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drank Absolute Spearmint by RiverTea
16802 tasting notes

First Review… No pressure, right?

I was so ridiculously happy when I got my RiverTea order today! Everything looked and smelled great, and I got another one of their beautiful steeping ball type steeper things (yay for wording!), though this time a black swan with a larger space for expanding leaves instead of the clear musical notes I got with my contest package! If nothing else, it’s very pretty.

I was sure I was going to be starting with one of the fruit blends, but this one smelled absolutely to die for delicious! It has an incredibly strong, mouth watering spearmint smell that reminds me of spearmint gum but also real spearmint extract. I had to try it! So, this got steeped up over the fruit blends which I was dying to give a go.

I was very diligent about how I steeped it, and I stuck to RiverTea’s steeping guide. It smelled very good while it was steeping, too!

Taste wise, this was a very clear, light, and crisp spearmint flavour. There wasn’t weight to the flavour, but it was full regardless. Does that make sense? If not – try it! I was very impressed, slowly sipped away at the cup and then when it was done immediately resteeped. The resteep had no flavour deterioration at all, and I was also very impressed with that as well. That cup was very quickly guzzled down, not slowly sipped at.

So, this one was exactly what was promised: Absolute Spearmint flavour. Nothing fancy or elaborate, but very well executed. I can see this becoming a staple for me to just drink when I want a straight Spearmint type tea since the closest I have otherwise is my Mate Mint from Tea Desire, and obviously that has a much higher caffeine amount, but it’s also a lot earthier and not as “clean” tasting. This will be a great “palette cleansing” tea.
Preparation
165 °F / 73 °C 2 min, 30 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
2 comments
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Suziqzer
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I imagine this to be much like what I make for summer time iced tea, only with a better base! We have a fresh spearmint patch and I add it to black tea for a wonderful refreshing drink… a must have staple in the fridge all summer. I will have to try & save some of the leaves this year and make a hot version in the fall/winter months.

Daddyselephant
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I am dying to get my hands on this one….gah I hope my order comes in soon!

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Comments

Suziqzer
Delete

I imagine this to be much like what I make for summer time iced tea, only with a better base! We have a fresh spearmint patch and I add it to black tea for a wonderful refreshing drink… a must have staple in the fridge all summer. I will have to try & save some of the leaves this year and make a hot version in the fall/winter months.

Daddyselephant
Delete

I am dying to get my hands on this one….gah I hope my order comes in soon!

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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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