Leland Tea Co

Cup of my morning. I wanted something sweet.
I can taste the caramel much more than I can taste the pear, but that’s alright. I am more a fan of caramel than I am of pears anyway.
Its going to be a long day, I can just tell.
Over the weekend I’ve had trouble with my taxes, and a shipment of yarn claims it was delivered, but was not in fact delivered. And I am very grumpy about that! I want my yarn, darn it all!
So I’m spending a lot of time today on hold with various agencies to try and get things resolved. I hope it will all work out. I want my yarn! I want my taxes to be done! I don’t want it to be Monday! Boooo!

I am practically frantic for my next cup of tea, and I’m in an indulgent mood. I don’t want serious tea, I want the sweet and dessert like teas.
My sister gave me this blend for my birthday, and its my first brew of it.
I get a lot more of the caramel than I do of the pear, and the caramel is a rich, almost earthy caramel.
It smells divine in my cup, but it tastes a little less decadent than it smells.
Still, its a really nice cup. I am very happy to have this in my cupboard.

I think this is also called Dietrich’s Blue Angel but I don’t see that on the website. Did I imagine it on my tin?

Anyway, the first time we had it, my daughter really liked it and I just thought it was okay. Then I read the instructions and saw that they recommend one TABLESPOON of tea per cup and I had only used one teaspoon. Next time I made it, it was really delicious. I served it to a friend and ordered some within a couple of days of drinking it.

I am looking forward to having it as the weather heats up here. Summer is made for citrus flavors! (And berry, and mint, and…)

My youngest daughter has become obsessed with old movies and old time stars. Her number one favorite is Fred Astaire, followed by Jimmy STewart, and then Bogie.

She also loves lapsang (of which this blend has a little but not tons – don’t worry, if you don’t like lapsang you will still probably love this tea) and she loves this tea. So much so, that I am a little apprehensive about approaching the bottom of the tin. She is so accommodating that she always asks if I have “lots left” of a tea before she requests a specific one, so I am going to have to reorder soon so I can keep saying, “Yes, we have plenty!”

The hazelnut is the dominant flavor to tea but I find it more palatable and in better balance than Florence by Harney and Sons, which I loved at one time but it could sometimes be a bit much for me, especially after I quit adding sugar and milk.

I am grateful to Doulton for recommending this one! I miss her being on here.

I was in the mood for a strong, manly man smelling tea tonight. I almost went for lapsang but saw this and knew it was meant to be. Smells like Bogey would have smelled on a date. Yes, I can imagine exactly what cologne, what soap scent, plus a little cherry tobacco thrown in.

This tea goes down fast and smooth. We’re gonna need a bigger tin.

This tea reminds me of what I like in a really good roasted oolong. The aroma is so rich and masculine that you just have to give an appreciative grunt on the first sip. It was the second tea of tea party today and well-liked.

Meanwhile, youngest daughter wants to ask Leland to make a special Jimmy Stewart blend. I want to see that. (She is obsessed with him.)

This tea has been on my wish list for years. My daughter, Superanna, was super sneaky and used my wish list to birthday shop for me, and she is letting me have one tea each time we see each other even though my birthday isn’t here yet.

Doulton’s and other’s reviews made me want this. All I can say is…they were right.

Daughter smelled it and it smells like Christmas without smelling like Christmas flavors or Christmas trees. I see another review with Christmas sentiments on here, so she got that pretty much dead on.

But I don’t think of Christmas with this tea myself. I think of…Bogart, and his ilk. Youngest is in love with the 40’s and a few weeks ago we listened to The Friends of Mr. Cairo by Jon and Vangelis and then watched The Maltese Falcon.

When I drink this tea, I can smell Bogart’s cologne, and feel the stubble of his five o’clock shadow on my cheek. There is a hint of a pipe that had cherry tobacco in it – maybe he was smoking before I arrived.

Daughter says, “Tastes like cigarellos, trench coats, and subtle sexism.” And she hasn’t
even tried it yet! She did like the smell, though.

Something about it reminds me of roasted oolong, like a Da Hong Pao. I know that is the touch of Lapsang with the hazelnut. This is a blend that everyone who likes light smoke or roasted flavors should try at some time.

Thank you, Superanna!

This is it! The tin is empty and waiting by the sink to be washed. I had two and a half teaspoons left. I steeped it in my eighteen ounce Stump pot. We have made five steps so far and I think we have one or two left in these leaves.

There is a hint of chocolate, a rich, oily-thick mouthfeel, and a bit of cedar, like chewing on a brand new pencil. I am going to miss the easy drink ability of this one. Not at fussy, it really keeps going and going and the flavor is good. It isn’t so exotic that a newbie can’t enjoy it, or tasteless so that a puerh lover won’t. No fishiness, no low tide odor to this one, I would reorder, but I have a lot of puerh to get through already. Very nice tea.

Served after a supper of creamy carrot soup with sweet curry powder and dessert of Hoosier pie!

I had heard about it. I have read about it. I have seen some of your reviews when you were “under the influence.” But last night was the first time it actually happened to me.

I often feel very peaceful, happy, calm, contented, or otherwise positive when drinking tea. Jasmine and such make me relaxed. Tea with friends makes me happy. But last night I had my first tea drunk.

We had a lot of tea, sort of by accident. Someone came to Writers’ Group and stayed and then someone else came in, and I offered tea and…well, tea happened. We had jasmine green going for the young folks but the more seasoned ladies were in the kitchen with the aroma cup and a gong fu and that’s where it all began.

We started with Ginger Lily Oolong from Teaave. We went to Rishi Wuyi Oolong so they could see the difference between the two types. Then we had Bogart, to see how the flavorings in the black somewhat mimic the flavor of a roasted oolong.

Then this. And next thing I knew I was a little giggly and had a goofy smile on my face (I could feel it) and some things that sounded really hysterical in my brain but at the same time were not really sensible to say at the time were trying to get out of my mouth. Fortunately, I thought, “Wow, so this is what tea drunk feels like or else it is late and I am super sleepy and I am going to crash in a few minutes.”

And then it was over. I was still happy and having fun, but my brain was no longer going, “HEY! DO YOU KNOW WHAT WOULD BE REALLY FUNNY RIGHT NOW?”

What can I say? They loved the puerh, made MY WAY and not by the horrible instructions on the website that resulted in a cup of nunchucks. One TEASPOON per 8 ounces for me, please. And a short steep. Then you have a lovely, earthy, possibly high-inducing cup.

Made this by the pot today using their recommendations. Not doing that again. This was great last night – five or six steeps, in an eight ounce pot with one tablespoon of leaf and eyeballing the color for time.

I used two tablespoons for my 18 ounce Stump pot, which is less leaf than they called for. I steeped four minutes and I am left with a bitter black puerh. I don’t think I have ever had a puerh get too bitter to enjoy, or too dark, as I have some that I like inky black. This one I can’t handle, though. I am going back to my own steeping parameters where this tea is very enjoyable! This pot will easily be saved by putting it in a different container and diluting it by about half. Resteeps will be kept extremely short.

I went to Raleigh to pick up ChelseaR’s dogs as she goes on a trip. I picked up her key from my daughter who let me choose one tin from my birthday stash, but I wasn’t allowed to see the labels. I decided on the tin with the silver bow even before I knew it was puerh.

Hubby and I shared it tonight. I didn’t know what to think about their instructions – a TABLESPOON of leaf for eight ounces of water. And four to five minutes steep in boiling water! I followed their instructions on leaf but not time and had very satisfactory results.

I thought the tea would be black as pitch with so much leaf. I didn’t time it but kept an eye on the color of the steep. It was dark, but not pitch like some I have had. I thought at first that meant that it wasn’t going to resteep well, but it did.

The verdict tastewise is – no fishy, no horse poopy, mostly earthy with a high almost metallic note, which I love. Perhaps that is the camphor sometimes mentioned with puerh because it is almost a minty coolness. It has a great round mouthfeel, full flavored and medium bodied. I am pretty excited to see what those other two Leland Tea tins hold!

This is basically my “little black dress” of teas: elegant, classy, and suitable for any occasion. Fitting, given the name, no?

It was the perfect tea to fill my thermos with for a day of kayaking to see the Autumn leaves. Just finished the still warm-ish last bit 14hours after filling it!

Used my new variable temp kettle and double-walled tumbler with screen to brew up a scoop of this. It seems like one that wouldn’t get bitter, and so far I’m right.

Kettle: Hamilton Beach 40996 Programmable Kettle, 1.7-Liter
Tumbler: 16oz Simply Better Tea, Tea Traveler® BPA Free, double-walled

I think about 1/2 of my “perfect teaspoon” is the right amt of leaf for a mug.