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I succumbed and bought regular cream today.

And now I’m drinking this tea with a dollop of cream. So good. Like plum pastries.

Om nom nom.

(I have 2 kilos of pork roast in the fridge and no idea what to do with it, because somehow through my horrible file messes and breaking computers, I’ve lost some of my favourite recipes! (They might be on my computer at work…) Any crockpot style suggestions? :) )

Had earlier (much earlier) this morning, with some sugar. I prefer it with milky stuff, but couldn’t be bothered to open another packet of coconut milk.

I had to get up suuuuper early (for me!) because the water was being shut off and I really wanted to shower at home instead of at work. Haha. Amazingly, I was successful, but it’s time for a coffee break. Tea just isn’t doing it for me right now!

I’m working on cleaning and reorganizing everything in my tiny apartment, I started about a week ago and am tackling tiny projects each day.

Last night I found a bag of what I thought was palm sugar (at like 1:30 am) and put it in the kitchen to have with my tea today. Except. It wasn’t palm sugar. It felt weird as I put a couple pinches into my tea, and I realized it was bamboo flavoured salt.

That was a no. That was a BIG no.

So I made another cup, and added some real, regular sugar to it. And some coconut milk. And I’m still drinking it.

Tea good. Tea with a lot of salt, though? That’s bad.

My first jinjunmei! Thank you, Dexter! :D

I’ve had three steeps so far, and I think I’m going to have to stop because my tummy is super upset with me. I may have had mac and cheese at lunch, and I maybe shouldn’t be eating dairy…

Dry leaf smells delicious and malty and grainy, almost like toasted grains.

Steeped, it smells almost fruity with the toasted grains. Maybe a little sour? Not sure, something might be off with me today because the other tea struck me as sour as well.

30s: Very strong, malty, grainy, a bit toasted. Fruits in the background. I’m not sure if I like this, it’s so in-your-face, and not in a delightful wake-me-up way, either.

1min: Still quite strong, malty, grainy. This is better for sure, as it’s mellowed out. Still not my favourite.

1min 30s: Ahh, this is more like it. Grainy toasty tea with some stone fruits peeking through. Still not my favourite, but totally drinkable. It feels almost creamy as well, but that doesn’t bring the other flavours together – the creaminess is distinct from the grains and fruits. It’s not what I was expecting.

Thanks for sharing, Dex, but I don’t think this particular one is for me! (At least it’s not dirt tea… :D )

I’ve been taking notes…

https://instagram.com/p/zYC_xPx5AR/

10s rinse.
10s steep: OMG. Smokey. Weird note I can’t describe. Little sour.
- leaves smell kinda like wet cigarettes
Flash rinse
10s steep: Ugh, still that icky note I don’t like. Very smokey.
10s steep: Nope.
6s steep: Little better maybe, but still too smokey.
6s steep: Less smokey but still that icky taste.
6s steep: More smoke again, a little sweet, a little lingering bitterness.
(Will add later…)
6s steep: Bright, lingering bitterness. Smoke seems to be dissipating, although the leaves still smell icky.

Next day:

Flash rinse.
5s steep: Smells like a woodshop that someone’s also been smoking in. Reminds me of my Grampa, actually, which is weird. Today it’s not super objectionable, but it’s just not a flavour I want to be drinking.
(I’m trying to get as much out of this as possible, since the 5g cost $7.50. That’s a lot for a tea I don’t like, so steeping for educational purposes it is.)
10s steep: It’s a lot more drinkable now, but I think it’s starting to head out. I’ll probably do a few more steeps.

In conclusion, I don’t necessarily think this is a terrible tea. However, it’s not for me. Not at all. I really don’t like that heavy smokey sour flavour and the smokey woodshop smell.

Last bit of this sample from Dexter, and it feels like it will never end. 2 rinses, and then 4 steeps into a thermos to take with me today.

It’s strong, it’s a bit “fishy” and really earthy/forest loamy. I do like it, but it’s not excellent.

It feels like it’s not going to steep out though. I have a feeling I’ll be steeping it a bazillion times when I get home.

Thanks so much, Dexter! :)

Steeping this more the next day. It’s almost spicy. 3 steeps fit into a thermos, and honestly since I’m not really worried about “wasting” this tea by not checking out each steep, this is the easiest and best way to do it. It’s still a bit musty, but it’s getting almost creamy, and has a bit of a peppery bite. I flash-rinsed it twice before brewing since it was out on the counter overnight.

A sample from MissB. :) Thank you!

It’s a rather nondescript black tea, tbh. Nothing particularly special to me. Dry it smells malty and like stone fruits. Steeped it’s a somewhat sweet, malty, stonefruity black tea. As it sits it starts to get a bit bitter/astringent in a way I don’t care for.

While it is a nice tea that doesn’t need additives, I wouldn’t seek it out as there are other flavour profikes and also stronger morning teas that I prefer.

I steeped this short, and I’m glad I did. I think that steeping 3-5 minutes would be way too much, and the astringency would drown out the malt and fruit flavours.

2 tsp, 16 oz, 2 minutes, 195F

Strawberry coconut latte today! Whee!

This tea is actually really nice. I should take it out of my “out” pile and start drinking it more.

(So maybe this isn’t a sipdown!)

In other news, there’s a tea event happening March 15 in Vancouver! I’m hoping to do the black tea tasting with a friend. We’re waiting till tomorrow to buy tickets though…

Anyone else interested? I’m trying to support tea ventures in Vancouver, but these places really aren’t that great about getting word out. :/ I’ve linked the tickets page and the FB event page below.

The extra tastings are:
Black tea education: 11:30 am-12:15 pm
Semi oxidized tea education: 12:30 am – 1: 45 pm
Green tea education: 2:00 am – 3:15 pm

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-finer-palate-of-tea-tickets-15426373699

https://www.facebook.com/events/697751203679839/?ref=ts&fref=ts

Yum! This is another sample from Dexter. So tasty, it’s exactly what I wanted. Perhaps I should have rinsed again but this works.

Three steps in my not-a-timolino, pouring it into my new pretty cup. I’ll do three more steeps when I’m done this one and take it to bed to accompany my reading.

I wanted to do a full gongfu of it tonight but my desk is a mess of computer so I’m drinking it standing in the kitchen while making and eating sushi. I’d link pics but I just have my phone. Maybe I can figure links out and put them in the comments. :)

Drink drink drink. With milk, of course.

So sweet and also earthy. A nice choice to calm down after having to call tech support for my no-longer-under-warranty computer (Also, Dell’s website is not super accessible on a phone or ipad.. And when you call for parts for personal use, the phone line tells you to go to the website and disconnects!! If my computer worked, I wouldn’t be calling thanks people.)

PLUS DeleriumsFrogs was super SUPER sweet and sent me a present! Aww, tea frens! ♥ I got the wee crackley porcelain cup and a teensy wood tray from Zen Tea.

That was an excellent end to a terrible morning. Now I need to go get ready for work because I have equipment booked in a couple hours that I need to go prep for.

I’m feeling lots of love today. (A friend happened to have the part in his computing graveyard, so I’m getting a replacement for the price of a coffee. Ha! Take that, Dell!)