I am having such a hard time focusing today, still stuck in giddy, giggly ‘just married’ mode, but since Ben had to go back to work, it is only fair that I do the same. It is great though, well except that my giddiness has taken my already limited attention span and made it even smaller, it is a small price to pay! I will say one thing, my luck with cracking Magic packs kinda sucks. As a belated birthday present to myself I used a bit of the money received to buy six packs of Eldritch Moon (my current favorite set) from Amazon at a really good price. Now I don’t think they were repacked, but man, the draws were awful, I only got one card I really have any use for (Cryptbreaker) and nothing but junk rares. For the most part though, my luck for pulling pricey rares is pretty awful, having only twice pulled ones worth more than $5, one was Grim Flayer which I traded for a lot of store credit at Card Kingdom which in turn paid for all the singles I needed for both my Zombie deck and my Control deck. Maybe I will use my new pile to make a deck in some other color than Black…maybe Black White or Black Blue! Can you tell I like playing Black?
Since I have no attention span, I am going to focus on a relaxing tea that doesn’t require many steepings to describe, a nice herbal blend! Lullaby Tea by The Kent & Sussex Tea & Coffe Co, a blend of Apple Pieces, Linden Flowers, Lemon Balm, Lavender, Rose petals, Sweet Blackberry Leaves, Orange Blossoms, and Mallow Blossoms. Three things caught my eye when I saw this blend, there is no mint, chamomile, or hibiscus…all things that I am frankly quite sick of in herbal blends, and of course things that I am only moderately tolerant of taste-wise. I love herbal blends, not for any health reasons, but because herbs, flowers, and random plants are a great way to expand the taste palate and often taste really fascinating. When I was a kid I would rummage around in the garden selecting edible plants to blend into odd concoctions to drink, just because I wanted to explore more random tastes, since smell and taste are my favorite ways to interact with the world. The aroma is very much so a flower garden, notes of roses, lavender, orange blossom, pollen, hay, and a blend of herbaceous lemony goodness as the base, being an undertone to all the other notes. The herbaceous note gives a slightly savory quality which keeps the flowers from being too strong and cloying, it is well balanced, which is hard with such strong flowers as rose and lavender.
Into a steeping basket the blend goes, the aroma of the steeped herbs is flowery with notes of lavender and roses, but also peppery, citrusy, and herbaceous adding a green and savory quality. It is not at all too flowery, which is nice, the lavender is mild and not soapy, which is good. I love lavender but it can get too strong at times. The liquid is sweet and green, notes of lavender, roses, and orange blossoms with pollen, honey, and a peppery herbaceous finish. It is like flower nectar and leaves, like an entire plant!
The taste is lovely, exactly what I want from an herbal blend! Notes of gentle flowers, primarily roses and lavender with a hint of orange blossoms, sweet honey and pollen, a general wildflower taste, and a touch of ghostly mallow blossoms. After this initial burst of flowers is a midtaste of green blackberry leaves and a peppery and lemony herbal note that is unmistakably the linden flowers and lemon balm I am tasting. The lavender comes back in the finish and lingers into the aftertaste, and it, of course, sticks around quite a while since lavender is like that. The mouthfeel was surprisingly thick and almost viscous, which I found soothing since it is one of my favorite ways for a hot drink to feel. This could very easily become a favorite herbal blend, combining some of my favorite flowers and plants!
For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/12/the-kent-sussex-tea-coffee-co-lullaby.html
