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__Morgana__ drank Thé de Fête by Mariage Frères

2037 tasting notes

Sipdown no. 125 of 2018 (no. 481 total).

This poor tea ended up at the bottom of the ratings in the cupboard, even though it is a really good tea and I could have continued drinking it happily for a while.

I feel a little sorry for it. Because it was at the bottom of the ratings, it ended up getting put at the front of the iced tea queue. There wasn’t enough to make an entire pitcher, so I filled up the other half with Upton Scottish (Breakfast) Blend.

I am sure I have other teas that I’ve rated higher that I like less, so the reason I feel sorry for this tea is probably because I feel guilty for being unfair to it. But hey, when you’ve been writing notes over eight years and your tastes change, what can you do?

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derk
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Oh, a sipdown. That’s my cue to sigh in relief.

sigh

Tastes change, it’s ok.

__Morgana__
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Heh. Yeah, I have not had as many sipdowns lately since I set out to write a note about every tea in my cupboard. I need to get on the stick.

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derk
Delete

Oh, a sipdown. That’s my cue to sigh in relief.

sigh

Tastes change, it’s ok.

__Morgana__
Delete

Heh. Yeah, I have not had as many sipdowns lately since I set out to write a note about every tea in my cupboard. I need to get on the stick.

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I got obsessed with tea in 2010 for a while, then other things intruded, then I cycled back to it. I seem to be continuing that in for a while, out for a while cycle. I have a short attention span, but no shortage of tea.

I’m a mom, writer, gamer, lawyer, reader, runner, traveler, and enjoyer of life, literature, art, music, thought and kindness, in no particular order. I write fantasy and science fiction under the name J. J. Roth.

Personal biases: I drink tea without additives. If a tea needs milk or sugar to improve its flavor, its unlikely I’ll rate it high. The exception is chai, which I drink with milk/sugar or substitute. Rooibos and honeybush were my gateway drugs, but as my tastes developed they became less appealing — I still enjoy nicely done blends. I do not mix well with tulsi or yerba mate, and savory teas are more often a miss than a hit with me. I used to hate hibiscus, but I’ve turned that corner. Licorice, not so much.

Since I find others’ rating legends helpful, I added my own. But I don’t really find myself hating most things I try.

I try to rate teas in relation to others of the same type, for example, Earl Greys against other Earl Greys. But if a tea rates very high with me, it’s a stand out against all other teas I’ve tried.

95-100 A once in a lifetime experience; the best there is

90-94 Excellent; first rate; top notch; really terrific; will definitely buy more

80-89 Very good; will likely buy more

70-79 Good; would enjoy again, might buy again

60-69 Okay; wouldn’t pass up if offered, but likely won’t buy again

Below 60 Meh, so-so, iffy, or ick. The lower the number, the closer to ick.

I don’t swap. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I have way more tea than any one person needs and am not lacking for new things to try. Also, I have way too much going on already in daily life and the additional commitment to get packages to people adds to my already high stress level. (Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does.)

That said, I enjoy reading folks’ notes, talking about what I drink, and getting to “know” people virtually here on Steepster so I can get ideas of other things I might want to try if I can ever again justify buying more tea. I also like keeping track of what I drink and what I thought about it.

My current process for tea note generation is described in my note on this tea: https://steepster.com/teas/mariage-freres/6990-the-des-impressionnistes