85

At least a year ago, a colleague at work handed me a packet that had this in it. I never found the right time to give it a try, and so when I was looking around for a sipdown candidate I thought I’d do this because it looked like it was a single serving.

Actually, it has two tea bags, and enough chai spices to evenly split between two servings. So it will be a great sipdown candidate for the NEXT time.

This tea is interesting in a lot of different ways. First, it appears to be a white label with my company’s name on it in front of Epicurean Delights. I’m not sure exactly who Epicurean Delights is, but I think it may be a catering company in our area.

Second, the tea is in two bags, the mesh pyramid kind not the paper kind, and the spices are packed separately. Two large sticks of cinnamon, about four cardamom pods, about the same number of cloves, and two very odd looking things I can’t identify. They look like carved cinnamon — they’re the same color, but they don’t smell like cinnamon. They don’t smell like anything, really. But they look like flowers.

I finally figured out this was star anise. Thank you, Google!

Third, this isn’t at all what I expected. I expected strong spices, but this is really subtle with the chai spices and quite nice. I put half the spices in with the teabag in 195F water. I was planning to take the teabag out, but I left it in and the tea never turned bitter. I mostly taste the cinnamon and cloves along with a buttery green oolong, though there is a “freshness” that cools the tongue and that may be the anise.

The chai spices do sort of subdue the floral aspect to the point of disappearance, though.

It’s a pretty, light yellow clear color, and in a clear glass it is really enjoyable (or as No. 2 would say, “satisfying”) to look at the whole spices in among the bagged leaves.

Definitely a one of a kind experience, and it gets points for being better than expected and for being lovely to look at.

Flavors: Cinnamon, Clove

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 2 min, 15 sec 12 OZ / 354 ML
derk

I’ve seen some Epicurean Delights catering trucks around the city.

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derk

I’ve seen some Epicurean Delights catering trucks around the city.

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Bio

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

Location

Bay Area, California

Website

http://www.jjroth.net

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