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I initially held off on opening this. I hesitated because I figured as soon as I opened the pouch, it would be gone. But that is just plain foolish. When it’s gone, it’s gone, and I’ll mourn, but why punish myself by not drinking it? And the weather has called for hot tea. I’m sure its cold wherever you are too. Maybe even colder than Fargo. I think the entire north american continent is much colder than average this week But we haven’t broken any records. And tomorrow it will get above zero. I’ll still drink hot tea though. ;)

On Monday I made a large pot to get me through my writing meeting. We are meeting online this winter. I miss seeing people face to face, but it’s so nice to not have to go out in the weather. People must have been looking at my face when I took my first sip, because Tina Holland said, “I don’t know what yo;re drinking, but I want some.” LOL She’s a coffee girl all the way, and doesn’t like tea. Maybe I’ll convert her.

This tea is so good. I’ve had a at least a cup every day this week. I seem to really enjoy the Fujian teas. I can’t even taste the vanilla (stupid nose). That’s a shame, but this tea is smooth and rich even without the vanilla. I’m am so pleased I was able to get a couple of ounces when WP sent the email advising people they had a few old favorites back in stock. I am going up to Winnipeg tomorrow and I’m bringing the second pouch of this as a hostess gift.

We have another stupid blizzard tonight. I wanted a warming tea, something caffeine free, with ginger for my unhappy tummy. I decided on this one. It was okay. My tummy has been slightly unhappy for several days now. I don’t know what the deal is. I’m not actually sick,. just gassy and lethargic. I suppose I can blame winter. This winter is really nothing unusual. But the last four or five years have been abnormally mild so I having a regular winter seems awful. I am tired of winter :(

You know, I’ve been hoarding two excellent teas for a few weeks now. I’m afraid once I open them, they will be gone. But that is stupid. I should open them and enjoy them. I don’t think anything else will really satisfy me. Like this tea. It’s not a bad tea. It’s a perfectly good tea for a cold winter evening. But it ain’t Golden Orchid, now is it?

Sip down.

Today begins a stretch of at least 7 days where the temp will not get above zero. Except maybe Saturday. That is forecast as 0. This is Fahrenheit. The low tonight is forecast as -23, and the rest of the next 7 days is as bad. Next Thursday will be a high of -15 and a low of -30. That’s as far as the forecast goes, but I seriously doubt temperature will suddenly zoom up to the 20s above zero the next day. I am guessing we will get above zero in about 9 or 10 days. I am actually dreading this cold snap. A little cold weather doesn’t actually bother me. But I’m getting older! I don’t want more winter! We just finished a blizzard, and another one is expected on Sunday-Monday. There is nothing for it but to run out and start the car every few hours to keep the battery charged. That, and drink tea.

This tea pouch is now sadly empty. I enjoyed this one. I enjoy all the honeybush teas from 52 Teas. Sorry to see this one go, but now I am in the mood for something spicy and warm. I’ll go rummage through the drawer to see whag speaks to me.

I drove down to Minneapolis for the weekend. ON the way home today I stopped and got some tea. They had only a few varieties, and this looked like the best of the bunch.

The first half of the cup was nice. Nothing I needed to have again, but drinkable. The second half, however, was bitter. It wasn’t over-steeped, since I removed the tea bag right away. I think the flavor changed as the cup cooled.

I have a raw throat. My nose is plugged, so I expected the sore throat is from post nasal drip. I first reached for David’s Cold 911, but I got my Whispering Pines tea order the other day and I decided to go with that. I ordered two ounces of North Winds and 2 ounces of Golden Orchid and I am dying to open those. But, since I am smelling even less that usual right now, I decided to try this, which was the sample sent with my order.

This was a rich tea. No thin taste or flat notes. Even with my nose clogged I could detect something sweet like raisin. I didn’t get the spearmint or the spice, really, probably because of my stupid cold. It felt good on my throat. I think this is better hot. I actually dozed off about half way through the cup. I went back to it, but when it cooled, there was a slight astringency to the sip. So I will be sure to drink this one when it is warm.

I have an uneasy tummy so I brewed a cup of this tonight. It’s hard to go wrong with peppermint, and Twinings has a very decent herbal peppermint tea. Nothing fancy or expensive, just good evening tea after one overeats. I’m not sure the more expensive loose leaf teas are any better than this plain workhorse of a bagged tea.

What a lovely tea. Here is a good black tea bases with a great peppermint flavor. The temp is -12F right now, with a windchill of -24, and it will get much colder tonight. There is no way I’m putting on a little dress and going out to celebrate tonight. I’ll settle for a good book, a cup of tea and a kitty on my lap. Happy New Year, Steepsterites!

This is the second of the teas I received for Christmas and I quite like it. One of my favorite bagged grocery store teas is Good Earth’s sweet and Spicy. That one tastes like liquid red hots. This one is a bit more subtle.

The weather here in North Dakota seems to have a split personality. We had a two day blizzard (just plain nasty). The temp dropped to -6 with a high today of 6 above zero. Tomorrow is going to be up to 28, with another 3-4 inches of snow, followed by high winds on Monday, creating a ground blizzard. The temps will fall to -20F, and on Tuesday the high will be -8. Yes, the high will be -8F. Then it will get warm, like above freezing.

All that was to tell you that I’ve spent a lot of could hours digging out my car this week. And when I come in I want something warm and soothing to drink. This tea has been my go to for the past few days. I’ve developed quite an affection for it.

Day 24 of the Dammann Freres Advent Calendar

I actually got a good whiff of this as it was brewing. Nice. Tangy sweet pineapple was all I smelled. So refreshing, just like pineapple . I didn’t detect it in the flavor, probably because my nose decided to go on strike again. The tea brewed up nicely. I didn’t taste anything, but neither did I taste bitterness or astringency. I drank the cup and did a small re-steep.

So, the tea advent calendar is done for another year. I brewed every bag. A couple were way sour for me and I drank only a few sips. Others I drank half a cup. Some I drank the full cup. I’d been looking forward to trying Noel a Prague, but it wasn’t included in this.

So, although I didn’t find any tea that I adored, I did get to try teas I’d normally pass by without a second glance. It widened my horizons but also confirmed what I do and do not enjoy in tea.

Day 23 Dammann Freres Advent calendar

I’m a few days behind. I liked this one. It had a delicate flavor. I could almost smell the pear while it brewed. With my bum nose, that means the scent must be rich. Or it was one of those rare moments when my sinuses open enough to let air go to the olfactory nerve. At any rate, I liked this tea. It was darker in the cup than most white teas I’ve had. Smooth, with a silky mouthfeel and no grassy taste or bitterness.