Twinings

Today has been nuts. It is likely that it will continue to be nuts. Arrgh. I was so hoping that this week would be easier than it is.
Oh well.
I grabbed my remaining sachets of this blend as my “other” work tea, and the way this day is going I may just drink them all down.
Even if its not a great tea blend, holding the warm mug is sometimes all it takes to lift your spirits.

This day has most certainly required tea. It will require even more tea before long.
Argh. Thank goodness for tea.

I took all the sachets out of its cardboard box, and have brought a chunk of them to work with me.
I am nursing a bit of a headache (all due to the windy weather) and I thought a cup of this might help. It didn’t, really, but hey, it was still nice enough to drink.

I think Steepster ate a note of mine from earlier today. Meh!
Well, it hardly ever does that anymore, so I suppose one not can occationally be sacrificed to appease the great Steepster!

I feel no particular need to log this when I have it. Last night my stomach was bothering me a little, so I had some of this, and it did its job.
Your run of the mill peppermint tea. It shall always have a place in my cupboard.

Backlogged from last night-
I might have panicked a little. I got the email that my favorite mint tea, Smith Teamakers Silent Night, had gone on sale, and I hit buy faster than I could think.
So another tea to meddle with my sipdown streak is on the way. Whoops.
So I had another cup of this last night, to help while I was writing.
This is a basic peppermint, which is not ment as a dismissal. I like a basic peppermint in my cupboard, it serves its place well!

Its the perfect night for some basic mint tea!
Basic peppermint tea will always have a place in my cupboard, as it can be exactly what one wants, as it was tonight.
Nom.

And sipdown!
Lots of this was drunk without logging, which is totally fine. Its that sort of tea- uncomplicated, easy to drink, basic.
And now a sipdown! One closer to my goals.

Now that I think of it, the sore throat I was flirting with last week has vanished. I shall credit my aggressive use of tea for this small victory!
This is being drunk down very fast. Its easy to get a few cups in while I’m working, as it requires no thought to either prepare or drink (not a criticism.)
And its ginger touch probably helped with that itty bitty sore throat!

Its a rainy day, and rainy days are great for tea. And I just so happen to have a lot of this to drink.
I’m also nursing the worlds smallest cough, so this tea is good. My brain has somehow sorted this tea into an idea “drink when sick” blend, so I’m hoping it can curb sickness.
Its got a little kick of ginger, and a little dash of juicy lemon, but mostly its hot water. That’s ok, I think. I think that’s the point here, and, if so, its nailing it.

The wheel of fate has stopped on this blend as one of my new take to work teas, where I suspect its going to do rather well.
I have already had two cups of it, which is two more cups than I’ve had of it in the last two months, and its doing a nice job soothing the baby cough that I currently have, and would like very much if it did not grow into a grown up cough.
Keep on working at it, tea!

I’ve brought a handful of herbal teabags with me to work, and have been sipping on them all afternoon.
This one is mild and generally inoffensive, which is just fine. I just wanted a warming drink today, and this does its job.
Oddly, I think this little number will really start to shine when I catch my next cold. Its really gonna earn its keep then.

Oh drat. I forgot to log this tea in my cupboard, bringing my total back up to 45! Eeek!
Oh well, a soothing cup of this will take the edge off of my cupboard mismanagement.

Tasty herbal. I’ve been venturing into herbal bagged teas actually and finding many to be quite good.

I purchased a tin of loose Twinings Earl Grey and am astounded at how mediocre the flavour is. I expected more bergamot and a little complexity or interesting twist to the flavour as you get with say David’s Teas Earl Grey.

Twinings was flat and lifeless. Not horrible but not impressive. Not bitterness, just no interesting flavour notes. Very straightforward, which I would not whine about had the price been lower.

This is a standard English Breakfast. Some malt, average flavour, very fresh leaf. Best had with milk (vanilla almond milk FTW), but is very palatable straight.

Note: It will get bitter if you leave it longer than a few minutes (can be fixed with milk if you oversteep).

Went out for dinner in a private room at a restaurant. felt a migraine coming on. so I left early to try to beat the nausea home. Oh, god, if it weren’t for the pain the shimmery circular rainbows around all the light would be pretty. I mean all the lights. Street lights. Stop lights. Tail lights. Once I was safely home with meds taken and a cold wash cloth plastered over my eye, I decided a mild tea might be good. I chose this one for its convenience and anti-nausea properties.

Ugh. Awful. It is peppermint, but with a gross sick flavor at the end of the sip. By sick I mean vomit-like. I didn’t throw up so it’s not from me. Poured it out and am now making some ginger tea.

This one sounds like it should be so good, but it’s just not. maybe it’s just me though.

I like peppermint tea in the evening when I’m feeling a bit over-full and/or gassy. I usually have Pure Peppermint by Twinings or Peppermint by Stash in the cupboard, but I have only a couple of tea bags left. At the grocery store today I saw a holiday tea display. (yes, I know, it’s not even Halloween yet!) and one of them was this one. They were on sale for only $2.29 for a box. I decided what the heck? and picked one up.

I do like the convenience of bagged teas now and then. Like other peppermint teas I’ve had, this started out as a light greenish yellow, and darkened to brown as it brewed. The description says it has a smooth, creamy taste but to me the flavor seems to be straight peppermint. This may be because my nose is once again not receiving scents. I hope someone else will review this tea and chime in on the flavor. Regardless, I like a nice peppermint tea and this one fits the bill. And the price is great.

I didn’t even know this was a thing, LOL. A delicious black tea, and definitely not just for the afternoon :)

Sipdown

I had made this Western style today on the account that I’ve been on my feet and haven’t had a lot of time to brew any other way prior to my shift tonight.

I must admit that I was expecting more from this session, but what I received from it was very unappetizing.

Cup One: I set the water temperature @ 170 F and steeped it for 1 minute. It was fairly bland and light. I drank the cup regardless and proceeded to make a second.

Cup Two: I set the water temperature @ 170 F and steeped it for 2 minutes. It was slightly astringent, bitter, and had a slight rice/seaweed combo aroma/taste.

Cup Three/Final: I set the water temperature @ 170 F and steeped it for 3 minutes. Bitter, sour, and very astringent. I had attempted to add honey to cut the sourness/bitterness, but it was slightly worse. I had dumped the remainder of the liquid from my cup….

Note: This was a sample sitting around for a while, so as far as green tea goes, it could’ve just became stale at this point.

My go to breakfast tea. Pair well with milk and pastries.