3011 Tasting Notes
Thanks to a nasty canker sore, every tea I have (painfully and agonizingly) sipped this week tastes like Orajel. Finally improving to the point I can pick up a little flavor, so I decided to treat myself to a sweet breakfast tea, this one from Michelle. (Did I goof? Is this supposed to be vanilla caramel?)
Straight up with no milk, I’m getting a good, dark strong burnt sugar flavor. Enough caffeine to be trusted for morning wake-up duty. Nothing to write rhapsodies about, but a good, sweet and solid tea.
Discovered recently that a coworker is discovering tea … we cackle and brood over samples and swaps; she’s more kitcheny than I am and has been doing a little blending alchemy of her own. Most of the rest of the office just thinks we’re nuts.
At any rate, I turned her onto 52 Teas, and this was in her christening order, and she kindly shared. Whooie, this does have a kick! Was warm enough that I dumped some vanilla creamer into it—all I had at my desk—and I think in doing so, I messed up the flavor enough I can’t accurately analyze it. All I’m getting is sweet and hot.
Thankfully, there’s enough for another cup. I’ll take it home and try to do it justice.
I may have over-leafed, but No. 2 medium seemed darker and stronger than Marks and Spencer No. 3 srength I tried yesterday. Dark and strong builders’ tea character.
In a previous note, ashmanra said that “at six minutes, this stuff will stage a coup and there will be an international incident.” I saved my leaves from this morning and will see if a second steep encourages diplomacy.
This was my after-dinner treat last night with a little wedge of pumpkin pie.
Hazelnut-honeybush is a really nice combination, and the choco-vanilla sweetens it nicely without making the whole mixture cloying. Makes a very muted flavor palette perfect for relaxing. Sometimes your taste buds are just too tired to think.
Kudos to keenteathyme for concocting this one!
This is the James Bond of Breakfast Teas. Elegant. Understated. But don’t let down your guard; if you turn your back, it’ll nail you in the solar plexus with an iron fist!
If you’re a PG Tips fan, you know that a strong cuppa is smooth and dark from the tip of the tongue to the final swallow. This one is a little sneakier: light, bright, light, BAM! (The dark builders’ tea kick is at the end.)
No matter how it is delivered, a kick and a punch is welcome today. Many pages of content to hammer out, and I’m sure my editors would appreciate it if they were coherent!
Gotta thank ashmanra again for feeding the addiction!
It suddenly dawns on me that if you turn your back, the solar plexus becomes a little hard to reach. Oops.
OK 007!
LOL! That is one sneaky secret agent tea then, to get you in the solar plexus from behind. I am impressed! These are really inexpensive in Ireland, so if you fall in love and want one of your own just let me know. Gav is coming in thee and a half weeks and told me repeatedly last night that if there was ANYTHING at all I wanted, to let him know and he will bring it. He couldnt find the PG Tips Strong by the way.
This smells great, both dry and steeped. Comes across as sweet and grainy to me. It’s a beautiful pale blonde in the cup, and has the temperament of a nice, friendly bowl of cereal. At first I was a little stumped about which brand of cereal, but hubby nailed it as far as I’m concerned—Sugar Pops! (Or Corn Pops or whatever politically healthily correct name it’s been given now.)
Love to my enabler ashmanra for the opportunity to try this one. Looking forward to Steep #2 in a bit!
Hey! It’s decaf! It TASTES! It tastes good! A cause for celebration and a little woo-hooing, as there are so few plain black decaf teas that have any sort of potency.
First thing that came to mind as I enjoyed this treat from ashmanra was unsweet graham cracker. Filling and substance-y. And welcome. It was a (resounding thunk as I drop all the baggage on the floor) DAY.
Yay! Hubby and I drink this one at night in cold weather – when we have cold weather which was really rare last year. It is tastier than most decaf tea and you can add your own goodies. I made Cinnamon Dolce Simple Syrup today and can’t wait to try it in this tea some chilly night! Have a better day tomorrow! :)
Hope your day today is better!!!! I am happy this tes TASTED! :) hahaha…
Yay! I am always on the lookout for good decaf teas :)
Thanks Ninav … much better day today. (I took the day off work so I could stay home and write.)
The only thing I can figure is that I must have not been very generous with the leaves when I first tried this. It does have some Darjeeling/Oolong personality—I won’t retract that—but it has some really nice bass notes. (I’m a sucker for a good bass—Oak Ridge Boys and Statler Brothers come to mind.)
The labels on my Adagio Vanilla and Caramel have gone back and forth too many times. I think I’ve figured out by smell which is which, but there’s a possibility I was wrong… I usually mix them anyway haha.
Ever since I upped my tea drinking, I have gotten so many canker sores. I must have been burning my mouth every time. I was wondering if I was the only one. Do you think you got it from burning your mouth?
Did a little research on the cause of the confounded things—I get them every so often—possible causes are stress, poor nutrition (low on B12), hormones. Guilty on all three counts! I’d say if you’re susceptible to them, exposure to hot liquid doesn’t help much :)
Canker sores can be caused by several things:
– vitamin deficiencies (mainly B vit, because they are used to process things, & like it or not, caffeine has to be processed, as do artificial flavorings. C is also important here.
– viral – if you have a tendency towards oral herpes virus (don’t freak out, I’m not talking about the ‘Other’ herpes strains, although this applies to all of them), it’s important to minimize your use of chocolate & nuts, as both of these have an amino acid that feeds that virus (arginine). You can take a lysine supplement, which will fool the virus & help to put it back into remission, or eat foods high is lysine – meat, eggs, & legumes are your best sources. http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/lysine-000312.htm
– also make sure you’re drinking plenty of water! (in between cups of tea!) I have a rule for myself, which is to drink a qt of water every morning before I can start drinking tea, just to make sure I’m well hydrated because most teas have a drying effect.
– an interesting side note: Most of my vegan friends get cankers, as did I when I was one, along with an occasional bout of shingles. I good friend of mine & I were comparing notes recently, & neither of us have had any of those things since we added meat back into our diets (locally raised). I’m not trying to convert anybody, but it would make an interesting study.
Sorry to sound like a know-it-all! I’ve researched a lot of these things for years, in an effort to heal my body & feel good!
Here’s a website that also has some info on canker sores – http://www.animated-teeth.com/canker_sores/t1_canker_sores.htm
I use to get canker sores all the time. I’ve been lucky enough not to have any lately. I just googled “can tea cause canker sores” and it appears that having black tea can actually help.
“Have some tea. Several experts, among them dermatologist Jerome Z. Litt, M.D., recommend applying a wet, black tea bag to the ulcer. Black tea contains tannin, an astringent that “may pleasantly surprise you” with its pain-relieving ability, he says. There are over-the-counter medications available that contain tannin, such as Tanac."
Hope the pain goes away soon! I know how brutal they can be.
very interesting to know! canker sores aren’t the only things I’ve suffered through since I started drinking a lot of hot tea.. I also had the worst ever throat virus in my life, it was so painful I couldn’t drink tea for a week. I also have gotten yellow tongue. All that has happened this year, after my increased tea consumption. crazy! but that doesn’t stop me from drinking it haha
and I definitely believe the canker sores are stress and diet related as well, at least for me too. whenever I have tea with someone, they tell me I’m nuts because they can’t even touch their drink while I’m already sipping it. I’ve learned to wait now.
LOL, I burn my tongue all the time. Lately I’ve been straining into a teapot, then pouring into a tiny cup, because in the little cup it cools a little quicker, so I can drink it sooner without burning myself! :D
Thanks for the info and links, y’all. I’m trying to get back on a vitamin regimen with extra B, and I knew tea wouldn’t hurt (other than the temp!) I do think these happen cyclically … my mom always said, “Well, you know your resistance is down during that time…”
After I’ve finished steeping my tea, I set my timer and walk away, then come back when the timer beeps. It has probably saved me from many a scalding.