Nineteen-02
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Strong and malty, just what I had in mind from a straight black and now it’s gone.
Sipdown!
Now, I’ve been gone so long that I am not sure where I am in terms of sip downs.
500? 800? 300?
I was monitoring here and on my laptop before it died, so hmmm. Maybe google can help.
Google helped to some extent, but I still don’t have a definite number. And I did find a most unpleasant bunch of people on a tea blog, who may well know their teas, but wow.
Sipdown (591)!
Finishing this off as I continue my binge watch of Manifest tonight – it’s not a bad tea, but it’s got an astringent edge to it that I’ve finding a little harder to get past than I would like. Once I get through the dryness in my mouth, I can appreciate the bold flavours and notes of malt, citrus peel, and raisins – very standard, expected notes in a Kenyan black tea.
Made a little pot of this, with some eggnog and a couple lumps of rock sugar, to sip on Christmas Day while doing what is essentially my only holiday tradition – watching Olive The Other Reindeer. If you haven’t seen that movie, I HIGHLY recommend you do. It’s a children’s movie, of course, but it’s produced by Matt Groening (of the Simpsons/Futurama) and has a lot of voice actors in it from those two TV shows, as well as some killer musical numbers and pretty clever jokes that I definitely missed as a kid but have picked up on as an adult and found really well done/clever. Like, it’s just great…
The tea itself wasn’t anything to scoff at either; I will say that eggnog adds a really bold level of richness/creaminess to whatever it’d added to and this was definitely a tea that was brisk enough to handle that quality really well. However, it also had a strong raisin-y and citrus peel quality, and those two tastes are a little wonky with the custardy, mildly spiced nog. However, it was still a pleasant, full bodied and smooth cup/pot all in all.
Sipdown (262)
It’s been a slow start to the day. I actually didn’t even get out of bed until 10:30 and have been really dragging my ass. My first exam is tomorrow and though I feel prepared for that exam and the one I have on Friday, I have 3 exams next week that I am no where near ready for and it just feels like I am running out of time to get ready. Yet, I am still dragging my ass.
Hoping some caffeine can get my butt into high gear but we shall see. I reached for this one because (1) it was an easy sipdown and (2) it had coffee beans which may or may not contribute more caffeine. Also, it is one of the teas Evol Ving Ness shared with me in our swap that unfortunately has not been explored as much as I would have liked. So I am getting to the swap teas now, amongst trying to drink my other teas. Basically I am just trying to drink ALL THE TEAS!
I don’t love the flavor of coffee but this is actually nice. It almost has a bit of a mocha element to it given the deep richness of the coffee and some sweetness from the caramel. It’s a nice cup to start off my day…at almost noon…oh goodness. Thank you Evol Ving Ness for sharing :)
This was tasty, Evol. I used the entire sample and did the first one in about a minute and 25 seconds, and it was creamy, and definitely tasted like black coffee…never mind it was exactly that. But the caramel with the coffee appealed to me and was sweet enough for me to drink straight. I just splashed milk the second time after two minutes brewing, making it resemble the Coffee Cream Merci chocolate being creamy and bitter. I would not seek this tea out to purchase it, but it was a treat that I was very glad to try and enjoy. It kinda made me miss August Uncommon’s Tea Passage du Desir. Thankfully, I have so many flavored black teas left over.
pulled this one out to finish off this afternoon – sample from evol via variaTEA. I’ve had this one before and rather enjoyed it but this time i was not a fan. Today it was too much on the coffee /bitter side and not enough on the caramel side. Oh well, can’t win them all. i suspect this is one of those teas you need to be fussy with to get the right balance happening.
This was on my wishlist to try and Evol ving ness was kind enough to include a little for me in her care package. I have to say…this one is really decent. It’s got a really nice caramel flavour to it, that’s not quite paris caramel, but still tastes lovely AND it’s got the coffee flavouring from the coffee beans. I have the same trouble with it as most “coffee” teas in that i love the flavouring but i just want it to be more rich and a deeper brew to it. However, that aside, a lovely tea. thanks evol!
Final Count: 88
Another sample from evol ving ness (they’re non stop! haha) this one is weird. Pretty sure i don’t like it. reminds me of something they’d have at a spa. It IS calming, but it’s also…boring? slightly floral but not overwhelmingly powerful. well…i don’t dislike it.but i don’t like it. kinda minty? sort of. thanks for letting me try this evol, wouldn’t have tried this one on my own :)
It’s that tulsi thing that confuses the tastebuds.
Evol, once again, is right. The Tulsi isn’t for everyone, but it is a very interesting herb with some spectacular health benefits. Worth taking a peek at if you like tea lore at all; it goes way back in Hindu lore! Glad you got to try it, Sil!
i’ll try most things at least once! haha
I for one adore Tulsi. I came across it by chance and now seek it out in blends. I haven’t tried it straight up, but I quite like this one and others with heavy sprinklings of rose.
Next time you place an online order with us, Evol, I’ll toss in a sample of our Tulsi India Chai for you to try out. Really lovely herbal chai and one of my personal favourites, I think you might like it if you haven’t gotten a chance to try it yet.
Thank you. I’ll keep it in mind.
Last Amoda tea to talk about! Classic me on the second last cup and I’m only now getting to this. Although I’m sure this tea was gosh darn fresh when I received it, the scent and taste of it is kind of stale, but I think that’s my palate’s own interpretation of its notes. It smells like Metropolitan teas to me.
As for the coffee caramel flavours, they are balanced but still a little flat. This tastes a little bit like Herbal Infusion’s Moose Tracks. Creamy, yet thin, caramel with coffee beans.
Milk brings out the coffee even more, as it tones down that pseudo-stale base. I wouldn’t repurchase but it’s worth a shot.
I also had a tea that tasted like Moose Tracks!! Now I am trying to recall which one.
I totally recall you saying that in a relatively recent note but can’t think of it.
Ok, I’m a stalker, went back through your notes, and found that you noticed that with Hello Sweetie haha. I didn’t get Moose Tracks from that one but hey, interesting that you did!
I loved this one. How old is yours?
Lol Fjellrev, thank goodness you did cuz that was bugging me so much but I was being lazy. And I recall now but it was only that one time I made it at my sister’s place. So weird.
I got this during the Black Friday order, but it has tasted like this to me from day one. It could really just be me and my freakish taste buds.
Hmm, ah good then. Maybe I don’t necessarily need to race and drink down all of this right away then. Whew!
As I read up on the notes I’ve previously written about this tea, I see that a bit has changed with my neighbours and my communication with them. I understand the situation there more and I have communicated more directly and more clearly with them. Yes, I am still being disturbed, but less. They have made several accommodations to lessen their impact on me, but essentially, the load all falls on the woman next door because her man is thoughtless and clueless. Other less savoury descriptors come to mind as well. And clearly has entitlement issues that sadly she has to suffer the results of. But, hey, she chose him while I did not.
Last weekend, he had a male friend or two over which led to hours and hours of talking and incredibly annoying laughter against our adjoining wall.
In the wee hours, perhaps two or so, I assume there was an argument with his wife as their front door slammed hard, waking me up. A few hours later, there was a stream of cursing when I assume he came home from wherever he ran to and found that door locked. Of course, waking me up again. Nevermind that their baby regularly wakes me up in the night and disturbs me during the day.
I haven’t mentioned being woken by this latest thing to them. Add it to the dozens of times that I have been woken up by them in various ways. How does one even start?
That said, this week has, thankfully, been a bit better. I am certainly delighted that she is putting up with less of his nonsense.
This tea may be one that I continue stocking in my cupboard. The bitter roast of the coffee contrasts beautifully with the rich caramel sweetness. The caramel flavour imitates the type that is thoroughly caramelized, the kind that is a few seconds from being burnt.
Last night I sent my neighbours a note asked them to tone it down with exercising—running, jumping, doing weights, and so on— on wooden floors. It took me a year and a half of it driving me crazy to mention it to them because I didn’t want to be the crazy lady next door. So I sucked it up. 7 am, 10 am, 3 pm, 4 pm, 5pm. And this week, I lost my ^%&t.
My note was polite. I have no problem with their newborn—sometimes it feels like I have a newborn alongside—and their six-year-old. Or their extended family and large friend network. But for the love of God, with the running and the kettlebells and motivation soundtrack against our adjoining wall and repeated thuds and thuds and thuds and boom and boom and boom and who knows what all else that makes the floors jump and the walls vibrate and me want to crawl out of my skin. And why do all this when you have perfectly good concrete floors too that will muffle the sound and not make your neighbours want to kill themselves? So I hated having to send the note, but nope, couldn’t take it any. more. I so much hope that they will understand instead of thinking that I am a lunatic.
ok ok, I may be a lunatic, but in a good way.I have often thought about this tea. When it is good, it is really really good. I misplaced it. It wasn’t in the place where I usually store it because I had included it in a swap with a tea friend and it got buried among other teas I had put aside to create swap samples. So, now, yay! Such bitter coffee and burnt caramel deliciousness. It is super lovely with milk, but I am drinking it straight up. And deliriously happy. Until I begin thinking about my neighbours.
Was this from the amoda box? sounds amazing!
Ugh noisy neighbours are the WORST. Our former neighbours had six kids. When they played outside? each invited a friend over, and there was chaos. I swear they were opera divas in training. Working from home or studying was literally not possible. I feel your pain. Here’s hoping they respond with a compromise that works!!
Initially it was and then I ordered it.
Ah, so you know the pain. I have a set of truly despicable neighbours on the other side who have six kids with the same situation. Years and years of them outside. all. the. time with friends, of course, with no supervision. So yeah, I was not able to do any of my studying or work at home. Thankfully, most of that set are teenagers now.
I am certainly not prepared to go through that situation again. Nope. But I also want to be fair and understanding, which I think I am being with these new neighbours.
Unsupervised, yup!! they had an inground pool, which means summer was absolute torture. So glad they moved away. I’m glad you’re neighbours kiddos are grown now!
It sounds totally reasonable to me. I’d bet it hasn’t even occurred to them and they will be horrified. Kudos to them for being healthy though. Do they know about tea? it might be a nice olive branch :P
No pool, but I raise you two pit bulls and an antique car, truck, and Harley collection in addition to the other vehicles. And only three are teenagers. And they are all still here. However, after I began researching and reporting various bylaws they were breaking on a daily basis, they learned how to play nice. For now.
I don’t know. Nice idea though. Let’s see how things go. I think this is a period of reflection, hopefully. My mistake is that they don’t hear me, but in my note, I illustrated the reasons why that is.
Thank you for being supportive. It helps.
thankfully our neighbours toned it down before i had to write a note explaining that if you’re going to be uh…enthusiastic…for over an hour…ONE of you is probably faking it..so could that be done before midnight instead of at 2am. heh
also i’m with IB – this sounds good
hhahahaaha! It’s always something.
The tea or the note, Sil?
@Sil Oh dear! hah.
@Evol You win on that one. Not sure if that is good…
We have other neighbours with a pool. Two kids with autism and a teenager who loves having friends over. And a hottub. They try to keep it down unless it is a special occasion, but sometimes the kids have tantrums. Oh and the adults go into their hottub topless sometimes. Not sure about the bottom bits, I try not to stare.
We’ve bumped heads with those neighbours before, but I can’t complain much now. They are much nicer now. Long story :P
Anything that keeps people outside and making noise of any kind is potentially troublesome, if the people are neanderthals to begin with. Topless and bottomless bits don’t faze me. Lack of respect for others makes me go ballistic, however.
I don’t care if they do go topless but my neighbour on the other side squawks and causes more drama haha. Desperate housewives, I know.
:)
I don’t care what ppl do as long as it’s quiet. heh
Me too. However, I’d object to a meth lab next door though. So, quiet and something that doesn’t infringe on any of my senses, health, and sanity. Otherwise, absolutely cool.
Totally agreed on that front! and I don’t want my property damaged either (neighbours emptied their pool and it went through part of our yard. eroded the soil)
People sometimes, ugh.
grumbles People.
I hope they’ve come back with an apology. Or something.
Apology, yes! And a whole lot of ideas on how we can compromise in this situation.
oh wow yay!! faith in humanity revived*
Well, not so fast. I’ve been woken up by the exercise and their infant four times in the last five days.
So clearly we are not there yet.
Oh dear. Can you record it for them? Or maybe the decibels, so you can show them comparable noises? http://www.wikihow.com/Measure-Decibels
Thank you for this, Indigobloom. I will take a look when I have some brain cells to work with.
I hope it works. Good luck!
Thanks. Currently, making an effort to write a note in response to them in a polite reasonable way without sounding like a crazy lady. They have taken steps, but I don’t think they understand the impact of the kids, and the tv, and the exercise thuds and thumps on top of all the rest of life noises.
Such loveliness in a cup.
Somehow I had misplaced this tea for a few months, but it has resurfaced. Still just as glorious as I remember. I had some milk handy, so I added a bit. Also a bit of honey. It tastes like milky coffee candies of my imagination and memory; I am certain that I’ve had such coffee candies before, but where, when, what, who knows.
A sunny warm beautiful day out there, but I am lounging here in the dark in flannel jammies with my warm cup of tea. Slowly emerging into the day. Getting psychologically prepared to get into motion, none too quickly.
Oh my word.
This tea. Just glorious.
I am rather cautious about coffee-flavoured teas. Is it coffee? Is it tea? Identity crisis?This tea, however, tastes like the best quality coffee ice cream with a drizzle of dulce de leche with a nice Kenyan black tea backup. Oh.
I am so incredibly partial to well done caramel teas.
Nothing else I can tell you really other than I am ordering a hundred grams of this today. And the sooner the better.
Flavors: Caramel, Coffee
Preparation
I love reading such loving reviews like this!
Wow, sounds like heaven!
Oh wow, this sounds wonderful!
Ordered 100 grams. Done.
You sure don’t fool around. :D
I’ve had four cups of this tea, not all today, and each cup was glorious. The scent. The flavour. That lovely inhale of dark roast wrapped in caramel perfectly balanced in this tea. Yep, no commitment issues whatsoever. :)
Oh this sounds lovely!
ah! I would be so tempted if it weren’t for the coffee!
We’re so glad you liked it, Evol Ving Ness! This is definitely one of our favourite blacks.
Yes, I like this one a lot. In my last cup, however, it seemed like the flavour of the leaf was already fading, and rather rapidly. I’ve only had it for four months, so it appears to have a rather short shelf life. I am drinking up and sharing rapidly then.
How was it stored, if I may ask? I find that if the seal isn’t air tight, it’ll lose a bit of its lustre. Learned that one the hard way a few times.
Hello Crowkettle! How are YOU?
Haha, I just read that post and it’s hilarious and absolutely chock full of tea snobs who are missing the point. It’s fine to express that a site is useless to you and does not meet your highbrow needs, but some of those commenters in particular cross the line. But then again, this is the internet. Steepster absolutely has its flaws and maybe one day they’ll be fixed, but the community is generally amazing and is the reason I got into drinking more than just DavidsTea & Celestial Seasonings.
Agreed. Here we have a variety, a wide variety, of approaches. There are some who take teas very seriously indeed and others who approach teatime as social time. With very very few exceptions, we are all kind here.
I’ve learned a lot here about tea and also about people. As Dex says, tea people are the best kind of people.
I never saw that blog. I only read up to Jason’s reply but the original poster has some valid, thoughtful points. But so what. I love the mess that steepster is, and really shows that each steep of a tea is different for everyone.
I only came across it because it came up when I was googling my steepster name in hope of tracking down my sipdown totals.
To be honest, I spent more time with the thread than with the post,