Popular Tasting Notes
David sent me some of this and I must say the color of the contents blew me away! The Rose Petals are a purple red – vibrant and bold in both color and taste. I could see and smell the citrus contents and while sipping on this little gem KNEW there was more than ‘just orange’ within. Orange AND grapefruit? AWESOME! The black tea base, which I LOVE and have reviewed separately, is chocolaty, malty, and slightly crusty!
The reasons I LOVE this offering?
It has the Verdant FAMOUS Laoshan Black Tea Base. Another reason is because David didn’t skimp on the ingredients…that’s for sure! AND, of course, the creativeness of pairing these flavors together! I really appreciate that! PLUS…the unexpected creaminess that lingers on to the aftertaste! A Delight!!!
I am reviewing a Bavarian Cream flavored White Matcha found here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/bavarian-cream-matcha.html you will of course get to make your own selections for matcha base, flavor strength, etc.
This matcha was composed of the following: White Matcha, Royal Quality, Robust Flavor. I also opted for the small metal tin.
This is the first Matcha I have personally ordered from Red Leaf Tea although I have been desiring to make an order for some time now. I was very lucky to have some wonderful tea trade partners that have sent me samples of Red Leaf Tea Matchas so I have been lucky to try the Orange, Madagascar Vanialla, Caramel, and Peach, but so far, this is my favorite! Perhaps it is because it is my first matcha that I bought for myself, or maybe it is because I got the Robust flavoring, or maybe due to it being my first White Matcha! Maybe it is simply because Bavarian Creme is an amazing flavor all unto itself! I mean when I saw this as a flavor option it was in fact a toss up between this and cotton candy, then I was even more confused when I saw they had Butterscotch! But what won out in the end was this, and I won’t deny it was mostly because when I select a doughnut I most always go for a Bavarian cream filled one! I mean come on they tempted me with the picture of a bavarian creme filled doughnut right on their site! Who could resist?
When I received my package in the mail it came in a white envelope clearly labeled Red Leaf Tea! I was surprised at how quickly my tea arrived! The matcha itself came in a shiny golden envelope with lovely labeling and the type of matcha I ordered printed on a smaller label stuck on it. I paid an extra 3.00 for a small tin which held a small package (30g) of matcha. The billing receipt and a colorful flyer which included some information about Red Leaf Teas and instructions on how to make matcha were also in the package.
When I opened the bag containing my tea the smell was intoxicating! Vanilla, Cream, Butter. Those were the aromas that struck me.
After placing the tea into the container and cutting the small label from the golden bag and taping it to my silver tin container I was ready to make my very own first Red Leaf Tea Matcha! Bavarian Cream!
I did notice that this matcha did not froth up as well as the previous ones I had tried from Red Leaf. Being that I have never had a white matcha before I can’t be sure if it is due to it being a white tea base or perhaps I was just too eager to taste it and didn’t put as much effort into it. Also I noticed the base was not quite as light in color as I was expecting but it was not the bright green of a typical matcha either. It was sort of a light brown color. For a Robust flavor I do think I was expecting a slightly stronger flavor from the tea but that is not to say it is not delicious! The flavors matched the aromas perfectly! Creamy, Buttery, Vanilla, Rich, Decadent!
I am very pleased with the flavor I choose to begin my own matcha journey with. It is a pleasing flavor if you like rich, and creamy with a full lingering after taste!
After trying my matcha in its raw state, hot, I opted, as I usually do, to make it into an iced latte using only the tea itself, some ice cubes, and some all natural vanilla coffee creamer. Its just that I prefer my matcha in this manner probably because my first introduction to matcha was this way. Granted matcha purist may be cringing but I enjoy it.
So here I am sipping my first very fine Matcha from Red Leaf Tea and I am thinking oh yeah this is the one! Yet I can’t help secretly to be thinking of all those other flavors yet to be tired.
So my next question to self is, do I stay with white matcha or do I go back to green. I honestly think it will depend on which flavor I choose next! Some I can see being wonderful either way while other flavors seem to beg more for one or the other. I will say that I am happy I went with Robust flavoring as I am one of those people who want an “in my face” flavor especially when it comes to matcha since I mostly make iced lattes with mine. Next time I may opt for “there’s matcha in there?” but then again I do also love the natural flavor of the matcha itself and Red Leaf Tea does provide a quality matcha base!
Thank you Red Leaf for all the flavor options you provide to us! I am looking forward to my next selection!
Here is the link once again where you can purchase this amazing matcha!
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/bavarian-cream-matcha.html
curse you woman! must. resist.
LOL don’t even try to resist!
Wow! That’s a LONG review. One note about the flavor: we only use natural flavor which is much weaker than artificial one. There is a point where adding more flavor will not give you much stronger result. I guess it’s more of an art than science when it comes to mixing matcha and flavors. I know some of the flavors could be stronger, but we just do not want to use artificial flavors in any way.
But there is hope – our supplier is working on new method of making natural flavors that suppose to give better, stronger flavor. Unfortunately they don’t know when it will be ready…
Until that day, let’s enjoy what we have now… :-)
And I totally want all natural so this is a good reason and happy to hear it! Exciting news that a stronger all natural flavor may be in the future but let me just say that I am very happy with as it is now. :)
Oh and I wanted to ask DOES white matcha usually froth as well as green? Honestly the froth is not THAT important to me personally because I make mine into cold drinks anyway however I am curious if I did something wrong lol perhaps in my haste or if this is typical of white matcha. THANKS so much you have excellent customer service!
Your review had me thinking. A new contest: Extra small size matcha ($15.99) for anyone that can beat your review of 856 words. Any ideas on how to spread the word?
Oh make a new thread about this right here on Steepster! I am sure many will jump on that!!! :)
White matcha comes from powdered white tea which is made a bit differently than green tea and does not give you the froth you’d expect from matcha, but most people prefer it to green matcha since it has a bit lighter flavor, not so grassy. Problem is that a LOT people don’t realize that white matcha does not have a snow white color they expect from the name but rather grayish looking.
I’m working on new option for the flavored matcha 50/50 white/green matcha + flavor. I wonder if this would be something people would like…?
I would absolutely try the 50/50 health benefits of both and flavors of both.
I can get white matcha? The whole green thing & grassy issue was why I never had matcha. If I can have a less grassy & white flavoured matcha I am in.
Damn you all to hell! I must not give in to temptation!
But why not? I mean you get it then you review it and you get another free! :) done and done! GO FOR IT!
Hrmmmm… Missy and I were just talking about these matchas… I’m pretty wordy, I might be able to out-gab Azz ;)
Challenge Accepted!
Tattooed! Don’t doooo it! Resist the dark side! Lol kidding of course ;)
This is my lazy breakfast beverage because it’s easier to reach into the fridge and grab a jug of cold brew awesomeness than stand around wondering what to make hot. Oddly enough, this is common practice for me. I tend to work on a jug of cold brew throughout the day, especially when I’m at home for most of it, then switch over to caffeinated, hot stuff later. I’m strange, I know.
As raved about before, this is all full of berries and hibiscus. The hibiscus here is nice though. Really blends in with the melange of tart berries.
I’m off to visit Heather soon to pick up the presumably scary amount of tea that Sil and OMGsrsly sent to me. I already know that I owe them big time. Also, thanks to ShayneBear for distributing the drugs tea.
oh honey… you ain’t seen nothing yet. I have a box started for you for after christmas :P remember?
DON’T TELL ME THAT!
Hahaha. You’re the one who asked me to wait….now there’s a box.
i told you sil has to win sometimes…. don’t you remember that conversation? i can grab the link if it would help. she was following you everywhere… commenting under ech of your reviews that you should give her your address…. familiar at all?
let me know if you want that link.
sil isn’t a small winner. she’s a take-no-prisoners-queen-of-the-castle-nannie-nannie-boo-boo winner.
LMAO….. so true. hahaha
Baha, true that, James. What was I thinking?
Btw, Sil, I got the goods, but I’m not sure which teas are from you or OMG. They are all packaged the same?
oh not you too… see our comments to heather. just pretend they’re all from omg haha
Just found it. That’s hilarious! Either way, thanks to you both for all of it. :)
Lol
Oh man, this conversation made me laugh so hard I’ve given myself hiccups! haha, you guys are awesome :P
Also, my mum definitely accused me of being a drug dealer when she saw the labeled bags (with individually labeled baggies) of tea ready for drop-off. Apparently tea looks like some weird strain of weed? (also, I still have the hiccups, so thanks for that :P )
Sorry! I’ll do better next time. :) They’re mostly from me I think, but I don’t remember.
That’s what my co-worker was saying when F picked hers up from me today and gave me a few…and she said something like she had so many grams….it was funny, though not as funny as me handing a mug to Shayne, saying smell this…it is a blend of 4 Indian teas, yada yada, only completely oblivious to the fact I had had water in there in between the tea. So yeah, I told him to smell water, thinking it was tea.
srsly, it’s all good. My mum is the kind of person who thinks i’m uhh, having relations with EVERY female friend I have. She’s, er, special? lol
I also still have the hiccups…..
Oh yeah, I sure added to the experience when I semi-discretely announced in front of Amariel’s coworker that there’s 8g of each in there. Special holiday strains blends.
This is another reason why I changed my name. Can’t leave a trail. :p
OMG, don’t worry! I’m going to make educated guesses as to where the goods originate.
Shayne, your mom is onto something, you know. I mean, purple bud pu-erh?
cackles You all are hilarious. :D
you guys HAVE seen the picture of IB and Kittenna, dolling out teas from the back of her hatchback right?
side street in a nicer neighbourhood in toronto…popped open the back and started putting things into baggies as ppl walked by… that was MY introduction to tea swapping..
Oh geez….I would love to see the pic. HA HA!
Shared on FB ;)
Well the first Victoria meet we did, there was tea wrapped in tinfoil and THEN individually bagged, in the middle of Downtown! I’m surprised we didn’t have a security guy come harass us, it looked pretty dang suspicious :P
That’s right…we were just across from Silk Road, on the fringes of Chinatown.
Sipdown! 817 (finally added in teas from momo… sigh). I thought that I didn’t have any of this left, but apparently I did… and not just the remnants from one package, but two are apparently listed in my tea spreadsheet. Interesting – I’ll have to see if I can find the second one… I swear I finished it, though.
Anyhow! This is still pretty darn delicious, though I definitely prefer the heavier blacks in the winter, it seems. Dark, rich chocolatey flavours. Looking forward to another couple infusions.
ETA: My previous tasting notes indicate that I did in fact sipdown my other sample already, so 816! Hurrah!
Preparation
I love this one!
I admire you for being able to keep track of all this tea in a spreadsheet. After several tries, I’ve mostly given up :)
Haha, it’s definitely not entirely accurate, but I do make the effort to delete things when I drink them, and add them when I get them, so it’s not so bad. I’ve always had a list for swap items (so I can keep track of who gave me what), but it did take some solid effort to write up the list of non-swap teas :) It’s nice to know what I should have – even if I can’t find it!
Also Terri – I quite like this one too. Can’t justify buying any right now, especially since I still have plenty of the Laoshan Black and Premium Taiwanese Assam, but perhaps sometime in the future (if Verdant has it again in like, 3 years when I have less than 200 teas, hahaha.)
Kittena – what are we going to do with you when Black Friday hits? Are we going to have to lock you away from all computers so you don’t double your collection? :P
I print out my spreadsheet on the first day of each month. As the days pass I manually check off the teas I drink (with cute little symbols), making notes on if it’s a sipdown, or the steeping parameters, etc. At the end of the month I update the list on my computer, then print & do it all again.
Oh I like that system! That would be a nice way to keep track of the TYPES of tea I have. What else do you guys track on your spreadsheets? (If I’m going to go and make one, I’d better start with all the important fields than have to redo it…)
On mine, I start with whites, then flavored whites (both small catagories), then green, then flavored…etc.
Right now there are 4 columns: Type, Name of Tea, brand, & re? (as in reorder). Each section is alphabetical by brand.
That sounds like a good start. Do you track ALL teas that you’ve tasted and then hide the ones you’ve finished?
If it’s something I want to restock, I keep it on the list with asterisks around it, to remind me to restock.
If it’s something that didn’t really float my boat, I delete it.
I also have all my trades listed, using the name of the person who sent them as the ‘category’.
I stole Kittenna’s spreadsheet (thanks!!). Name, Type, Company, Swap From?, Purchase Date, Original Size, Remaining?(if tried), Rating, Tried?, and a count. If there’s a “1” in the count column it will add, and I put an X if I no longer have it. I also have a notes column that I’m starting to work on. The nice thing about Excel is you can filter and just print the teas you currently have.
Cavocorax – Black Friday might be bad for me…..! We’ll have to see I guess!
And yeah, OMGsrsly pretty much sums up my spreadsheet. For swaps, I replace the 1 with an X when it’s gone; for teas I’ve bought, I used to just delete the entry entirely, but now I just move it to a second page in the workbook. Steepster would have the most accurate list of all the teas I’ve ever tried; I didn’t start tracking things at the very beginning.
Thanks guys! That gives me lots of ideas!
And it’s too bad we can’t just export our data into a spreadsheet.
Cavo, that would be the most awesomest, geekiest tea thing. :D
Sadly, it pains me to write this note. I guess I shouldn’t have had the high expectations that I did, though. So many people have written their ravings over this tea and I love bananas and so I thought that this tale would end with me penning, typing rather, the words ‘and everyone lived happily ever after’…such is not the case.
As I said I shouldn’t have had such I high expectation. To clue you in to what this tea was for me I could first mention that I should maybe change my name officially to ASTRINGENCY WEENIE MAN. It seems it has come into play during several of my recent notes. This will be no exception.
I will go into little detail. I will simply say that the drink started out with strong cinnamon flavor with the vanilla/banana coming soon after. The obvious problem is that I could not get through the strong astringent ‘like licking chalk’ sort of ‘mouth devoid of all moisture’ effect it played on my tongue.
I’m certainly sure it’s me, it’s all me (sounds like every other break-up I had in my yoot-youth). Too many others had nothing but good to say about it so don’t consider what I’ve had to say, though my wife didn’t like it either.
no tune,flick (kinda like’no Coke-Pepsi) The Grey/ with Liam Neeson
Preparation
Is it okay if we just call you AWM? It’s lots shorter.
Touche, ASH, touche.
Try brewing this at just under boiling water (I brewed my cup at 200 degrees F), and this should help lighten the astringency. I did not notice it much at all.
I thought this was okay but I am not in love with it myself. I will try your advice LiberTEAS
LOL! I would be your trusty sidekick, because I am definitely “Astringency Weenie Lady.”
I really dislike astringency as well. It’s something that will bump a cup down from “good” to merely “interesting” for me – as in, that’s interesting, I can tell it’s well-blended…but I’ll never like it.
Glad to see that wasn’t scoffing Ashmanra,especially after the women lumberjack thing.And Daniel also, I’m glad to see I’m not the only one.I was starting to feel like an outcast to true tea connoissuer-ism.
I couldn’t drink Assam or Darjeeling for the longest time, and that was why. It has to be REALLY good ones and I give a short steep to keep the astringency down, but mostly I just avoid lots of Indian teas. The astringency gives me heartburnas well as being distasteful to me,
ugh disappointed to hear that, Banana Foster sounds delicious until the chalk description lol
I’ve never licked chalk, but I can imagine it would be an all-together unpleasant experience. Sorry this wasn’t a winner for you. :(
Out of curiosity how much leaf to water ratio did you do? I made up a batch today and put in a bit more leaf then usual and noticed it had a more pronounced astringent flavor then normal.
I usually don’t cold steep spent leaves unless I drink oolong or pu’erh, they have so much to give, I often stop my sessions and just cold brew the rest.
Yesterday, this one was weak for me at the third cup. I would normally just dispose of it. But I thought that maybe the vanilla bean in it could still gift me with some goodness, so I tried.
It filled a 24oz jar for 20 hours in the fridge. I thought this is way too much water for such a little bit of tea, it will probably taste like noting…WRONG!
OMG!!! It’s hot here today and this is soooo refreshing!
It tastes like vanilla sugar, so deliciously yummy.
I conclude that this tea might be expensive but out of 1/2 tablespoon, I got three hot 8oz cups and a 24oz jar of iced tea!
I’d say not a bad yielding ratio :-)
Oooh! Good to know. Now I just need to buy some.
I love coldbrewing this one! I don’t think I’ve ever actually tried to make something with old Port leaves and been disappointed by flavor – it really seems to just keep giving!
Sounds like a bargain to me!
Cheri, can’t wait to hear what you think about it!
Inranger, it is when you look at it this way instead of just price tag…
Brenden, I like this one wayyy too much! Now I feel like having it cold steeped all summer long…will try the same with Golden Orchid when it gets here.
Well, I’ve already got an imaginary order with WPTC going…hopefully next month I can come off tea buying hiatus and actually place it. (It’s looking good. I need to double check the credit card statement when it comes and make sure I get through the rest of the month accident free.)
Well I hope your imaginary order becomes reality ;-)
Just waiting on the Ailaoshan Black for my first order. According to my calculations that means in about 2 weeks I can enjoy me some WP goodness. Anticipation is a wonderful thing. :)
Oh, inranger, don’t I know, anticipation IS wonderful…as long as it doesn’t last too long :-) But Ailaoshan is totally worth the wait! Have you decided on the other teas you are getting from WP?
Yes, a savant fairy gave me a suggestion list which is now saved on my WP wishlist, then Brendan suggested on more that I’ve added. My list must be up around 8 or so teas by now. :)
Haha! never been called a “savant fairy” before, but I do know great tea when I see it ;-)
What ever you choose, I’m sure you’ll be happy with it!
Very interesting. I’ve seen posts about cold steeping “used” leaves before. I am going to need to try that, starting with my Port!
I frequently take all of the leaves from each tea i’ve steeped over the day and make a pot of it all together coldbrewed. I have not once had a pot that didnt taste delicious :)
It’s also fun too, because each pot of tea is totally unique and not something that can really be re-created easily :)
Awesome idea :-)
I’ll be interested to find out what you think Sarsonator.
So…our little Snaily has a new playground: spice!
Chai lovers of this world, this is something to try.
I like that this is pretty traditional and not too over the top. Chai blends are often too busy or not enough. This one is an excellent example a true balance.
But there are many other decent chai blends out there…
What makes this one special?
Vanilla beans and Golden Snail.The naturally creamy base tea paired with the vanilla bean soften greatly all those spices. They are usually bitter when you don’t add milk or sugar. But here, you end up with a dessert-like cup of spicy honeyed goodness, without having to add anything.
And the beauty of this blend is that I can taste all the spices…ginger, cinnamon, clove and cardamom. Add to that the buttery taste of the base tea, and you have something reminiscent of grandma’s apple pie.
Today, we had thundershowers all day. Grey sky, cool temperature. Thought it was the perfect day to try this for the first time.
But the next time I have it will be on a hot day, cold brewed in almond milk with a little maple syrup…mmmm.
Oh, this sounds NICE.
This sounds super good. I love almond milk chai. But I never tried it with maple syrup, so of course, I’ll be doing that next. :)
This is exactly the way I feel about it. The spices are really balanced – you can taste them all, not just the cinnamon and I love what the vanilla does.
That’s actually great news for me, HoneyBelle. I generally find that cinnamon overpowers everything, but I am a total sucker for cardamom and I like to be able to taste it!
But the important question… Is it ginger bonanza?!
Not too much ginger for sure – you don’t get a lot of cardamom either – I am a cardamom freak and I would add a LOT just for me – but there is balance here and it’s good. I like it Terri-style with a little maple
(MzPriss – have you tried Cardamon Black from NMTC… I think I’m the only one that LOVES it, but it’s JUST cardamon…)
I agree…the only thing bonanza about this cup is how creamy it is. The spices are there, but they don’t fight with one another.
Cardamom black???? OMG. Need. That.
Cameron, Ginger is strong here. I added some milk which I normally don’t do. I like it a lot with maple, without milk. It is strong
Lol, see I don’t get ginger, but not stronger than any other flavours…but I do love ginger, so I guess what is little for me might be a lot for someone sensitive to it.
love me some ginger!
I meant “I do get ginger” in comment above.
Yes terri, me too! And there is definitely some in here. But it’s not overpowering the rest for me.
this sounds really excellent
Dexter – I have not tried that but I would LOVE it – I LOVE cardamom!
I don;t find the ginger stronger than anything else – in fact when I make my on chai – I pump up the cardamom and the ginger because those are my two favorite chai spices
i don’t really like chai tea :(
I am STILL steeping this tea! I am SHOCKED at how many re-steeps I have got from it! I lost track lol I think probably 6 steeps now! I have worked several hours on one project and this is the tea I keep resteeping! YUM still great flavor from it.
I LOVE this stuff but apparently have missed out on some extra steeps. Glad I have only had it once :)
Yeah I mean I had no idea either. Mainly the reason I was re-steeping at all was because I was too busy and tired to get more fresh tea out. But when I re-steeped the third time I was not expecting much from it lol but I was shocked to find this stuff re-steeps and re-steeps again!
Crazy! I find Della Terra teas generally don’t have enough flavour for re-steeps, although this one I did get one (and tbh, the leaves still had good aromas after that, but I threw them out). I’ll give more infusions a shot next time!
This one has been in my shopping list for a long time, want to try it so much! :D
I have been rather desperate to try some of these Butiki blends for quite some time now. They seem to be so unanimously well received and strawberry oolong in particular sounds like something that can’t fail. So when I was in a position to offer Hesper June a sample from my collection of something she was interested in trying and I had the chance to ask, I took the opportunity to ask if she might be able to spare a sample of some of that. She was!
This particular one wasn’t initially one that had made that much of a bleep on my radar. Not until I actually removed it from the box that Hesper June sent me. Then I went all ‘Ooooooooooh!’ and my eyes were like this O.O and now I’m going to try it having just been waiting for a good time to do so since, ooh, Friday.
The leaves definitely smelled like pistacio ice cream. In a sort of way in which the ice cream doesn’t smell cold, which is kind of odd. I imagine if you could freeze dry ice cream, that’s what it would smell like. Powerfully nutty too and almost marcipan-y.
After steeping it’s less of the freeze dried ice cream and more of the pistachio and almost marcipan-y notes. It reminds me of Christmas marcipan sweets, which frankly makes me wonder if I’m going into some specific Christmas mode or something! Second time today I’ve had something that I thought smelled like Christmas.
Oh, that’s very pistachio on the flavour! How intereting! There have been so many different nutty flavoured teas out there, but I’ve never had one with pistachio before and now I honestly can’t think why. It lends it’s flavour beautifully to the base, and I definitely think a green tea was the right choice for the base here.
I’m getting mostly the green base and the pistachios in the flavour, but then it’s a very smooth experience. Long and smooth and thick. I think this is supposed to be the ice cream bit, and although it’s not as sweet as actual ice cream, it does indeed invoke that sort of thought. (If it was as sweet as ice cream, I probably wouldn’t have liked it.)
I’m so glad I asked Hesper June to sample some Butiki, and I’m glad she decided to share some of this one with me. It’s lovely.
It’s very tasty :D
Butiki has some of the best flavored tea I’ve ever had! It’s never overdone and the quality is always remarkable…
I am glad you like it! I think its pretty tasty too.
For some reason today I had a Mariah Carey Christmas song in my head out of no where! Maybe it’s the moon…
Sounds wonderful. I love pistachio.
This really makes me want to get the pistachio matcha from Red Leaf!
I have this tea though and it is VERY yummy! You should get this and cantaloup and cream if you have not tried that yet!
oh yes you must try the cantaloupe and cream it’s very yummy :D
Azzrian and Helena, cantaloupe and cream was also shared with me by Hesper June. I’ll have to try it soon!
DaisyChubb, oh I know how that goes. I’ve had Good King Wenceslas well and truly stuck in my head for two years now! O.o
TheTeaFairy, that seems to be agreement. It makes me wish I could actually shop there. Alas…
EDIT: Tasting note 300!
Yum! Picked up 25g of a bunch of new teas from Davids today… to celebrate the first paycheck of course :D! (So happy there is no tax on tea here) Also picking up some last minute teas for the tea swap aaand some awesome cute kids stickers! Yay!
This is a pretty decent caramel black. Good job Davids. It’s creamy and sweet – and I looove the addition of the sea salt with the toffee bits. Brewing it at home was great – not bitter at all after steeping for about 3 minutes, and when I accidentally walked away from my resteep for 10 minutes, it was also not bitter! That was very lucky. I added milk anyways :P
Man I am rambly lately. Ramblo. Anyways! Right now I don’t need a caramel black in my cupboard, but when I do I think this one will be it. Lots of toffee chunks, and I loved the rounded flavour the coconut gave it (coconut sucker alert).
Maybe I will try it as an iced latte – but I might just stick to hot. With a dash of rum. OR Caramilk Liqueur? hmm
tempting!
Ooooo, sounds simply decadent!
haha Ramblo! That was quite awesome there. :D
This sounds good. It’s definitely on the shopping list! Along with all those other new ones they released… will it ever end?!
Congrats on 300 notes!! that’s awesome! :)
Happy 300!
Yay for 300! Keep ’em coming!
Oooh, now I’m sold on this for sure. Way to be with the 300!
Congrats on 300!
Yippie for yooooouuuu!!!
Hooray!
Thanks everyone! Best online community EVAR
I missed your edit and was wondering about all the ‘300, yay!’ posts, but assumed I just hadn’t read something carefully enough… anyhow, congrats! I keep missing my milestones, but I’m determined to catch #500, which should be upcoming within a week or two :)
Happy 300th!!! Woot!
yay! 300th tasting note
This was a fun tea tasting! Jim Marks suggested that I find out how traditional Moroccan Mint tea is made and served. I read a number of recipes and read how they pour from up high, filling a glass and pouring it back in to mix the sugar in well, and finally pouring from high up again to make a froth on the tea. I had the girls look on a map to see where Morocco is, look at the overall climate, and find movies that were shot in or set in Morocco. (Youngest is a huge Inception fan and was pretty excited about that one!) I described the tall, narrow tea glasses they use that are decorated in beautiful colors with gold filigree.
We poured our frothy tea and drank it. WOW! It has been a long time since I have had any tea with this much sugar in it, but it is DELICIOUS! I am amazed they drink this hot all year in Morocco, but it really is good and the mint is so cooling. They probably didn’t have refrigeration as a common option until recently! I think I like it even more hot than iced, too. (I had it iced at lunch with my banana sandwich.)
The article we read said that this is served to guests as a symbol of your hospitality and is served at least twice a day in most homes. A visitor in a gathering will be asked to judge who is the best tea maker among them. Now if that doesn’t sound like a bunch of Southern ladies gathered around serving their sweet tea to guests, I don’t know what does!
Thanks for the recommendation, Jim! This was fun, and I will definitely try serving it to guests this way in the future. I guess I have to go out and buy some of those gorgeous little glasses now! :)
I really love the spearmint and Egyptian mint in this, and I was disappointed to see that most companies use peppermint. I don’t know if I would like that as well, but I will certainly give it a try.
Yes, but sadly many of the moroccan tea glasses are made in China now. ://
Simpson and vail has a nice little set, theirs are from Morocco: http://www.svtea.com/Moroccan-Tea-Glasses-Set-of-6/productinfo/A1750/
They’re nice, and that’s rather reasonable for moroccan tea glasses.
These are just a tad more costly:
http://www.moroccan-furniture-decor.com/pd-venetian-multicolor-tea-glasses.cfm
All the sets are saweet…….
I looked at both links. Beautiful! I think I see these at Marshall’s and TJ Maxx a lot, so I may try there first. I have trouble trusting items made in China because of the potential lead content, but I guess glass would be safe since the painting is on the outside. Harney and Sons has some, but they cost even more and are solid red, but I consider the gold painting on them to be more traditional. I could be wrong.
Recommend your favorite brands of Moroccan Mint, please, everyone!
The only one I ever tried was Stash’s Iced Tea Bags. It was really good.
I really liked the Moroccan Mint from the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf – however they only sell it in teabag form. I will try Arbor Teas next, they have a spearmint one.
Even though I like Peppermint better than Spearmint, spearmint would be better in Moroccan Mint tea!
That’s fascinating! I had a vague recollection that it’s traditionally served hot and sweet, and I think I knew about the glasses, but I didn’t know about the frothing and the pouring. Now I want to know what’s different about Egyptian mint.
Scott: all the sets are sending a little ping along my acquisitiveness nerve. I think I want the Genoa Gold set. I had to go look at Amazon’s selection to get a grip. Lots more pretties, and some a bit lower in price.
Yeah, unless you don’t care if the glasses are Made in China. Amazon used to tell customers where their items were manufactured. Now, they rarely do. If they dont list where an item is manufactured, chances are it is made in China, FYI. :))
I had an Egyptian peppermint, that tasted like earthy mint; not as fresh and aromatic and tasty as the Organic peppermint harvested in the USA.
Tin Roof Teas used mostly spearmint, though it lists Egyptian mint as well. I haven’t had it before so I am not sure what it is imparting. I can only tell you that this is exquisite lay sweet and good, with or without sugar! I suppose I should try it with peppermint, too, though.
Hmm, I have some Corsican mint that I just started growing. Maybe someday I can make my own Moroccan Mint! I have Chocolate Mint and used to have peppermint, so I guess it is time to plant spearmint!
Autocorrect is playing havoc with me today! I think I may run over to the health food store and see if they have Stash tea and try theirs, too. Harney and Sons have a great price on the loose pound in a bag, but two of the five reviews are pretty dismal.
I thought I didn’t care much for the Harney and Sons Moroccan glass at first, but a student who just left told me they used to drink tea with a Moroccan friend and they burned their fingers all the time on the glasses. That rib in the middle might be there as a cooler handhold! One set on Scott’s link has the rib as well. Hmmmm….I know they also make metal holders for the glass cups that have a handle, too.
Stash’s is a personal favorite of mine, because it has mainly spearmint (plus peppermint, lemongrass). Adagio’s Casablanca Twist is a good peppermint version, as is Upton’s Moroccan (they used to use spearmint, but have switched to peppermint). I have Adagio plain spearmint and peppermint that I can add to any tea though too (greens/whites), when the mood strikes (it’s a way to use up less than favorite teas too) lol
Oh, and a disclaimer: am not personally a fan of gunpowder green, so that’s why my faves might be different than others. Gunpowder is traditional. (now runs from Amy Oh ….)
I might have to look into making some Moroccan mint like this. I might like it better. Of course, I might actually like loose leaf mint tea better than the bagged mint tea.
TeaGeschwendner used to sell a very good Moroccan style, I don’t know if they still do.
I don’t know what your articles did or didn’t talk about, but traditionally, the tea leaves and mint leaves are left on a low boil in the tea pot for extremely long periods of time. The result would be horribly bitter if drunk straight and this is why they add so much sugar. If you prepare an orthodox steeping, you probably don’t need very much sugar.
Many hot parts of the world drink hot tea year round — especially desert places where sweating actually cools you (unlike Houston where it just gives you swamp butt). And yes, the mint is, I think, specifically added for the cooling effect as well.
And yes, you could just buy good gun powder green tea (Morocco is actually the largest importer of this tea in the world) and fresh mint leaves and make your own.
Tin Roof Teas used to be a Teageschwender tea shop but decided to source from several distributors. This is their own house blend, but I betcha it is based on the one from Teageschwender! I will have to look at their site. I bet going with them won’t save any bucks, though.
Pre-release Review
Inside my last Verdant order, I received this pre-release Pu’er. That’s all that was on the packet. I shot an e-mail off to David Duckler asking “How do I brew this Sheng Pu’er?”
The answer came:
Gaiwan for 4-6oz water and 1tsp leaf
1 second rinse
3 second steep
add 1 second for each additional steep
I could do that. (Gulp)
Dry:
This is a dark brown compact bark with a bit of sheen.
Color
The color of the liquor remained light golden honey except for the first steeping which was yellow.
Wet Leaf
The wet leaves are the longest, beautiful olive brown leaves I’ve seen… some almost 5 inches long. Their scent began as ocean seaweed and progressed to salty raisin tobacco then a meaty light tobacco. Smoky at all stages.
I was going to begin talking about each steeping 1,2,3 and tell what I tasted. I was having difficulty.
“There shouldn’t be any problem reviewing this tea”, I told myself.
I walked over to the couch, put my feet up and reclined…waiting.
I waited for some time…and trying to be still…waited some more.
I sat thinking about Pu-er’s in general. Why are so many people fearful about them. Yes, it’s true there’s a bit of preparation with Pu-er and you can think too hard about it so that the pleasure’s gone and it becomes a chore. “Do I rinse it?” “How long do I steep this thing?”
“What is Shu, Sheng, raw and cooked, sounds like a menu item?” “What am I supposed to be tasting? Dirt, apples, mushrooms,or honey?” “What makes it awesome or gross in the first place?” I’ve been asked these questions.
No wonder so many people just throw in the towel (or toucha)!
Maybe I was thinking too hard about this particular Pu-er myself.
Pu-er shouldn’t be that difficult it should be pleasurable.
I went back to the kitchen counter more relaxed, took a deep breath and poured boiling water to wash the Pu-er for 1 second, steeped it 3 seconds and poured some to drink.
It smelled smoky and tasted like light corn and moist sweet rice at the front and finish. This was a tea full of juice and body. The flavor was smooth for a young tea. (This wasn’t an earthy flavor so for those who like green tea or white tea this would appeal most to you. Smooth and light.)
When I poured again…this lightly smoke scented tea produced prickly nettles on my tongue tip for a few seconds. Then, the tea became smooth with a more mature mouthfeel than young tea would normally possess. That fact sets this tea apart as a stunner. It doesn’t have the roughness and harsh feel of a young tea. There was a faint gyokuro taste, a richer cup than the first steep.
On the finish the tea began to nag me with a taste memory of something I used to grill but I couldn’t remember what it was.
I began to obsess…standing in my kitchen and looking through my spice cabinet for clues. “I know this flavor…I have it somewhere in my kitchen and it goes with plank grilling salmon,” I said.
I have a container filled with flavored salts (hickory, expresso, ginger, applewood, lavendar, balsamac, hawaiian, and so on)…and I looked through the bin until I found one of them that said Alderwood Salt. I took a tiny taste. Ah! That was the one I was looking for.
I tasted ALDER in this tea. Alder is a sweet wood…close to corn and sticky rice in scent.
I found the sweet wood flavor in the tea delicate, sweet and mild.
There was again some hint of corn on the finish lingering.
I knew there was more for the tea to say. I had a little sample and discovered that I am limited with one or two tastings. This is a Pu’er that is like a good book. I would have to take time and read it over many steepings and many encounters to begin to know what it has to say.
I had relaxed enough to really enjoy this Pu-er, the flavor had became unrestrained and full of life. I am always learning from tea about that need to be present with it.
There are so many different kinds of Pu-er, light and dark ones, earthy and mild. A little rinse and off you go. They are fun to try and share with friends. Good for the body (and you know the rest)…good for the soul. Nothing really to be fearful of trying because as with any tea, they are all different and you will find ones that you love.
This tea will age well. It is already mature beyond it’s years. A young Pu-er with a bright future. Fresh and flirty. A Pu-er inviting me to take my time and not rush the relationship. Light and delicious now, but just wait….
Mm, this sounds really nice. I’ll certainly be first in line to get some when they release it to the rest of us :)
On to my list it goes.
Haha, here’s a secret: I’m one of the people that fear pu’er ;)
Nah not you! I’m a grandma Dylan! There are all kinds of Pu’er ‘s like this one which is not the dark earthy type if you don’t like thst sort of thing. I play with them just like any tea.I add sugar to some dark ones and make lattes with others. Some puerhs are spicy.
I fear sour artificial flavoring!
You are always so expressive with your posts!
Haha, yeah, I didn’t say it was rational ;). I had read a few reviews of pu’er that scared me off a bit at first – some had said that the flavor was earthy like mushrooms… and I decided that probably wasn’t going to be for me. Although, the reviews that I’ve seen from some folk on the Verdant pu’ers makes me believe that there’s a few different levels of pu’er out there :)
I always Love reading your reviews!! They are very well written, informative,..accurate, with subtle hints of humor while maintaining a engrossing story as well!! I aspire to be as descriptive and passionate with my own reviews some day!! Any tips for tasting/writing reviews? I would like to start enjoying Pu-erh tea..I have never had it before!! What Pu-erh’s would you suggest for a beginner? What companies should I purchase from?
I will send you a note. Thank you.
Paul, I’ve changed my mind…let’s write a musical instead! Dancing Gaiwans and Singing Beengs!
I have decided that today is the day for Mystery Tea. That means simply tea we haven’t had before. So I’ve been looking at the very tail-end of my Steepster cupboard and discovered a couple of things I didn’t know I had.
This one for example. Would you believe I’ve been going around for ages being intrigued by this type and wondering if it was one I should try to invest in when next I can allow myself an order, and I had it the whole time?!
That’s fairly typical of me, actually.14444444444444444 Oh look a cat has been by in my absence… (Heavily abridged by cat’s owner so as to avoid horizontal scrollbars)
Anyway, this is one of the samples that I don’t know where came from. It’s from before I started my numbering system so it’s getting on in age a bit.
Let’s start with a little introductory ramble on two things here.
First of all, green tea. For me to be intrigued by a green tea at all is kind of remarkable. I enjoy it when it is served to me, but I rarely make it for myself. It has to come with a certain sort of mood, because for most of the time I’d rather have a black tea, flavoured or au naturel.
Which leads to the second things, which is roasting. Roasting tea is one of those things about the processing that I just can’t get my head around. It’s so amazing that it can be done, really, because inside my head it just ought not logically work. My brain will simply not allow for the possibility for some reason, even though I’ve got the very proof of it right here in front of me. (Well. Slightly to the left, but still)
Therefore roasted tea is extremely fascinating to me, although I haven’t yet had enough experience with it yet to be actively seeking it out.
LiberTEAS posted about an unsmoked LS yesterday, I think it was, and that tea was as I understand made like a regular LS only it had been roasted instead of smoked. She found that more pleasant than the regular smoked variety and therein stems some of my fascination.
Now, I like smoky teas. I have a specific balance of smokiness that I prefer, but once in a while it just can’t get smoky enough. Those are the times when, it has occurred to me, it’s not smoky tea I want. It’s roasted tea. From what I have seen here and there on Steepster when people have been posting about smoked teas and/or roasted teas, that smoked tea is generally considered a harsher sort of flavour than roasted tea. For me it’s the other way around.
Smoke comes in a bit prickly and sort of surrounds the flavour in a haze of smoky aroma, whereas roasting tends to be a full-on attack of the tastebuds with pricklyness and charcoal and burnt toast. Roasted tea, for me, is much more violent than smoky tea.
So this is really what I’m expecting. An onslaught of charcoal and some sweetly green vegetation underneath. Like something that has been burnt down and grass and things are just starting to grow back.
This tea brews as dark as any black tea and the aroma is definitely one of burnt stuff. Charcoal and something sweet. Like sugar spilled on a hot plate. So far we’re keeping pretty close to that expectation, there, aren’t we? I quite like this aroma. The more I smell it, the more pleasant I think it is, and the more I smell it the more I also think there’s a note of honey in that sweetness. It’s all dark smelling and brown, but it definitely reminds me a little of liquid honey. Or perhaps more of something which has been honey-glazed.
GOSH! I was not expecting this flavour! It so sweet and sugary and more honey! That’s the first thing I get. The next thing is a sort of cereal-ness. It makes me think of Cheerios. It’s the combination of the grainy notes and honey notes that does it. I can actually even imagine that I can taste milk as well, probably since, if you think about it, milk has a pretty sweet flavour as well. Finally there is something vegetal in it that reveals the green origins. I can’t quite put my finger on that note, but I get a random association to spinach. There that’s because I actually taste spinach in it or whether it’s because spinach is one of the things I just generally connect with green tea flavours, I couldn’t tell.
All in all, this roasting was not at all as harsh as I had expected. I found it quite enjoyable, and I think it’s definitely a type of tea that I need to look into more. I think I rather need this in my life. (Should have a closer look at hojicha as well, actually.)
I really like that your cat wants to be a part of the Steepster experience. Mine tries to stop me posting by sitting in front of the computer screen.
I am now intrigued by this tea too. I am undecided about roasted teas because I have found them intriguing but I need to be in the right mood to properly enjoy them. I shall have to check this one out when next I have the money to order tea. After all, I like spinach! :-)
Ahahaha, I so love your posts. You and Bonnie consistently get me smiling :) I also love that your cat feels the need to contribute.
You speak of a numbering system – do you give your teas a number as they enter your cupboard, to keep track of age or something? That sounds like a really clever idea.
Roughage, yes I tend to let it stand when they do. :) I don’t know, I think it’s fun. :)
If you try it, it will be itneresting to see if you get the same spinach association as me. :)
Krystaleyn, as you can see some of the samples I have, I can’t remember where they came from. At one point I had a whole lot of them and didn’t know who sent me any of them. I just couldn’t keep track. I then thought up the numbering system. Everytime I receive samples from someone in a swap I give them a number and write down where they came from. This way I can see that all the samples numbered with 7, for example came from Infusin_Susan and all the ones with 8 on them came from Ninavampi. And so on and so forth.
Really great idea!
I’ll have to invest in little stickers when I get sett;ed and start swapping again :)
DaisyChubb, yes, it works really well. I’ve got a little notebook that I keep at Tea Corner. Right now I’ve only noted down name and number, but I’ve considered if it might not be a good idea in the future to also write a list of what each person sent me and when I received it.
Interesting – I buy my peppercorns, cinnamon and a few other select items from Mountain Rose! I have never tried their teas.
I think I’ve tried a few others of theirs. I seem to recall there having been more than one. I just can’t think which ones, or what I thought of them. This one is quite good, though.
Next time I order my regular stuff I am going to grab this and a couple others – yes they actually had a lot of tea on the site today when I looked :) I don’t know how I ever missed it lol.
I can sort of understand how. I haven’t been to the site, mind, so I don’t know how it looks, but if you’re used to shopping for one thing there and another thing another place, sometimes it just not occur to you that one or both places might stock both things. :) I had a look at what else they have in the Steepster database. I haven’t looked at everything, but it would appear that I enjoyed their Ancient Forest a great deal as well.
Your labelling idea is great! At this point, I only have samples from a few different people, and they’re labelled distinctly so I can tell who sent what (they’re also in separate piles in my room), but I probably should start some system like that soon! I have also thought of noting the date I purchased teas, so that I could keep track of their ages and whatnot.
If you buy unroasted kukicha or karigane, you can heat it in either a small dry skillet one very low heat on a burner or over a tea light candle in a metal dish (you can buy these for heating scented oil in bed & Bath stores) and it makes for a wonderful deodorizer for a room and you get a relaxing tea to drink once the twigs and few leaf fragments have browned. I generally do this while making dinner or conducting a tasting since you just need to tie the leaves every once and a while with a spoon or chopstick. I then prepare the resulting kukicha/houjicha at the end of the meal or as a finishing tea after guests have tasted a bunch and pair it with sesame or rice crackers. This tea works well:
http://www.hibiki-an.com/product_info.php/cPath/21/products_id/32
Dunno how I get away typing “karigane”, “kukicha”, and “houjicha” just fine while autocorrect changes “stir the leaves” into “tie the leaves”
LOL yeah spell check often faiils me as well.
Krystaleyn, it was like that in the beginning for me as well. I had only a few that people had sent me and I could remember which one’s I had bought. I could tell from the handwriting on the labels where each sample came from. Then Pamela Dax Dean be-gifted me with a HUGE box of samples. Seriously, it was MASSIVE! And all of them had different handwriting on them and different wrapping style, and then I got in other swaps as well, and it was simply impossible to remember anymore. I just gave up trying.
For my purchases, I can usually remember sort of in general how old-ish it is. Typically if something gets really really old here, it’s something I don’t really have much interest in drinking anyway.
Thomas, hee, maybe I have to try it in order to understand it.
I must thank Azz for this fine little sample. I say little, but it appears from the website to be what they send in a sampler. It comes in one of those cute little tins that you can get about a full pot out of and she never even opened it. I can only assume she had drank it somewhere before.
I like this tea alot! There’s one definitive destinction as to why that is for me. It has the perfect balance and delivers the vegetive crispness, yet without crossing the threshold and becoming astringent or bitter. It has the nutty notes I love, yet is still somewhat buttery in the mouthfeel. It’s light and airy with a slight to moderate sweet note as well.
As it cools I find the vegetive notes begin to outweigh the roasty ones, which turns out not to be unpleasant to a roasty prefering drinker such as myself. I steeped this one four times. The latter two steepings the vegetive and roastiness was toned down and what was left was a buttery sweet gulper. I don’t like for my cup to cool, but sometimes you get distracted queing up the next song, which leads me to my musical pairing.
tunes-Im back on a Mumford&Sons kick=White Blank Page/Thistle and Weeds/Dust Bowl Dance/I Gave You All/Sigh No More/To Darkness-Kripa.
Alas I have yet to get the new album, but the portions you can play from the website lets me see I want it.
Preparation
Ah Thistle and Weeds.. You should really watch their performance on the iTunes Festival, it’s available to watch until October 31st. It’s the most incredible recorded live show I’ve seen. They are amazing!
I have the audio to the London 2010 performance, as well as some live stuff from the Mumford/Laura Marling Dharohar Project which I love too.
I love Mumford & Sons!!
I said in one of my earlier notes that I think the Black Keys barely nudged out Mumford for being the most talented thing out there. I can listen to either of these or Dave Mathews every day.
Haha who knows, are you sure it had not been opened? Maybe I had another at some point as you said. It sounds delicious! I don’t see that I had reviewed it. Odd…who knows I do strange things sometimes! :) Glad you liked it! I have no regrets sending it your way! xox
I love The Black Keys as well! They can do no wrong in my eyes. I saw them in concert a few months ago. I’m also a huge Florence and the Machine fan. Just saw her last month in concert. She was amazing!
I may not be able to get to my favorite tea shop for a week or so because I have someone who wants to buy my car tomorrow.
This is a good thing and will lift the burden caused by medical bills off my back.
I’ll find an inexpensive old car to hobble around in and be OK.
In the mean time, off I went to HAPPY LUCKY’S to be HAPPY with some
TEA!
It was just my luck that 3 of my favorite tea server friends were there at the same time! It wasn’t too busy in the shop, so it was like a party for me (maybe not for them though)!
I don’t think the people who work at Happy Lucky’s know just how much they mean to me and other customers as well.
While I was sitting at the bar watching customers wander in and out ordering tea, I noticed a regular customer that I had seen before who comes in for a daily matcha. Andy vigorously whisks the matcha powder with concentration and care until it froths to the perfect consistency…then hands the foamy bowl over and it’s gone in three or four splendid gulps.
Another young woman was matched with a custom Chai Latte…just for her (my server friend laughed and commented to me how he loves to pick out the right tea for the right person).
It was Andy who stood at the tea wall with me today while I sniffed tins of green tea. I picked the most expensive one. It smelled so savory.
He said, “Try the Lu An Gua Pian, it tastes almost the same and costs less…and I like it a lot myself.”
I picked up the tin to sniff and thought it smelled quite similar to the first tea but was just a darker pine green color.
I decided to go with his suggestion and ordered a clay pot full of tea.
When Andy took the basket out of the pot and presented the wet leaves they smelled so good. I kept saying that they smelled like lunch. I know that sounds stupid, but they smelled like something you’d want to eat. SAVORY and salty bright dark green leaves so vegital and spinachy, green bean, artichoke, blah, blah, blah…good that you think of it as a meal!
I took a sip of tea and before the liquor hit my mouth I could taste it from the savory scent. Oh, it was so good! Wet and juicy too! The tea was light and salty but never bitter or acidic.
As the pot of tea cooled down, the feel of the tea became a little dry on the tongue but never bitter or astringent. The aftertaste lingered for a long while. That is as it should be.
Much later, I added a little raw sugar before the pot was empty and the tea was delightful and enchanted with the kind of taste you get from anything you do in a culinary way with sweet and savory dishes. Yum, Yum, Yum!
This was a great pot of afternoon tea.
As I was leaving the shop. I made a comment about how grateful I am.
It wasn’t missed.
I was about to open the door and I heard,
“Thanks for reminding us to be grateful Bonnie, we need to be mindful of that every day.”
(Little do they know that it’s they that made me mindful of being grateful at that moment… by their kindness)
I love reading your tasting notes. You share such wonderful stories, and I definitely need the reminders to be grateful :)
You really make me want to visit Happy Lucky’s. Sounds like an awesome place.
I hope everyone can find their tea place really. If you go to a place often enough you become friends. Or, try to start a group that meets now and then. You learn so much more.
There’s a tea shop downtown where I go to school, but it’s more formal – it’s fairly expensive on a college budget and it’s not just tea, it’s a full service with finger sandwiches and stuff. It’s delightful, but I wish there was one more like your Happy Lucky’s!
Michelle, all I could find was Tealuxe in Cambridge closest to you unfortunately unless there are unlisted or new shops. Have you been there yet?
Oh, yes, I’ve been there! They’re great, but about an hours commute. The tea shop I was speakin of was the one in NY where I go to school :)
Where do you go to school in New York?
Geneva NY. We’ve got Dallywaters in town, but I think for much else I’d have to go out to Rochester. It’s okay though. I’ve got plenty of tea already… my roommate thinks I’m crazy!
Ha, we’re all crazy!
Liu an gua pian is one tea that I have yet to try. It intrigues me because it is made without buds. I’m guessing it has a very nice, robust flavor. I wish I lived closer to fort collins, this seems like a wonderful tea shop!
I am home today. Sick. Not working. Blah…i’ve been fighting this for a few weeks now and today my body decided to give up. Coincidentally it picked a good day since all my meetings are postponed for the day and the few pieces of work i HAD to get done today, i managed to do on sunday while testing. So for once, the work isn’t piling up..much.
I’m up for a bit to get some food before i go back to sleep and i opted for a few cups of non black teas. I tend to want things other than my usual black bold cups when i’m sick. So i pulled this one out and it was perfect for today. Delicious strawberry ginger…
Hope you feel better soon! That sounds like a good tea to help.
Sorry to hear you are feeling sick. I hope you feel better soon.
Get well soon!
Feel better and enjoy all your rest!
Perfect occasion to treat yourself with your best comfort teas! Hope they help you feel better soon.
hope you start to feel better soon.
Feel better soon!
Hope you feel better. I’ve been curious how this would be on a sick day.
I hope you feel better soon.
Feel better soon!
I need Sheng! This and Wild Monk are my default shengs and there is a reason for that. Hot damn this is wonderful!
I put 7 grams in my awesome red gaiwan, 212 water, rinse followed by two infusions of 30 seconds, then five 1 minute infusions
1st steep green and shengy with that little bit of pucker and the tinest hint of grape
2nd getting the green floral with a slight bitterness and a touch of camphor
3rd Oh hello darling – Ive missed you! Opening up into that sublime deliciousness
4th There’s the grapey lovliness I adore so much with this tea
5th – 7th Still the grapes with a stronger camphor note and the most pleasant bitterness ever. I’ve got the tongue tingle, the chi buzz, the warm feeling all through my body and THIS
is the way to start a Sunday morning y’all. I will likely sip on this alllllll day!
Garret – I appreciate you for many reasons – this sheng is most definitely one of them :)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/125488674@N02/14663283253/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/125488674@N02/14620394036/
OMG I forgot a song! How about the Zydeco Boogaloo? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZHnu_mgQBs
Flavors: Floral, Grapes
So cute! Happy Mandala sheng day :-) I had mine yesterday pretty much all day too!!!
More grapey flavors in a pu’erh! I will note this one to try next!!! Wishlist! Wooo!
@Sars – this was first sheng and still one of my very favorite. I LOVE this one
LTF – you did the Autumn Song right? I may have to have some that later
Well I have to order from Mandala again soon b/c I have decided that I simply cannot live without the Heart of the Old Tree. I am really taking a liking to pu’erhs because I feel like I can buy them, and not drink them all right away, and that’s totally ok because of the aging!!!!
I need some of that Heart of the Old Trees. I can’t believe I don’t have any. Right now I have buzzy sheng head and seriously – better than a lot of drugs I may or may not have tried.
This sounds superb. I need to add this to my want list.
The Wild Mountain Roughage? If so, YES you need this. It’s delightful. I’m ordering the Old Trees as well :)
Love this: “better than a lot of drugs I may or may not have tried”
Yeah, I am going to order more Mandala soon. Before I do, are there any other pu’erhs that you think I simply can’t live without, HoneyBelle? I want the Wild Mtn and more Heart of the Old Tree.
How about you, TTF? Let me know!
What I love: Special Dark of course, Imperial Bulang, Noble Mark(!), the Lincang. I have more but haven’t spent time with them – just got the Old nuggets. Shengs I love: THIS ONE!, Wild Monk(!), I’ve only done one roung with the Silver Needle – but I liked it, and I’m looking forward to the Autumn Song
Thanks so much! I did get special dark. Loved it. I also just received the wild monk, but I did not try it yet. I need to get over my desire to keep it in it’s beautiful wrapper. LOL.
I will check out the other suggestions!!! <3 <3 <3
Sarsonator, I loved all the ones MzPriss just mentioned…but I also loved Imperial Dark and Temple Stairs shou pu’erh which I only got to try lately. Yesterday’s session with autumn song was also unbelievable!
Sars – you wrap it back up in that beautiful wrapper so you get to keep looking at it :)
OK… I got temple stairs, but I’ll add some imperial dark, too. Thank you both!
And MzP… I know. I just think it’s so pretty that I don’t want to mess it up! I’ll work carefully. :)
Yes you have to be sweet with it, but you can do it!
Oh! I forgot about Lincang and phatty cake!! They are a little bolder though, having lincang right now…whoa!!!
OMG – Phatty Cake! How could I forget phatty caek? Probably because my cakes are in a box and I didn’t see them…
I need to quit typing because I am not good at it.
Typing is overrated. You’re good at tea. :p
I <3 you Sars
I will review lincang again shortly….YOU HAVE TO ADD THAT ONE Sars!
I’m about tmake my Dark Beauty cocktail. I told someone I would make a listing on here with instructions. I should do that today too.
Steepster ate my comment!!!
I heart you, HoneyBelle!
Lincang was added! Can’t wait!!!!
What is Dark Beauty??? Sounds deeeeelish!!!
OH well now. Don’t know about my Dark Beauty cocktail? I will (very carefully this time) tell you:
16 oz boiling water
1 TBSP Special Dark
Big ass pinch of Black Beauty (Mandala)
Steep that bad boy for a while 5-7 minutes
Hellllllllo happiness. I have it every, single. morning. Makes the world turn right.
I would like to the clarify the above statement. It makes the world turn correctly not right.
What a lovely picture of a perfect Sunday morning! I’m saving this for future use as a background on my computer. For the next couple of weeks, that place of honor goes to images of the Tour de France.
AWWWWWWW thanks Hillel – it was for Science!
Oh.My.GAWD.
This takes me on a trip to YUMSVILLE!
This is one of the better chai’s I have tried and one of the best specialty-flavored chai’s I have come across!
It reminds me of a Spiced Donut from Tim Hortons! It’s like drinking chai and eating a donut at the same time!
The spices are just-right for my liking! The Vanilla is a wonderful touch! The pastry-likeness to a donut is right around where it should be! Overall this is a real winner! WOW! I really like this one!
Sounds good. Hard to find an exceptional chai.
This sounds like such a unique tea.
mmmmm
OK, now THIS one sounds awesome!! Looks like you know who might have to check out the compass teas website…any other teas from there you recommend, T=Bliss?
Need. And the photo isn’t helping! There is an irrepressible NOMNOMNOM building up inside…
I don’t think I’ve ever done tea and doughnuts… oh the possibilities :D
I want to live permanently in YUMSVILLE please!
WHAT?!?! Donuts! This sounds (and looks) great!
oh crap. I just looked at their site and they have so many unique sounding teas!!
Thanks Bonnie! And a flavored one/themed one at that!
DaisyChubb – miss ya girl! Glad you commented!
Terri – Let me know if you do!!!
Nik – teehee It tastes like it looks!
Helena – Guilt-free alternative :)
TheTeaFairy – LOL YUMSville :)
Tea Sipper – You Changed your name??? Compass Teas is great! AWESOME Selection!
I went to the IRS today. (That should have made even the most cheerful among you shudder!)
There were taxes from my divorce that I didn’t know would be coming and I’ve been trying to figure out what to do. One thing I’ve learned over the past few months is that I need someone to help me organize parts of my life. I don’t understand paperwork so I’ve got myself into a little (or big) tax mess.
Imagine being very competent mentally but waking up one day unable to understand what you’re reading. Like dyslexia. Information is scrambled and makes no sense. This is what’s been happening to me. I can understand if you show me how to do things, but not paperwork and sometimes I go blank on questions. (I don’t have dymentia, thankfully (I was tested for that).)
Anyway, I went to the IRS in the middle of a brain fog with some papers they asked me for. I was handed papers and asked questions and I just couldn’t understand anything. I told the person, “I have no idea what this means, it could be in a foreign language, I can’t explain anything, I don’t know what to say.”
I got a look and comment…“You need someone to help you.” “I’m not supposed to do this but go to the Senior Center and find help.”
Brother!!!
I left and made a ‘B’ line for Happy Lucky’s Tea House.
I looked 3 shades of pale puke…feeling sick and hurting all over from fybromyalgia (which has been a bear the past month!).
Andy (TEA GURU!) took one look at me and said…“Whatcha drinking Ms. Bonnie?”…then he said…“How about a Chocolate Matcha?!”
“Oh YES please!”
I sat at the bar watching the foaming and frothing, stirring in the specialty cocoa…A-n-t-i-c-p-a-t-i-o-n!
Finally a big mug of fluff was set in front of me with a tall tumbler of ice water next to it (thoughtful). Fireworks!
This was thick, thick, thick cocoa Matcha, so creamy and warm with an interesting, almost savory then sweet complex flavor. The foam was playful and wonderful like a puffy sigh of relief.
It didn’t take long for the caffeine and green tea L-theanine to work on my pain and foggy brain.
I’ve noticed for some time that tea helps me feel better. I don’t know how, and it’s not a tea high or anything…but my pain isn’t as bad when I drink certain tea’s, especially Pu-erh and Matcha. This is good! It might not be this way for everyone, but it works for me.
While tea doesn’t cure all my problems, it has given me a way to help with my physical discomfort without resorting to narcotics for pain.
By the time I finished my fine mug of chocolate Matcha, I was feeling so much better and the taste was fantastic!
Why would I post all this here on Steepster. Seems kind of private and personal and inappropriate doesn’t it.
It is personal. And real.
I want you to know that this part of Elder life is joyful, funny, and has challenges just like being young.
“Stand at the brink of despair, and when you see that you cannot bear it anymore, draw back a little, and have a cup of tea.”
― Elder Sophrony of Essex (A Monastery in England)
Tea makes everything better.
Well, gosh. If you can’t be personal and private on the internet, where can you! ;) Personally, I think it’s interesting. Is there some natural remedy in your tea? Or do you just love tea so dang much that you get a useful placebo effect from drinking it? Either way, it’s nice. And I hope you feel better.
Good for you for realizing you need help and having the courage to seek it out! Divorce is such a major life change (I’ve been there) that it can mess with your brain no matter what age you are. I hope everything works out ok with your taxes. Next time you have to go there take a big tumbler of tea with you!
I am so glad you found some comfort. I hope everything works out with the taxes soon.
I like the quote you shared, I had not heard that one before.
It might just might be neurological… (I’m NOT a doctor) but I’ve heard there are some conditions that could cause an information mix up. Of course I know nothing but it might be something to ask your doctor about. I’m glad you had a good tea to bring you out of that mess :D
The tea does help me a great deal! It hits the brain where the pain signals come from. Since fibromyalgia and migraines come from the brain, it makes sense that if the brain
is calmed with tea or L-theanine from good tea…that the pain would be calmed also. (a side effect of fibromyalgia is brain fog and depression, there isn’t a cure for this disease).
Hope you feel better soon Bonnie. <3
I hope you feel better too, Praying :)
Thanks guys…hey, I just need to drink more tea. More tea, More tea, More tea!
that’s awesome that something you love makes you feel better, and that it’s healthy! :)
yay for Bonnie!! and I love your stories xx
Not inappropriate at all. Thanks for sharing the different parts of your life with us, Bonnie. I hope the symptoms that cause discomfort and pain calm down for you soon. [hugs]
Happy to be back! (Once more, I’ve had to unplug from Steepster for awhile… (My dad was sick again, so I’ve spent most of my time with him at the hospital)
It’s ok, not beign the most active member here, I still greatly enjoy following poeple and their reviews. Even if I have to disappear from time to time, I always come back!
So I’ve had «regular tea» for the last few weeks, not having enough time to indulge in «special tea» such as this one. Tonight is special…I have a date with myself! I’am alone in the backyard, it’s nightfall, and I can hear the owl’s chant, whooo, whooo, very close by…The woods are in my backyard, so I get lots of wild life sounds, and from time to time, wild life visitors. I love all my visitors, they sometimes just pass by, or they stay for a couple of days. Today, we had a red fox sniffing around. It stayed a few hours under the bird feeders, hoping for a snack.
It’s been raining a lot, there’s a wonderful vegetation and earthy smell out here tonight, so fresh and warm at the same time.I have brought the cast iron kettle outside to keep my water hot, along with the gaiwan. I will write this review the old fashion way by the candle light, in my tea notebook. Not kidding, a real paper notebook, with a real pen, with real ink. I realized lately that I barely ever «write» anymore, using the electronic devices all the time. I’ve missed that feeling… See, in French, (my first language) I write a lot! It’s a habit and a necessity for me. I write everything and nothing. I think in one day, I probably write more than I speak! To write on paper just feels like reading a real book after reading a thousand digital ones! It feels right again…
Back to the tea. I’m following Verdant’s instructions. A few seconds only for big flavor. I will not pretend I can review this tea the way others have. Although I can always identify some of the notes, the experience for me is more about the way it makes me feel than about the actual taste. I don’t care much if I can’t get the « cinnamon» or the «avocado». And I’m not saying that in a pejorative way, au contraire, I do admire people for being able to do that so well in their reviews and I thoroughly enjoy reading them, but it’s just not my main concern when I try to describe my tastings. However, I think it’s fun when I find exactly what has been described, I guess sometimes it’s just more obvious than others…
Anyways, I get so many different notes in one sip of this tea, it would take a lifetime for me to identify them all!
The first infusion was a burst of sweetness, yum! Chocolate and honey for sure… it’s so warming, it surprised me in such a pleasant way.
As the other infusions evolved, it got closer to oolong than black tea for me. I find roasted nut along with ripe fruits and light spiciness. Even after many infusions It’s very intense and slightly astringent.
I can’t write anymore than that, sorry… I’m too chocked up by the pure bliss it is giving me, and the night is just too beautiful not to get my full attention…The perfect tea for the perfect moment… I will type that on Steepster later when I get back in…
Thank you for that, Verdant…
I enjoyed reading this.
Very good review. You expressed your enjoyment of this tea which is what I look for in a review. You drew me into that enjoyment. I hope your father is well, God Bless you and him.
Thanks Kyle…last time I was on Steepster, you were having terrible headaches, were you able to get them under control?
Bonnie, I’ve missed you…Thank you!
You also. Thank you!
Yes. Very enjoyable. I hope your father is well….
Thank you Charles…
I hope your Dad is feeling better. I mostly see deer, squirrels, and bunnies where I live :D Although I’ve seen a fox at work, as well as a black tailed prairie dog which was cool :D
Thanks Helena,
Prairie dogs are so cute, but we don’t have them around here, you’re lucky to have seen one :-) I see mostly deers, mooses, occasionaly wolves and coyotes, hares, porcupines, groundhogs and racoons of course, and such a large variety of birds. Needless to say, it’s never boring for the animal lover that I am!
welcome back!! best of health to your dear Dad xx
I’ve seen a few hares, there’s 3 jack rabbits at work but I don’t see them very often (probably hiding from the fox) tons of geese, a few ducks, blue jays, woodpeckers including the Northern Flicker (I stood so close I could’ve touched him) Wild Canary (very shy) so yep lots of wildlife where I live too :D
Thanks Indigobloom, great to be back, missed you all :-)
Tea fairy – always nice to add to the Canadian crew I’m following :) on peut toujours communiques en Francais aussi!
Really love the review!
We have animals too and the big Elk (which I have heard the British call Moose and the Moose Elk for whatever reason). Have not seen a Moose yet but did see the Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep, Eagles, Fox, GEESE!!!, Heron, Ducks, Egret, Blue Jay, Woodpeckers, PELICANs (shocked me), rabbits, prairie dogs, PRAIRIE DOGS lots, Antelope, (We must be on the Canada to South America bird path). 1 Bear. Wolves. (Just what I’ve seen so far)
@Sil: oui, toujours un plaisir de découvrir des concitoyens ici! Franco-ontarien??
@Bonnie: I guess that your scenery is just as rich and eventful as mine is :-)
“owl’s chant” what a lovely term! Sounds like a magical night, I know its a very special tea!
OMG, this tea. O.M.G.
I actually didn’t snack on anything tonight because I drank two cups of this and it satisfied my sweet tooth and made me super happy. It’s like a lemony pastry thing, with butter meltling in my mouth…
Thank you 221B for this and the giant bag of samples that was packed along with it.
(i wonder if i can resteep it a third time?)
Preparation
I cannot wait til I get my hands on some.
Same here, this is now on my wishlist.
This one haunts me, I keep thinking about it after the cup is gone.
It’s on my wishlist too!
I must have underleafed it because my cup really lacked in flavor :/
so excited! 10 more days and it will be here for meee to try!
I think I did 2t to 11 oz.
Sil – 10 more days? :O Excellent I’m hooked and need MOAR!
Also I hope the rest of you get yours hands on it soon!
cavo…give or take. it’s been shipped haha
Woohoo! I can’t wait to get that and all that Hello Sweetie!
Glad you liked it! It’s a favorite of mine!
Ummm…. this is absolutely delicious! Thanks for passing some of this along as well, momo!
The tea in my baggie looks like a dark rolled oolong, even though the picture shown here definitely looks like a green oolong. Hrrrrrm.
Anyways, this tea smells like candy. Like really delicious, sweet, fruity, yummy candy. And that is exactly how the flavour is too – all candy-sweet and delicious atop a lovely creamy oolong base (so this is probably a green oolong that’s perhaps a bit old? Idk.) You know, this actually kind of tastes like cotton candy, in a way. I think I’d be hard-pressed to say that this is raspberry… it’s certainly a sweetened raspberry, if it is, because raspberries are usually more tart. It does have raspberry-ish tones to its fruit flavour, though, especially lingering in the aftertaste.
Regardless of accuracy, I’m really enjoying this tea! I haven’t had as many tasty flavoured oolongs as I would like, and this one is certainly filling a gap in there. I don’t think this is the first tea that I’ve really enjoyed from ZenTea; may have to look into trying more teas from there/making an order at some point! Thanks again momo!
ETA: Oooh, picking up some bitterness in the re-infusion, although it’s still tasty. Less candy-like, as other reviewers have mentioned. As with many teas, this one would be best with infusions done a bit closer together than 12+ hours, IMO. The leaves still had some aroma after this infusion, so we shall see if I end up re-steeping them again (possibly not; I have at least 6 other teas waiting their turn for an infuser downstairs, and I think 2 western-style infusions for most teas is pretty good!)
ETA again: I think I lied. Pretty sure the above re-steep was actually Leslie Grove Strawberry Patch. Drinking the proper infusion now, and I pretty much have the same opinion, except there is no astringency :) Also, it tastes more like raspberry.
Preparation
they have way more teas than what’s on their website, especially because if you buy four pouches, they’re $6 each. next time I go back I need to really take a picture of their menu because I’ve given so many of their teas out in swaps and I could probably make it easier for people that way!
YUM!!!!!
Yup just went to the website and it is not there. I would love to try this tea I will have to email them when I have tea money again!
Yeah, you should! I’ll have to look, but I seem to recall enjoying a few other teas you’ve sent me by them as well, and I’d probably be interested in trying more. (Actually, one of those teas may have been one with roasted cacao shell in it, ahahaha. And honeybush or rooibos.)
I especially would recommend this tea in particular to anyone who remotely likes such flavours… this definitely falls into the category of “why didn’t I try this sooner?!”
Yeah, I’m really enjoying this! Drinking it cold at this point, and it’s really hitting the spot.
Azzrian – this is a different company from ZenTeaLife. Correct me if I’m wrong, momo, but I think this http://www.ezentea.com is their website. I found it on there :)
That sounds really good!
Also, it IS really confusing with the different Zen Tea companies out there. :|
That is the website. Last time I was at Zen Tea, people had been sending Zen Tea Life sample requests to Zen Tea and I put two and two together and told her why people were asking for samples. She told me as of late last year they’ve had a trademark on the name Zen Tea. She did end up sending those people samples so I hope they know they came from a different company!
I’ll also see what I have currently, every time I go in there I get sucked in to the deal with buying 4 of them.
damn it… another company to look into since that “other” one has been voted off the island. oooh they have samplers…
sneaks off to her tea spreadsheet
(wait…who was voted off the island? i like being educated)
I’ll go back ASAP for you guys, I realize I said they are 4 for $24 but it was 4 for $20! So a bunch on there that are $8 are actually $5 if I get a bunch. The only ones that doesn’t apply to are the organic ones, those are the 4 for $24 ones if I recall correctly because I did buy one organic one once and it was $7
Schmiracles – ZenTeaLife did not handle a customer service issue very well, and some people are unhappy with them and therefore not ordering from there again. Really, good customer service pays…
Kittenna: I just posted a review of ZenTeaLife matcha. I paid $24, the website now says it costs $34.50 and is on sale for $19.99. It is decent matcha, but I was wondering if $34.50 is really their new price for this matcha. Do you know what the customer service issue was, or was it in a thread?
No thread…lots of ppl have had great issues. Long story short, there were some issues with the package, Indigobloom and I were made whole in terms of money, but we never got the tea, the hassle was a pain in the ass, and after being made to feel several times like it was my fault the package went missing it was only after I provided them with an example of good customer service, that they sort of made an effort…not to compensate me for the hassle but just to basically allow me to take advantage of the sale that I had already tried to. Soooo, if my business means that little, I’d rather not deal with the hassle since there are plenty of other companies out there who understand a thing or two about customer experience. :)
However, no issues with the overall product, if that makes sense….what few I tried before the mixup and hassle.
I second what Sil said. They have wacky customer service standards. Who gives a refund without checking if its ok first?! I would have liked the option to have the tea sent out again (actually sent out, not implied lol)
Initially when I opened the package I picked up the aroma of butter – creamy melted butter! Like when you leave a stick of fresh butter out on the counter and it melts on its own, just perfectly soft and smooth.
The initial sip was of Hay, hay that has been warmed by sunlight sitting out in the field!
As the cup cools some the cinnamon starts to develop and I got a slight tingling sensation around the sides of my mouth.
Through out the entire cup I could feel a slight tingling sensation in my mouth along with a velvety mouthfeel to accompany the sparkle. This tea is a movie star! No, rather this tea is a voluptuous sexy lounge singer, female of course, in a long slinky yet classy dress with sparkles on it, on top of a piano.
Sorry – what I am trying to evoke here is that this tea will take you in and seduce you, if you allow it to, and give it time to temper as the longer I wait – the more this cup develops and this is only steep one!
This is the first cup today I have allowed myself to full enjoy, drinking every last drop so without further ado I am going to haul my behind over to the sofa and nurse as many steepings as I can out of this sample!
I love ordering from Upton Tea Imports. Everything they have available you can also get in a sample size, which is great for people like me who get sick of drinking certain teas after trying them once or twice.
I got a brand new Finium tea cup with a fine mesh gold filter, which I think is AWESOME!
This tea was a surprise, it is definitely one of the lighter lapsangs I have tried up until now. The smoke is subtle and the tea has a nice sweetness to it and brews up to be a reddish amber color. The flavor is almost floral like! I was not blown away by it but it was certainly very pleasant and delicious. I think I still prefer Hu Kwa which has a more unique aroma and flavor, but this was good!
Preparation
Stash has inexpensive lapsang souchong from Tong Mu Village which is the home of lapsang souchong. It is made there in the traditional way in smaller quantities. Harder to get in the U.S. I’ve heard.
Thanks, I might need to check it out.
My sample of this scares me, ha.
@Cheryl – have you tried it yet?
Dylan loves his finium filter. It looks like it will deal with any tea and leave no stuff in your cup.
Amy…not yet. Reviews like yours convinced me to order a sample. Will soon. Maybe.
Cheryl, sweetened it is kind of like a toasted marshmallow……
Don’t be scared!
Eep, marshmallow. How can it taste like marshmallow, when it smells like you’re downwind from a grill cooking barbecued (something)? Alright, I’ll try it. Umm. Tomorrow. Heh.
It smells smoky but it doesn’t taste like smoke – hard to explain. LIke a toasted marshmallow perhaps. :)
Mmmm toasted marshmallow sounds wonderful :)
Missy: good to know about the Finum. We need to buy something to send to Irish BF of my daughter’s so he can make loose leaf. He loves tea and is branching out from teabags.
Amazon has them for a decent price. I’m currently thinking about grabbing another. My daughter likes tea as well and the basket that came with her teapot leaves much to be desired.
http://www.amazon.com/Finum-63-421-50-00-Brewing-Basket/dp/B000I68NCS
My intestines can be scared of certain teas, if you know what I mean! Note to self: No more stale, older green teas please.
LS for me is an occasional tea, unless I find A good one with more mild smoke. I do miss the sweetneess of a LS.
Scott – have you tried this one? It is fairly mild IMO…
No, but I’ve had my eyes on it for quite some time.
Isn’t it pretty?! Next time I’m steeping it in a glass! Resteeps very well.
Infamous?
:) Perhaps I am the only one who refers to that black tea of theirs as INFAMOUS :) But it IS getting quite the reputation here on steepster :) teehee
Haha, I thought infamous was a negative adjective! Contrary to its reputation on here :P
You know…now that you say that…I can totally see your point. Oops! I will change that. I was thinking of it as “shocking” but in a good way…
Antonym would be more fitting :)
1. reputable. 2. praiseworthy, admirable.
I went ahead and revised that to FAMOUS :)
teehee…thanks for point that out! It was only my 1st cuppa the day at the point of writing! LOL :)
Hahaha, no worries, I was pretty sure you meant it in a good way :D I actually had to go look the word up myself after I said that to check if I was right :P
hmmm maybe another tea to add to my list once I get through all the new teas coming heh
I share with a college student that works summers/holidays at the local herb store as well as family and friends but also swaps and giveaways :) That’s super cool that you do that Bonnie! Anyway to get the word out about quality tea ROCKS :)
I’m such a Famous lover that I give little packets of Laoshan Black away as tasty gifts with a smile on my face like I’ve just passed along a treasure.