768 Tasting Notes
Sip down! This was my evening cup last night. I am SOOOO ready for spring and this one sounded spring-y to me.
I enjoyed it too. A light fruity tisane hit the spot. And it has no caffeine to keep me up with this darned daylight savings time shift in the clocks :(
One of my favorite black teas is Golden Monkey. This is not Golden Monkey but I quite enjoyed it. It is not a superb, knock your socks off tea, but I didn’t get any bitterness or astringency from it. In fact, I found it very smooth.
I made a pot of it, heated the water to 200 F and steeped the tea for about 4 minutes. I used my homemade tea cozy to keep the pot warm, and it worked really well. The tea was still warm 60 minutes later when I poured my 4th cup. Instead of using a large mug I used my new tea cup from Hong Kong. It is truly lovely. The maker is Tenmokus. They have a wide variety of Asian styled cups with no handle, in different shapes, different glazes, and different price ranges. Most hold between 110 and 140 ml. I had always considered that to be far too small to hold enough tea, but I have now discovered that is the right amount. The cup doesn’t get cold before I finish it, and with a pot of tea I can refill my cup frequently. It was a lovely tea experience tonight. If you’d like to see what the cup looks like I put a link to it on my Instagram account. The makers can be found here: www.Tenmokus.com
Preparation
Sadness. I didn’t enjoy this cup this afternoon as much as I usually do. The flavor was flat and a little bit astringent. I hadn’t had that before, so maybe this was just an off cup or maybe the leaf has gotten to an age where the taste is now off. It was warm, though, and since it is windy and snowing this afternoon that was was nice.
Still one of my favorites! The mint isn’t as in-your-face as it is with a strictly peppermint tea. I like the bit of creamy vanilla flavor that smooths it out. Today was one of those days at work that make one want to walk out. Thank God for tea.
My nose is very stuffy. I decided to have this one last night. It didn’t help my nose much, but I still enjoy the tea. The wind has turned and is coming from the south. Even though it is 15F, it is darned cold with that wind at 26 mph. Normally my apartment is warm but when that south wind comes up… I have my thermostat set at 75 but it is 62 in here. I have checked all the windows, and they are all cold. It’s that darned wind. Hot tea is required.
I have turned one more page in my cancer journey. The chemo port was removed today. I am still numb from the shot (oh lord, that shot HURT) but having the port gone reaffirms that the oncologist does not expect the cancer to come back. I cannot lie flat for 48 hours. So I am going to find a beloved tea that I don’t drink often because it is too expensive or almost gone and drink a WHOLE POT to celebrate!
I think I’m a bit behind on some news as I haven’t been keeping up with notes, but fantastic to hear this great progress in your cancer journey <3 Definitely drink those favourite teas!
Definitely a reason to celebrate and to cuddle up with a blankie and cat!
Congratulations! :)
What great news, enjoy your celebration — you deserve it!
Congrats on your great news! My aunt is just starting radiation treatment in two weeks for breast cancer. Enjoy your pot of tea!
Hope your port incision heals quickly and that you enjoy the hell out of that tea!
Thank you, everyone! I am in some pain, but it’s bearable.
This was the last step for my cancer journey. I do still have regular colonoscopies, MRIs and oncologist visits to face for the next 5 years. I was diagnosed with stage 3c rectal cancer in July of 2020. I was told that many people with that diagnosis beat it, which made me realize that many do not. 5 months of bi-weekly chemotherapy and 5 weeks of daily radiation and oral chemo therapy helped shrink the tumor enough that surgery at the Mayo Clinic was successful. I was very lucky. Having the port removed showed that the oncologist doesn’t expect me to need it any more. Yay!
Always happy to hear (read) good news!
You summed it up in a paragraph, but that sounds like a long tough year. I’m glad you were brave and soldiered through it all and now have plenty to celebrate!
Yes, you are strong! Congrats on a happy milestone!
I found a straggler from my Etsy tea advent calendar! and brewed it up last night. I love doing tea advent calendars.
This one was good. Certainly drinkable, but the flavor was muted. It is supposed to have cinnamon, cloves, orange, lemon and lime, which sounds delicious. I couldn’t detect any particular flavor. Mildly spicy. Got no citrus. That could be the result of my faulty nose. Anyway, I enjoyed the cup enough to drink the whole thing .
The Etsy Tea Advent Calendar was worth the money I spent, which was around $29.99US. The presentation was lovely. Each bag was wrapped in high quality paper and attached to a foam snowflake. The teas were all from higher end grocery store type companies like
Ahmad and Eastern Shore. I did not find any tea that I fell in love with and had to order. The cost of the 24 tea bags did not come even close to the $30 price, but what you pay for with a tea calendar is the presentation and the fun of opening each surprise. The Etsy shop I ordered from is below:
We enjoyed A.C. Perch this year and Dammann Frères!
Paper and Tea wasn’t bad either. I was just sad with that few repetitions that were there. But tea was usually high quality and enjoyable.
On the other hand, it wasn’t much holiday themed in flavours nor in style.
Dammann Frères is my favorite!
I did the Palais Des Thes one last year and was able to find it online at Macy’s or Amazon or somewhere. From what I recall the tea comes in a muslin tea bag. I’d recommend that one and remember it being pretty affordable as well.
Etsy Tea Advent Calendar Day 22—I am playing catch up after being away for a few days in Minneapolis with my brother. I drove home today, and the first 130 miles were perfectly clear roads. The next 110 miles were awful. shudder I could see some pavement through the compacted snow on one lane of the interstate at times. And once in a while the snow would clear enough that I could see at least a quarter mile ahead. Fun times, I tell ya. After I eased my car into the garage it took me a few minutes to convince my hands to unclench from the steering wheel! But I’m home and enjoying a hot tea.
This one is not bad at all. I was afraid it would have a ‘cough syrup’ fake cherry flavor flavor. It didn’t. I also thought the tea base was sturdy enough to not be overwhelmed by the flavor. Either this is the best tea of the calendar (so far) or I am too relieved to be home to care :)
Merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate!
Etsy Tea Ad=vent Calendar Day 21
This was a pleasant evening tea. Not outstanding, but pleasant. The ginger flavor was a bit muddled, but I expect that is me, not the tea. I enjoyed it more as it cooled. I won’t rush out to buy a box of this but if it was one of a selection of bagged teas at a hotel or restaurant I would drink it again.
I opened the cheerfully wrapped little package on the my Etsy advent tea calendar and just couldn’t. Int he beginning I told myself I was going to try every tea, even if it was one I didn’t think I would like. But really, life is too short to force myself to drink something I am sure I won’t like. Jasmine green tea is a hit with a lot of people, but not me.
So. I went to the tea drawer and pulled out this one from last year. I really do enjoy it. The creamy mint flavor is clear. The liquor is not. The little candies made the tea look cloudy, which doesn’t appear very appetizing. Luckily this one is quite tasty. And a darned sight better than the jasmine green tea slated for today.
Etsy Tea Advent Calendar Day 19:
I enjoy Pear teas. Cranberry Pear from Davids is a fave. This one does not come close to that one. But it is not bad. The flavor is very mild. I don’t get the pear, and the ginger is only a hint. But the tea is warm and not bitter or astringent. No weird lingering after taste. I finished the cup with no trouble. So this is one of the teas that I would not order, but would have no trouble drinking again. That’s kind of damning it with faint praise. But honestly, it is better than most of the teas I’ve had this month.
