Roswell Strange Send Message

608 Followers / 387 Following

Roswell Strange drank Fujian 'Rou Gui' Cinnamon Wuyi Rock Oolong Tea by What-Cha

16358 tasting notes

Had a bit of a sloppy Gong Fu session with this during class today; it was a little tough to pay attention to both the infusing tea and what my instructor was saying. Plus, preparing everything on my tea tray/lap whilst sitting on my bed and not at a table probably didn’t make things any easier.

I liked the infusions I did though: my attention was focused else where but I remember the nutty, roasty notes quite clearly as well as the slight taste of ash/char which eased up later into the class/with subsequent infusions and instead show cased lighter notes of cinnamon and vague fruity notes. Or maybe the fruit notes weren’t vague, and I was just focused elsewhere. That’s totally a fair assumption.

I still haven’t written notes on last week’s tastings/class (the notes are buried in my queue somewhere – I’ll probably write about it tomorrow), but today’s class focused on the things that have to be legally included/declared on commercial tea packaging in Canada and on Nutritional Labels. Honestly, it was a little boring and hard to give my undivided attention as that information doesn’t really capture my interest strongly and isn’t information I’ll probably use on a more daily basis…

And next week is the final for this module! No cupping this time around, but I do need to design a tea related product in the next week for my final project. So far, I’m leaning on a ‘mock line’ of Tea Infused Soda since I feel like I can pull from personal experience making tea pop, and I know some of the Canadian consumer statistics we looked at discussed “ready to drink” teas as well as the sales of tea in relation to soft drinks. My logic for choosing “tea pop” as my product being that I can appeal to both the soft drink market and the tea market.

We’ll see though…

I Like This

13 likes

3 comments

Rasseru
Delete

Wow, you’re doing a course on tea? What is it exactly?

Roswell Strange
Delete

I’m getting my Tea Sommelier certification :)

Rasseru
Delete

Now that, is dedication

People who liked this

Comments

Rasseru
Delete

Wow, you’re doing a course on tea? What is it exactly?

Roswell Strange
Delete

I’m getting my Tea Sommelier certification :)

Rasseru
Delete

Now that, is dedication

Profile

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...

Following These People

Moderator Tools

Mark as Spammer