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Roswell Strange drank Secret Garden 2018 Spring Raw Puer by Bitterleaf Teas

16603 tasting notes

Gongfu!

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of meeting Togo in person and brewing up some tea for us both, in addition to swapping samples and grabbing lunch later in the day. It was very nice to meet you in person – I hope the rest of your Montreal visit went well!

Personally, I think one of the most (for lack of a better word) “magical” parts of meeting other tea drinkers in person is getting to explore a tea stash other than your own – so I definitely let Togo go full sample exploration when selecting which tea to brew up for our first gongfu session of the morning.

It was really nice having tea in person with someone else. My office aside, I haven’t had a proper session with other people since prepandemic. I lost track of the total number of steeps, but it was a pretty solid length before this steeped out – and we honestly probably could have pushed it another steep or two but we ran out of water, so at that point might as well switch to something else.

I felt like this tea started off pretty soft but it picked up some interesting texture throughout the session and had some more herbaceous flavours latter on along with a fattier/more buttery mouthfeel. I definitely felt like sage was one of the flavours that stood out to me in a couple of steeps, and we discussed at one point some of the steeps having a gentle floral aspect as well – like linden, almost.

Thank you for sharing this session with me!

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Togo
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Thanks for having me, it was really lovely to meet and drink tea with you! The rest of my Montreal trip was amazing too, truly a great way to conclude my 5 years in Canada

derk
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So happy the two of you met and shared tea :) And best wishes for your migration, Togo!

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Togo
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Thanks for having me, it was really lovely to meet and drink tea with you! The rest of my Montreal trip was amazing too, truly a great way to conclude my 5 years in Canada

derk
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So happy the two of you met and shared tea :) And best wishes for your migration, Togo!

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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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