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Sipdown #60

This is a sweet, luscious, creamy, sunshine and hay tea. I have definitely enjoyed Teavivre’s White Peony over everyone else’s. This is where I’ll be returning when it’s time to re-stock my whites. A very enjoyable, quintessential example of this kind of tea.

Sipdown #61

Thanks to my husband for drinking this one (and only sharing one small sip with me I might add), this has become a sipdown. ;) I’ve had a very productive sipdown evening!

Sipdown #62

Mmm, I love me some Yunnan! This is just as delicious as the first time I had it. Total yum factor! I’ll miss this one.

Sipdown #63

This is another one that’s over 2 years old and was stored with peppermint. Why do I do that to myself? Poor mishandled teas. :( I just didn’t know any better back then I guess. Oh well.

I remember really loving this one back in the day. I should have enjoyed it while it was still in its prime. I went ahead and added Truvia and skim milk right away. Despite its age, this one smells amazing! I really love chai. :)

Sadly, the taste isn’t nearly as appealing as the aroma. This one is also slightly minty and not nearly as intensely flavored as it used to be. The cinnamon is the only recognizable spice left. It’s adding a darkness to this cup that I’m not digging. I’ll reserve judgment though and leave the rating unchanged. One more down!

I’m joining the sipdown extravaganza here on Steepster! I’m going to attempt to sipdown a bunch of these old teas I’ve had for years, as well as some more recently acquired teas from swaps. My goal is to be back in the double digits before my honeymoon at the beginning of October. Here goes nothing!!

Sipdown #64

Oh man, this one is old. This is actually from my first online tea purchase ever! O_O I’m not even kidding…I wish I were. I believe this was stored with some peppermint because it tastes a bit minty. Not overly so though. There’s just a hint of mint and then the aftertaste is where the rock oolong flavor comes in.

I don’t usually like Wuyi oolongs, but this is a greener version. The flavor has lost its intensity due to age. But even though these leaves are at least 2 years old, this is still a tasty cup of tea. :)

I drank a vanilla latte this morning instead of my usual double cup of chai tea. I might as well not have had any caffeine at all for as tired as I feel. So, I do believe…it’s tea time!! Thanks to JustJames for the sample. :)

I chose this one because it’s described as, “Tigers don’t tolerate weak tea, nor should you.” LOL! Okay, this stuff is the bomb. I’m working from home today, and I just got a call from a coworker who was having trouble with an assignment. It’s wicked hard to troubleshoot over the phone, especially when the person says they’ve done what you’ve told them to when they really haven’t. I finally finished the call and, by then, the tea was cool enough to drink.

RAWR!!! This tea makes me want to roar like a tiger! LOL! Sorry, I’m just so glad to have a nice cup of tea in my paws…err, hands. Yum! I even drank it sans additions! O_O This stuff is GRRRRRRREAT! (Okay, that’s all the tiger puns I can think of). :P

And now just for fun, some pictures of my kitty sleeping:
http://instagram.com/p/c7DfiMl-nE/
http://instagram.com/p/c7D1gul-nx/
http://instagram.com/p/c7E8uKF-p2/

Thanks to Indigobloom for this sample! It’s my first KIMICHA tea! :D Needless to say, I’m always excited to try out new-to-me tea vendors.

I meant to go for a little shorter steep time, but I got distracted washing dishes. I’ve been trying to cook more at home because we have a bad habit of eating out. I’m also trying to cook healthier dishes, mostly organic and with lots of greens. Did you know the food Americans eat the least is greens? Well anyway, so far I’ve made kale chips, kale crust pizza, sautéed spinach with garlic and onion, red chard with turkey bacon and cheese, and Thai baby bok choy. The Thai baby bok choy is by far my favorite! It’s cooked in coconut milk with a dash of red pepper flakes. Mmmm!

But enough about food, ON TO THE TEA!

Sans additions, it’s a slightly bitter black tea with a hint of caramel. Adding a splash of skim milk and a little Truvia awakens this tea’s true potential! The bitterness has dissipated, and now I’m left with a lovely cup of caramel tea. The base is still fairly assertive here, which is a nice change from the other dessert teas I’ve tried. I’m thoroughly enjoying this cup! Thanks again Indigobloom!!

I have been soooooo tired lately. Once 5 o’clock rolls around, I’m exhausted. Once 9 o’clock hits, I’m dead on my feet. I wish I could use being pregnant as an excuse, but I’m not pregnant. I’m just not getting enough sleep I guess, or at least, not enough restful sleep. We’re going to go see Elysium in an hour, and I want to make sure I don’t sleep through it! So, I decided to make some guayusa.

Butiki’s blog describes this tea as, “Without sugar it tastes like an earthy herbal blend but with sugar it tastes like a creamy dessert tea”. It definitely tastes like an earthy herbal sans additions. I decided to add some Truvia. It made it sweeter, but the flavor profile is virtually the same.

I’m afraid that this isn’t my cup of tea though. Guayusa is a bit odd for my tastes. The flavorings are so delicious in this, but then that distinctive guayusa flavor creeps in. I drank the cup anyway in hopes that it will keep me awake through the movie. I do feel a little more alert.

This is a cup that wakes you up slowly and sweetly. It’s not overly assertive or brisk. It’s just nice and calming and yet awakening as well. I’m glad I had the opportunity to try it. Thanks to JustJames for the sample!

EDIT: I told my husband that I drank this highly caffeinated tea in order to ensure I stayed awake through the movie. Upon hearing me pronounce it a few times (it’s pronounced WHY-YOU-SUH), he said, “Guayusa tired?” And then laughed maniacally. LOL! He’s so ridiculous, but I wouldn’t have him any other way. ;)

With Steepster’s recent update wonkiness, I decided to stop trying new teas and return to some comforting classics. Now that Steepster appears to be back to normal, I’m happy to return too! I apologize for my absence but, man, I’m glad all those bugs are finally gone! It was just too much for me to handle at the time.

Now I have a lot of catching up to do on everyone’s notes! Please don’t feel neglected if I haven’t gotten to you yet. And feel free to write a comment here to remind me. Ever since reaching over 100 followers, it’s been steadily harder to keep up with everyone. But I promise I do love you all. :)

ON TO THE TEA!

Assam is hit or miss for me. I haven’t quite figured out why. But some assam varieties I’ve had tasted like dirty diapers. Well, this is not that! (Thank goodness). This assam is a hit! The dry leaf aroma is vanilla-y and floral. The brewed tea aroma is strongly vanilla.

The taste sans additions is mostly vanilla and a smooth black base. The caramel comes in with the aftertaste. With a bit of Truvia added, more of the caramel buttery sweetness comes through sooner. The vanilla is still nice and strong and in the forefront, but now I get a nice side helping of caramel too.

I thought this base was going to be really assertive and require milk, so this smooth calmness is a nice surprise. I prefer this tea sweetened, although it is quite enjoyable plain too. I just have an insatiable sweet tooth. ;) I suspect most people would enjoy this tea best sans additions.

Mmmm, this is just sooo good! It is very cleverly and masterfully flavored by Stacy. The re-steep for 5.5 minutes was just as flavorful and delicious as the first. Thank you very much to JustJames for providing me with a very generous sample! This could be my new favorite vanilla black! :D

I need something calming after encountering all these bugs since the latest Steepster update. It was annoying enough that the site went down for most of Sunday (one of my most active days on this site), but now the site is not fully recognizing that I’m logged in, I’m having a lot of trouble posting and rating new tasting notes, I can’t like notes when viewing a tea company’s page, notes are sorting oddly on tea pages, it’s not sorting my cupboard correctly or displaying all the teas I have, AND I have to try several times to add or remove a tea from my cupboard before it finally takes! When will the madness end?!

I have so many teas that I really rely on the virtual cupboard. This cupboard bug makes prioritizing and tracking my sipdowns that much more exasperating. Ugh. Luckily, I knew this was my last Bigelow sample, so now I can pick up right where I left off yesterday! Inhaling the brewed tea aroma is calming me down already. It’s soothing and comforting in the way only tea can be. I need more of this stuff! And PRONTO!