1598 Tasting Notes
So I thought I’d try a cup of this since Heather Martin and a few others rec’d it as a good dessert-ish tea from DAVIDsTEA, and it is! I bought 20g of it to toss into a swap, but I stole a cup out just to make sure I wasn’t sending anything terrible off.
And I’m not. This is good! It’s not the BEST coconut fruity tea I’ve had but it really makes me wish I had mix to put in this, and I don’t (rarely) drink. So, that’s something.
Surprise Tea!
(And sorry if the name of this gives away the surprise to those with subscriptions, but I’m not sure how to handle these things. Before I just added them in and never tagged it Amoda but someone has, and I DO see how that could be a useful thing especially when there are exclusive blends…)
Anyway, I was surprised by this tea, but I am enjoying it! I didn’t care for Silver Buds Yabao as I couldn’t get more than slightly sweetish water from it, but I did like Eight Treasures more, and I can see that this is similarly flavoured. The rose petals are not overpowering, thankfully and I do get sweet nectar and spices with the gentle rose flavours. I probably WILL resteep this at least once since I was careful to only steep 8 oz, and I have the variable kettle keeping my water warm for the next hour.
I guess I’m happy I didn’t cancel my subscription. This isn’t a tea I would have purchased but I do like it and am glad to have been reminded that I did like the other Eight Treasures blend too!
I’m pretty excited about the other two – especially because one is a Sheng (which I’ve never had? I don’t think?)
Also, this tea is foresty. Why isn’t forest a flavour?
Preparation
Haha. That someone was me. ahem So glad you also think the yabao is foresty! :)
Hahaha. I think it’s a good idea putting the name in there! :P I just hope I’m not spoiling people. But how long should I wait before I sample it otherwise? I want these samples gone before the next ones arrive! When my Amoda samples pile up it’s a sign to cancel the subscription since the teas aren’t exciting enough…
Yeah. I’ve cancelled the subscription. I might regret it, but I have enough teas right now that it’s just overwhelming to get more every month. I’ll probably resubscribe later in the summer, especially if they start offering some customization – like no mint!
That makes sense! I can see how a subscription would be difficult for someone with allergies etc.
This was a sipdown! (175)
And aside from it having some nice nutmeg/cinnamon spices and a nice black base, there’s not much I can say about it. I ended up getting caught up in work and lost my chance to fully appreciate this tea! :O
But I have a few more from the Devotea that I will enjoy at home, so don’t worry: detailed notes are coming.
That is a reasonable description: Nutmeg/Cinnamon notes on a black tea base. We created it for the British market and wanted it to evoke a great familiarity to those bought up on black tea and bread pudding. Glad you enjoyed it.
It did remind me a thick pudding. Too bad work distracted me from fully enjoying it, but I’ve got tons of Lord Petersham to try.
This was my first free sample from Tea At Sea! I’m happy they are providing us a chance to review their teas, and I adore the packaging these came in. The little cork boat was an awesome add-in too!
I only asked for 2 samples, and they snuck in a third. So they get bonus points there!
Now I thought I’d try this a tea that’s not too challenging, and I was right. This is a nice pekoe, but doesn’t seem to have a lot of depth. I’m enjoying it but I’m not lingering over every sip. I would drink it if I had it around though!
I’m far more excited about the other two samples though, and this one doesn’t disappoint. I just want the other ones more. :D
Preparation
Huh. To be honest I didn’t expect to like this because I’ve had bad luck with cheesecake flavoured tea, because… how do you do that? It’s a subtle thing to recreate!
But this worked! It was light and fluffy and creamy and tasted a little sweet and a little like irish cream.
I’m happy I was able to snag this from ShadowFall!
Preparation
And another sipdown! (180)
This one is ok, but I won’t buy it again. I’m done with Teavana. You lost me because you didn’t care enough about me. :P
But it’s time for bed. Today was a success! I kicked butt at work, I fixed my de-DRM plugins for Calibre, I converted some fic, I updated some pins, I read some awesome fic, drank some tea, read mostly everyone’s logs, rearranged my tea cupboard, took pics to prove it, decided not to post them, watched a movie with J and did a load of laundry and tons of dishes.
NOT BAD. And if I go to sleep right now I’ll almost get 7 hours sleep.
Challenge: accepted.
I’m not going to talk about this tea though because it’s an oily mess and Teavana is awful.
But here’s a pic of the cute samples from Tea-At-Sea: http://oi58.tinypic.com/14ay6tc.jpg
Mmmm. Thank you MissB for giving me some of this! The first cup was unremarkable, but I added a dash of millk to the second and now I am enjoying this!
I haven’t really had any Gingerbread black teas (that I know of?) but this is much better than the Rooibos I had from DT.
Thank you for letting me try it! :D I would definitely drink more of this so long as I can add a little milk to it!
(sipdown – 183)
Preparation
(SHERLOCK SPOILERS OMG YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED)
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Did you? DID YOU MISS ME? DID YOU?!?!?!
So I sorta found this tea right after I watched the Sherlock 3 finale. As in, I was browsing the Adagio site like 2 days after. I didn’t stand a chance. I wanted it.
This blend is much better than I expected. It says GINGERx3. I usually only want GINGERx1. And there’s all these sour parts but it works. It’s not obnoxiously strong. Strangely enough, it’s almost endearing. The cinnamon adds a bit of charm to the mix, while the chai complicates everything. Smoldering, dark, brilliant…
And, with all that ginger in it, this tea lingers long after the last sip.
DID YOU MISS ME?
(this tea doesn’t give you a chance to)
Preparation
I just had a cup of the Moriarty blend, and holy ginger! I can’t even imagine what GINGERx3 would be like! O.o I do love the idea of the fandom blends though :)
That was quite a final episode wasn’t it? :)
I think the ginger in this was toned down because of the recommended low temperature/short steep time. I could enjoy it! (And that was unexpected).
And that last episode was so good! I was on live-tweeting it to… well myself mostly, and I just couldn’t help but exclaim at EVERYTHING. Like Mary? WTF? And the whole mind palace scene; there’s Molly being awesome and trying to smarten Sherlock up and he has his dog and… Moriarty is chained up? And he can’t bear to think about John because it was MARY that shot him and everything is twisted around… It was such a great scene. And Magnusson was such a terrible person that you instantly hated. Well done.
I just really want to know what’s going on with Mary. I’m very protective of John (and Sherlock). :| Especially because it doesn’t really make sense that she was not trying to kill Sherlock when she shot him because he really nearly died!
I AM looking forward to a year (hopefully not too much more) of fic fleshing everything out and exploring all the angles.
And yes. What’s going on with Moriarty? I just assumed it was a set up that Sherlock’s new buddy (forgot his name, the drug addict guy?) set up as a way to get Sherlock off the hook, but that seems too easy…
Eee!!! Ginger! Also, live-tweeting to me. LOL. I still haven’t watched it. I feel like a terrible fan.
Hahah. I tried not to be spoil anything with my tweets – there was just a lot of emotin and surprise!
And nope. Not a terrible fan. There’s all sorts of reasons to hesistate before finishing the last available episode of any series. I stalled for 6 months on Doctor Who…
I just stalled out part way into the second episode because Sherlock was being SUCH a jerk! I’ve heard the last episode is better, but do you think I could skip the second?
i keep reading and re-reading what OMGsrsly just wrote, but, i just can’t seem to understand the sentence…
Shmiracles, Jeremy Brett is the Sherlock Holmes of my heart. New Sherlock is verging on abusive.
oh snap i totally get it i luv Granada too! (and remember when jude law showed up in that one ep? i made everyone in my house witness it haha) but sherlock is always kinda, well, verging on arrogant at times isn’t he? and John is so stubborn and admittedly has weird boundaries when it comes to sherlock and at the same time he’s a total BAMF and can totes take care of himself. so ya know, big boys playing rough. but i also have SO MUCH faith in the writers so i always assume that if i’m uncomfortable there’s a good reason.
i also realized i’m assuming you mean ep 3.2? but maybe you mean 1.2?
but if you do mean 3.2 then keep watching! cuz there are some amazingly moving scenes in that one between Sherl & John. definitely.
but none of this matters!
because there is a Sherlock for everyone. and you’ve found yours! and Jeremy Brett is so SO beautiful. (when i was watching the series i would literally pause netflix just so i could open it on my phone and take screenshots shhhh.) (did you happen to read any of the books about him? i’ve always been curious…)
I mean 3.2! I want to watch it. Want want want. But yeah… swoon Jeremy Brett. I haven’t read any books about him, but I did some cursory internet research at one point. I need to start reading more than just fanfic again. Maybe. :)
Damn, I need to get a bigger HD for my computer so I can more easily watch my old shows. Right now I have to transfer them one by one from my ooooold external HD.
Cavocorax, I totally agree with the confusion over Mary shooting Sherlock. He actually did die. The doctors were cleaning up shop cause they gave up on him and then his eyes opened again cause John. OMG. I think my heart stopped for that whole part from shot to eyes opening.
Anyway, if she didn’t mean to kill him, she could have done something different. I mean…she just basically wanted to buy time to convince him not to tell John her secret…without killing him? She must realize it’s inevitable considering how close they are so…was shooting him really necessary?
I do believe she would never hurt John physically, but will she continue to lie to him to protect him from the worst of her past? Sherlock was worth killing once, will she think so again? I want to like Mary, but I’m not sure I trust her.
I also think Moriarty is a trick. He can’t be alive. No waaaay. So Sherlock comes back now and solves this and then they just forget he murdered a guy (apparently) in cold blood? I guess no one really wants to punish him though…
Anyway!
Also, can we talk about the symbolism in Sherlock’s Mind Palace? OMGGGGG.
As for Sherlock being a jerk…well, that’s part of his charm, weird as it sounds.
Yeah I never understood why she did it. Was it because she didn’t want to shoot Magnussen with John in the building because he’d get caught, but then she needed to deflect everything away? I…. I really don’t understand. Lots of people have good theories on tumblr though.
And Sherlock being a jerk is who he is and I get that but for me I was NOT impressed with the gag at the beginning of 3.2 where Sherlock blew Lestrade’s big case for NO real reason. Yes I get it was supposed to be funny but I LIKE Lestrade and that was just awful. So awful. It took the fun out of things for a little bit.
But everything got better after that part!
I also wasn’t impressed that he faked john out with the bomb. :( :( :( But if it gets better, I’ll see about slogging through. I think I need some tea, though. ;)
Yeah that part was a little rough too, but I can attribute that to him getting used to being around people after being on the run, and tortured and not knowing how to act, especially around John…? Idk…
Once you get past most of the Best Man’s Speech it gets pretty good, and the third is just Amazing. SO AMAZING. I don’t think I was cringy about anything…
He didn’t mean that bit with Lestrade. He doesn’t understand how much people actually care about him. The bomb part made me really mad at him though! But I watched it again and I realized that the only way his huge ego would let him beg for forgiveness like that would be to treat it like a joke. But he truly meant everything he said. Still mean but I think John understands why.
Anyway, it’s all amazing. I want to watch them all again.
I know he didn’t mean that bit with Lestrade but I still cringe when I re-watch that scene. He’s just SO OBLIVIOUS to what anyone else might be doing that could be important.
And Lestrade deserves better. :| Maybe I should just go read that Mystrade fic that Starfevre rec’d.
Also semi-related: I read the Road Trip series on my way to work this morning: http://archiveofourown.org/series/10114
The first 3 parts are HILARIOUS. The fourth, emotional… Still very good!
I’m watching the Sign of Three again, and Mrs. Hudson is really sorta annoying eh? Or is that just me?
But I just love Molly. She gets better every season.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/hvr13wiklc1hjru/-x9p6OfjIW
And here is the already compiled Road Trip series epub/mobi for those who want one file… :P
Lestrade really does deserve better. He’s such a lovely person. I’m rooting for a Molly/Lestrade pairing myself. But he’s not enough of a genius sociopath for her maybe. ;)
I do love the way Molly’s character has developed.
Also, stag night FTW!!
Hahahha. Yes – that stag night was AWESOME.
Thank you for canon sleeping beside each other…
You rock! :D Compiled fics FTW!
Right? Did you figure out how to do it? I found that automatically grabbing the page/link didn’t work so well or A03 – I had to manually select all and paste to make sure I didn’t miss any chapters. :)
No, I didn’t figure out how to do it. Haha. Soooo lazy. :) I mostly use it for Tumblr Fics, but the AO3 stuff that is in parts needs to be combined at some point. I DL’d all the fic off my phone, and am sorting it into Calibre today! Whee. :)
I’m having this again for breakfast, thanks to VariaTEA and I am trying to be productive at work but I have so much I want to do that’s not work-related. /0\
I need to set up Calibre so that it’ll strip DRM off my books again because they are my books dammit and if I paid for them I want them to work on any reader I have.
I want to reformat some of my fanfic so that complete series are bundled together instead of as multipart books that are on my kindle and then I can never remember what order to read them in… They need covers too.
I need to get Sil a list of teas if I want her to pick me up anything in Florida…
I want to find some good music on Soundcloud. I’ve been doing 8tracks for awhile, but I heard this “This is a Trent Reznor Song” https://soundcloud.com/fredscott-1/this-is-a-trent-reznor-song and I LOVE IT. So now I want to see what else I can find…
Oh and I’m at work and I need to find strange things that I can’t talk about because of SPOILERS for Hannibal and I should get on that because… because… I’m getting paid? Right…
Oh and when I get home I need to figure out how to organize all my new samples/teas because they barely fit on my shelf and it looks awful and part of the solution is to start bundling up teas for MissB and Shmiracles!
So. TL:DR Matcha is GREAT and as a follow up to my coffee I am buzzing with energy and I have no idea how to focus on just one thing so I am now listening to NIN really loud until everyone else shows up to the shop.
I have a list for lupicia, I’m hoping we can get that and Nina’s sorted by the end of the wekend so that I can order them by Monday. That way they will have lots of time to get where they’re going.
Haha I always have an ongoing list of things similar – so many things to keep me from what needs to be done. I hope you manage to get a good balance or work and your list done!
I can’t wait for the new season of Hannibal to start!
Ok I will TRY to get on it! If not, worst case scenario is I ONLY ask you to get me Nina’s Japon. :P
Thanks Courtney – I was mega productive this morning so I am taking a quick break from work to look at fanfic stuff again. Woohoo. :P Will organize tea tonight to relax. Things are pretty good if these are all the things I’m worried baout.
And Lala – Me too!!! I’ve read the scripts for Episodes 8-10, but I don’t know what happened in the first half of the season at all, and I want to see how the things we are building turned out!
For those that watched the first season – pretty much all the prosthetics were done by our shop, including that massive/terrible totem pole. I’m amazed by what these guys can do.
I set up calibre at work to strip DRM from PDFs. It works about 60% of the time. :)
Sweet! I just set mine up as well (at work!) I’ve never had it not work before though. :)
