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At long last I am drinking this again, but this time I have a way to combat the bitterness…

I’ve been using steep.it a lot lately (if you don’t use it, you really should!) and I especially like that for white teas it actually times for 30sec. I kid you not. A timer for half a minute! Who knew! So freakin’ handy because if you’re anything like me-and there’s a small toddler depending on you to keep them alive—then you lose track of time. A lot. This website makes sure you’re steeping your tea not only for the right amount of time, but the right temperature too!

Anyways, long story short: I steeped the Whisky White according to their 30sec @ 80(ish)°C recommendation and HOLY MOSES this is a completely different tea! Not bitter or strange at all, just creamy-soda-white-tea heaven. Still no whisky taste, but then again I’m no expert on what whisky tastes like so, meh!

PLUS, I got 2 more steeps outta the leaves slightly raising the temp and time for each steep.

I know, I know, I’ve already written 2 notes on this tea already, but hold on a sec… have you been on steep.it yet? It’s this awesome little tea-timer website that alerts you on your computer when your tea is done.

Well, their suggestion for white teas is to steep them for only 30sec at only 80°C. I’ve always steeped my whites according to the recommendations on the package (3-4 min at 98°C) and they usually turn out alright, but why not try something new? I mean, you’re supposed to steep greens at a lower temp so you don’t scald the leaves right? Makes sense that it’d be the same for a white.

It came out pretty good, considering the different steep methods. More white tea than strawberry, but this means I will probably get a couple extra steeps out of the leaves instead of just 1-2. Hmmm… looks like I will have to try this method with whiskey white too, since it always seems to come out bitter when I brew according to DAVIDsTEA’s suggestions.

My husband thinks I have too much tea—it’s taken over a whole shelf in our cupboard—so, in an attempt to appease him I’m trying to clear some out. There was only about 1.5 tsp left of this, why not use it up?

I’m not gonna lie, I’m glad this one is finally purged. It took all my nerve to finish the cup since I didn’t want to waste it. All I could taste was a weak black tea with hints of artificial-tasting peach, stevia, and cardboard? Ugh. Definitely not my favourite. Not even close.

I’ve been struggling with stomach issues for about 4 years now… the latest from my doctor is that it’s definitely gluten-intolerance, might even be Celiac’s disease. Sigh. So, I’m trying to go completely gluten-free, but the withdrawal symptoms are nuts: headaches, mood-swings, irritability… it goes on.

I’ve been mainlining a lot of tea as a result, and yesterday my sweet husband offered to make me a cup of something before bed. I requested this since it’s hard for a coffee drinker like him to mess up. While it didn’t do anything for the headaches or mood-swings, it was a nice little cuppa before bed. Hopefully my hunny makes this tea-making thing a habit, I could get used to it for sure!

Baby, it’s cold outside! This is just what I need to fight off the chill.

I used to work at a Second Cup, so I got rather addicted to certain drinks. This was one of them. However, the way I like to drink it is 1/2 water, 1/2 milk since the mix blends better with boiling water than it does with hot milk.

It’s only rarely that the shops actually sell tins of the mix, so when my local place received a shipment of the latte mix I snatched up a couple tins. Hey, I could either spend $4 on a chai latte in-store or $7 on a tin that gets me multiple lattes at home. There’s no difference between the mix they use in-store and the stuff they sell in the tins, it’s the same with the hot chocolate mixes too.

On to the drink itself… I love it! Sweet, creamy, spicy, it’s so much better than any other chai tea latte! Sure, it’s also loaded with all sorts of things that aren’t the best for you, but you gotta live a little!

It was quite a struggle to get my 1-year-old to nap, which inevitably meant that this tea brewed too long. However, it still tastes delicious and toasty, with not even a hint of bitterness! Hmmmm… never saw that coming! I was certain that it’d come out awful, which just proves my point that this is the greatest tea. Ever. No contest.

I busted this out last night because I was craving something fruity and couldn’t partake of the coffee that everyone else was drinking (stomach problems, you see).

I still have a full tin of this from the summer, I know it’ll probably come back this year, but you never know for sure! I definitely prefer this iced or fridge-brewed, but it’s winter and cold drinks just seem wrong this time of year. However, it was still delicious and summery like a watermelon Jolly Rancher, but not as unbearably sweet. I drank it straight, but when I ice it I always add agave nectar because I like how well it mixes in to colder beverages.