LeafSpa Organic Tea
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This was, again, my first morning tea.
Today was the first day in a while that I didn’t have as an initial tea something I wasn’t wild about and was trying to sip down. Not having that hanging over my head made for a very pleasurable tea experience.
I have a full sized tin of this and I hit the halfway mark today, so this is becoming a candidate for sipping down. But this is the way it should happen—naturally, as a consequence of being enjoyed, not because its owner is on a mission. ;-) It’s still a solid, middle-of-the-pack Earl Grey that I enjoy drinking, but it isn’t off the charts in any respect. That’s fine, though. Sometimes I just want a tea that isn’t so incredible that I spend all my time thinking about it while I’m drinking it. Sometimes I want something that doesn’t call attention to itself with every sip. That’s this tea.
My first Earl Grey in a few days. It’s nice to change things up every now and then.
Had a terrible scare this morning. Okay, I probably over reacted, but no. 1 got into an argument with his dad and left the house without saying where he was going. I figured he’d come back in in a few minutes, but he didn’t. Took no. 2 to President’s Week Camp figuring that perhaps no. 1 had walked over there. He wasn’t there. Came back ready to call the police, but cooler heads prevailed—got in the car with the BF and started to cruise the neighborhood. Got out of the car to ring the neighbor’s bell and no. 1 was coming out the front door right when I walked up.
We had a long discussion about leaving the house at age 9 without asking permission or saying where you’re going.
My throat was a bit tight from the length of the discussion and from the panicked tears.
This helped.
Oh my gosh, that sounds very scary. I’m glad everyone is safe and sound. Not being able to appreciate consequences is such a hallmark of childhood
Thanks so much, and indeed, the consequences thing. And it turns out he told the dad of the family whose house he went to that we knew where he was and it was okay with us. So there’s the honesty piece as well that needs to be worked on. I am thinking I should find old Leave it to Beaver episodes for him to watch, because my recollection is they addressed just this kind of thing each episode. ;-)
Im so sorry. i can imagine what you are going through. My older one left the house at 6am when she was 6. went to a golf course just because she was bored and everybody were sleeping. i had 3 yr old and infant on my hands. she was picked by security. thank G-d there was no play yet. now my kids would never walk away because they are scared to be kidnapped. another thing, if some kid wonder in my house i would double check with the parents. Im surprised they didnt call you.
Wow, how far away was the golf course?? How terrifying.
I agree, I would have double checked. But I can’t really fault this dad. No. 1 can be very convincing. I should probably have a chat with them though to let them know I’d appreciate a double check call if he shows up unannounced again.
Our summer house is on a golf course but she went far down maybe like 3 holes. i wasnt really mad at her because i was terrified myself. i was afraid to scare her. but in my mind… you dont want to know what i was thinking…we had a long talk. she cried and plead not to tell dad. she still remembers she will be 14 soon.
Well, she learned from it, which is good. :-)
awww, i’m sorry to hear all this transpired. hope your nerves are calmed with some much needed tea time :)
Thank you. :-)
I have some untasted Earl Greys and some I’d like to revisit and do a better job of documenting, but I learned my lesson yesterday: don’t try something new you want to write a note about when in a rush. So today I’m returning to a solid Earl I’ve tasted a number of times. I have a lot of this, but at the same time once it’s gone it’s gone because LeafSpa is gone.
This remains a good, solid Earl without bergamot that is too strong for me. Today I am tasting the “orange” finish which livens up the flavor.
We were in a rush to get out of the house this morning because No. 1 had an appointment to get braces on his teeth. So basically, I put this in the Breville and forgot about it until we were halfway to the orthodontist. When I got home after dropping him at school, this was only slightly above room temperature. Which is actually interesting. I can almost imagine it as an iced tea, and I think it might be a good one. The bergamot doesn’t seem to become stronger with cooling and the flavor maintains its balance. Thinking about trying it iced now, except it’s not really the day for it.
No. 1 haha. I love what people come up with to call their kids, significant other, etc.
Hehe. No. 1 would tell you he sometimes feels like he’s no. 2 and no. 2 would tell you he really should be no. 1. ;-) I’m really just referring to birth order, though.
My #2 always has middle child syndrome. According to her nobody loves and I’m guilty in everything
Another Earl from the stash, and another company that is no more.
I have a mostly full container of this. I really couldn’t remember how it tasted before I tried it again. I expected, somehow, stronger bergamot even though I see my original note didn’t find it too strong.
It’s interesting, I think I prefer the Simpson & Vail’s tea base, but this is a better Earl Grey because the flavor profile is more typical. (Sometimes it feels like judging a dog show doesn’t it? The dog is adorable and has a great personality but doesn’t fit a basic criterion of the breed. Not that I’ve ever judged a dog show but I like watching the one that comes on after the Macy’s parade on Thanksgiving.) I see I rated this one the same as the S&V but perhaps that’s okay because they’re good at different things.
I almost didn’t go for Earl Grey at all this morning. Lately I’ve been waking up on Mondays with a feeling of dread in my tummy that makes everything seem unappetizing, but this was nice and mild and isn’t making it worse.
I know that feeling very well.
I couldn’t judge a dog show. I’d give them all top marks for being themselves because they’re all special! Oh, I just want to go play with a bunch of lovely dogs now. weeps with puppy feelings
And oh no to dread feels! I’d imagine Earl Grey’s a good antidote to dread, given the calming effects of bergamot, but also hugs just in case.
Thanks :-)
does organic taste any different than non organic?
Hard to say. To my taste buds, it tastes no different but I appreciate the lack of pesticides that I am imbibing while I drink it. Tea can be VERY high in pesticides from growing and the way it is grown.
I don’t notice a difference in the taste.
ok, thankyou :)
In the tin, the leaves smell strongly of bergamot, but fortunately strongly does not equate to perfumey in this instance.
After steeping the tea smells sweet and malty and the bergamot has all but receded into the wings. There’s a faint, orangey smell but not a lot of bergamot in the aroma.
It makes a return in the taste, but not in an overpowering way. The tea is fairly smooth and is mild but flavorful. It has some natural sweetness, but it doesn’t taste as malty as it smells.
Basically this tastes very similar to the Blue Knight Special by TeaFountain in terms of the balance of flavors. The main difference is that the TeaFountain has a lot of rough edges, whereas they’ve been filed down here for the most part (there’s still a sneaky little bite at the back of the throat that can happen sometimes but it’s not consistent). The mouth feel has some substance to it, which I like.
It’s a very no nonsense Earl, no variations, nothing frilly. A very purely Earl Earl. But fortunately lacking the major thing that can ruin an Earl Grey for me — overpowering, perfumey, volatilely alcoholic bergamot.
Preparation
A lovely cuppa green! Here is my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2010/10/18/organic-mao-jian-from-leafspa/
Nice!
The flavor is vegetative with slight buttery notes. The buttery essence is not as strong as some teas that I’ve encountered – this is more like lightly buttered veggies. There is also a nice floral note toward the finish. Very nice, indeed.
Preparation
One of my favorite parts of trying a new type of tea is that first moment where you’re opening the packaging for the first time; the first sniff where you get a hints of what will soon be filling your cup. I often sit there smelling a new tea long enough to get funny looks from the pets. Unfortunately, this tea did not give me that initial pleasure. When I opened the bag, the tea scent was almost overpowered with a scent of paper. Meh. Not really what I was expecting. The leaf however, looked gorgeous. Very light and fuzzy, just like silver needle teas are supposed to look.
The directions on this packet call for a heaping teaspoon per 6 oz. of water. My recommendation for any of you playing the home game would be to use a very generous teaspoon. My first steeping didn’t use much leaf, and resulted in basically a flavorless brew. When I upped the amount of leaf I got a much more flavorful brew with a lovely buttery feel to it – although a highly flavored white tea always tends to be a very delicate cup – unflavored white teas very rarely jump up and down and demand your attention. They are instead like the Easter eggs of the tea world. If you have patience and spend a little time looking you can occasionally find something great.
The overall flavor is lightly grassy and actually a little papery. However, unlike the initial aroma, the slightly papery taste was not unpleasant at all. The liquid slides around in your mouth like silk, and it’s a very smooth drink. The flavors also intensifies as the brew cools. Longer steeping times bring out additional flavor profiles with hints of apricots and almonds. This is a nice silver needle, and overall is fairly reasonably priced among the other offerings out there on the net. Those who enjoy light delicate flavors may very much like this tea.
Check out this review at: http://www.itsallabouttheleaf.com/740/tea-review-leaf-spa-tea-organic-silver-needle/
Preparation
The more I drink this, the more the sweet peachy flavor is getting to me. It’s honestly too sweet for a hot tea, and I can’t decide what time of day to drink it.
But I just made a whole pitcher of it iced, and it’s decidedly better cold. Because the tea is so sweet, it works really well iced. The peach isn’t as strong, and it blends really well with the white tea. In fact, it’s more like tea when it’s cold rather than just peach.
Glad I found something to do with all this tea!
