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It will be interesting to see how I feel upon starting my temp job on Wednesday. It’s been so long since I was working full time due to my disability and subsequent unemployment. I’ve gotten used to drinking tea whenever I want and being able to gong fu it all with my yixing pots! Probably can’t do that in the office but maybe this will be a good time to divest myself of some bagged tea I haven’t gotten around to drinking. I think this is what’s known as a “first world problem”

I’ve been drinking more green oolongs lately and definitely enjoying them. I wonder if they have a similar theanine profile to gyokuro or the Japanese green teas as I always find them relaxing.

This one in particular is very nice if you like floral teas. It is sweet and creamy with an intense orchid aroma and flavor. I steeped it 3 times and steeps #2 and #3 were really tasty. This might actually be a touch too floral-y for my palette, but it is a terrific green oolong, Definitely would recommend trying it.

Was at my BFs house earlier but I’m kind of glad to be back at home with my tea collection. All weekend I’ve been in a shitty mood because it looks like I’m going to take a part time temp. job that I don’t really want in order to pay the bills. It isn’t nearly enough money. Anyway sometimes we just have to do the things we need to do in order to survive.

I am pretty happy with this tea this afternoon. It really has a relaxing feel about it, thought the jasmine is not very strong. I’ve been using a gaiwan and the gong fu method to prepare it. It has a light, vegetal and buttery quality with a pretty sweet finish. I do detect some jasmine in the aroma, but it’s so very light when you only steep it for 15-30 seconds. That is fine with me, because I don’t like strong, perfumey jasmine tea. Super relaxing, I almost feel like a nap is in order!!!

Tea purchased in the grocery store yesterday. I am still having problems sleeping so need to find more decaf options until this crisis is over. :P

I don’t see the point in paying a lot of money for a decaf tea because they aren’t usually that tasty anyway. THis blend is ok though. From the name, you would think its all fruit flavor, but there is also spearmint and lemongrass in the blend. So it’s more of an herbly, minty, fruity kind of flavor. I found it fairly mild and refreshing, Definitely nothing to rave over but it will serve the purpose of helping me sleep better.

I put two of the teabags in the fridge to try cold brewing them. I think this will be a bit better as an iced tea.

Just an update: In case you were wondering about the cold brew version of this decaf tea. It is actually pretty good. The cherry comes out a little stronger in the cold brew, though it does seem like a tart cherry. Still bothered a bit by the rosemary here but I will drink it. I think I like it a bit better as an iced tea than I do as a hot tea.

I was still having problems sleeping last night so I am trying to adopt a new rule this week, no caffeine after 12 pm. That will be difficult seeing as how I really like tea, but I’m getting tired of this no sleeping crap.

So this is one of the black decaf teas that I have and it’s enjoyable but still strikes me as a bit odd. It’s cherry but with a spicy flavor due to pink peppercorns and rosemary. I definitely do not love the flavor of this one but it’s ok. I decided to cold brew some overnight and I’ll see what happens in the morning…

I am drinking this one again today after not having it for over a year. These mini bricks are so cute! I wonder where I can get another one since neither Phoenix Tea Shop or China Cha Do seems to carry them.

I am really happy with the way this is aging! It’s a delicious tea with a brothy like flavor & bittersweet notes. It is producing a kaleidoscope of flavors! Early steepings were floral, then I got some definite woodsy pine notes and by the 6th steep it has a lemony flavor. LIght smoke throughout the tea. It gives forth a pleasant uplifting energy.

This is amazing, I am bumping up the rating. I think this is the first sheng I have purchased where I can see aging made a big impact on the tea (box says it is from 2008). Yum Yum!

I am definitely planning to experiment more with Douji in the future.

My sleep schedule has been so messed up lately, I think I need to go back to a no caffeine after 3 pm rule. Couldn’t sleep too well last night after having a black tea and a genmaicha in the late afternoon/evening.

But it’s still early now :-P

I’m definitely enjoying this Iron Goddess I got at Tokyo Tea & Futon last week. It doesn’t appear to be roasted, just round little green rolls of deliciousness. The flavor is very classic anxi oolong, with fresh, green vegetal notes, butter and flowers.

It peaked around steep #3 but I steeped it for 5 times and steep #4 was really good also. A very yummy tea, too bad these guys don’t have a website so you can see. Here’s my IG picture though:

https://instagram.com/p/0n44gCILds

Trying this again today and I have to admit it is just not a very good yunnan in my opinion. Especially not compared to the ones I have been drinking as of late. Tastes too earthy, almost to the point of being flat and muddy. So while SOT has some really good choices, I wouldn’t say this is one of them. Sorry…

I purchased this on a whim last week at the Scarlet Sage, an herb store in San Francisco. I’ve always been curious about this blend and wanted to finally try it. The tin is lovely but the tea comes in paper teabags, which is kind of a shame.

The aroma of this reminds me of Thanksgiving. I think sage is one of the primary ingredients in stuffing. It smells and tastes more strongly of sage in my opinion, but the mint is present and provides a really good contrast to the sage. This has an almost sweet quality to it which is odd and not what I was expecting.

I did a bit of research and found out that sage is good for digestive problems (as well as mint), so this seems like a nice after dinner or bedtime type of tea. I might like the smell a bit better than the taste, but it’s a decent herbal either way. I’m sure I’ll be glad I have this the next time I get a cold. Also I felt the smell was very relaxing and then I read this piece on the web that sage aroma lifts the spirits. Nice!

http://www.healwithfood.org/health-benefits/sage-medicinal-salvia.php

I cannot say I LOVE the flavor but it is intriguing and fun.

I’m drinking this today because I wanted something lower in caffeine. Nevertheless, I am rarely in the mood for genmaicha and I think this one has gone a bit stale. I wonder how long the shelf life is, I’ve had it for 3 years and it tastes more like seaweed than I remember. Even though I’ve been keeping it in a tin it’s probably time to just compost it. Oh well!