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__Morgana__ drank Sweet Cinnamon Spice by Tazo

2037 tasting notes

Was out of town and tealess for a few days. Back now.

Actually, I wasn’t completely tealess. I did have a Peet’s darjeeling from the gift shop at Asilomar state park. The other times I tried to have tea at the event I went to I was foiled in my attempts by a lack of hot water. There were plenty of Bigelow’s and Lipton’s bags, just never any water in the urn by the time I got my cup over to it.

Anyhoo. This is a strange little tisane. The cinnamon, as I’m finding is usual when it’s an ingredient, is very obvious, but there’s also another equally strong, and somewhat rounder taste which I’m going to say is licorice owing to the licorice root and star anise ingredients, with perhaps some rootbeer thrown in from the sarsaparilla. I don’t notice the orange peel at all. The combination of the two main flavors results in a cinnamon that is sweet rather than spicy, and a licorice/rootbeer that is spicy rather than sweet.

I don’t usually think of pairing cinnamon with licorice. Licorice is such a strong flavor, I don’t really think of pairing it with anything. And I have a sort of a like/hate relationship with it. If I’m in the mood for it I enjoy it, but I never find myself thinking “wow, some licorice would be really great right now, it would really hit the spot.” Sometimes it can affect me badly, and give me a bit of a tummy ache. I’ve been giving this one a try on and off for a month or so now. Though it would never be something I would drink daily or even regularly, I can see it being something I’d dip into occasionally, probably more in the cooler months than in the spring-like weather I’m enjoying today.

Preparation

Boiling 5 min, 0 sec

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I got obsessed with tea in 2010 for a while, then other things intruded, then I cycled back to it. I seem to be continuing that in for a while, out for a while cycle. I have a short attention span, but no shortage of tea.

I’m a mom, writer, gamer, lawyer, reader, runner, traveler, and enjoyer of life, literature, art, music, thought and kindness, in no particular order. I write fantasy and science fiction under the name J. J. Roth.

Personal biases: I drink tea without additives. If a tea needs milk or sugar to improve its flavor, its unlikely I’ll rate it high. The exception is chai, which I drink with milk/sugar or substitute. Rooibos and honeybush were my gateway drugs, but as my tastes developed they became less appealing — I still enjoy nicely done blends. I do not mix well with tulsi or yerba mate, and savory teas are more often a miss than a hit with me. I used to hate hibiscus, but I’ve turned that corner. Licorice, not so much.

Since I find others’ rating legends helpful, I added my own. But I don’t really find myself hating most things I try.

I try to rate teas in relation to others of the same type, for example, Earl Greys against other Earl Greys. But if a tea rates very high with me, it’s a stand out against all other teas I’ve tried.

95-100 A once in a lifetime experience; the best there is

90-94 Excellent; first rate; top notch; really terrific; will definitely buy more

80-89 Very good; will likely buy more

70-79 Good; would enjoy again, might buy again

60-69 Okay; wouldn’t pass up if offered, but likely won’t buy again

Below 60 Meh, so-so, iffy, or ick. The lower the number, the closer to ick.

I don’t swap. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I have way more tea than any one person needs and am not lacking for new things to try. Also, I have way too much going on already in daily life and the additional commitment to get packages to people adds to my already high stress level. (Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does.)

That said, I enjoy reading folks’ notes, talking about what I drink, and getting to “know” people virtually here on Steepster so I can get ideas of other things I might want to try if I can ever again justify buying more tea. I also like keeping track of what I drink and what I thought about it.

My current process for tea note generation is described in my note on this tea: https://steepster.com/teas/mariage-freres/6990-the-des-impressionnistes