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Gong Fu Sipdown (615)!

I like milk oolong teas – a fair bit, actually. Especially when they’re completely natural but still have that thick creamy buttery mouthfeel AND taste. However, I don’t think I’ve ever craved milk oolongs in general as much as I have this winter. Like, I simply cannot get enough of them – and no milk oolong seems to be able to do me dirty.

This was a pretty nice milk oolong in the first place; but this Gong Fu session just hit the spot so well_. I came home from work last week, and usually I don’t brew Gong Fu after I get off work because it’s 6PM and I don’t generally want to commit to the caffeine intake of a Gong Fu session that late at night when I know I’ll have to get up the next day at 6:30AM. I mean, I can do a Western cup (_or maybe two) of something caffeinated because my tolerance is pretty high; but a litre or two of tea? Nah…

However the cravings were real so I broke my Gong Fu rule and steeped this up anyway. I, excuse the pun, milked this tea for all it was worth and got a beautiful fifteen infusion session out of the last of my sample. Creamy, thick mouthfeel – surprisingly sweet body throughout the bulk of the session (save for the first two and last two steeps), and this amazing mix of fresh churned butter, condensed milk, caramel, and orchid notes. All of those are notes I’ve experienced in milk oolong before – but I don’t know that I’ve ever had a session that featured all of them so consistently and beautifully.

Truly, this felt like an emotional sort of tea session – one filled with pure bliss, harmony, and peacefulness. I’m not really a stressed sort of person in general – especially relating to work at the lab (thus far, anyway) but even so by the end of the session I felt like anything I could have even possibly been stressed about had just sort of… melted away.

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs66NEzFCjP/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fe0Enf31npc

derk

Nice song :)

Kittenna

Ooh, this might make it into a future teabento order. Maybe Black Friday…. haha.

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derk

Nice song :)

Kittenna

Ooh, this might make it into a future teabento order. Maybe Black Friday…. haha.

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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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