818 Tasting Notes
It seems like a lot of us are having the tea blahs. I’m no exception. Is it the hot weather? I’ve been trying to drink the teas I have rather than buying more, but I’m starting to think I need some new tea to get me out of the tea blahs. I also think it has to do with not having much success icing my teas. Maybe they aren’t the right ones to ice, or maybe I just don’t like iced tea that much, but they’ve been pretty lame. I was thinking I’d prefer tisanes iced, but I don’t like that there’s no actual tea in them. Blah!
Anyway, I did enjoy multiple steepings of this tea yesterday. It’s a nice comfort tea. No crazy flavoring, which I guess was what I needed. With the 4th of July holiday sales, I’m now wondering if I should go for it and get something new!
Oh, and a Happy 4th to you all!!
Taking the day off today after a fabulous weekend, filled with family visits and a Steampunk-themed wedding, which also was sort of a college friend reunion for me. Totally had a blast!! So much fun!! Glad I took today off though, because our flight was delayed 2 1/2 hours last night, so we didn’t get back until 2 am!
So, we went to Pike Place Market in Seattle yesterday, and I discovered this shop! I had seen it on Yelp! because, prior to our trip I was curiously searching for tea shops up there, and I totally ran into it without even knowing it was at Pike Place! Score! I was overwhelmed by their wall of tea canisters, but I found some 10-bag sampler packs, which I promptly picked up. I only got two, but now I’m considering an online order. Their tea is really inexpensive, surprisingly.
So, this huckleberry tea is pretty good. I couldn’t help myself and opened the sealed foil package to smell it while we were stuck at the airport. Totally huckleberry! Reminded me of the huckleberry taffy my friend sent me a long time ago. I brewed some up this morning. The teabags were oddly moist, but the tea tastes great! This one has a lot of huckleberry flavor….pretty much straight-up huckleberry. I would have maybe liked a little more tea flavor, but I still enjoyed it, a lot. I think it might be fabulous iced! Definitely a taste of the northwest, and a great end to a wonderful weekend! :)
I went in to DavidsTea today because my little bro’s birthday is coming up, and he’s into tea! Woohoo! So, I picked him up some stuff, and while I was at it the salesperson offered me a free cup of this tea! Nice! Let me tell you, it’s like almost identical to pineapple upside down cake by Della Terra! How did that happen?!! Not even the same ingredients! It must be that they both have the same type of cake flavoring or something. Anyway, super sweet tea. Very enjoyable. Good way to fight off sweet cravings!!
This is a pretty good oolong. Buttery and vegetal, with a thick creamy mouthfeel. It’s probably one of my favorites from the oolong samples I bought from Harney’s, but I think I prefer other oolongs more. It’s keeping me cozy on an unusual rainy day in June! Enjoyable, but probably not one I’d go out of my way for.
I’ve decided my husband’s friends from back in high school are awesome!
After a lovely trip to the conservatory of flowers in SF, where we enjoyed tons of butterflies and orchids, we had dinner at my husband’s friend’s family’s restaurant. That was a mouthful! So the restaurant is a Japanese restaurant with sushi and teriyaki, and they give everyone a huge pot of free genmaicha to drink with your meal. I get the whole pot to myself because my husband doesn’t drink hot tea, which is fine with me! Haha! So, my husband’s friend just happened to be there and when I told him I enjoyed the tea, he grabbed me some loose leaf from their bulk supply! Nice!! This is the second friend of my husband who has given me free tea. So like I said, they are awesome!!
This was my first cup today. Had a late start, but it was so nice to get some extra sleep! This tea is perfect as a breakfast tea. Went nicely with my toast topped with butter and blueberry jam! Yum yum!
I have to confess that later, I went out for a Starbucks frappuccino! Gasp! ;) I tried their new caramel ribbon crunch frapp, which was like the caramel one bumped up x10! I skipped whipped cream, but I’m sure the sugar was on overload. Talk about a sugar bomb! Utterly delicious though!!
Yes on the ribbon crunch. The cookie crumble they have, if you haven’t tried it, I was disappointed. Too much junk floating around. I like to drink my beverage, not eat it. As for this tea, I think I have to buy some, everyone has been drinking this lately.
I get my frappuccino’s made with half base, half syrup. I just can’t do that much sugar anymore, and it makes me feel old. They just need to add a little extra milky stuff so it blends. The liquids have been calculated exactly!
I hate the cookie crumble…but ribbon crunch….heeeeeellllllllssssss yes!
Lol! I’m glad I’m not the only tea lover who still likes frappuccinos!
I messed up and went for the cookie crumble last week. And hell yeah to this tea.
I like the cookie crumble better than the caramel ribbon. I find the caramel ribbon doesn’t even taste like caramel because it BURNS it’s so sweet. _ What I did though, was I got a crème based frappucino with no flavor syrup, got the dark caramel sauce, and the crunch sprinkles, no whip no caramel drizzle. Now that was really good :)
I also love the java chips in the frappucinos. xD I only drink maybe 2 frappucinos in a year (before I started working there, I essentially never had them. Some years I’d get one, most years I wouldn’t) but I pretty much always add chips. xD My favorite frappucino is vanilla bean with chips, no whip. Tastes like an oreo cookie :)
If you’re like me and don’t like them as thick, I recommend asking it for light ice (if they try to clarify say ‘one scoop down’) and then it’s actually drinkable without turning into unflavored slush.
I had two steeps of this tea yesterday too. It was an oolong day! This tea was definitely a dark oolong, with some roastiness, but ever so delicate. I was really surprised at how delicate it was, actually. I could taste a peachy note, but that was slight as well. I also felt like the leaves weren’t big enough. I like it when oolongs have big leaves! It makes it seem like better quality, although I’m not sure if that’s always the case!
I enjoyed 3 steeps of this yesterday. It’s a little floral, but not as strongly floral as I was expecting, given the name. I got mostly a fresh, crisp, veggie taste for all three steeps. Much different than the buttery, creamy oolongs I’ve had. It brewed into a really pretty yellow color. Not bad, but probably not one I’d seek out. I think I prefer my oolongs to be buttery! ;)
Happy 4th :)
I think that just happens in the dead of summer (tea blahs). When it’s too warm to drink more than a cup in the morning before switching to water and iced stuff. Hang in there; fall’s coming!