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I saved this to try last from my 52teas order, although I guess I shouldn’t really count the coconut cream pie as “trying it” since it not going so well was my own fault. I’m not sure why I saved it for last, contrariness probably since my first impulse was to tear it open first and I firmly believe that occasionally not letting my curiosity get what it wants is good for me.

Like most other people, I was pretty weirded out by the idea of this tea, but everyone’s expressions of horror when I told them about it only egged me on into getting it. (contrariness again!) Any tea that requires me to stop and think a moment to make sure I have the word order right cracks me up and therefore deserves a chance.

Opening it up, it mostly smelled like maple syrup, which was weird, because that is possibly the only non-breakfast related word that is NOT in the tea’s title. I’m gonna go ahead and chalk it up to the combination of the cinnamon and butter. I tried it and my first impression was just YUM. This is REALLY good! I like a tea that I can just immediately say that I like or not without actually analyzing the flavor. Of course, after the initial period of yum, I DID get down to analyzing. The maple syrup, as expected, resolved into a combination of cinnamon and buttery flavor, and there was a hint of smokiness that I am going to assume is the toast. I am somewhat at a loss as to the raisin bit, although…there’s something in the aftertaste that suggests a certain idiosyncratic fruitiness that I would, if pressed, associate with raisins. I am not that into raisins so I’m not particularly disappointed.

Second steeping: ok, those are DEFINITELY raisins. The impression is so strong that I keep trying to chew the tea. The cinnamon is still around, but the butter has receded a bit, as has the smoky toastness, although I think I agree with Cofftea that the texture of the tea itself is toasty on it’s own.

Man, I am just drinking this up. I REALLY like it. And it’s quite satisfying on its own, i.e. I am not left feeling the need to visit IHOP or something :D It also makes me really want to try the maple bacon from Man Teas.

Sigh, last of the sample. And I am still waffling between this and the Bond Street Blend…both have good points! Ugh, I hope I don’t finish up all of my breakfast blends before next month rolls around. I really can’t justify any more tea purchases this month.

Backlogging from last night:
I put the third steeping in the fridge to chill, but got impatient (not to mention thirsty) and ended up drinking it before it got really cold. This time, the white tea and the black currant had switched places. It’s still good this way, but I think I prefer it the other way around. Will have to wait on a true iced tea from this until next time, I think!

Edit: Turns out there was enough left in the pot to have like, a quarter of a cup, chilled this morning. OMG SO GOOD. The cool temperature really brings out the black currant nicely!

Whoo boy, first go at this did NOT go well. Got into a raid right after setting it to steep and was too busy killing dudes to go and pour it for…well, a while. Needless to say it ended up oversteeped and holy buckets was it ever astringent. I tried to tone it down by adding milk, but I think I added too much milk and it ended up somehow too mild but still astringent. Very weird.

I could tell that it had potential though, so I’m trying out a second steeping now, with a much lower milk to tea ratio. Naturally, since I oversteeped it the first time around, it came out a bit tasteless but I am also getting a better sense of the potential of this tea. I think it’s one that would definitely benefit from the addition of a vanilla milk substitute of some kind. I am thinking almond or rice milk. I also really want to try out the iced latte recipe that is on the 52teas website. By the time I got to the end of the my first cup, the tea had cooled significantly, and I could definitely see its potential.

So, I guess after all that, I am…intrigued. The tea is definitely quite coconutty, and the vanilla seems to be present around the edges of it. I don’t know. I definitely need to try it again without brewing it for twice as long as it is meant to be brewed.

Second steeping: Just as good as the first! Added a minute to the steeping time and nom nom nom. I’d say that the white tea retreated somewhat with the second steeping, which is not what I would have expected, but there you go.

I’m gonna try to third steeping iced. We’ll see how it goes!

Squeeeee! My 52teas order came in today, prompting squeals of joy, immediately followed by choice paralysis. Which do I try first!

I actually decided to go with this one first. (Decide? Not draw randomly? Moi? I know it’s weird, but I actually put some thought into it. Read on, true believers!) Reading people’s reviews of it is what basically put 52teas on the map for me, and made me realize that I would HAVE to order from them even though they do not do samples which is usually a huge turn off for me. >:|

I LOVE black currant, I have mentioned this before, but I’ve found black currant black teas to be largely disappointing. It just doesn’t fit properly, if that makes any sense. But white tea, white tea could be PERFECT. So, high hopes here!

I have to thank 52teas, because I don’t get to use the word redolent often, but when I opened the packet, that is the first thing I thought of. The leaves were redolent with the rich, overripe fragrance of currant. When I poured water over the tea, the fragrance intensified, but now I was smelling fresh currant. That’s right, this tea has power over TIME AND SPACE. Well, maybe just time.

So obviously, by the time I sit down to actually drink it, I am totally stoked. And you know what? This tea totally delivered. The black currant complements the white tea SO well, it’s like the two flavors were made to go together, and somehow even though the currant is very strong and present, it doesn’t overshadow the white tea. Instead, they work together to ROCK MY SOCKS OFF.

I have GOT to try this iced.

Second steep: note to self: do not assume I have rinsed out my tea mug. Especially if the last thing in it was chai.
That is all.

Addendum: Combining Bond Street English Breakfast Blend and Thai Chai = Fruit Compote! Makes no goddamn sense, but there you have it.

Yeah, so my alarm clock didn’t go off this morning. Good times! You can probably extrapolate what happened to the tea from there…

So I’ve been thinking that perhaps instead of a rude, slap me in the face breakfast tea, I should go with a (still strong) but nicer tea to help make me stop hating the world before noon rolls around. Therefore it’s back to this tea, which I still am really liking the taste of. Still nice and strong for the morning but much smoother than the scottish breakfast.

Bah, now I am waffling over which one to get, although the hilarious thing is that I may not be getting either of them any time soon since my graphics card died yesterday and not only do I have to get a new one (and better! if I’m getting a new card it may as well be an upgrade, amirite?) BUT apparently I was at the very edge of what sort of graphics card my power supply could support so now I have to get a new power supply as well. BAH! The end result is, I should probably hold off on more tea purchases until payday rolls around again. (it is a double shame because I really want to try the 52teas malted chocomate now that it’s back, too)

Well, back to mornings as usual at Chez Ewa. Let this steep for maybe a minute before running out the door. Ah mornings. You suck.

So, I’ve been letting this stuff air out in a shallow container in hopes of getting rid of the chai contamination, and I decided it was time to risk it again. The root beer taste IS gone, thank goodness. But there’s nothing to replace it. It just tastes kind of generic and slightly astringent. Maybe I should just give up on this stuff?

Made a giant pot of this to drink while writing an essay for class. (I needed something tasty and wakefulness inducing since it was for the Foucault class.) I thought this would be perfect because it adds the zing of lemongrass and the sweetness of coconut to the already spiciness of chai. It’s like chai for people who are not in the mood for chai. Or something. I have also recently felt more open to the concept of coconut (specifically after my experience with Golden Moon’s delicious coconut pouchong) so I wanted to see if it carried over.

Anyway, true to form, I forgot that it existed while writing and then drank it cold. I don’t really remember the last time I drank this stuff hot. I seem to always be having it in situations where I get involved in doing something else. Naturally it got a little stronger than I usually go for with this stuff, but that was all right because by the time that I remembered it existed I was feeling the encroachment of a post lunch coma, so it woke me up a bit. Also, I added milk to help tone down the sharpness, and that was good, but still, I think I’ll try to actually pay attention for the rest of the evening.