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Backlog

I’m reading through my notes from last weekend when I had decided to get a few sessions in prior to my trip down to North Carolina (which had stopped a day short due to my wife and I both getting ill and having to return home to fully rest). Upon resting for nearly four hours, upon the return, I’m able to muster enough strength (mentally/physically) to sit here and write the reviews….

Notes: Light flavors upon the first few steeps until the ball had “blossomed;” which allowed the tea to start producing stronger notes. After the tea had
bloomed there were honeysuckle/orchid and orange/citrus flavors. Balled tea is hit or miss for me due to the fact that it does take time to expand/produce a flavor profile; however, once this had opened up a bit, I had enjoyed the steeps following that initial “bloom”

Backlog

I have started to crave random teas lately—chai especially—so, I’ve been getting some samples of everything that I find missing in my tea journey. Now, a chai, for me, has always been that special tea ever since I was a child. I remember first discovering chai at our local bakery down the road from our house while growing up.

My father would oftentimes get a dozen donuts every other week, so I’d like to tag along for the ride (I was able to choose my donuts directly, rather than relying on nasty cream sticks; which have been unappealing to me ever since I had my first jelly donut. Ha-ha).

Anyway, during that time, I had made a note of their drink specials while going with my dad and saw that they had “chai lattes” for the same as a cup of coffee. One of those times, I had asked my dad if I was able to have a cup of the chai latte to try. In fear of having my mother find out that he was going to buy his son a cup of “coffee” (which during this time in my life was restricted for two reasons: I was “too young” for tea/coffee & for another undisclosed reason), he made sure that we sat in the bakery at the only table they had and sip our beverages there. I will admit that that moment was pure bliss. I had found something truly amazing & purely delightful—so much so, that I’d secretly ride my bike there every Saturday for a cup until they went out of business in early 2004-ish. ;)

So, with that said….I found this at the local Giant Eagle before work…..I wasn’t so sure how much to get, so I weighed out an ounce and took it for work….

Notes: A bit maltier than expected, but the spices mixed well with the base of the tea. I had to add a touch of cream to cut that slight bitterness out, but it wasn’t too bad overall.

PS. Sorry about the accidental story time. :p

Backlog

A coworker and I have started sharing tea samples with each other. Despite her “coffee ritual” from Starbucks on the way to work, she has started to look forward to “work tea time” (where we swap out tea during the slower hour(s); despite oftentimes having different tastes in tea)…My tea from her was this HiCaf Caramel Black….

At first, I thought to myself that this may have had potential, on the account that Republic of Tea is usually a more expensive brand of bagged tea. However, from what I’ve tried in the past, it has always been quite disappointing, so there was no hope in this being good.

I had three bags of this tea, so I had cut one of them open and poured the contents onto a piece of paper. Following that, I did the same with a bag of Lipton (just for fun). I asked my other coworker which tea might’ve been the better of the the two and he stated,
“Umm…there’re not the same?”

With that said, ROT & Lipton are the same to anyone looking at the tea directly, rather than basing their opinion on the box/packaging and/or type of tea present.

Notes: Gross. Bitter, tasted stale, & zero notes of caramel. I took one sip before spiting the tea out and making a cup of something else. My coworker that had made the tea swap with me found this to be some sort of hilarious joke, though. She also dislikes this tea, but wanted my opinion on it….Sadly, ROT has yet convinced me that their teas are worthy of the $9.99 per tin.

Quick Review:

I cannot get enough of this tea! It’s like drinking a liquefied orange creamsicle. More notes later….Off to work!

Update: My parents had visited Ohio Tea Co recently and grabbed a pound of this for themselves. My mother gave me a small sample to allow me to try. I must admit that, while not liking rooibos teas, I find this one to be appetizing nonetheless. There seems to be more of the orange creamsicle taste on the tongue, rather than that rooibos taste (wood?). I’m definitely going to head to OTC and grab a few ounces of this on payday, plus a few other tea samples, to take down to NC for my mother-in-law.

Tea Swap Session/Sipdown

I oftentimes enjoy anything given through a tea swap, even when I don’t. The fact that someone has taken the time to swap their stash with me is a humbling experience. I always do everything to appreciate the tea at hand and review it fairly, as well as boost the score slightly, on their account. Ha-ha. However, I cannot do that with this tea, and for that, I apologize…

Firstly, the dry leaf had an odd punch to it. It had the average vegetal notes to it, but there was a bitterness in the leaf itself. I had shrugged that off, assuming that it was a part my imagination; however, once the leaf was wet, I definitely could smell a bitterness/sourness in the leaf.

Secondly, with those notes jumping in on the nose from the dry & wet leaf, I continued on with the session. I made a note stating that “the smell of the leaf can sometimes not carry on into the flavor.” I, of course, was wrong with the assessment. There was a instant bitterness in the mouth, following with a sour “rice & seaweed combo” which wasn’t pleasant. I figured at first that the temperature of the water might’ve had an effect on the tea (170 F), however, it may have been the tea itself. Either way, I didn’t like this one…One bad tea out of few isn’t the end of the journey for me; so, I shall carry onto the next session shortly.

2015 Sheng Olympics(?)/Sipdown

In the depths of the tea stash, I had discovered this one hiding, awaiting it’s turn in the tea line. I have finally organized the teas in categories/type via samples, sipdown stashes, tea swaps, and cakes/larger quantities. After measuring out the full amount of tea, I have a good 2-ish years of tea to drink down! Two years controlling myself from buying anything else in large quantities. I’m calling it “A Practice in Humility;” which will, in time, allow me to appreciate what I have and make use of it. :)

Anyway, I sampled the rest of the tea early this morning prior to anything else. My wife was concerned as to why I was getting out of bed around 6:30 a.m., when I had gone to bed so late. Besides the fact that I cannot sleep as well as I used to, I wanted a cup of tea…

Notes: Smoky, leather, slightly mouth drying, and a touch of bitterness (toward the beginning of the session. It smoothed out around the 4th infusion). This tea was “smoky” in the sense that it reminded me of a “smoker’s jacket,” rather than smoked meat (lapsang souchong, for an example). The smokiness, in time, had died down, but it was strong until the 6th-7th infusion.

Tea Swap Session/Sipdown

I lied, this is my last tea note for the evening. I noted on the wrapper that it was “very sweet, honeydew/pineapple, & a touch of spring/blossoming trees” (whatever that means). This was the first tea which was had today, so my notes are a dull as my mind may be during the early hours. xD

That’s all folks. Goodnight. (zzZZzz)

Tea Swap Session/Sipdown

It’s too late to be having a black/red tea at the moment, but I’m also at the point where I’m fully tea drunk, as well as tired. I could easily fall asleep as well as stay awake….I’ve had 9 teas, in total, since 8:30 a.m., so this last one is only adding more to my overly hyper, yet, tired being. I need to end the tea session(s) and head to bed shortly after posting this review. I honestly have so many notes that vary in length, but my mental energy is nearly depleted; however, I could easily read a book, too (I may not retain it easily, but I sure could read something to ease the mind). My notes will be quick, though. I wasn’t 100% focusing on the note taking aspect of the session, but moreorless focusing on the book being read (The Eye of the World: The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan, if you must know. It’s a fantastic series which will be apart of the next 6-12 months of my life. I had recently discovered that, after picking the first book up at the library, it’s book 1/14. So far, it has a nice Tolkien-esq vibe to it, so I look forward to geeking out for the next few months while reading the series….I was told that there’s a game based on the series, too, so with further research, I might look for it on the web….)

Anyway, notes: A bit mouth drying, sweet, slightly malty, smooth, creamy, zero bitterness, caramel (aftertaste), and slightly floral.

Sipdown
From some LP Group Buy

First—when preparing the tea, my wife had noticed the name of the tea on the package. Her response: “Sounds painful.”

Anyway, I had been drinking this tea nearly for the last three hours. I started the session without notes—on the account that I was still half awake—however, after the 4th or 5th steep, I closed the book that I was reading and brought out the tea notebook. I will note here that I didn’t record every steep, but I noted profiles throughout the session, at random intervals of the session. I marked down the “differences” within the tea throughout the progression of the session (rhyme scheme?), so that I could note it on Steepster. I will also admit that I simply marked the profile of the tea, rather than writing down the depth of the tea; therefore, these are basic notes compared to the intricate ones that may oftentimes be made on a normal routine. Lastly, these notes aren’t in any particular order. I jotted stuff down as I thought of it during the session.

Notes:
Leather.

Apricot?

A bit bitter/sour on the initial taste, but the aftertaste becomes slightly sweeter.

Slight floral notes.

(Oh look, a little flower bud!)

There are a lot of broken leaves in my gaiwan; which I assume is giving the tea the bitterness upon each sip.

Leaves are a forest green/yellow-ish color.

Tastes “shengy.”

Tea Swap/Brief Notes

Another great tea had tonight while playing games…Silky chocolate…I’ll definitely note more with the next few sessions…