one-on-one interview! Keep us posted! :)
Thank you! I will – they’ll contact me within the week so that’s good at least! Nothing like being left in the dark, you know? Until then, I’ll just buck up and take the craziness that will be this week of work!
Blog me all you want! I love you guys! We spill our tea guts here! Gets intense sometimes too! It’s a safe place!
Good luck! Sounds like a hard day. Hugs for you. :)
Good luck, Daisy!
A group interview sounds like a really overwhelming idea.
I like your comment “happy crack tea”, I laughed out loud!
haha thank you everyone! I’ll keep you posted.
Yeah I probably scared the awesome DT girl, I ran in and said “I need my crack!” but she understood. She hooked me up. ;)
hugs Honestly we all love hearing about each other’s lives a bit too. Well, at least I do!
I’ve heard LUSH interviews are super scary! I’ve always wanted to work there but it seems pretty intimidating. Glad you got through it..fingers crossed!
“We spill our tea guts here!” We sure do, hahaha! Awesome. :)
This morning was my much needed attempt to recreate DavidsTea’s Love Tea #7 with what I had on hand. I needed a chocolate strawberry rose tea!
I’ve tried a combination of Dreidles&Donuts and Rose Congou before, but a 1:1 ratio was too much rose. This one worked perfectly though for my 45 oz pot!
3 perfect tsp Dreidles & Donuts: 1 perfect tsp Rose Congou.
It really is spot on! Well – at least enough to use up some of the tea I have on hand and satisfy my craving. It’s smooth and chocolately with a hint of strawberry and the perfect amount of rose scent. Love!
Can’t wait to ice the rest!
Thank you Fong Mong tea for this sample!
This was a very nice oolong tonight – I had no idea what to expect but it was quite a unique experience! The first thing that hit me was that it did not have a creamy aspect to this oolong. Liberteas also picked up on this! It was definitely a drastic change to the Alishan I had the night before.
There are some very light floral notes and something almost fruity to the taste. I couldn’t place the flavour, but it was quite pleasant and calming.
This was not my favourite offering from Fong Mong, but I appreciated the uniqueness and the chance to compare!
Finally gave this one a try!
You know, it was different than I expected. I honestly didn’t know what to expect from the smell (mostly cinnamon) and I knew it would be quite tart with the first ingredient being hibiscus.
I quite enjoyed it! But it’s not a keeper (I’m not the hugest papaya fun), I’m glad I only got enough for a few cups. I had it iced, as is my wont, and couldn’t help but compare it to Kanpe. Even with the strong cinnamon association – the two teas are quite different to me.
The taste of this one is most certainly papaya! It took me a while to place it, but once I got it, it tasted just like the fresh papaya we ate at the sparse but satisfying buffet breakfast in cuba. Whoo do I win the longest sentence award?
haha well I’ll stick to Kanpe as my favourite tart iced tea – but I enjoyed this one and was pleased to find it unique and it really does stand on it’s own! I would definitely recommend it to papaya lovers.
Oof sour! Wow this tea was a bit too tart for me.
Even all sugared up :)
I’m not going to rate the tea because I really don’t like pear! But I loved it in the Cranberry Pear blend! Ah well. All i got was a sharp, super tart taste. I added lots of sweetener and it was iced, but no go! Oh well
So, aside from this tea being sweet and perfect to drink (aka I will be bringing it to work tomorrow), I wanted to bake with it!
Well – I wanted to bake with matcha, I was working on a cinnamon bread recipe and remember the caramel! Oh perfect match! I really wish I had some cinnamon matcha to use as well, but the caramel worked just fine for my gooey pull apart cinnamon bread. Happiness! It wasn’t as GREENTEA tasting as it was in my matcha cookies – I think because I got the robust flavour.
Well either way I will be bringing this tea to work tomorrow. It was my first day today and I am completely overwhelmed. How do I be the receptionist in a building of 450 people? I have to know all of their names or they snarl at me. God forbid I transfer a call to someone you’re not supposed to transfer to (hint: there is no way to know who doesn’t like calls transferred to them! No list! You just have to know!). So yeah I’m super stressed but it took 2 months to find a job so I think I just have to suck it up.
Blah! Well, recipe for the matcha bread is on my website. Somehow I’m still finding time for it. ha! http://www.daisychubb.com/recipe-caramel-matcha-pull-apart-cinna-bread/
You’ll do fine, it just takes time and learning the ropes. :)
Your recipe looks amazing!
Thank you! And thank you again – You’re right, it was only the first day and every job is new and crazy! I hope it gets better :)
You’ll be fine once you figure out how things work. :) Soon you’ll be managing those phones like nobody’s business. Also, I agree this matcha is great for baking! I like it better in baked goods than drinking it.
Snarl back!
Kick them in the knee!
Don’t forget, it make take some time to learn the ropes there; but once you do—and you know all of the precious little in’s and out’s that very few others know—I doubt they’ll be snarling at you. Why? Because, “I’VE GOT THE POWER!”
Wow, I thought it was hard enough covering reception and switchboard for our office of 150. What I found the most helpful when I started was the list of hints, tips and tricks from the previous receptionist – see if s/he has notes of who doesn’t take calls, who works for whom, etc. It’s harder if the person has already left the job but there’s gotta be SOMEONE who knows, even if it’s just the relief people like me! Trust me, you WILL know all the names, connections and numbers a lot more quickly than you’d expect!
Practice makes perfect. And if there’s no list, make your own!
Thank you so much everyone!!!
I also just got a call from LUSH, they might want me for a management position! Ah all the job offers at once – I KNEW this would happen haha!
Because my new job right now is just a temp job (aka little pay and there are rumours that they’re getting rid of the position and giving it to a commissionaire – aka one days notice when they fire me) I might go for that one.
Decisions! Finally! haha ;)
Love you all to bits!
I saw that DT’s Micmac Mall location needs a manager too – just a thought! : )
ps – Lush is AWESOME!
omg then you can always smell amazing AND have great tea :P
Excellent!
Thank you!! Yes – the great thing is that both Lush locations have DTs near them. So. Yeah. Heaven?
I applied at DT as well, so hopefully everything will work out! At least I have a job until then, even if I’m going crazy. Yay temp jobs!
no. Yay tea friends! yes!
In this economy, go for the permanent job.
Wow this is blueberry!
Out of all the teas I picked up today, this one smells the strongest and most true to it’s flavour. Opening the bag filled the room with delicious sweet blueberry!
I made it iced in our new children’s leakproof togo cup… what? My boyfriend spills a lot. haha! It’s super cute though. Sadly they were out of the stickers :(
Oops got off track. Okay this tea was pretty good iced (awesome sweet blueberry flavour, no crazy stevia aftertaste. Honestly when blended right I consider stevia the same as any other additive like chamomile or mint leaves, and this is blended perfectly) BUT – it is just screaming at me to be an iced latte.
I’m a sucker for milk with a black base. So next time – latte it is :)
Edit: Oh yeah – the reason we went on a mini Davids shopping spree?
I got the job. :D
I am now secretary to the Education dept! Not the highest of jobs, but I should be promoted within the year so… yay!
Hooray! Hooray for you!!! Got the job buy the tea!
yaaaaay!!! Congratulations! And you’re working for education! A noble calling. :) Will you be seeing kiddies or is this one of those administrative buildings far removed from an actual school?
Thank you! Ah this is far away from any school sadly. Apparently my coworkers are quite awesome though – so that should keep things interesting I hope!
Coworkers can definitely make or break a job. :)
Congrats on the new job!
Congrats!!!
Congrats!
Congrats on the job!
Woo hoo!
Congrats! The tea sounds yummy too!
ThankyouThankyou everyone! First thing will be training, second will be assessing the dimensions of tea-making possibilities.
Congrats on the job! Yay for tea sprees!
Congrats on the promotion! yippee!!!
Yay!! congrats, mucho congrats!!!!
Congratulations! Awesome! We now both work in the same field!
The secretaries are some of the most respected positions in Education because, well, when it comes down to it, they are the ones who really know what going on in a building; it’s like the famous line from that song, “I’VE GOT THE POWER!” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BRv9wGf5pk
(btw, Bonnie inspired me to look up that song on YouTube).
Congratulations.
Yay for you!
I really want to try this tea! And I totally want the kids tumbler even if it costs a little more. I want leakproof and well…gosh darn it, it is soooo cute!
Congrats for the job! :)
Thanks! It’s truly SimpliciTEA – I’ve worked a job like this before – you need to know the answer to every question and most people don’t even know how to photocopy their own stuff haha! That’s where we come in ;)
As for the tumbler – it’s seriously 100% leafproof! The lid is super unique but I tested it in my purse and shook it around like a madman – no leaks.
Woot!! Congratulations!!! :D
Certainly a great way to celebrate! Congrats
Thanks for the wonderful review and congrats on the new job!
I got the tumbler today and have some Tropicalia in it (iced of course). Tried the Blueberry Jam tea today, hot with milk and sugar, and it was quite pleasing. I can see how it would be good iced, and I may end up getting a bag to do some cold steeping of this in my new tumbler.
Holy wow, congratulations!
First of all – the name of this tea is awesome and empowering. I love strong woman characters – pair them with tea and I’m passionate.
Short steeps in the gong fu teapot.
The first steeping was so sweet! Wow – it took me by surprise and brought a smile to my face after a long day of visiting with the inlaws (they’re here all week) AND I had a very important job interview today – have to figure out how to rearrange my life from jobless blogging to 40 hours a week, 9-5 super stressful job (if I get the job). So that’s where I was before i took the first sip. Afterwards was just a goofy grin, sipping the syrupy fruit/chocolate notes out of the first steep.
2nd & third steep – super savoury. It changed way more than I expected – but I’m definitely getting a well seasoned, thinly cut potato – fried crispy. I’m even getting the sensation in my chest of when I eat potatoes – a filling and satisfying feeling with an earthy, but savoury aftertaste. Homemade kettle chips! It really hits home and now I have all sorts of kitchen memories.
Oh at the end of the sip there’s a hint of sweetness in the 3rd steep – it almost tingles and when I breathe in with my mouth open it feels so refreshed! Like after chewing a piece of mint gum – but no mint flavour. Just the sensation.
On to more steeps :)
(My rating is based on the fact that Yunnan Blacks aren’t my favourite flavour profile right now – but this tea is so nuanced and full of surprises that is it by far the best I’ve tried so far! A great experience.)
this sounds delightful!
I enjoyed this one as well! :)