Popular Tasting Notes
This review is going to be done in my new yixing teapot from teavivre so some of the points I’m making will be about the teapot.
Dry smell: This tea has a very nice dry smell. It has no fishiness. It is lighter and sweeter smelling than various other puerhs I’ve tried. It has a light aroma of wet tree bark and a dough like smell.
Taste: This tea has a nice dry flavor. I can sense a woody flavor and also a wet earthy flavor. It is a lot darker flavor than I expected. Although it is not sweet like it smelled, it has no astringency and is very smooth. I can still taste what I sensed as the doughy smell. It tastes like a cracker. This is a nice smooth Puerh and I’ll be ordering more soon.
Wet smell: The wet smell is a lot like the dry smell, it is just lacking the sweet scent. The pot adds a deep earthy smell
What the pot does: I drank this tea a couple times before I got my yixing pot from my gaiwan. I was somewhat skeptical of how much the yixing would actually affect the flavor but there is a notable difference. It gets rid of the natural sharpness the tea has and flattens it out. I can tell it is absorbing some of the flavor because it is slightly lighter, and I am very excited to see what the pot provides after it is fully seasoned.
Preparation
I just got my new order from Mandala Tea. I must admit I was in a panic thinking the bamboo raw pu-erhs would be gone soon. But I also had to get some other stuff. :) Garrett was very nice, shipped my order promptly, included a nice note and samples. Terrific customer service from these people, I can tell you!
First steep: 2 minutes.
This is what the Chinese would call a red tea and my tea liquor is a beautiful, dark reddish color. The flavor coming from this is very molasses-y and chocolate-y and some malt. I was thinking it would be similar to a golden monkey, perhaps. But it is different.
I like the slight astringency to this and it also seems to have a bit more “heft” and depth than some Chinese red teas I have had. I could definitely see craving this in the morning, but it also makes a nice after lunch tea. There is a bit of sweetness in the tea liquor, but it isn’t a precious kind of sweet. It’s more a dark chocolate kind of sweet.
When I first steeped this up I was thinking ho, hum, another sweet Chinese red tea. I like them but they all start tasting the same after a while. Then I crave the richness of something like a Ceylon. This sort of brings both worlds together for me and melds them into a super tasty, happy tea infusion.
Second Steep: Five glorious minutes.
Not as hefty as the first steep but still full of flavor. I am picking up on the slight briskness a little bit more. Still lots of molasses but perhaps a bit of spice as well. Clearly I need to gong fu this one to pick up on more subtle flavor changes. But this has been quite an enjoyable and even a bit surprising afternoon cuppa.
Sometimes I wonder if I give too many teas high ratings? But my ratings are subjective and are based on my enjoyment of the tea. As you may have noticed, I really like tea! :)
Preparation
Zero “likes” then all of the sudden two. You beat me to it again KS! :))
Amy how much leaf did you use? I find that for me, most teas can start to taste the same if you drink them enuff. I mix it up I find that if I have heavier foods some greens and Darjeelings aren’t as good after the meal. I think a nice black (red) tea like this can be the best thing after a meal.
This sounds much like the Shang tea I reviewed this morning! YUM Mandala is another place I have wanted to order from!
@ Azzrian – it has similar flavors to the Shang tea but is not as sweet and has a bit more heft
@Scott – I used about 2 tsp. of leaf. And yeah I have to mix things up a lot or I do get bored very easily (short attention span??)
Hehehehe…….Was 2 tsp for your 12 oz?? mug??
Amy-I wonder if I keep my reviews too clumped together. And I am finding it quite difficult to hand out a 90 rating myself.
2 tsp for around 10 ounces. I tend to use more leaf than most people I think.
Bummer my free shipping code is not working – will wait till Im not so tea cash poor lol
@Scott B- but what about Candy Cane Lane? heh heh!
@AmyYep, I think it’s the only one-and I did it from memory.
@Azzrian – If you contact the company and tell them your free shipping code does not work, they might give you a new code. Worked for me once-albeit with a different company
Give the ratings you want to. Afterall, who’s grading you?
Wheeeeeeee!
:))
:))
Your rating system is fine. I do it the same way you do, and base the rating on my subjective experience of it on that particular day. I feel I can be more honest that way. For the same reason I’m also not afraid to use the lower end of the scale, although I’ve noticed that a lot of people tend to avoid it. But if my subjective opinion and experience with something everybody else is praising to sky only really feels like 20 points to me, then 20 points it gets. As long as you feel like you’re being honest it’s totally fine whichever way you do it. :)
@Angrboda – thanks. :) Most of the time any plain tea that comes from a quality source is bound to make me happy. When I give out bad ratings it’s usually due to a lousy flavored tea.
Tea – one of the things I tell my customers and tea class attendees is this: One can weigh out their tea to the gram, have water that they draw from the same source, at the precise same temp as the day before, using the exact same tea implements and steeping times and it can be sometimes be an entirely different tea experience. Wild. And yet, not so wild, given that the energy of the day is different, the atmosphere is different, WE are different. I love tea. I love the various experiences that one single tea can bring me. It helps to deepen my awareness of my world, of myself, of others and gets me to stop judging it all.
Couldn’t agree more Amy-lousy flavored tea INDEED.
Yes, I’m drinking this again! It’s my birthday, so I can drink anything I want! Of course, I can drink anything I want any day of the year, but this seemed like a perfect start today, & it was.
And Dag, after giving it some thought, this is from the spring harvest
Happy birthday stinker hugs
Happy Birthday!!
Happy Birthday! May it be a lovely day.
Happy Birthday! Enjoy your day! i hope your trees are still blooming for you
Dear Terri, for you’re birthday, I am offering you a performance. I have re-written the famous song “it’s my party” just for you. Here it goes: «It’s myyyy birthday, I can drink what I waaant to…drink what I waaant to….drink what I waaant to…..Laaa-o-shan Black, you’re my favourite to-daaay!!!»
Thank you, thank you very much… ( good thing Steepster is not in 3D sound just yet, lol!)
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday! :D Only the best teas for you today!
Happy birthday!!
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday!! Enjoy!
Yay! Happy Birthday! :D
Happy birthday! ♥
Happy birthday!!!!
Yay, happy birthday!
What a great way to celebrate your birthday! Congratulations :-D
Happy birthday!
Thanks everyone!!!
Tea Fairy, I feel really special, thanks for sharing your talents!
;)
Happy birthday!
Woohoo! Happy birthday! :)
Happy Birthday!
This is a really nice Fujian tea that had a great mix of bright fruit and sweet cocoa notes. It is very similar in flavour to a tea I love and may not be able to replace, so I am grateful to Dexter3657 for this sample as I’ve been curious about it for some time.
Below are my observations. I steeped it 5 times.
This tea brewed into a medium amber brown.
Scent longan, cocoa, honey, malt. Both bright and rich smelling.
1.5 TSP/200 ml/95°C/1 min
Nice balance of bright citrusy longan, honey,with cocoa in the finish. Slight hint of dark bread crust, cherry and spice.
1 min scent similar to above but stronger sweet cocoa note.
Long an, stronger cocoa with honey underrneath
1:30. Longan honey, cocoa in back again but still quite present.
2:10 longan dominant other flavours present underneath. Becomes sweeter as it cools
4 min slightly tart sweet potato with cocoa honey note
Altogether this is really a nice tea that I will purchase in the future. Thanks!
I changed the picture and description of this tea as this is the only King Pin on their website and it is described as a staple at the tea shop.
Beautiful notes in there!
Thanks! I meant jing pin;)
Glad you liked it. This is my favorite black tea, and I share it quite often – I don’t think others love it as much as I do – but it’s nice to read other’s reviews. :))
Sounds very nice!
Love this one!
oooh, longan! I love zhenghes and have enjoyed everything I’ve tried from TTL, so onto the list it goes!
ifjuly did I not send you any of this? I can if you would like to try it. :))
you did, and I’m a total doof! I went to add it to my wishlist and saw it was already in my cupboard! hahaha my bad.
(more shameful “your stash is out of control” symptoms…)
i bought this one after dexter shared it with me..love it as well!
Zo and I – as I am affectionately calling him have just had our maiden voyage. Okay I have not made tea with him yet but he got a first boil clean out.
So far I love this thing!
Handy as all get out, cute musical alarm to tell me the water is ready, four heat settings, reboils water SUPER fast for those small repetitive infusions of tea, a nice nifty handle to move from one room to the other with if need be, and small enough to sit on my coffee table to enjoy pu-erh all day long!
I am going to be in heaven with this thing!
YAY!
Been considering this for a while. I don’t like the notion of maintaining high heat of water for any serious amount of time but I can’t really say I could call out a difference between a Zoji and freshly boiled in my heavier teas. This review is swaying me more towards the “I should buy this” mindset.
Well the reason I did this – as I do have the breville as well – is that I know I will not only drink more pu-erh but ENJOY it more with this. I mean to sit at my coffee table on the floor with a bunch of pillows, or take it into my meditation room / exercise room and enjoy it … quickly having the water the right temp RIGHT NOW for another steep – with the steeps being so small and frequent. Just could not see myself doing this with a stove top kettle or breville.
We have one of these at work and it is convenient, but I swear my tea tastes better at home when I use boiled water from the tap…
Do you think it is the office water or the machine?
Both the water from my apartment and from work come from the Hetch Hetchy reservoir which is supposed to be very clean. Honestly I have no idea. Maybe it’s just that everything is better when I’m not at work, or maybe the water tastes better when it’s freshly boiled rather than sitting in the water heater for a period of time.
For most teas there’s definitely a difference in flavor between water that’s kept warm for a prolonged period and fresh cool water brought up to temp since most gasses dissolve in water more easily at lower temperature. Most people will tell you it’s oxygen but I don’t buy it since O2 is tasteless. Dissolved CO2, however, forms an equilibrium with carbonic acid which produces a crisp taste. At the extreme end of carbonic acid saturation there’s carbonated water, to give you an idea of the effect it has on taste (try both freshly opened and after a few hours as it bubbles out of solution as carbon dioxide, going flat).
Yeah I can understand that concept – I don’t plan to let it sit around all day though – I hope at least to have an hour sitting time with my teas then I will either dump the water or at least change it over.
I have been using these for 9 years! Love them! At home, at our tea shop, these things rock! Funny that you called it Zo because that is what we call it, too!
You also don’t have to let it go through its boil mode and then cool back down to say, 175. Let’s say you set it for 175. As the temp is heating up and it gets to 175, you can simply unplug the Zo for 4-5 seconds and then it will switch off from “reboil” and hold it at the 175. It’s quicker that way, too!
We do a lot of tastings using the zo. Pretty darned convenient. And unless that water has been sitting along time, we have a hard time discerning a big change in the waters qualities. Quality water to begin with is a huge contributor to that, as is not using the reboil mode, especially using it frequently.
As the old Chinese tea books say, one can also add more fresh water to an old pot of water to bring it back to life. Or change the water completely.
Great! Someone reviews the Zojirushi and we are out of stock on them!! Sheesh :) We are waiting for a new shipment.
Garret – how do you clean it? that maybe part of the issue with the one in my office as well.
Hi Amy! Not with vinegar!
This is the only way to fly with it:
http://shopmandalatea.com/tea-wares/water-heaters/zojirushi-water-heater-cleaner-descaler.html
Or find citric acid and follow the Zo cleaning instructions. It makes the Zo more efficient and gets rid of all the calcification and funk.
thanks!
@ Garret yeah that is a bummer that your all out :( Maybe you should set up a Pre-order on your site so people can get them and you can ship them as soon as they come in! Just note that they are not in stock yet maybe.
Azzrian -If I wasn’t about to take off on a 5 day meditation retreat, I’d get on that. I soooo need to back away for a few days from my business and have some solid meditation and qigong time. I am going to be without electronics and computers and phones. Need some serious recharge time. I’ll get all the Zo stuff taken care of next week. But you have a great idea there, my friend!!!!!
We are having a major heat wave here right now. Local tea sales ground to a halt yesterday. Funny thing is, I drink hot tea no matter what the weather. I’m sure our locals are icing their teas right about now!
Enjoy your time Garret – sounds wonderful.
I will post updates to my Zo experiences though to keep the love alive :)
I would expect nothing less, m’dear, nothing less :) I leave this evening and will check in throughout the day today, though I’ve a few massage sessions to do. Drinking some incredible wild arbor gong ting pu’er right now. The cakes just arrived yesterday!!! I had 200 of the 250 gram cakes pressed of this amazing material. After 3 months since commissioning the pressing, they arrived yesterday and it was like Christmas in July for this young man!! It is tea-licious!!! While it is quite tasty now, I really look forward to what 2 and 3 years is going to bring to it. It’s gonna open up wide in 2014/2015!
Oh I bet you were so giddy having them all come in! Are they on the site yet? I can go look – ignore this post and go enjoy your retreat!
Not on the site yet! It’ll have to wait until I get back. I’m going to put them up for a special price for the first 25 cakes. I’ll post it to Steepster once I do.
Nice! Will keep my eyes open for it!
In between some work and wanted to make a quick note on this one.
I have to first state I have been so sick of honeybush and red rooibos for ages now HOWEVER I really would like to get a decent nights sleep (not gonna happen) and I only have a little more work to do before I can attempt that. Caffeine does not tend to keep me awake – its ME that does – my mind does not slow down. Regardless I figure I may just not tempt fate tonight. Besides I really did want to try this.
So … its quite lovely. Taste like creamy smooth lemon! It also tastes like honeybush though. Its not that I do not like honeybush its just that I don’t really care for the way it tends to change the flavors that I keep wanting to have in a black, or green, or white, etc…
Della Terra does 95% of their teas to perfection and those that are not perfection they re-blend until they are. I totally respect that.
I would not say there is a thing wrong with this tea and am giving it the rating it deserves even if I am snubbing my nose at honeybush and red rooibos right now.
ooh that sounds kinda good. I had thought about this one, so might have to try this one next
Azzrian, I think we may have been separated at birth, because I have a brain like that! I actually DID go to bed at midnight, as opposed to 2am, but woke up twice with my brain “thinking”. It’s like my brain’s a computer with an automatic “on” switch, and I don’t sleep during the day, because if any light shines on or around me, my brain switches to full ON mode.
Regarding honeybush & rooibos: I remember the days when tisanes didn’t have them, they hadn’t been discovered yet (at least not in the US). Now they are in everything, they have taken over the world of non-caffeinated teas. I’ll admit that in certain blends they lend something, but jeez, you can’t get away from them! I think Tulsi (Holy Basil) is starting to do the same thing…it’s a conspiracy of some kind…
Welcome in the club of the night shift brain lol working during day and overtime during night i hate that stupid brain of mine buuut i find some years ago that sleeping with music shut it up ( my mind fix itself on listening to the music and forgot to think )
Zoltar – indeed I fall asleep often to the Aura or Indigo music channels with the new age tunes. :)
Terri – I hear you on both counts!!
Sil if you like honeybush I would say go for it!
Azz, I like Zoltar, can we keep him?
I agree Zoltar seems pretty awesome, love the user name too! Reminds me of the Zoltar fortune telling machine! :)
Yup, from the movie, “Big”. I love that one!
Terri there is also one in a new age shop that is located in the town next time mine about 20 minutes away. I took a photo of it lol .. so they exist in real life too :) haha pretty cool I would love to have it in my house :)
It is from Big ! a site web exist where you can actually buy a zoltar machine :P( probably more than one but well where to get a zoltar machine if not from a site called zoltarmachine ) the economic one is around 5500$ lol so i will stay with my avatar for now :P or i could buy a costume and tell my self my fortune but i kinda having a hard time with the red eyes thing lol
They have contacts for that! :)
LOL!! Or you can start telling our fortunes!
Hey thats my job haha.
Since I’m Zoltar my credibility come from my red glowing eyes and the fact than when people see me working even when im not plug in they freak out and believe me for the red eyes it’s ok i can just throw sand in it they will not glow but they will be red :p but the not plug in would not have such effect when they will see i’m human .
The only job i still can do with that costume is a Aladdin movie
LOL!
:D
I’m drinking this today basically because cats are jerks. Mine woke me up 5 times this morning by meowing in the hallway. Every time I came out she ran into our room for purrs and cuddles, and then an hour later she was at it again.
So I picked this tea. I bet Tigers are jerks too.
My cat’s a jerk too. I finally caved and bought an electric mat to put in front of my bedroom door. I feel terribly guilty about it, but it worked miracles overnight. I hear tell there are air blasters which have about the same effect.
LOL They may be jerks but we love them anyway…
We have 2 cats, & by ‘we’ I mean Leif & Ari. Gizmo, Leif’s cat, is fairly innocuous. Squishy, on the other hand, likes to do things to intentionally piss me off. I do not allow cats in my bedroom, ever, because I can’t stand to have cat hair on me, & for some reason cats always want to piss on my pillow. I guess they want to mark my room as their territory (none of the current cats have ever actually done that, but previous ones have). So neither of our cats have ever been in my room, although Squishy tries, regularly, to get in there. Not ever gonna happen!
Terri – that sounds like quite the challenge. Are they boy cats? I’ve never had to worry about her peeing, thankfully!
And she is totally allowed in our room – we even sleep with the door open (so the cat and the toddler can both wander in), but the cat mist be playing hard to get or something as she cries outside for attention. (Stupid cat – just come in and cuddle! )
I love those names, by the way.
My cat is Mika, aka Meeks, or Mika Mikerson the Third if she’s bring particularly royal.
Your cat sounds like my cat. I don’t think I’ve heard anything more true than ‘All cats are jerks’.
adorable little jerks! :)
Terri – If it makes you feel any better I had a cat pee on my feet while I was sleeping once. I was sleeping over at a friend’s house. The cat made it clear that I was not welcome to invade his space.
Stephanie – His cuteness is the only reason my cat hasn’t been kicked out on his furry behind a dozen times over. Also the fact that he’s an awesome cuddler.
On a related note, has anyone seen My Cat From Hell? I think it’s a TLC show, but it’s also on Netflix now.
This might be the most entertaining comment thread ever. More evil cat stories, pleeeaseeeeehh.
A good book is ‘How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You’.
Also my cat peed on my mom’s duffel bag that she lent me. It probably smelled like her dog and so my cat was marking his territory. Another time though he got mad that I took away his food (he overeats sometimes) and peed where his food goes.
Cats rule; dogs drool.
pops in to look at the cat conversation..leaves before she offends people :)
Sil, does that mean you’re a CAT?!
cats and i agree to not get along. my dad used to tease the neighbourhood…uh NM lol so yeah… cats and i. we don’t mix. except for the one cat that followed me up the mountain that one time…
Once upon a time I had a friend named Suz who raised silver persians. She really wanted to give me one of her kittens, which were very expensive. I told her no thanks because I wear black to gigs all the time & the silver fur would show on my clothes. The truth is, I didn’t want a cat. She had farmed one of her cats out for stud service, & a gal who raised black smoke persians owed her a pick of the litter. Next thing you know, Suz gives me a black smoke kitten for my birthday, who I named Opal. I didn’t really want a cat, but what do you say? “Thank You”. Opal was beautiful & dumb as a post. Except she was smart enough to figure out how to get out the doggy door before I had a chance to have her spayed. End of part I
Part II
Opal had a litter of kittens, & we found homes for 4 of them, but Leif begged to keep Gizmo, so we did. Opal disappeared.
Ari’s cat Squishy is a cat she got for her son, but then she moved into an apartment that didn’t allow cats, so squishy moved in with me. Now Ari & Ky live at home too, & so really, I guess he’s Ky’s cat.
Part III
Gizmo is a boy. Squishy is a girl. I don’t hate cats. I’m just not into them. They tend to irritate me, I can feel their hair touching me. The cats I have now don’t pee on my things, but in the past I’ve had cats that did. I’m a dog lover, especially big dogs. I don’t have a dog right now, but I love dogs. They are awesome.
My cat keeps head butting me off my pillow at night… He hooks his paws over the bed rail things, and heaves. And his name is Princess Shadow. He came with Shadow, and I added the Princess! :)
Gizmo is a great name. (I love Gremlins. I would totally have a Mogwai for a pet.)
sipdown(183)! I needed a tea to cleanse my tastebuds but wanted to try and get another sipdown in. So i picked this one since the flavouring feels very natural. While not a huge fan of oolongs, this is one that i can get behind whenever i’m craving that strawberry flavour that isn’t artificial. This tastes like the strawberry aftertaste of freshly picked garden berries :) Always love this one from teavivre!
hehe Great multi-taskn
Lol – that posted without me.
I meant to say great multi-tasking! Cleansing your taste buds and another sipdown. :-)
i have to! my cupboard ran away from me! lol
Already down to 183? You’re a real tea vacuum!
I’m at 366 now, hahaha…although I did manage 7 sipdowns since New Years day!
teafairy yea it helps the samples dexter sent me are fairly small considering i drink double cups most of the time. :)
:)) I sent you a “taste” of all of them, rather than quantities of a few. If you would like more of any that you liked, just let me know.
hey i’m not complaining dexter! it was perfect sizes to try them all out :)
Sorry I didn’t mean to imply that you were complaining – I was trying to say “my cupboard is your cupboard” – if you would like more :))
haha just making sure you didn’t think i was upset :) i’m sure i’ll be poking you at some point for samples of things heh
Poke away!! I think I need to go and buy more tins to deal with that box I received today…
i haven’t quite figured out what i want to do about tins…i bought clips from taiwai tea crafts that i like for bags that you cut. I just want figure out what i want my cupboard to look like. Tins = harder to figure out what is where for me…so i like bags. but samples from friends = little mini tins i found when teaopia went out of business..small enough to hold things and keep flavoured smells from mingling, but they all fit in their own bigger container heh.
I like the color coded ones from Davids. As long as the correct type is in the correct color all is well. I leave most teas in the resealable package – unless it’s permanent in my cupboard, then it will have a tin. The box I got today has a lot of “quantity” tea in zip bags (that’s fine we split orders). I can’t just leave them like that considering I might not get to them for a few months. I’ve bought cute little spice jars from the dollar store with colored lids – those also work for me for smaller quantities – but I haven’t taken the time to paint them, so they have to go in the cupboard to prevent light exposure. Uggg – I need a month vacation to organize and do all the projects I have planned….
i like the David’s Teas tins too. but i use whatever tin i have and color code using magnetic labels. i’ve bought some of the colored ones, but also use the plain ones they send free. old pic, but you get the idea http://instagram.com/p/Uh6GZyIc-N/
i love organization discussions!
Awsome pic! I wish I had drawers like that – it looks so organized and easy to see everything!
Shmiracles – I need to hire you to come and organize my stash….My house looks like a tea store exploded…
i accept payment in TEAAAA!!
LOL that seems win- win to me….
if i had drawers i would do that, but i’ve got a bookcase type set up with doors on them
LOL this is what mine looks like right now…
http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/Dexter3657/media/IMG_2732_zps064ab7cf.jpg.html?sort=2&o=30
hahaha my other half took one look and went YAY! someone else that makes a way worse mess than you ever do!
I’d love to have those teas in my house though..
also…i totally just started looking at the pics to see what might interest me haha
I posted more in the Tea Buying Hiatus Support Group thread
Am I the only one that can’t say the word “s’mores” without thinking: “Please sir, Can I have s’more”?
I love how dry genmaicha looks so fun with the popped rice, kind of like Lilliputian popcorn. It also makes me think of the Muppets Swedish Chef doing his rendition of the popcorn song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvDvTnTGjgQ “de poppity corn!” Alright, enough random snapshots through my mind’s eye…onto the review:
When I ordered this tea I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea for me. A couple of years back, I got a ginormous bag of genmaicha for Christmas. I enjoyed it at first but I eventually drank it so often that I grew tired of the taste. In the end I was handing out samples of the dry tea to friends and family just to be able to get through it all, and on more than one occasion I used it as one of my ingredients in a homemade face scrub. Yes, I was literally bathing in the stuff! It was like a bottomless chasm stuffed full of genmaicha – you’d think that would be wonderful, but I’m all about the variety when it comes to tea.
I finally made my way to the bottom of the bag before we moved last summer, at which point I said “it’ll be a cold day in hell before I buy another bag of genmaicha”. But then Frank had to go and make this tea. Roasted Cacao nibs and Marshmallow root?! Sign me up!!! The genmaicha base is evident, but the additional ingredients give this tea just enough depth and character for me not to get the genmaicha nightmares again.
What can I say?…I’m drinking my words, and loving it.
GAH I WANT MINE NOW!
Hehehe – I do that too.
Glad you are enjoying this. Mine just came TODAY!
Oooh, and you are in Canada, too… right?
I saw that mine cleared customs on the 19th. I am just so dang impatient.
I’m eagerly awaiting my order~ I only was able to get on this when he reblended it. Dang did this stuff sell out fast.
Me too Jessiwrites! I am also eagerly relating my order….
@Ramvling – Yes, This tea sells out uber-fast! I’m glad I managed to get my hands on it this time around. I hope yours arrives soon.
@jessiwrites – Yep, I’m in Canada I ordered mine on March 05th and it arrived yesterday (March 20th), but I live close to the Canada/US border so that may shave some time off of shipping? Ooooh! How did you find out when yours cleared customs? is there tracking? Hope you get your order soon.
@Cavocorax – I look forward to reading your tealog – I hope you enjoy it too :)
I think everyone’s shipped about the same day, because Frank is busy with other work atm and can’t get things out as soon as they are ordered. I am in London, ON and as far as I know mine hasn’t come today, but our mail is not that good….once my package sat in the postal depot for 3 days before they attempted delivery :(
@Sweet Canadian – I find the postal service is sometimes great where I’m living, and other times it’s a tad slow. I imagine for the most part it would depend on how busy they are. I definetly lucked out this time. Hope you get yours soon
Yes, mine shipped on the 13th. I did get a tracking number, but it wasn’t updated at all between when it left Wichita and when it cleared customs. I have absolutely no idea where it is right now.
Well, I guess I know that it’s somewhere in Canada.
I am also fairly close to the border, but in Saskatchewan.
Mine came today :D It was in the mail when I got home.
@jessiwrites- I never noticed that there was a tracking number before, but I just checked my old email for my order and there it was. Neat-o! Fingers crossed that this feature will improve over time.
@Sweet Canadian – hooray! I look forward to reading your tealog!
CHERRIES!!! yup, it smells just like them. Tart, fragrant cherries.
I tried making the first bit with hot water and it was nice, but I don’t have a sifter so there were some clumps. sighs Yet another purchase I need to make!
The taste… well it’s a bit more medicinal than I had hoped, edging on that syrupy cough drop taste, but not too much so I don’t mind really. You need to whisk quite a bit, but I am getting used to the action now.
Sugar helps! I added only a touch, and it really made a difference. I felt that it brought out a tart side that was hiding before, and maybe even a little bitterness. Odd that sugar would bring that out.
Oh, and the warming sensation I felt was unexpected, but pleasant. Like brandy… not harsh. Soothing and lasting.
Then later on I took my packet down to the Second Cup on the main floor of our office building and had them make me up a Cherry Matcha Latte. It was nice, but something in there was burnt (and clumpy… not the matcha’s fault! the staff there aren’t familiar with it so I need to try this myself at home) Oh well, I still enjoyed my cuppa greatly.
Next time… I’m hoping it will work with Almond milk, because I would so love to have my matcha’s that way. Mmmmm. I don’t think I’ll try it again with all cow milk, it drowned out the matcha-ness a little too much for me. Perhaps with only a milk top-up it’d work better.
Overall, I don’t like this as much as I had hoped to, or as much as other people seem to like the Red Leaf teas. Bah, I just need to experiment! fun fun :)
Well… Happy Victoria Day everyone!! :D
(This is a backlog by the way, I added this on Friday but the system went buggy on me for a bit)
Edit: I love this one, and WILL rebuy after I’ve tried all the other flavours! ha.
You can find it here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/cherry-matcha.html
Going to buy caramel next. Can’t wait!
Cherry is such a difficult flavor to get right, I find it almost always tastes like cough syrup in tea.
I agree!! nonetheless I’ve been searching for one. I love cherries… everything cherry!
I’ve used almond milk in most of my matcha lattes and it’s wonderful :D
OooOoh? nice! thx, now I’m excited to try it out asap! :P
Any particular kind of almond milk: unsweet, sweet, vanilla, original?
TrueAlmond Original!
Sweet, thanks! ;)
IMO because it’s a bit sweet, it requires a fair bit less sweetener (unless you like crazy sweet drinks, which I sometimes do). I could actually probably drink it without sweetener with the TrueAlmond.
A tip though, when I make my matcha lattes, I dissolve/resuspend the matcha in hot regular milk first (I’m sure water would be fine too). I found that the almond milk was weird when heated. Then I just add a ton of cold almond milk to make my latte (and agave if it’s around, since sugar is annoying to dissolve).
Thanks for the tips! I’ve never made a matcha latte before. Do people often make matcha cold? I’ve actually only had matcha one time that I can remember, and it was in a Japanese tea ceremony. So, it was definitely hot then.
I tried this cold and hot… this one works better just below boiling.
I haven’t had time to try this one again, but I am so craving it! :P
I’m pretty sure most or all matcha is dissolved in hot water to begin with, and then you either add more hot water, or cold water (or milk), depending on your preference. I’m a big fan of cold, sweetened matcha lattes, so that’s what I do. I can’t say I’ve ever had it in hot, unaltered tea form.
yep yep, definitely something that needs experimenting! The sugar destroyer was great at 90 or so. I need this one again today!!
Verging on cough syrup, but not quite there? Sounds like it would work well blended with something to balance that note… Cheesecake? Amaretto? Coffee?
Exactly! I’m planning to mix it with cheesecake, should be amazing :D
I’d love to try amaretto to!!!
Bring this over to my place and we can add it to cheesecake haha
Sooo…I could reach for the cognac bottle early in the day, but I don’t do hard liquor much. If you guys want to know why, just read passed the line.
I really need something powerful. Wicked good. Must also smell heavenly. Please.
Golden Orchid, sorry to pick you at such an irreverent moment, but I need you.
This tea…please, really? I dare anyone not to like this. For real, if you don’t like this tea, I’ll take it personal.
Don’t be fooled by the fact that this has vanilla. This is not just vanilla. Nope.
This is high end vanilla and fudge ice cream mixed together. It’s creamy velvety and gooey fudgy.
This is vanilla/chocolate perfected to the 10th power with soft notes of cherries and honey.
Can I be more clear? I don’t think so.
Have this and be happy. Life will be good again.
__________________________________________________
So this was my 5:00am ordeal:
Doggy needs walking, it’s early morning.
Leash unnecessary, obedient doggy.
Beautiful day, forest is calm.
On our way back, dog takes the lead.
See from afar, black and white critter.
Is it a cat? No time to think.
Dog is now running, I stand there frozen.
Eww, I can smell it, this was no kitty.
Sprayed by a skunk, doggy now crying.
The end.
That’s what people. This was his second time. You’d think they’d learn, but noooo, doesn’t work like that apparently.
Good thing I now keep a few litres of peroxide around. After spending nearly one hour washing him, the smell is now all over ME!
Beautiful fragrance, really. I call it “Skunky Fairy Funk”, a mysterious and pungent musty-earthy-woodsy scent that lingers and lasts for-everrrr…we guarantee it.
Oh noooooooo! 5:00am is way too early for most things, but especially for getting skunked :-(
OMG – poor Dexter! Poor Fairy! Maybe Dexter needs glasses so he can SEE what’s chasing. That is not the way to start the morning. You might night to drink the GO ALL DAY LONG! And I’m with you – I defy anyone not to adore the GO – the vanilla fudge bomb.
@TeaF just keep your snoot in the GO tin til the bad smell goes away – then you will be high on vanilla fudge smell and it will be all better…
Ew, skunk smell! You definitely need something good and comforting.
So sorry . Big hug <3
Thanks you guys, feeling much better already…scrubbed myself to death with my best shower gel and drowned myself in lotion. Hope I smell better now :-)
I’m having my GO right now. Damn this is good!
Isn’t it? And that new vanilla makes it even more decadent if that’s possible. I couldn’t do a side by side cause I was out when the new version arrived, but do you see the difference or is it in my head?
NO I totally can tell a difference. This cup is among the last little bit of my “old” vanilla and I still love it a LOT, but I love the new one a little bit more. I just called the vet – we got an early appointment – in a HOUR from now, so that’s good as it won’t take a chunk out of the day later.
Yay! Seems like both our dogs need lots of attention today….just wish they could have found a better way!!
Yeah. Sigh. At least she LIKES going to the vet. My older dog hated it and I mean HATED. He shook and shivered from the minute we got in the car of he thought we were going that way. Bess his little soul. These girls LOVE the vet. I need to finish up this cup of GO and then get them ready to go.
Oh no! That happened to me with my cat. Couldn’t wash him outside. Washed him in the bathroom and it took a week and 20+ cleans of the bathroom. He ended up with 4 or 5 baths and he’s a persian that hates baths and grooming. My nerves were frazzled that week. My heart goes out to you. Nobody else except those who’ve gone through this know what it’s really like.
Oh, so sorry you had to go through that with your cat Ubacat. You are right, it’s such an awful experience. Thank god for the peroxide/baking soda solution though, it really helps. At least, I was able to wash him outside, but yes, it will take some days and a few more baths before it’s completely gone!
Oh NO Mr. Bill! Skunky Dexter & “Skunky Fairy Funk”!
Perhaps these links may offer some additional ideas:
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=skunk+smell+removal+peroxide
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=skunk+smell+removal
Oh my! That does not sound like fun. I hope you two start to have a better day!
At least the tea was amazing. Hopefully the skunk smell dissipates quickly.
Lol, looseTman :-) and thanks for the links, will check them out.
Thanks TeaTiff and Cheri, we feel better already :-)
I fad animal problems today yet I have no cat and no dog and an SO who is very Very allergic. SO this am I was rushing out (for an extra workout long swim before starting the week) I opened the door an a cat ran in the house. Its a beautiful looking orange cat with cheetah like spots that kept jumping on things a yowling at me. Eventually I got it out of the house with a tuna bribe (which means it will come back no doubt) then had to vacuum everything before rushing off! Not as bad as your black and white kitty but I share some of your pain!
Oh noooo!
Oh, my poor Tea Fairy! At least your sense of humor is intact, & there is tea!
Oh, this is such a pretty tea!
From the look, I’m guessing this is a blend of beautiful Silver Needles and fuzzy Bai Mu Dan?
(I stand corrected by the Master himself : «This is not a blended tea at all, It’s a single-origin white dried under the moonlight») Good to know, it makes it even more special :-)
White juice at its best.
White teas often get a bad wrap for not being tasty enough.
Having them Gongfu style will make you change your mind. The tastes just explodes this way, as opposed to a mug brew.
This is so juicy.
Notes of melon and cucumber, some peach, sweet peas, and honey.
Right from the start, you get a buttery thickness and a fresh mouthfeel that intensifies afterwards. At fourth steep, I can’t believe how sweet this is.
The wet leaves smell like hay warmed by the son. I know exactly how that smells like, my Grandpa was a farmer.
It might be delicate, but it’s so tasty. Also, it makes a wonderful cold brew.
I love this tea, and I’m hoping it will still be available by the time I place a new order.
It’s a sunny and happy tea :-)
Yay!!! you found another happy tea tonight. “hoping it will still be available…” LOL you will probably order again really soon ;))
Lol, I was just thinking the same Dexter. Do you have straight whites sometimes?
This is not a blended tea at all :) It’s a single-origin white dried under the moonlight :)
Bad me, should have done my homeworks :-) it really looks like needles and white peony mixed together. It’s just beautiful..
Straight white – not really. I only have one straight white tea in my house and I normally cold steep it with a little (just a little) fruit tisane. I did like the silver needle gong fu style that we did during my tea class (if that counts at all) – but I don’t really do that at home…
I love it…One of my favorite non-traditional whites for sure! :D
I love whites gongfu, but my silver needles also tend to hold up to ‘grandpa style brewing’ and one of mine is now my favourite tea to cold brew!
I’m going to have to gong-fuy this. I keep missing the point of whites so apparently I’ve been doing it RONG – I shll make a weekend date with the gaiwan and this and several others
Yyz, I love silver needles, and they are also fabulous cold brewed!
MzPriss, there’s no RONG lol, everyone has its own ways, but if your experience hasn’t been the greatness with them, then it,s worth trying :-)
You make this tea sound absolutely amazing. I’m going to have to pick up some of this.
This sounds wonderful. I may have to add some to the WP order that I already have planned for August! :)
The Teacret Agents strike again!
TeaKesser, it is absolutely worth trying :-)
Lol, Sarsonantor, where did you possibly learned about the teacret???
Please read my Ailaoshan review when you get time :p
The teacret is out…
Haha! i have some catching up to do, will do FOR SURE!!!!
This week is wreaking havoc on me. It’s my husband’s birthday week. We celebrate birthday weeks in my family. Essentially, every day we celebrate his birthday with different people. We go out to dinner with his parents and my parents and friends and then just us and have a party and all week long he gets treated extra special. Last night I cooked him a special vegan mac and cheese with bacon bits (not real bacon) and roasted tomato soup. I didn’t get the whole mac & cheese and bacon thing but it actually turned out pretty awesome. Tomorrow I will be prepping for his party on Saturday which includes baking a chocolate cake, with chocolate frosting and raspberry sauce, making hundreds of the best ever vegan stuffed shells and decorating for his party. Saturday he will be participating in his first jujitsu competition then we will be hosting a joint party at our house for him and another friend. I love birthday weeks but it has really been a time suck.
On top of that I have been running from doctor to doctor to figure out why both of my feet feel like they are burning on fire all day long and standing is horrifically uncomfortable. Turns out I have plantar fascitis, which is essentially inflamed ligaments in both my feet and is probably partially caused by working. Doh! I need to be better to my poor feet. Between birthday week and running to and from doctors’ offices I am really behind with work. Today is the one free day, so I will probably be working until 2am but at least I will be watching some Doctor Who while I work (I’m only on season 2).
On the positive side, early this week I found some amazing new teas. There is one 2nd Flush Darjeeling that I am extra excited about and it’s a very reasonable price and organic. It has the most amazing burned chocolate notes and some nutty notes and is super buttery and malty. Absolutely delicious and certainly can compare with our PTA. This is a Darjeeling for people who don’t like Darjeelings. No floral at all. I would also like to make a chai out of this because I can picture it being pretty awesome. Hmmm, maybe a chocolate chai. Also, very excited about the 2 Indian white teas we will be picking up and the delicious Nepalese teas we tried.
Right now I’m having the Taiwanese Wild Mountain Black. I’m using a 50ml gaiwan. This tea really tastes fantastic gongfu style. I can taste more nuances. I prefer the smaller gaiwan to conserve leaves, especially since I can get 6 or 7 steepings. Today it is extra sweet. The powdered sugar and honey notes are up front and linger long after the sip. I’m also getting nice stone fruit notes with only a tiny bit of maltiness and breadiness. I must have underleafed but it is absolutely perfect for my mood. Sometimes I prefer this stronger and maltier but not today. Today it tastes like candy. I’m also getting a tiny bit of a burned sugar note, similar to caramel. This is soooooo perfect for my mood.
I hope you can get some time to unwind eventually, especially because it sounds as though your feet could really use the break. I’m really looking forward to trying this tea, although unfortunately I’m only familiar with western brewing thus far. All in due time, though!
Thanks keychange! I will certainly have to make some time. Gongfu brewing is really easy. A tiny teapot will do or even a cup. The leaves just need room to expand. I generally fill the vessel 1/3 to 1/2 full of leaves and brew for 30 seconds or less. :)
Ouch! Burning feet sounds like no fun at ALL! Hope you feel better and get to rest soon. The new teas sound very intriguing :)
Thanks Stephanie! Not so fun, hopefully it will only take a couple months to heal. I’m super excited about the new teas. They will definitely round out our collection nicely.
I have fascitis as well!! it HURTS! only mine presents more on the top of the foot for some reason. I feel your pain :(
Indigobloom-ouch, sorry to hear that you have it too. :( It’s not so fun. Huh, that’s odd that its on top of your foot. Did you figure out what caused it?
oh dear! feel better!! happy birthday to the birthday boy.
from someone with a chronic neuropathic disease allow me to say: sometimes the body sends us warning shots across the bow. pay attention to what it says or else it may increase the volume. take it easy for a bit stacy, hmmm?
and of course… drink tea!
YAY FOR DOCTOR WHO! woot woot! Also, don’t wear yourself out too much madam:)
JustJames-Thanks! Our bodies definitely does give us warning signs. Before I got this, I had experienced prolonged periods of foot pain but totally ignored them. Now, I will be purchasing some ergonomic mats, some for the office and some for my kitchen (because I do a lot of cooking) and proper slippers for my hardwood floors. :)
Sil-I am loving Doctor Who. I am going to fly right through this series. I used to watch the 70s version I think when I was younger but I had always meant to watch this new series. I just found out about it too late and by then forgot about it. Thanks to Amazon Prime, I’m going to catch up on this and many other series too. I love being able to watch these while I work. Makes the day go so much faster. :)
once you’re caught up you will weep with the whacky UK seasons… random stops, months long waits. YOU’RE a WHOVIAN!!!! yippee! once you’re through a few seasons you’ll have to let us know which doctor is/was your favourite. (david tennant was mine).
1. Whoa! What a busy week!
2. This article on Runner’s World has some great stretches for plantar fascilitis, which is something I suffered from briefly when running in the wrong (aka too narrow) shoes. The stretches helped a ton! http://www.runnersworld.com/tag/plantar-fasciitis
3. Does this mean Doctor Who teas are coming? ;-)
JustJames-I’m loving it. Can’t wait to be an official Whovian!
Fuzzy_Peachkin-Yes, very busy! Thank you so much for the article, I was just googling stretches for Plantar Fascistic since my doctor only gave me one stretch to do. Hmmmm, Doctor Who teas, what an intriguing idea!
Hmmm, you have me envisioning “The Sonic Screwdriver” tea. Something bold, unique, something that has it all.
Sounds good already! :-)
stacy, have you tried the tardis blend? it’s quite impressive. in november i may buy some. (depends on how well behaved i am!!!)
Stacy, it sounds like you are an awesome cook, and wife!
I hope you heal quickly! You deserve some time for yourself!
Those new teas sound amazing, as does this one which I really need ony next order!
“Turns out I have plantar fascitis”
Whoa my sister just found out the same a few days ago, never heard of it before then. She works in a place where she is on her feet all day.
as i understand it plantar fasciitis is nothing to tangle with… i’ve had a couple of friends put on doctor ordered bed rest. theirs were pretty extreme cases, but just don’t fool with it? it can become chronic =0(
I was diagnosed with the same thing only just in one foot (due to an injury) about a year ago. I spent about 3 months in physical therapy 3 times a week, icing it every night, stretching every day and using electrical stimulation on it. Took about 8 months (starting from having a walking cast and progressing through sleeping with a splint on) and I’m generally better now. Every so often if I overexert myself I have to do the stretching again for a few days. I also have to wear proper arch support at all times now. But… there can be a light at the end of the tunnel. :) The teas sound amazing!
Feel better soon! A chocolate chai sounds awesome!
Fuzy_Peachkin-Thanks!
James-I have not tried the tardis blend yet. I plan on doing what I can to heal. Unfortunately, I am just on my feet pretty much all day. At work, I’m always standing and then at home its cooking, cleaning, and working out. It’s a lot harder than I thought to be off my feet.
tigress_al-Thanks, I like to think that I’m pretty good cook. I try extra hard when I’m feeding non-vegans since there is a perception that our food sucks but my friends know better by now. I’m also a hostess type person. Anyone that comes to my house gets fed and has some good tea. Thanks, I’m really excited by the new teas, both the flavored teas and the unflavored ones.
El Monstro-Sorry to hear that your sister has plantar fascitis. I hope your sister heals quickly.
Nicole-Oh no, sorry! Wow, that sounds rough. Good to hear that you are on the mend. :)
Tealizzy-Thanks. I’m thinking the chocolate chai might happen.
To mimic Sil- YAY for Doctor Who! I hope to make it to New York in November for Long Island Who. What better way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the show than to be with friends at a convention in New York, mere weeks before the actual 50th. I knew I like David Tennant from the moment he yelled “I DON”T KNOW!!" to the Sycorax leader, and ran over to push the red button that should never ever under any circumstance be pushed. That said, I do love Matt Smith.
As for your feet, follow the icing and stretching exercises, look for shoes that minimize the mobility if your feet/muscles. Good ones to look at are Clarks Waves (and their cheaper knock off of their own Wave line, In Motion). For fun, also check out Alegria. All of the above have a firm modified rocker sole, so it minimizes how much your feet are actually moving, and they are cushioned, yet supportive. You may benefit from acupuncture (my co-worker did) along with heel supports. Best of luck, Stacy.
Stacy- Thx, same for you!! that sucks :(
I carry ALOT of tension in my body for some reason. My muscles get wound up and tense all the time. Could be related to my Thyroid issues. It tends to get worse when I a) excercise alot and b) get stressed out over life haha. Yoga helps in most of my tension issues, but not so much with the feet.
Better late than never…this blend is almost gone and I’ve been sitting on this first ounce of tea for a couple of weeks without tasting it. Then I saw the notice that only a pound was left so I ordered some more. It’s time to taste and review this Chai!
I’ve been tasting Chai’s lately from various sources, looking for different tastes and flavors, socking a few away for the Fall and Winter. I was sitting at my tea bar discussing this with Eric the other day. "Eric, every Chai I drink either has too much pepper or too much cardamon or the wrong kind of cinnamon that makes the Chai bitter. I think I need to make my own Chai, " I said. “That’s what I do,” he replied. And we both sighed.
Eric works at a tea shop! He’s tasted lots of Chai samples.
The only Chai’s I’ve liked so far are one from Butiki and the Verdant Chai blends.
(Some companies have Chai’s I can’t drink because they add Rooibos which I’m allergic to…so it’s not about not liking them, I can’t drink them!).
This brings me to the sadness of this tasting. An experience of a wonderful Chai that I should have ordered long ago but didn’t.
A Chai that is exactly what a Chai should taste like.
Wah! Sniffle! Stomp my Feet! Tantrum!
I threw the directions for brewing this Chai in smaller 8oz steepings out the window. I DISOBEYED VERDANT’S INSTRUCTIONS! Now I think I have to do a Verdant confession or something. Not sure.
So, what I did was make a whole pot of Chai…(yes I did indeed). I brewed 32 ounces of golden delight…honey spiced glee for me!
I poured 1 cup…warming my whole mouth with saffron and a mixture of cardamon, coriander, sweet vanilla and caramel. Luxurious!
I sipped for a bit…and could not wait.
This was not tea. I had to change how I was thinking about the whole experience!
Suddenly, I traveled to the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel in India, http://youtu.be/dDY89LYxK0w becoming one of the characters draped in bright flowers. With Hindi music throbbing in the background (which I like), I added cream to my next cup of tea and honey in large amounts. YES! This was the way to drink this CHAI! WOW! Taste EXPLOSION!
The next cup I just added some honey. NO WAY! Nah!
Milk and honey…that ‘IS’ the proper way to enjoy this fine Chai. I’m not kidding. I’m going to steep the leaves in milk…to make the flavors even more silky and creamy and warming and cocoa vanilla.
The cardamon wasn’t overpowering and the chocolate from the Mi Lan was like the ‘Chocolate XXOO Love’ Bar’s produced here in Colorado.
Thick and Rich!
So why sad…wah! It’s gone…when I’m done with my stash…GONE!
I’m requesting a repeat next season from Verdant! This was a treat!
Goodbye My Chai Love! http://youtu.be/RUCiGqAHx4g Monsoon Wedding
Butiki makes a great chai! :D this one made me all kinds of snacky so I don’t get it anymore. The Laoshan black with milk is like ginger snap cookies so it’s not really a chai to me :D makes an awesome dessert tea though :D
I meant the Laoshan Village Chai I don’t know why I said Laoshan black sorry :D
I have Butiki’s and the other Laoshan Village Chai (See notes above, they say the only ones I’ve found that I like/love are from Butiki and Verdant) but this one is probably the very best with the warming, as a pure Chai and holds up the best with milk and honey.
Disobeyed instructions???? You Rebel! Reading your review makes me almost want to give chai another try.
I am Punjabi. :D This was such a fun tasting note to read, Bonnie. You keep outdoing yourself. Thanks for sharing this yummy experience! I think (hope!) I have a sample of this so I can try it, too.
Bonnie, I love your tasting notes so much! :)
Thank you! Nik, when my sister-in-law and I used to go out to eat in Silicon Valley we would go to a place close to her house that had a big screen TV on the wall that played non-stop Bollywood music video’s. I completely ‘lost’ her. She loves that sort of thing, so do my granddaughters and daughter and I. They often dress in Punjabi dress because it looks soooo amazing! (with their African-American, Cherokee and Scot’s Highland coloring they love to blend into lots of cultures and it works!) We’re all a bit nuts!
You say “nuts,” I say “awesome.” =)
omg I love bollywood! and I have a feeling you know how to party Bonnie ;)
Well you should have seen us when we had Cypriot breakfast’s with watermelon and fried Halloumi cheese, olives, pita and yogurt in the Spring…cranked up the Greek music and brought out the scarves and we Johnstone women got up and danced. (My nephew and 2 nieces were born in Cyprus when my brother was teaching at the American School there many years ago and my niece Gina is in a Greek dance troupe). Fun! Your family does stuff like this too Indigobloom. I know you do. Everyone has some kind of secret character…I happen to do them ALL when I get the chance!
heh, well we do on occasion. I never had the best moves so need to have a glass of wine first! heh heh
Or maybe some pu-er tea!!
Wish I had a pic of you dancing up a storm!
I still think it would be so cool to do a Steepster cruise! We could all cut a rug!I have a feeling there’d be more tea cocktails than straight tea though. (Not me! Someone’s gotta take the pictures of you guys being crazy!)
hehe that would be SO MUCH FUN. I’d be in no question about that :P
You can have a virgin cocktail.
http://www.drinknation.com/drink/blueberry-tea … notice something funny about the ingredients? :P
BLOOM! Are You Kidding?! Lipton Tea Cocktails?! We can do better than that I think~ Pa… lease!
Thank you Angel and Teavivre for this delicious Sample!
This morning I was relieved to find that the wind had scooped out the low fog-like smoke from the ground and I could breathe easier. I really wanted some tea in a big way! I felt so sick last night, nauseated from inhaling the dense soupy smoke out by my daughters house that ended up dropping down on my place 10 miles from her less than a half hour later.
I steeped these gorgeous Bronze Onyx Tea Pearls Western Style in a glass pot so that I could watch them unfurl. I wanted several cups of tea to cleanse my body from the soot I had inhaled last night from the Larimer County Fire.
This was THE perfect tea choice for this morning!
I had no idea that these little pearls would produce the most delightfully cocoa nib flavored tea of any tea I’ve ever had.
Other tea’s I’ve enjoyed had cocoa or chocolate flavor coupled with malt, yam, cinnamon. But this, was pure cocoa. Try as I would, I didn’t find malt, yam, potato or any distractor lurking in the shadows waiting to sneak out of hiding with an “aha, gotcha”.
I have a treasured little French Bakery as big as a shoebox in Oldtown Fort Collins. The sign outside the shop says ‘Only One Person at a Time Enter Please’ posted there because the shop is so small. Inside there is a glass case lined with pastries that are works of art. Buttery beauties and sugered sweeties. Best of all are the Macarons. Ohhhh the Chocolate Macarons (French spelling)…so light they would float on air. My Black Dragon Pearl Tea was like the Chocolate Macarons. So very Parisian. Smooth, light and cocoalicious.
I’ll buy some of this tea…it is really the best black cocoa tasting tea I’ve had. Now I have 2 Verdant favorite Black Tea’s and 2 Teavivre’s.
The Today Show was on while I was enjoying my cup and was showing the Larimer County Fire…right here. I saw a helicopter picking up some water. Hum, it looked like the little lake about 3 miles from my house.
I picked up my camera and walked to the end of the complex and was shocked to see the fire was right up my hill from me behind Horsetooth Reservoir. Yikes! My daughter called me and we set up a plan in case I have to get out of here. I walked to the end of the complex and took a picture.
Be SAFE! Don’t try staying too long if they say to get out!
On another note – those lawns are VERY well manicured! :)
Glad I don’t have to do yardwork!Or plow snow or maintain the pool or anything! My association includes water and security and garbage too…all building maint, wiring, paint etc. $125 a month so not bad. Yes I was going to go look down the street again. I hear the planes.
I hope you’re okay! Hopefully the wind blows away from your town.
Unfortunately, it’s right behind my house…praying the wind does not shift but it’s supposed to bringing the whole thing downhill. But, that is man’s opinion…the wind does what the wind wants to do.
Ain’t that the truth. Weather prediction is hard, and accuracy is just too computationally intensive to be commonplace. Regardless, I’m keeping you in my thoughts.
Sadly, Liz’s aunt and uncle had to evacuate (in a real hurry) and near as anyone can tell, they’ve lost everything that didn’t fit into the two pick-ups.
Oh no! Lord have Mercy! Do they need help?
Family is engaged. Liz and I live closer than anyone else, but she leaves for Tokyo on Friday morning. I am waiting for word from mom-in-law that I should mobilize. They do have alternative housing as a short term solution, I think the real issue will be whether or not insurance coverage will allow them to re-build, or what.
I was touring NM and CO this time last year and it was horrible to see how much smoke was blowing over from AZ. We were at the top of Sandia Peak in Albuquerque and you’re supposed to be able to see all the way to AZ from up there and we couldn’t even see downtown Albuquerque. At another point, we were more or less racing the fires in southern CO trying to make an end run around them so we could get home.
Y’all need to move out of the desert and get near some water!
The smoke is low this morning woke me up at 5am sick! Went outside and couldn’t see the hills at all behind my house. The pictures on the Today Show etc of the copters picking up water is behind my place so I think your family must have had a home up by Horsetooth.
Lightning and people start fires too. We had fires in the hills around Silicon Valley that were huge and in the Sierras. At least where I live, no tornados! (Too close to the mountain!) The only safe place though is heaven!
Sorry to hear that, Jim. I hope they are ok.
If you need to come here and need a place to stay let me know! Reader John Timby is a great friend and lives close by. I’ve known him 18years and a good contact (St.Lukes Erie)
You are welcome to my home. I can stay at my daughter’s house.
New England is close enough to heaven for this yankee boy. No wild fires, no tornados, no hurricanes, no earthquakes, no fire ants, no kudzu, no heat waves, no 10 year droughts… of course we do get nor’easters and blizzards. Oh well.
I really do love it here in Northern Colorado! Not humid or crowded, not a desert, sunny beautiful ….some lightning struck and pow! Fire! (Natural but it’s been extra dry!)
Unfortunately, the extra dry is going to just keep getting worse. As humid as it is in Houston, we even had a wild fire scare last Summer because of the exceptional drought conditions.
Thanks VariaTEA for this! I forgot I had it when I implusively bought a sample of this on the weeknend. Whoops! But since it was in my spreadsheet twice this counts as a sipdown (162!) AND lets me try a tea I was curious about.
I think I should have steeped this longer – it smells amazing! Strawberry and cream and wow! Sadly, the taste is much milder than the scent suggest.
I do get some strawberry and cream. I just wish it was more. I’ll have to remember to try steeping for 7 min when I have the other sample of this!
Preparation
This smells like a strawberry milkshake and I think that is why I am refusing to completely get rid of it. However, I have sort of been off cacao teas that I also have not been inclined to drink it so it sort of just hangs out.
I quite enjoyed this one! The Mint and Vanilla variations weren’t for me, but this one I enjoyed so much I ordered 50g. :)
Sounds promising. I’ll definitely steep it longer next time!
I am so, so jealous – this tea is on my ultimate wish list!
I don’t know if it’s that good!
Ha – Yvonne – I just realized that you’ve got 90+ teas in your cupboard, and most of those without tasting notes. You should work on trying all those before you worry about what else you should try. You’ll NEVER try everything.
If you always worry about ‘new’ teas, you won’t appreciate the ones you already have and will always be buying more! Just some advice because I know how crazy/overwhelming it can be when you first get on Steepster.
I’m getting through them, slowly but surely :) The allure of new teas is so hard to pass up!
I actually just took a look and you’re right – I DO have a lot to get through. Gotta get drinking I suppose! My parents already give me crap for supposedly drinking too much tea :P
Haha. It adds up quickly, eh?
But when I first got into Steepster I felt I had to try ALL THE TEAS, and while that’s a common idea, it’s that’s just not sustainable.
I was always excited about the teas that were coming my way and then I sorta neglected the already premium teas I had sitting there because they didn’t sound as exciting as whatever fancy new tea had caught my eye. It was sorta silly because I was always chasing something I couldn’t have. Now I try to focus on enjoying a few staples in my cupboard, while exploring some newer teas. But I have accepted that I will never get them all. And that I don’t need to because the differences between a lot of teas are so slight that they really don’t matter.
Sacriledge maybe? :P
I get teased for drinking too much too. But at least my stash looks deceptively small. :D
Well said Cavo. :)
You’re very true and thank you so much for the advice! I really appreciate it :) You’re certainly wise.
Words of wisdom, Cavo!
I know I have bought a million teas and swapped for a million more and now get stressed each time I see how many different teas I have in my cupboard.
VariaTEA – Totally! It’s pretty easy to go from 50, to 100 to hundreds…
I remember when I first started, after my first online order I had 24 teas and I was nearly ashamed of that! Now 150 is “normal” and I’m still above that! /0\
I think ALL THE TEAS is something that infects a lot of new Steepsterites. I know I was like that and look at me now with a gazillion teas. I’m not opening new ones until I drink/give away/trade all the opened ones but it is such an undertaking.
I signed up for ALL the tea of the month clubs and now I am paying for it.
Haha. I like how we all had the same experience. I remember when I joined and saw people had cupboards with like 150 teas I was like “I wish I had that many teas” and now that I am over 200 I still wish to have a cupboard of only 150…or less.
I went through my teas today and I’m adding the ones that weren’t in my cupboard already. Passed 400 just now.
Yep, I’m another crazy 400 gal, and let’s just say that I’m missing out on stuff often. I’ll try to find it, knowing I have it… and it’s just hiding. I’m trying to whittle it down, however I’ve hovered around 430-ish for a while now. I’ll be thrilled with about 50-75 that I love, with the rest swaps in/out or new things to try to get around the 150 mark like many of you who have been around these parts longer.
i hit 375 and it was too much for me…so i quickly dropped back to 200. That’s about as high as i like to be, though 150 is nice since there’s breathing room there if you get a big swap or order..
When Frank posted about this tea I was so excited, I think I might have been the first person to order it and it arrived today. wheee! This blend was pretty much made for me due to the fact that I LOVE lemon and cardamom and chun mee is pretty awesome too.
The dry leaf smells very aromatic in the bag. There’s lots of lemony citrus fragrance in here as well as a bit of sweetness.
I steeped this up via regular infuser mug method and I love it! It’s very citrusy and ever so slightly tart. You can see chunks of dried lemon peel and cardamom in the mix. The cardamom is subtle but it is definitely present. Chun mee was a good choice for this blend because I think a lighter tea would have been totally overpowered by the other ingredients. There is definitely a bit of palate cleansing astringency and it is strong and assertive. I’ve never been able to strongly pick out the plum flavor people describe in chun mee but I like the flavor of it. I know chun mee is supposed to be slightly sour.
I have found this to be so delightful and refreshing! But you would have to like lots of lemon because this blend is fairly strong in this regard. Frank, I loved this one and no I am not sharing with the rest of you. :-P
Preparation
You must live pretty close to Frank to be able to get it delivered so quickly!
Frank was just really on top of his game earlier this week. Doing a show this weekend, so I wanted to get orders caught up early. :) So glad to hear you are enjoying it.
It was very speedy but I don’t think we live too close to each other. :)
I should give this a try but the lemongrass aspect scares me away.
Ah, I love lemongrass
I was initially interested in this tea, but my experience with lemon teas has not been good. I like lemon juice, and that’s it apparently.
Lemongrass is so refreshing…….Aaahhhh.
Lemon and cardamom is a great combination. I can recommend it in pancakes as well :D
That is an interesting idea Angrboda.
Usually I put an apple in our pancakes, but if we havne’t got any apples, that is my preferred alternative.
Mmm sounds good, I’ll have to give it a shot – too bad cardamom is so bloody expensive here, so it’s not likely to become a regular thing.
This is one of the first milk oolongs that was not overly vegetal in my tumbler. Butter? Yes. Coconut like? Yes. Milky? Yes. Green like spirulina and a grassy protein shake for a cow? Yes, but smooth and well rounded by the other flavor profiles being close to a greener dessert.
I’m contemplating on making this a staple…but it’s $42 for 4 oz….eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee we’ll see. I do really like it. 93 rating minimum that will likely go up-price is the main thing holding this one back because I’ve very rarely had Alishan Jin Xuans that actually have a fruity note, and this one has a very prominent lychee flavor as it cools down in third steeps.
Is it flavored? Have you tried Premium Silky Green from Bird Pick? It has that buttery silky vibe. They sell it as a green but it is deffo milk oolong and cheaper than that. Not sure about a fruity note as it has been ages since I have had any.
Paru Tea Bar appears to have some cool teas but their prices make me hesitate.
Need to try Bird Pick.
I thought Mandala was the be all and end all of milk oolongs? Or the mango one from what cha?
That said, if you’ve found what you like, sometimes it is best to just suck it up and get exactly what you want.
I also ADORE J E Milky from The O Dor but it is rather expensive.
I’m pretty sure it’s flavored-though they don’t say. I personally was not as big of a fan of the J E Milky. I still think Mandala’s one is, What-Cha is the best quality for the best price. The thing that’s unusual about this one is the lychee note, and it’s actually not too far off from the same price as Mandala’s-only slightly more expensive. And I still haven’t tried the one from bird pick yet! I remember when you recommended it so long ago!
One benefit is that there is a $40 free shipping cap for U.S. The problem is that you’d have to get a tea flight to sample their teas, and they mostly come in 3’s. I do think there are a few teas that are worth it from Paru, but it is steep in comparison.
Bird pick has also put the oolong in the oolong category
Daylon: I am glad to hear they moved it. It was in the green section for years. I called them once to ask about it and the young woman who answered the phone said it was deffo green tea because oolongs are smoky…I explained that there is a whole range of oolong and she was really surprised and said she needed to find out more about it. She didn’t get defensive or cross, just really was surprised and very nice. I checked a few more times and it still was listed as a green, so I am glad they have now moved it to where it belongs!
I vaguely remember the oolong debacle! Also glad to see they changed it. Now, if only they shipped to Canada.
Hahaha, the Canada shipping thing. Yeah. And then there’s the paying gazillions of dollars, not on tea, on shipping (and customs/duties if they ding you.
Sorry, having a bitter moment.
Also bitter. It used to be sort of affordable. On the flipside, I hear that by the end of the month Canada is dropping the testing for trips across the border less than 72hrs in length. This may give us more tea buying options lol
Good news! Not helpful to me, yay anyway.
In the past week or so, I’ve lost my mind completely, so I may not need any more tea. Ever.
Lol teaching been nuts up there too?
Interesting times, interesting times.
But I meant more in terms of impulsive tea purchases (and it’s not even Black Friday).
How’ve you been managing, Daylon?
Oh cool, Bird Pick still exists!
I’m almost there with you Evol. I’m telling myself I can’t buy more tea until I sipdown all the August Uncommon and old 52teas (and start the advents). But then I wish for things I don’t have (oolong. always oolong).
I KNOW! And then there’s the oh, things have been hard and I deserve a treat (or five) thing.
It’s been tough, and interesting. By no means the worst year I’ve taught (first year still takes the cake),but I’ve made some progress despite some hurtles. Being sick and being a leader in a nonprofit has been draining. Ergo, like you, more tea. Luckily, the weekly subbing on my prep has helped supplement income a little.
I’ve got a good stash, but too much black, not enough oolong. Barely have touched my white teas.
I laughed at your description of some oolongs as “protein shakes for a cow.” So true!
I, too, have gone overboard on impulsive tea purchases and may not be participating in Black Friday. Unlike you, my stash is oolong heavy and “needs” more black tea. (My only BF temptation would be the oolongs from White2Tea, One River Tea, etc., etc.) Do you have any decent unsmoked Lapsang Souchong? In my impulsive buy from Wuyi Origin, I managed to pick up only 50 g of Old Bush Lapsang and 75 g of Jin Jun Mei (plus 50 g of their lower-priced Benefit Tea, ugh), plus three Dan Congs. I’m starting to feel a bit of buyer’s remorse…
Nothing beats the first year!
I expanded my horizons by splurging on matcha, as well, of course, as the usual suspects.
Leafhopper, no remorse allowed. Some we like, some we drink, some we give away, some we age and get to eventually, hopefully while they are still tasty.
I am also interested in a good unsmoked lapsang. Please let me know if you come across something lovely.
I sent a list of some in a message, Leafhopper. Most of them are less than 1 oz from Trident Cafe in Colorado.
Hello? Not for public consumption?
Evol Ving Ness, you’re right, the tea will be drunk, swapped, or stored for years in my tea museum, so I don’t need to feel any remorse. The best unsmoked Lapsang I’ve had is the one from TheTea.pl., which is full of tropical fruit. Wuyi Origin’s Old Bush Lapsang Souchong is a close second, though it leans more toward sweet potato and brown sugar.
Daylon, I’m not sure your message went through. I can’t see it in my inbox.
Thank you, Leafhopper. Making a note of your suggestions.
The Tea
I ordered this tea just in the nick of time so it seems, because the stock has already sold out. I know that Verdant will blend some more as soon as the autumn harvest of Laoshan Green is in! Waiting, waiting, wanting!
When I read that Minnesota wild rice and Jasmine sticky rice were being roasted at Verdant to be blended with the superior Laoshan Green tea to make this Genmaicha, I was all in. My taste imagination recalled the buttery green bean smooth tea. Um, with a pairing of toasted rice how brilliant!
Laoshan green leaves are lovely to begin with, very small and curly. The white and black rice, slightly puffy from roasting, made a pretty speckled trio with the tea.
The scent was roasty, like sweet sticky rice and the aroma of buttered popcorn.
The taste didn’t disappoint me!
The flavor was my best experience with a 4 hour Wedding Banquet at the ‘Empress’ in Chinatown San Francisco, and the best day at the
Butte County Fair eating BBQ Corn dripping with Buddah’!
This tea rocks! (Now that’s something you’ve never heard me say!)
The tea is SAVORY and a little SWEET at the same time almost like kettle corn. You won’t be able to stop because of that sweet, savory addictive quality that begs you to have more and more.
I can hear my self now…“Hi, my name is Bonnie and I’m addicted to Laoshan Genmaicha.” …“Hello Bonnie”, thousands of voices respond with the same problem. Sigh. (I’ll have to fill the complimentary hot beverage containers in the back of the room with this tea hee hee!)
There is enough flavor to drink this with a meal. I love the way the taste lingers lazily, a long while after the sipping is done.
With a piece of toast and honey for a snack or at breakfast…yum.
The Story:
Last night I stopped at my tea pub (Happy Lucky’s for those new to my stories) and brought Eric and Sam a sample of the new Verdant Earl of Anxi tea blend with the Frankincense in it. The evening crowds were gone (dinner time) all was quiet and I sat at the bar while they lined up tastings from a small Gaiwan.
The first was great, the second steeping also, but the THIRD…well that’s when the Frankincense began to bloom and meld with the Oolong into an aroma and flavor that amazed them and me.
What an awesome experience. I gave each a little sample to take home and then ordered a pot of Assam and a ginger cookie (Sam’s shift was over and he went home).
People began filling up the shop and I chatted with some, helping others while the lone Eric rushed to make tea orders. This lasted for an hour until another lull arrived.
Still sitting at the bar talking about tea while he frothed some milk, a long line of people came into the shop, behind the bar, past me and Eric and disappeared. “What’s going on?”, I asked surprised.
“Uh, oh, he chuckled, it’s the ghost walk.” “The what?, I answered, is this place supposed to be haunted?” “Well, you know this was a firehouse and had a jail in the back…but in the basement was solitary confinement,” Eric informed me. Yikes! And a few minutes later, a line of people came back up (about 25-30 in all) and filed past me again only this time I held up my hands and said BOO!
I watched the young couple on a date, the oldsters on a night out. The young couple with a baby enjoying Chai. Four friends playing a board game. Most of the people stayed to drink their tea as the sun went down and it became dark.
Never a dull moment at Happy Lucky’s Tea House! It’s beginning to be my Lake Wobegon.
I’ll have to share some of this Laoshan Genmaicha Tea too!
(but just a little since I only have an ounce!).
The sharing makes the tea taste even better I think!
Preparation
What a great review! Amongst other things, I love the reference to 12-steps groups.
That’s fantastic!
BOO!
Yeah, Bonnie, looks like You, & Nik & I are officially a 12 step group now!
And I use a cane so my I have to be careful with my STEPS or I’ll fall over! (I need one of those canes with a secret insulated tea compartment in it.
Oh my gosh, this tea! I need it in my life. Just as much, if not more, than I need a ghost tour this Halloween! That’s honesty, Halifax has a lot of ghostly history! ;)
TEA PUB! OMG! green with envy!
I want a Happy Luckys ! ♥
Drinking this “Laoshan style”… I used to drink only my Dragonwell this way, but a certain Tea Whiz of the Woods mentioned that method worked with pretty much all teas.
For those who are unfamiliar with the method, this is how I do it. I use a tall glass preferably, and poor low temp water on the leaves. When they sink at the bottom, I start to drink. When the glass gets 2/3 empty, I refill. If you are using good quality tea, it NEVER gets bitter.
I like using a crystal beer glass cause I don’t burn my fingers this way. Here’s a few pics:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/laafeevertee/14565779587/lightbox/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/laafeevertee/14751914512/lightbox/
Now the tea. It’s such a lovely pretty tea. (Aren’t WP teas all pretty? What’s up with that?)
The taste is so friendly, it’s smooth, not overly vegetal nor grassy. It’s got sweet tender buttery green beans notes.
It’s got that marine breeze saltiness I like so much, I’m eating macadamia nuts and it just goes so perfectly with that taste.
If you shy away from green teas because of their ususal grassiness, this tea is for you. Oh, and please don’t throw out the brewed leaves. They are so good and tender. Add them to green smoothies, stir fries or salads. They are delicious, not bitter at all!
Now, a long Story…skip if uninterested.
My dog Dexter has been a little nervous at night lately. We’ve had a possible beak in attempt a few nights ago…while I was in the house. The alarm company sent the police over, big commotion, could not determine what really happened.
My dog is a big baby, but he can be such a bad ass mofo (this word is a courtesy of MzPriss)
The police told me he does a better job than any alarm system will ever do. They say if a doberman lets you in…it won’t ever let you out.
So the next night, when I heard him growling at the same door from which the supposedly break in attempt happened, I got scared.
So I did what any bad fake blonde actress in a lame B horror movie would do. I did it people. I opened the door and got out on the deck. (Fake dumb blond reenactment) «Hello? Hello? Someone there?» Silence. Pitch dark, I don’t have city lights in my neck of the woods…but then I heard alien noises…hmmmm…was I about to have an encounter with the third kind? Flashlight time, pointed it towards the noise source. This is what I found:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/laafeevertee/14748863064/
Awwww…. Little baby raccoons feeding off my bird feeder!!! They froze and stayed there. I had time to go grab the camera, put it on night mode and get this amazing shot.
Now, was this dynamic duo responsible for the break in attempt? They would not tell me. But I’d like to think they were…and I’d say that’s a guilty look if I ever saw one!
Eww, raccoons. Not a fan after seeing coons larger than dogs in the city boosted by human food growth hormones. Nice post about the tea, however^^
Lol, but racoons are so cute!!
Aaaaww they are so cute! Remind me to tell you about Mr. Peepers sometime.
I had a break in once, while I was in the house. Now I have 3 dogs and I’m armed. I used to have an alarm, but that just went off for no reason. If anyone so much as breathes outside this house, the dogs let me know.
Oh how horrible Sars… Good thing you are well protected now. And yes, I’d love to hear about Mr. Peepers :-)
I’m glad you have Dexter, even if he’s a big baby, as you say. He still undoubtedly has impressive hearing and the fact that he probably LOOKS scary goes a long way!!!!
How adorable!
(I really need to change my screen name…..)
LOL Dex :p
Hahaha! So sorry about that dexter…don’t change your name please, maybe i should just call him DeDe around here like I do at home ;-)
Sars he his a big baby, but don’t underestimate him: he can flip into serial killer in no time! Two years ago, he came back with a peeping tom’s piece of ass in his mouth…good boy :-)
So adorable! That’s great they stayed while you ran for the camera – such a good photo!
Caile, It was so funny, they were like frozen in time, caught in the act!
ROTFL!!! Omg, I guess that’s why some people don’t like them…But they are just hungry little fury balls, poor things.
Soo cute! But I would piss in my pants. I’m scared of wild animals except squirrels haha
Wow.. So glad it was mischievous raccoons & not someone tryi to get in. What a scary adventure.
We had one that visited the well where we keep the garden hose in the front porch. One day I lifted off the cover only to be greeted by a furry face. The poor thing was only looking for water. It had been very hot, but it made me jump back a little.
Yikes! I hope it turns out the little robber raccoon were responsible for the whole thing, how terrifying!
Lol, boychik, How do you survive the whole summer over there??? Now you must have critters all over the place no?
Suziqzer, dunno if they are guilty, but it reassures me to think they are, that’s for sure :-)
Yyz, I guess they can be surprising, no matter how cute they are!
Amanda, yep, I sure hope so….
I saw coyote last week. He was running to my neighbors drive way. Needless to say I run to the house. I think he got scared as well;)
Omg, they’re sooooooo cute!! I love raccoons :) I hope they were the guilty party for the attempted break-in. They’re easily distracted by shiny things :)
Oooh, coyote…they can be dangerous though when they are hungry…but you’re right, most critters are more afraid of of then we are of them!
mj, they were just the cutest thing ever!! i do hope they were the ones playing with my door nob, haha!
They probably smelled you brewing tea and wanted to come in for a tea party… They figured they could jiggle the doorknobs and get your attention. It’s a little known fact that racoons can’t knock on doors.
Well sars…then tea would be the culprit???
And your sparkling personality. I’d totally crash your tea parties. I’d just knock first. :)
I hate it when a picture is missing from a tea, so I always try to do a screen capture and add one. This time, it seems a bit messy. (Boo). Hopefully when Frank gets a chance he can change it.
Anyway. This is my second attempt at steeping one of Frank’s SBT blends. I really, really wish they came loose so that I could parse out the amount I wanted, as there are few 2-quart containers in my neck of the woods. I will definitely message him to share this, as I think I’d buy more if I could measure it, instead of getting one huge tea bag.
Anyway. Steeped it exactly as shared on the bag: 3 minutes, then added cold water to fill my Teavana glass pitcher. I found it a bit weak, and am going to let it sit in my fridge overnight to really cool. I did notice that as the small amount that I poured for myself cooled, the black base was less apparent, and the orange took over. Initially, all I got was cream and black base.
Also, a question for all you experienced SBT-ers, or at least those experienced to cold steeping: should I leave the tea bag in the water overnight, or use it again for another steep?
Preparation
When I make it, I cold steep the bag for 15-16 hours. However, I only every cold steep them so I am not sure how the flavor would change using a bag that has already been hot brewed and then iced.
What other SBT did you make btw?
I’m blanking out as to which one I made, as it was a while ago. We left it in the fridge too long, so it was icky by the time I got around to drinking it. :(
Oh no. I am trying the last of my SBT teas tomorrow morning and then I will be placing an order for more. I figured I should try what I had so I knew what to restock.
LiberTEAS cold steeps overnight, then hot steeps to get the most out of them. Check out their reviews. :)
I have to admit, they are tempting. If you’re going to order more, MissB, might I tag along?
OMGsrsly, I was going to offer to add some to my order for you and then realized that may not be the most effective plan given we don’t live nearly as close as you and MissB. However, if you are only looking to get a couple to try some, they are pretty flat and could probably pass as letter mail and therefore not really cost anything for me to send them to you. I will probably be ordering tomorrow evening so if you want me to add anything, just let me know :)
Ooo. Let me go check!
UH OH. Eggnog honeybush? Too tempting.
Haha. I was tempted by that too. But I don’t know if I want 2 oz of it. Mostly because I don’t know if I would like it. Although, no one does honeybush like Frank.
Heh. I’ve got a LOT of Frank’s stuff on the way from the Kickstarter, plus the new ones. One just showed up now, it was somehow held in transit for weeks. I grabbed eggnog, and will pass along some to both of you if you’d like. :)
I’d really appreciate that, MissB!
I have to admit the cart I built (Malted Chocomate!) is only $40. Tempting to just buy. Are all the SBT caffeinated? I don’t see any honeybush ones.
They are all black teas…I think.
And I just wish someone had reviewed the eggnog honeybush so at least there is something to guess how the tea tastes. I may just cave and order it anyways. I have a nice balance on my paypal account that can go towards my order.
I am also debating the Pineapple Angel Food Cake. It was so tasty the first time I had it but the second time around I was not that impressed. The fear that I won’t be able to have it again is pushing me towards getting it even though I am not sure that I would want so much of it.
Hmm. Umm. I might just order now and ship to MissB. hides head
haha. I think you should go for it.
Ok, ok… Let’s see. Oh no! It worked! Haha. MissB, you should be expecting a parcel for me…
What did you end up getting??
Too much! LOL. Rootbeer Float, Butterbeer, Strawberry Zabaglione, Honey Ginger, Almond Milk (?!), Gingerbread Smoke, Eggnog Honeybush, Malted ChocoMate. Oh boy, oh boy. :D
Haha. My cart right now is sitting at about $50 and that includes 13 diff SBTs (multiples of a couple) and the Pineapple Angel Food Cake. I made the mistake of looking through the Available Now and I am currently debating the Eggnog Honeybush, the Cinnamon Roll Honeybush, and the Frankenberry (but only because I saw it has Marshmallow root). I think I have a problem…
I have not had any SBT yet but have wondered for a while if you could just cut the tea bag open and get what you needed and repackage the rest. Is there a reason this would not work?
I don’t think there’s any reason why that wouldn’t work. They’re just a little more expensive than the loose teas – $12/2oz rather than $8.99. So if there’s a flavour offered loose, I’d probably just get it that way.
I wish I could just ‘like’ your comment, VariaTea!
Thanks, that is a good point about the difference in size/value. The main one I would get is sold out in loose & ya’ll are funny
I have a huge amount of Cinnamon Roll Honeybush, I love it that much!
NayLynn, I could easily cut the bag open, I just think I’d enjoy it more/more often if I was deciding how big my container is to cold steep, and then going from there.
OMGsrsly, sounds good!
Yeah, I wish I could cold steep smaller amounts also. I don’t even want two quarts. Because hello! I need to cold steep in my mason jar!
Both the containers I picked up are “two quarts”. One is actually 2 quarts, but the other is way closer to 3. I’ll probably keep that one for herbals as I prefer cold steeped tea to plain water.
Another wonderful sample from Takgoti. Mmmm…I love it! And my cats seem to love it too. Both Sarge and Mr. Mouse had their little heads hovering above my cup. They were doing that odd open mouth smelling thing that cats tend to do when they really dig a smell. It’s cute. My husband and I make the Predator sound if we see them doing the open mouth smell. You know that mix of snarl/snore that the Predator aliens make? Riiight…I’m guessing not. Just a small glimpse into my life.
On to the tea. It’s great. No…it’s Wonderful for a mint tea. And fairly complex. The obvious peppermint taste, then the cardamom and ginger take hold. Mmmm! All held together by a simple, tasty green tea. It’s yum. It’s just YUM! I highly encourage everyone to try it. Especially if you like mint teas. I’m feeling perfectly well (knock on wood) but if I was feeling ill, I would want this on standby. Go Samovar!
It’s yum! :)
My cats liked it too! I think catnip is part of the mint family (or related?) so maybe there is a similar smell to this mint?
Haha. It’s funny that you guys mentioned that. It actually looks like some of the catnips I’ve seen.
Maybe I’ll just sprinkle a little of my Peppermint from Adagio instead of buying them catnip. :)
Lena, seriously, try that. My cat went absolutely nuts over a Lipton peppermint bag. She kept licking the paper and rubbing her face against it. Hissed and spat and bit and scratched when I tried to take it away from her.
Hilarious! Who knew that cats would be so attracted to tea?
Sarge and Mr. Mouse are most excellent names for cats, I have to say.
I also have to say that Steepster has me mildly interested in cats (since so many people have them!) even though I’m way more of a dog person myself.
@ Angrboda – Wow!!! I bet my cats would play with a mint teabag for hours. I’ll see what they do with the loose peppermint. I’m sure their fur and kitty breath will smell minty fresh. Pets are better than watching TV sometimes.
I have some loose peppermint that I primarily use when I’m ill or to spice other stuff up a bit (like in a chocolate tea). I toyed with the idea of sewing something for her and stuffing it with some of the peppermint, but I can’t sew, so I never got around to it. Bit of a shame that I couldn’t make myself let her play with the bag. Considering the leaf-size in those things and that it was only a question of time before she would break it… Not really an option.
She did have a couple of catnip mice that she never ever played with in her life, except for the one time I tried tying one of them to a piece of rope, and then she was really more interested in the rope…
Thanks teaplz. Mr. Mouse is a Russian Blue and Sarge is an orange striped Tabby cat. You should totally get a cat. I was a dog lover for ages until I met my husband. He’s a cat man. Now, I love cats and think they are much easier to take care of. But then again, we also have a Great Dane named Tank.
LOL, a Great Dane named Tank, that’s FABULOUS!
I’m always wary about cats because they seem so aloof and stand-offish. At least, my friends’ cats are. Or they’ve scratched everyone we know. Lots of breeds of dogs are super-playful, and that tends to match my personality more.
Of course, I could be completely wrong about the cats! And Tank is an amazing name. You guys have the perfect animal names, fo srs.
teaplz, it really depends on the cat. Yates loved everyone and was EXTREMELY outgoing and friendly. Hunter is friendly if we’re in the house (he hides from cat sitters and such). We’ve had houseguests who have totally changed their mind about cats just from meeting our two boys (the girl, Juliet, is standoffish, but she has reason to be).
Sarge loves everyone…especially men. ESPECIALLY men that have a little bit of stubble. He makes it his goal to get in their lap and lick their face. He’s an odd one but very social. Mr. Mouse loves me…only me. He tolerates my husband if I’m not there. If company comes over, he hides. It just depends on the cat. Mr. Mouse plays fetch with his little rattle toys. Brings it back and everything for me to throw again.
Tea and cats do sort of seem to go hand in hand, for whatever reason. Ragdoll cats are pretty infamously friendly. I’ve got two Mainecoons myself, and they’re pretty independent (I named them Mars and Ares, perhaps that has something to do with it). Mars weighs in at about 20 lbs., without exaggerating, and is a big wuss; Ares sits closer to 12 and it’s his business to make friends.
I fear what would occur if they ever figured out how to get into my tea, given what I’ve seen them do to a bag of catnip in ten minutes flat.
:D KITTYS! lol it deff depends on the cat as my cat is VERY high maintenance she has severe anxiety :( if she doesnt get human interaction for more than 2 days in a row she will pull her fur out on her arms :( she also has anxiety attacks if she sees me though a window because outside is scary and dangerous and she doesnt want me out there. luckily shes become WAY more social as shes gotten older :) she will come down and dust all my friends w/ her tail. shes also a secret daddys girl but doesnt want me to know lol. my cat at my parents house Kurtis (he gos outside and i live close to the main road and a college so i was not able to bring him to my apartment to live with me in fear of him getting stolen or hit by a car) is the exact opposite of Zoie, he wants nothing more than to plop in ur lap purr up a storm and suck on your shirt (its gross)
next visit to my parents ill bring him a peppermint tea bag :)
Love the cat stories!
I guess it really does sort of depend on the cat itself. I guess dogs don’t vary in personality as much. Nearly every single Golden Retriever I’ve encountered, for instance, has been very friendly and happy-go-lucky. Of course, there are probably exceptions, but I haven’t seen them yet.
Squee! So glad you enjoyed this! [And that your cats did too, that’s funny.] I don’t know how many tins of this I’ve been through already, but I get seriously bummed whenever I run out.
I’ve also been noticing this tea/cats paralleling and I think it’s interesting. I think I’m one of very, very few Steepsterites who does not own a cat.
@teaplz working at a dog kennel i get to see MANY diff dogs and owners. for the most part you are right :) but dogs tend to mimic their owners for example: we have this dog Cosmo who comes in (hes a Scottish terrier) he is VERY demanding we call him “the General” his owner has pretty much the same temperament lol, and Jenny (a yellow Lab) her owner is VERY high strung and makes a HUGE deal about bringing her dog to us (shes been bringing Jenny to us for years and jenny really likes us and always does butt wiggles when she sees us) she crys and lets on ALOT, well Jenny is a very nervous dog and if u dont call her a million times and make a big deal and make cutesy noises she will not come outside to play.
ive noticed Great danes tend to be lap dogs, LENA is Tank a lap dog? i love it when they try to curl up on my lap when we go outside to play cuz im 5’5" lol so i get dwarfed lolz :)
Teaplz do you have a dog?
@ Kitch3ntools – OMG…your cat pulls the fur out of her legs?!? That’s crazy…and sad…and a little funny. Cats are so odd, but that’s part of their appeal. And your shirt sucking cat…HAHA! Too funny. Both of my cats are licking cats. They are big on licking your hands and fingers like a dog would. It’s cute at first…then it gets kind of gross and I push them off my lap on to the floor.
Tank thinks he’s a litttle dog. He loves playing with little dogs too. His best friend is a little rat terrier. My sister-in-law has a Dane, but I think Tank likes the terrier better. :) If you sit in the floor, Tank will try to fit most of his body into your lap. I’m also 5’5" and he’s WAY taller than I am. It’s funny, when he sleeps on his dog bed, he curls up into a tiny ball. But if I let him in the bed to sleep with me (nights my husband is out of town) he stretches out to take up the most space he possibly can. Nice.
@LENA yeah i talked to her vet and its cause by separation anxiety. i was really upset about it at first then i slowly went to making fun of it cuz its too weird lol shes getting alot better we went away for the weekend in sep and and i didnt kennel her like i did for our week trip and i used “bitter spray” on her arms and she was fine when we came home she actually seemed pleased with herself. she also licks my fingers i think because shes lazy cuz she’ll lick my fingers then rub on it so i think shes petting herself and cleaning herself at the same time lol.
yeah when i was in highschool and younger i would let Kurtis suck on my shirt but i dont anymore because no1 lets him do it so if you allow him to pretty much halfyour shirt will be wet he gets so excited lol.
LOL i love that! i love when danes think there little cuz they r always just so gentle and sweet but gigantic :D such fun dogs!!
our Collie (a lassie kind of collie lol) names Lucky growning up would sleep in small spots but when i would let him on my bed he would pretty much push me off lol :)
@all Seconding the Ragdoll cat recommendation! I have a Ragamuffin cat (very similar to the Ragdoll but comes in more colors and has a smaller, more regulated breeding community) and my parents liked her so much they got two more for themselves! From what I understand, Ragdolls are good for people who don’t want a stand-offish cat, because they are so friendly. I think Ragdolls are also called “puppy cats” or something because they tend to follow people around from room to room. On the flip side, they’re more needy for attention than other cats, so if you are away from your home a lot, they’re probably not a good match. They’reknown for being “soft-pawed” (no scratching) and they go totally limp when held, hence the Ragdoll name. People used to think they genetically had a higher pain tolerance than other cats because they are so calm and tolerant! :)
I just stumbled across lena’s avatar which led me into this tasting note. The forces are gathering. You would be wise to loose your flippant ways and join the honorable foot clan…I’ll get you, you miserable turtles!
sorry for the unrelated comment :)
You’re goin’ down, Shred head!
Totally!!! Shredder is sooo bogus!
Turtle Power!
My cat totally makes the same face…my husband thinks its weird, but I think it is too cute. LOL at Predator reference…
Unrelated: Since I don’t see anymore turtles, I guess Shredder has conquered this dimension…
@ mrawlins2 – I think it’s cute too…just a little odd. I’m glad you know what I’m talking about in regards to Predator…lol.
@ Jason – we were only going to do it for a day. after we got in trouble we nixed the idea. lol :)
@LENA: Ha! I didn’t mean to punish you guys like you were in trouble…since Select is kinda its own thing and very prominent we prefer to keep it more focused. But I don’t see a problem with the occasional, off-topic comment on a tasting note (obviously :)
Ok, if opening this sample doesn’t make you say, “Oooh!” out loud, then just box up your stuff, send it to me, and go back to drinking soda or coffee or whatever else you were drinking before tea. This is so fragrant with caramel, honey, and fruit. So fresh smelling. The leaf is tan buds and darker brown leaves. Gorgeous.
I used an extra large scoop, simply because I could. 12oz of heavily steaming almost boiling water and my press. The steep was a little less than two minutes.
As soon as the water hit the leaf, the already wonderful aroma came into full bloom with a scent like wine. It was also malt but not heavily so. Oh My Goodness this smells good. In my press this is deep golden in color. It is more orange as it pours into the mug. The wet leaf looks like chocolate shavings.
The sip is so rich. It is even more fruity wine-like in the sip than in the scent. It is caramel and honey. It is malt and sweet. As the cup cools I notice a wheat component. It is not real yammy like Golden Tips, or heavily chocolate like Bailin Gongfu. Yet it is kind of in that same flavor range. The aftertaste is strong and lasting. It is sweet, wheat, and maybe yeast. It does seem a bit drying, which is as close to a negative comment as I can make.
I had time for three cups. Amazingly, the first cup was the lightest and the third the darkest. The fruit like wine taste fades after cup one but the other flavors intensify. I don’t know how many cups this would go. I may try to continue with the same leaf tomorrow and see.
This is simply perfection in a cup. I haven’t looked at the other reviews and frankly it doesn’t matter. Maybe it is just my mood today, but by my scale this is as close to a 100 (my first) as I have ever tasted in a black tea. Bravo!
Glorious sample supplied by Teavivre.
This was served at tea party two weeks ago. Based on my guests reaction, I HAVE to order it! It was fantastic.
This is an awesome tea. I had to order some
OOh, I was adding teas to my cart for my Teavvire order tomorrow because I need more dragon pearls and they are on sale tomorrow. Now, I added this sample to my cart too! Thanks
Thank you for your review. It really wet my appetite, so I ordered some from Teavivre today. Actually it was my very first purchase of loose leaf tea anywhere, along with some samples of other teas (just to get free shipping, of course: I wouldn’t want to waste money on shipping, when I could be buying tea with it.
Brett: did you see that you can sign up on the page for free samples? They send lots of them, too! They have so many excellent teas.
Brett, reading your notes it looks like you are on much the same tea path as I have been travelling. I still enjoy my Ahmad tea. I think you will love this one. Frankly almost everything by TeaVivre is excellent.
K S, Kudos for a highly detailed wonderfully descriptive review. Just reading your tasting notes for TeaVivre’s Golden Monkey is enough to cause one to salivate and grin from ear to ear in anticipation of what is yet to come! Well done!
looseTman, thanks. I used to think I didn’t much care for straight black tea. TeaVivre really changed my mind. I pretty much have loved every China black tea I’ve tried. This one hit that sweet spot for me of combining everything I like into one package.
You’re welcome. Your review was obviously inspired and a pleasure to read! It’s also a great example of how to write a tasting note!
A friend of ours passed away last night following a massive brain hemorrhage.
Steepsterites, please PLEASE look after yourselves and your bodies and PLEASE learn the warning symptoms of stroke and brain hemorrhage. I cannot stress enough how important this is. It can strike like lightning from a clear sky and every single split second counts.
Then toast with me, please.
To Janet.
I’m very sorry for your loss.
Oh Ang, I’m so sorry to hear that. My deep condolences – to Janet.<3
I’m really sorry for your loss, Angrboda. :(
I’m very sorry about your loss. A toast to Janet.
My condolences to you and her family. Thank you for reminding us all of the importance of life and making every second count. This cup is for Janet.
To Janet. To her friends and family. My condolences, and may your memories be a balm.
I am so sorry for the loss of your friend. My thoughts go out to you and your friend’s family.
My deepest condolences. To Janet.
that’s so sad. I’m sorry your friend died.
I’m so sorry, Angrboda. There’s a chain email that sometimes goes around that is actually true, and worthy of paying attention to. If you think someone has had a stroke, when they are conscious: ask them to smile, ask them to hold their arms up, ask them to speak a simple sentence ie, the sky is blue. It’s not an all-encompassing approach but it covers a lot of symptoms of a stroke. Even if someone can do all three, they might still need medical help ASAP, but the information can make it easier for a dispatcher to get an ambulance out sooner too.
Memory Eternal for your friend.
You are so right.
Women especially don’t know the symptoms and they can be different than the ones for men. It’s a good idea to look them up. In case of stroke you have very little time to get help so time is important. There is a book I read called My Stroke of Genius written by a lady brain researcher who was alone and had a stroke and describes what it was like. I had a TIA which is like a stroke but no damage.
I am so very very sorry. To Janet …
My sincerest sympathies. My grandmother died of a stroke, when my older brother was 2, she never got to meet her three granddaughters. Meanwhile her husband out lived her but have dozens of major and minor stokes, as well as three heart attacks, he lost his speech, his mobility and his independence, was no life at all. So the women in our family are very aware of the signs. To Janet.
I’m sorry Ang. To Janet!
I am sorry for your loss! I hope things get better. Your warning is heeded. Those are very serious medical conditions.
Sorry to hear. To Janet!
I’m so very sorry. My heart goes out to Janet, her family and loved ones. ::hugs::
My condolences. To Janet.
So sad… sorry for your loss. To your friend Janet.
My condolences. To Janet!
Thank you everybody.
Good one!
Thanks :)
a good tea from the menghai factory. the v93 is a favorite of mine.
Mmhmm, it’s really good. I’m excited to see how it progresses in my yixing pot. After a month or so using it I’ll probably do a side by side comparison review with the pot and my gaiwan.
i have these v93s going all the way back to 2007. i liked the 2010 so much i got a 250 gram toucha of it. i do believe you will really enjoy this one.it is a great choice of a pu-erh.
not trying to be a pain , but here is a listing on ebay for a 2008 v93 for 5.49 with free shipping. item number 251173631204
sorry i bargain shop!
Hi mrmopar! So where did you get your tangerine puerh? I saw them on yunnan sourcing but no shipping to the usa.
bonnie i think they actually came from jerry ma on ebay. if i remember right.
It’s not a pain at all, I always appreciate recommendations. And yes I seasoned the pot right after unboxing it.
yay! good pu in a good pot. uh, oh that sounds funny.
Haha, it sure does.
Hi,
I am depressed as always but laughed at reading this. I have no good wares as yet. Perhaps next year if I am around. This post reminded me that I have some Pu-erh (xingyang 2007 Shu Puerh from Verdant Tea) to get to. I have some Toucha from Tea Vivre to get to as well. The review was a lovely read, if you don’t mind me saying so. I am depressed always since poor and in collection with loans defaulted etc. So the world is not nice place for me. I review tea, not good but I try. Good work/review.
seule a good cuppa always helps me wind down and forget the troubles of the day. i hope you can also do the same. i just forget about it all focus on the warmth and aroma and taste of the tea in my hands.