Tea Desire

Finally, finally, finally was able to make it down to a Tea Desire again. I’ve only been waiting to do that for nearly two years. Between the closest one being in a city I’ve never been to before and the Edmonton location constantly shutting down and relocating, it seemed nearly impossible.

I bought this specifically for cold brewing. The dry leaf smells like what you’d expect out of a coconut lime tea, except it’s even creamier than anticipated. Totally drew me in at the store and evoked images of a remote tropical paradise. Well, not really, but I was pretty damn elated.

Taste-wise, it falls a little flat, though. I can taste both the coconut and the lime, but there’s a sharpness to it that bites the roof of my mouth. The cream note isn’t what I had hoped for, either. The base is decent but I’m not sure if I actually care for it with these two notes. Perhaps a green base would have worked better, as I find that my favourite lime cold brew (52teas Lime Jello Salad) and coconut (Zen’s coconut green and/or oolong) tend to have green tea bases.

Yadda yadda. It’s drinkable but not amazing or anything.

My stomach is really upset again today, so after (I think it was) Roswell Strange tealogged this earlier, I thought, “Why am I not having some, too?” And so I am, and as always, it’s delicioso.

Yes ole faithful caramel pu-erh, you’re still my favorite of the caramel teas. I’d strongly recommend you to anyone who likes a good, hearty pu-erh, although I’d probably only steep it 2 minutes if I were worried, or if I was new to pu-erhs. Me? I gave it a goooooood 20 minute steep, and then another hour or two for the re-steep.

Just had to have another cup of this tonight. A bit less amazing than before, until the bottom of the cup. ;)

Oversteeped by.. an hour?.. last night. Just too much for me, or maybe it was my tastebuds acting up again.

Of course, I had more of this the other night, because I’m an addicted little tea piggy. ;)

Pu-erh seems to make my tummy feel better. Or, maybe it was just an excuse to have this delicious tea?

I had some of this last night, and just writing this tealog is making my mouth water again. So incredibly good! Have yet to mess it up, surprisingly. Upping the rating.

Yep, again. I’m addicted. Cup #4 in less than 24 hours.

Third cup of this tonight, and this is a re-steep. Surprisingly, tastes just as good as the first, although this time I had to strain the tea through a paper filter because of all the clumpy (I assume caramel) bits — so many that they actually clogged the bag and stopped water from pouring through!

My bag says only pu-erh and caramel pieces in it, sans ‘natural flavor’. Regardless, this is fantastic. There are chunks of caramel in here, and it’flavors the pu-erh beautifully. I find pu-erh’s really help my stomach and get my digestive juices flowing, and thus why I’m trying this tonight… so amazingly delicious, even oversteeped.

This is pretty darn tasty for a herbal. How do I know? My 6-year-old asked if he could have a sip, and then another, and then, “How many more sips can I have?” I told him to have as many as he wanted. He asked if it was special juice, and I said no. He replied, “Well then Mommy, it’s a special golden tea, and if you drink it as much as I do, your eyes will see better!”

Yep, that’s some pretty special tea alright.

I have to admit that I really do like this more than I gave it credit for. For a medicinal, it’s surprisingly tasty and creamy.

In an attempt to see if I can get my tastebuds back, I’m having more of this. Not the best tasting tea, however it’s medicinal, and I kinda enjoy that sorta thing, especially when in this weird place of fighting something when I feel dandy. Other than my sleep… that’s been off kilter for a while now.

Anyway. Eucalpytus is in here, however it’s faint. It more clears the sinuses than anything, and has little flavor. There’s a mint in here, some dandelion perhaps, fennel… a real mélange of herbs.

This tastes much more.. herbal than anything when oversteeped. Still something sweet and tasty in the brew, however less appealing now than previously. Was hoping it would help kick whatever I’ve got going on in my stomach.

This medicinal is fantastic oversteeped, and I can see myself drinking it over and over again. It’s a mix of a variety of different things… I get a light mint, something berry/fruity (raspberry?), something mildly creamy, a touch of anise, something very woodsy too. I would LOVE to drink this while camping!

I gave it another try. Steeped properly, this is just hibiscus, and it overpowers the blend. Yuck. Pass. Anyone like or want an hibiscus-based herbal?

1.5 tsp in 12 oz.

I like my medicinals to steep longer than recommended, however this one needs just a 5-10 minute steep. Why? Because all I’m getting is hibiscus and apple out of this one, with faint notes of other, muddled herbs in the background right now. Will steep this properly tonight and see if my rating changes.

8th tea of Christmas!

This was interesting because it’s not really like a milk oolong, it’s more like a dulce de leche oolong. Not really milky, but kind of sweet more in the sense of condensed milk and caramelly. I really liked it though.

I wonder how much it costs to ship here, because the taste of this is exactly what I have always wanted, but as salted caramel. I feel like this has the caramel flavor I want although I haven’t ever bothered to actually taste many other caramel oolongs. But this is so good why would I want to? Not sure if I used it all for my cup though. I have tea everywhere right now.

This smells amazing! Glad the bags are sealed well. Irish creamy goodness. Saw very few chocolate drops, which was fine by me.

Steeped, it’s less appealing. There’s a hint of astringency, and bitterness. Truvia perks it up a bit and helps with the bitterness but not the astringency. I’m getting faint irish cream here, and more so when it was piping hot. Need to fiddle I think, perhaps with less of a steep and slightly lower temperature.

Sipdown (146)!

I guess ultimately a forgettable one, though? I know I drank this cold brewed but I didn’t take notes ‘cause I was at work and now I can’t remember if there was anything stand out or out of the ordinary for this brew. I guess not? It probably just tasted like it did any other time I’d cold brewed it…

Regardless, while I’m not happy to see it go I’m not disappointed either. I’ve just gotten tired of it at this point, and I’m not looking to stock a coffee tea right now.

This is a queued tasting note.

Cold Brew! Kind of over this tea a little bit; not that it tastes bad. I just feel like I’ve tried it every way that counts, and it’s so consistent that I don’t really get anything new out of drinking it anymore. Creamy, nutty, chocolate, coffee…

It’s good but not really a cupboard staple for me anymore. Especially since I’m not a huge coffee lover in the first place.

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7d8LUJ8Ejk

Cold Brew.

Very smooth and creamy chocolate and coffee notes, with a hint of nuttyness. Almost more of a hazelnut? It was the perfect balance between sweet and refreshing without tasting sugary. I’ve decided I’m sipping it down though: I need to clear out tin space for two teas (Cocteau and Rhubarb Custard) and this one is kind of similar to a few other rooibos blends I’ve got on hand, so I think it’s time for us to be parting…

I had this one yesterday; it was really nice with really rich chocolate notes and a smooth, dare I say ‘sultry’ coffee taste?

With starting at Value Village early in the morning today, I new my sleep schedule was FUCKED so I’d either have to pull an all nighter then go to sleep at a normal time tonight, so as to “reset” my schedule, or go to bed at like eleven at night or midnight, instead of 5AM like I’ve been doing. And because I didn’t know which I was going to do I wasn’t sure whether I should have been drinking lots of caffeine or lots of caffeine free tisanes. Honestly, this seems pretty split down the middle, option wise…

And like I said, today was my first shift at Value Village. It was a shorter shift and basically I just met another girl named Amy who’s training with me in the same departments, and then the two of us got to watch a whole bunch of training videos (harassment policies, dress code, safety videos, etc.). We also filled out a bunch of paperwork and got a store tour. Honestly, it was really boring but overall I kind of get the impression I’ll like working there. It reminds me, thus far, of Dollarama with the job duties/warehouse kind of vibe but so far the staff engagement aspect/and friendly atmosphere between employees seems a lot more like the upbeat team oriented attitude that everyone at Sobeys had. Honestly, that’s great because it’s pretty much merging the aspects I liked most about each job. Plus, there’s a super hardcore focus on Halloween which is wonderful because that’s my favourite holiday!

I still have an interview at DAVIDsTEA tomorrow while I’ll go to because I said I would and confirmed my attendance, but despite really wanting to work there and get that valuable tea related experience (assuming I’m even offered a job) I’m certainly leaning towards Value Village. It’s just much more practical right now, and while I want to go with my hard I need something practical where I can just save up money and have an easy commute…