3011 Tasting Notes
Love me my Assams, and this is a nice one. It’s on the lighter/brighter end of the flavor spectrum. Golden wheat toast instead of pumpernickel. Has a medium weight in the mouth and (though it’s a little early to tell; eyes aren’t fully open yet) a caffeine tug instead of a caffeine roundhouse kick. Two for two on Tea Merchant varieties.
Too tired to be wordy, but couldn’t fail to mention that the second steep on this one is as vanilla-worthy as the first. I think I lost a little of the base flavor this time around, but it is still light, sweet, and pleasant. Well done, Tea Merchant!
Very stout Assam…akin to the kick in the head that comes from waking up and realizing you are the parent of a college freshman. Life moves fast, gang. Choose well.
At any rate, brisk and pungent are good descriptors of this one. I’m a lover of all things stout and malty, but I may have to back off on the leaf or pop in some milk next time.
I live ‘up’ the road from the University and drove by this weekend when moms and dads were there with the kiddies. Soooo funny to see stout dads in shorts looking like tourists in Hawaii trotting about with their arms around the shoulders of 18-19year olds (poor things). What made it all tolerable was that 1. mom and dad have money 2. everyone’s mom and dad looked like they came out of central casting.
Wish I had a bench and popcorn it was so amusing! I loved it! Balding men in shorts with black socks and sneekers with a Colorado State shirt on and camera around their neck…arm around the shoulder of a son or daughter who wants to blend into the pavement with piercings and backpack. Ha Ha Ha!
No university t-shirts, cameras, or socks with sandals here, though I often look like a refugee from Goodwill :)
Bet you don’t. I’m the opposite. I have to edit myself and go older. My granddaughters can borrow my clothes which should tell you something. Yikes. I try not to go too young though.
I’m going back to my second year of college in a few days. My school is too far for my parents to go with work and all, so my mom deals with it by baking me more things than I can possibly eat.
I haven’t figured out what my coping mechanism is yet. (Bonnie, you can be my stylist. The challenge is that you have to make me presentable with what’s already in my closet!)
After an icky Monday, it was a treat to find a box from The Tea Merchant waiting at home! (And props for the nifty little packaging touch—a wax seal on the bundle of samples.) Of the samples I received, this appeared to be the lightest for an after-dinner unwind.
The dry leaves smell wonderful—vanilla potpourri. I aimed for mid-range of the prescribed 3-5 minute steeping time, and was right on target: got a beautiful, blonde-gold cup that has the vanilla sweetness of a golden Oreo or a homemade sugar cookie. The citrus elements are faint accents, not leading themes.
It’s medium-thick on the tongue and … oh, shoot … so much for accurate adjectives. It just smells and tastes great. Fortunately, the sample pack was generous—I can have more!
Dawn (The Simple Leaf) + Belgian Chocolate rooibos (mystery vendor)
I have about 1/3 packet of Dawn left and I am rationing it very parsimoniously. But two lovely, cool mornings in a row (7:45 a.m. and it’s just now hit 60) occasioned a celebration. Since cocoa is the overwhelming profile in these big, luscious leaves, I reasoned that something chocolatey would be compatible and help me stretch last night’s brew basket a little further.
Angrboda recently made the wise observation that cocoa flavor is distinctly different from chocolate flavor. I should have listened. This chance combination doesn’t not work, but it’s like the days when you wear two shades of the same color that don’t quite go and then you worry all day that somebody else will notice.
aha! I do that all the time!!
Great comparison. I wear a lot of black and I’m always noticing when the greeny blacks are not matching the purpley blacks! I am hoping the cat hair covering me partially obscures this!
lol JacquelineM!!!
Nothing bugs me worse (personally, as when I’m wearing it) as two competing shades of navy blue. However, after spending a good chunk of recent months in hand-me-downs and D.A.V. thrift store goods, I have discovered that nobody really looks as closely at my clothes than I do ;)
Forgot I had this. Needed a light after-dinner treat. The fruity mix in this one reminds me so much of cotton candy; still sticky and strong on the tongue after you swallow.
The only downside is that it’s a little temperamental, temperature-wise; I think there’s a two degree sweet spot, and if you miss it, the tea base turns a little bitter. Plunked in some sugar and that took the edge off.
A decidedly mellow drink to wind down with, but hubby’s got me watching a Johnny Cash tribute concert on PBS (Sheryl Crow’s boogeying to “Cry, Cry, Cry”) and I may have to make a fresh cup of something I can tap my toes to…
2/3 Always Save grocery-shelf orange pekoe bagged tea + 1/3 Darvilles of Windsor English Breakfast = a touch of redneck class :)
Just needed something to wash away the after-effects of scrubbing my kitchen, so threw these three bags in a Mason jar in the fridge. The Darvilles is really dark and stout (PG Tips strength) and balances out the thinner, more citric taste of the cheap stuff. Good way to stretch my supply of the English Breakfast that’s a little hard to track down.
Here’s to cleanliness.
Second steep came through at 95% of the potency of the first—still really dark in color, but this time I’m getting a heavier floral vibe. (My water was a little hottish, so that may have affected it, too.) I guess violets—that’s what it has to be—taste a little like grape kool-aid. There’s just a hint of artificial-tasting flavor to this round, but it is still pleasant. Cries out to be sipped from finer china than my utilitarian Tervis mug.
I actually like this but I think you have to like floral. Not everyone does. It’s like candied violets and knowing Stacy, she only uses natural flavors which is a great relief! I sweeten mine with rock sugar. It reminds me of the candied violets that my daughter used to make for formal tea shops in California.
Floral flavors aren’t my favorites (say THAT five times fast!), but this doesn’t taste like a greenhouse, either, which is why I can give it a thumbs up.
Grape Kool-Aid, oooh that sounds yummy. Although I was always a bigger fan of Goofy Grape. Anyone old enough to remember that one?
I fall in the right demographic group, but it isn’t ringing a bell. I did get Shasta fruit-flavored sodas if I was really, really good at the grocery store.
Yes goofy grape…grape ape….all the grapes!
I just did a goofy grape google – sounds a bit like a dance doesn’t it? Anyway GG was a Pilsbury kool-aid competition product. Mom made it for us and unless I just didn’t read the right page it looks like this used sweetener instead of sugar. Back in the late 60’s that would have meant saccarine. Somethings you are better not to look back and discover the truth.
K S: I still have my hhubby’s plastic Goofy Grape mug from when he was little! LOL!
Ashmanra: Oh wow that is so cool. Except, maybe you should give it back before he misses it. lol
My first Butiki tea, with thanks to TeaEqualsBliss. I was amazed at how dark it steeped…deep purple velvet. It’s not so strong that I feel like I’m eating a wedding bouquet. On the contrary, it’s rich and … well, violety!
It’s been fun to sip and mull over as I enjoy my coolish and quiet neighborhood and watch Six O’Clock Charlie buzz the neighborhood. 6 O’C is a funky little para-glider contraption strapped to a go-kart. I can’t figure out for the life of me how he gets airborne with a puny little two-stroke lawn mower engine, but he looks like he’s having so much fun up there!
Sounds so Lipton Tea and Howdy America to sit on a porch in the Summer and watch somebody almost kill themselves with a puny-little contraption that’s so much fun. Wish I could watch with you! Or better still, wish I could fly!
LOL what fun!
Oooooh …
Tea and Howdy America. That’s me!
