The Tea Merchant

So far, this is still the only EGC that I’ll drink. I find most to be far too heavy on the bergamot, and although the vanilla used in this tea does not taste distinctly of vanilla bean to me, it nevertheless adds a sweet creaminess that keeps the bergamot in check. What’s really neat about this composition is that sometimes, at the lingering tail end of a sip, you’ll get a bit of a cooling, almost mint-like sensation in your mouth, although there is absolutely no trace of mint in this tea-it’s just an effect, I think, or perhaps it’s something i’m dreaming up. Either way, I like it and it’s a solid breakfast tea. it’s not the most amazing tea in the universe or anything, but I don’t even think that’s what it was going for. EGC (and anything earl grey esque) has distinct winter or rainy weather connotations to me, to the point where when I had David’s tea’s earl grey cream for the first time this summer, it felt as awkward as bundling up in snow pants and a ski jacket while on a beach in Cuba.

Speaking of a beach in Cuba, I stocked up on Fantasy Island while I was at David’s tea today, along with getting samples of blueberry jam, chai on life, and their milk oolong (oh, and a glass perfect mug! so excited to use it, but it does seem rather delicate-I hope I don’t break it).

Alright, one-day vacation’s over—back at work I am. But it’s ok. I’ve got a timolino full of hot tea to keep me company.

I had this tea with breakfast this morning, and put in slightly less cream than I used yesterday. It resulted in letting the bergamot stand out a bit more, and I’m not sure how I feel about that. It certainly is not a sharp bergamot, which is wonderful, and as I mentioned yesterday, the vanilla in this tea really helps balance the bergamot. I like that this tea can have so many different personalities, but I suppose with an ingredient as noticeable as bergamot, that’s to be expected. I’m really glad I have four more oz of this on the way!

Hello guys!

Guess where I am?

At work, keychange? surely you are at work.

Nope! I got a call at about 7:00 this morning from my boss, saying the office was closed. Apparently we have more blowing snow forecasted for today, along with a fresh 20 cm on its way, and the highways are closed. So are the school boards and some other fortunate places. So instead, I’m sitting on the couch, wrapped up in a warm blanket, and have just finished a cup of this fantastic tea along with a bagel and cream cheese.
I do love my job, but there’s no feeling quite like waking up for work and realizing you don’t have to go in today. Because I love my job, but I love lazing around and drinking tea as well.

When i read about the tea merchant’s 40% off sale, I knew I had to try this tea, because it was my only ttm tea I had yet to try. When I opened the bag, I was hit by a rather strong scent of bergamot, although it had a freshness about it that kept it from tingling my nose the way bergamot is prone to do for me. I must admit that I tend to shy away from heavily bergamot-laden teas, because something about its sharpness tends to pervade every aspect of the tea and it takes over the entire concoction in a rather unpleasant, colonial way and I don’t like it haha. anyway, so I was a bit worried that this might be the same way, but I trusted the rave reviews on here and brewed it up anyway.
And the vanilla in this blend is absolutely the magic vanilla this EGC needs to take the focus off the bergamot while still letting you know that this is indeed an earl-grey at heart. But the vanilla just coats the earl grey so perfectly, so you don’t get any of that soapy, sharp tang that is at its worst reminiscent of cleaning product. Definitely going to order more of this, as I think it’s the only EGC I like—the only other one I’ve tried being from David’s tea. I found that one to be rather sharp and intense in comparison, and besides, this one has that extra dose of vanilla to make it perfect.

Ahhh. Day off. What tea shall I have next? I hear the wind howling outside the window and feel so safe and cocooned here on my couch. What bliss.

ETA: Aaaaannnndddd order for more of this has been placed!

Well, first things first. The rave reviews of this tea are absolutely warranted, in my opinion.

What this is: a smooth, delicate yet somehow very full and round vanilla-flavoured tea. This is what I’d hoped vanilla comoro would be but ultimately wasn’t. They are both lightly flavoured, but vanilla comoro fell flat whereas this one retained a very true vanilla bean fullness.

What this isn’t: an intensely flavoured tea. This is a lighter, more delicate oolong. But the gentle, unadulterated pure vanilla caress that slips over your tongue and down your throat makes it feel so worthwhile. I added a touch of cream and just a few pieces of rock sugar, because I suspected the lightness of the tea might be overwhelmed by too much in the way of additions. In my opinion, it definitely needs some additions, although i feel that way about virtually all tea I’ve tried, and I don’t think that says anything negative about the teas at all—just that I like my teas thick and flavourful.

I’d spent most of the morning reading and napping (as much as you can nap while people are obnoxiously doing construction downstairs, at any rate) and this was a perfect, gentle way to ease myself into the afternoon.

Despite the fact that I’ve been drinking tea, I’m find it difficult to actually write tasting notes that I think are worth reading. Not sure why that is, but it feels kind of silly to write if my heart isn’t properly into it.

It could have to do with the fact that the right side of my jaw and neck are sore; I think a wisdowm tooth might be crowding its way into my life, because it’s a kind of pain I’ve felt before, but it eventually went away on its own. Who knows what’ll happen this time.

Anyway, this morning I was in the mood for a tea that was plain but delicious, and this fit the bill. I didn’t have to think too hard. I do wish I’d brewed it a touch stronger, but it was still a reasonably satisfying cup. I still think I’d like to experiment with other darjeelings, as although I like this one, I can’t say I’m particularly in love with it. I’m still working on developing a vocabulary to describe darjeeling, but the first darj I ever had was from Art of Tea, and it had a very appley feel to it. It didn’t taste remotely of apple, but it somehow felt like the skin of one nonetheless. And smoothe wood. Somehow I’m not getting that from this darjeeling, although I’ve also had this package for a while, so this may very well be my fault. I’m also a bit intimidated by the fifty million darjeelings that many companies seem to have with different letters and numbers and it’s all just so overwhelming!

Thanks so much to those of you who either thought of me or replied to my gross tasting note yesterday LOL. I ended up giving myself an early night, and about a million hours of sleep later, I’m feeling a lot better. Any takers for the remainder of my eight candles, though? If not, I’ll probably just post in the take it away thread. There’s so much left!

I’m very close to a sip down with this tea; I think I have enough left for one more serving. I actually think I might reorder it, although I’ll have to wait until I try other tea from the tea merchant (like the French earl grey and the Silk dragon sample I was so generously given). I typically enjoy this tea very much, although I find I can’t always reproduce the same perfect cup, so it might be a tad fussy in that regard. still though, I might be getting more.

This morning actually started out quite nicely. I fell asleep beautifully last night, and actually woke up before my alarm went off, and enjoyed laying around until it did. Then i sat down to some coffee cakes and this delicious tea, and mourned the fact that I’m close to a sipdown. Texted with a friend about how neither of us really wanted to take a shower this morning, and then I touched my hair and realized that I probably should. I had it dyed and styled yesterday evening, and it felt kind of rough this morning, so I hopped into the shower anyway, convinced i’d have time to not only shower, but straighten my hair as well.
And that’s when things started to go downhill. I showered as quickly as i’d hoped, but then I nearly overturned my closet while looking for something appropriate to wear to work today. somehow I can’t find anything in that stupid closet, and I wonder where the hell all my work sweaters are. Settle on some blouse I haven’t worn in ages but that still miraculously fits well, and grabbed, like, the last pair of clean dresspants out of my drawer.
Headed to the bathroom to turn on the straightener, but realized I hadn’t fed the dog or made my work tea. Rushed back to the living room, poured his food into his bowl, and of course he chose this morning to act as un-dog like as possible and actually needed some (frenzied) coaxing from me to even start his food. So I left him to it, and scurried back into the bathroom. Turns out the straightener was indeed on, but not plugged in. This is precisely when f words began appearing in my life.
Dashed into the kitchen, scrambled around looking for all the “props” to make my work tea. Of course I could find everything for my Timolino but the second lid, and so I smashed around in the dish tray, smacking my elbow painfully on the crock pot that was sitting on the counter. Still couldn’t find the lid. was about to go charging into the room where Mr. keychange was still sleeping (lucky guy has a day off) and get the white timolino that I’ve never used, when i finally found the lid. Threw some boiling water and a bag of hot cinnamon spice into the timolino, sealed it up, and brought it back to the bathroom with me so I could shake it every so often to ensure maximum leaf-water contact, all while straightening my hair. I somehow managed to get everything done and tumbled out the door, but man, it was quite the morning. Never again am I showering after breakfast. Way, way too optimistic a plan.
But this tea was great!!

I’m really trying to show all my various teas some lovin, especially since I have yet to add my Butiki haul to my cupboard, but that’s on its way!

I was a tad worried that in The Queen’s shadow, even previous loved teas might fall flat, but I was pleasantly surprised at how delicious I still found this tea to be this morning. It has that distinct fresh taste that I’ve only tasted in a Darjeeling, and I could absolutely envision it as belonging in my breakfast rotation. Yay for morning favourites remaining morning favourites!

In other news, I completed the vast majority of my Christmas shopping today, so that’s a huge relief (well, a mental relief; I think I just heard my credit card skittering away in horror). It may be true that I’m going to feel a bit…depleted for a while, but I also really like giving good gifts, and of course it isn’t the case that good gifts need to be expensive, but when you have so many people to shop for, it’s just inevitable that the prices add up. Besides, giving presents is such a wonderful feeling. Keeping your ears open and ready to pick up on what they might be wanting, trying to find it for them, and then the excitement and hope as they open it—it’s so much fun!

It’s been a slow, lazy morning and I still feel stretchy and as though I could go for a knap in a little while. I probably shouldn’t though, as that would likely mess up my ability to fall asleep tonight.

I had this with my French toast breakfast this morning, and nailed the steeping parameters perfectly. Such a smooth and appropriately bold cup to accompany breakfast. I’m realizing that I really enjoy what I’ve tried of darjeelings so far, and am considering ordering a sampler from Upton tea imports, although to be honest, the variety is rather overwhelming, and I’d probably just end up picking a sampler at random.

I don’t have much on the agenda for today, which is lovely. I still get these occasional twinges of guilt because I “should be studying for the exam” but then I joyously realize that the exam is long gone, and I can sit around and be lazy and irresponsible again.

Just so I can do this again: 1 tsp of tea, usual amount of rock sugar, splash of cream, about 4 minutes and 30 seconds. Mmm.

Wow, this tasting note was really not meant to be posted. I’ve already written it twice, and lost it both times. Bullet points it is.

-Tea has become a staple in my breakfast rotation.
-strong, bold, and can hold its own against cream and sugar
-has the lovely woody feeling of a Darjeeling which is wonderful.
-works well with breakfasts that are either savoury or sweet
-will possibly reorder. At this point, I can’t really see why I wouldn’t.
-going to post this before everything blows up.

I’ve actually had this tea a few times now, and I wanted to hold off on making a tasting note for it because somehow, I seem to get a drastically different cup each time I prepare it. Granted, the other day I used water that was far too tepid, and the resulting sludge was its own disaster, but even still: I don’t seem to be able to get a perfect cup of this every time. I tend to prefer that my breakfast teas be relatively easy on me, since I can’t really account for the type of mood I’ll be in on any given morning. I can say with certainty that this tea has potential, and that it does indeed have the distinctive dryness of a good Darjeeling. I think what I’m missing here is that appley woody mouth feel I so easily got from the biodynamic Darjeeling from art of tea. Their batch of that particular harvest had run out though, so I don’t even know that I’ll ever really get to taste it again. Like I said, I’m definitely going to continue playing around with it, as I do taste potential here—it may simply be a matter of figuring out what my particular magical steep is going to be. For those of you who really enjoy Darjeeling’s, what are your favourites? I’ve only had first flush so far, but I like what I’ve tried and would be interested in trying more.

Thanks to DigniTea for the sample!

This is a nice, calm white tea. It almost reminds me of David’s Tea pistachio cream. I can smell the coconut but not really getting the full taste, or maybe I’m just not used to toasted coconut. I hope I have enough to try this iced. I still prefer pistachio cream to this one, but it’s not bad!

sample sipdown! I’m glad i had the chance to try this one. It’s coming across to me, much like a refreshing cup of spring water, though with hints of the darkness. there’s a bit of floral here, but it’s not that cloying floral that i hate. Shaynebear – this might be one for you

there’s barely any astringency to this one, likely because i kept the temperature low. overall a decent cup!

sipdown! thus putting me a whole tea ahead of my tea sister..lol this is another one that terri shared with me and it’s a decent enough ftuity green tea. I kept the temperature low, so there’s no bitterness to the cup. It’s close to pomegranate, but still not there. Overall, not a bad tea though, and if i were more into green teas i think i’d enjoy this one a bunch – especially as a cold tea, sweetened slightly.

From the HHTTB

I do enjoy green tea, but am not a big fan of flavored greens. This one is ok, but a little on the astringent side, & probably if I had sweetened it a little I would have enjoyed it more. In my effort to try ALL the teas, I’ve been doing little 4 oz mini-cups all day. That way, if I don’t care for something it’s no big loss, & also I got through a lot of teas!

I’m starting the day with samplings from the grab bag Tasty Brew added to our BBB Box, so that I can get this box in the mail! This one has a definite apple peel taste, with a bright grapiness around the sides of the tongue. It’s a little on the astringent side, & I’d probably better eat breakfast before I sample any more, LOL, as my stomach doesn’t take well to astringency when empty.

I had this tea once upon a time in a galaxy far, far away. This one was shared with me by boychik, via terri :)
I’m happy for the chance to try this nearly 2 years later in case my tastes have changed. Again, this is a cup of coconut, vanilla oolong. Is it bad? Nope. But is is a tea for me that would conquer my general dislike of oolongs? hells. no. I enjoyed this cup, but as a non fan of oolongs, there are other teas that i’d rather have :) appreciate the share though as you never know how your tastes can change!

Sip down! This is one that kitenna should try if she hasn’t already. Th smell and taste remind me of the mandarin silk from the persimmon tree that I gave up to her because I didn’t like it haha. Tis version, or variation, that I received in my swap from nicole is tastier. I don’t hate this one, and the flavours seem to mesh better than the one I tried from the persimmon tree. Maybe it’s because I’m sick but I suspect that this might be a win for the girls here who are fans of oolongs. Nonetheless I am enjoying this cup, so I’m glad Nicole sent it along. Not a reorder for me, but only because I’m not a huge fan of green oolongs. But those who enjoy that type of tea would probably quite enjoy this one :)

This is a delicious hot tea but it is a favorite of mine as an iced tea. It’s sweet and refreshing with an appealing natural sweetness. The smooth coconut undertones are delightful.