3011 Tasting Notes
Saved this sample from K S for a day when I could have time to enjoy it. And enjoy it I am. This is candy in a cup, even without aditional sweetening. Junior Mints. I am having to strain to detect any puerh personality at all, though I’m sure it’s creating a rich base for the chocolate.
Looking forward to more steeps! My thanks.
I’m going to have to do some pondering on this one. When I first snipped open the pouch, I could have sworn I smelled something sour, almost like vinegar. That set off an automatic uh-oh, but the scent dissipated pretty quickly.
I forged ahead and steeped it 4 minutes, water a little under boiling as prescribed. Net result is clearly decaffeinated (aka no punch whatsoever) black tea that hints at being somewhat berry-like.
Could be that a little sweetener will coax the blackberry out of hiding, but it’s been a long week, I’m in my cozy glider with my feet up, and I’m just too lazy to get up. Maybe next time.
Ahmad Warwick Assam + jacquelinem’s “Berry Melange” = a cozy mystery tea with a sense of humor.
Last summer, when we were setting up temporary quarters at Shabby House, jaquelinem fixed me up with a tin of her shaken-together bits and bops of berry black tea. So, half-and-half with Ahmad’s good solid Assam, I have a mystery to solve every time I pick up a fruity hint. Am I tasting strawberry? Blueberry? Razzleberries? Crunchberries? Throopberries from the lesser-angulated throopberry tree on the western Isle of Picallilli?
At any rate, this is strong enough to noodge me awake and sweet enough to feel a little celebratory—after all, we did make it to Friday.
Upton Tea Turkish apple + (bulk) tulsi = apple tart
About 2/3 apple to 1/3 tulsi. A little frantic at work; needed a little tulsi to tackle the tension in neck muscles (it is, in my opinion, the only herbal calmer-downer that has a noticeable effect on me). The downside to its effectiveness is its clovey-ness. Not my flavor profile.
So…this worked. Upton’s prescribed steep time is 8 minutes; plenty of time to wring all the medicinals out of the tulsi. The apple doesn’t completely mask the tulsi flavor, but is strong enough to tone it down. Like a fresh apple salad or a dessert made with Granny Smith apples.
Got to treat myself to a lingering morning cuppa (took a couple hours off to be supervisory parent at our first college bookstore run—-but don’t get me started) and this was my tea o’choice.
I’m still trying to figure out what I’m tasting in the lychee that makes it lychee; but it’s sweet and light and balanced nicely by whatever black base the Choicest folks chose to match it with.
(OK…I have to say it: do we really need three purchased textbooks for “The University Experience” required freshman orientation course? I learned how to study for free. There. I said it.)
AMEN! 3 books for Orientation?! You jest?! So who’s complaining about the price of tea in comparison with the price of education?!
I hate how universities in general like to pile on the textbook requirements. I had a grad course last semester that required 4 different, and not cheap, books. Madness!
Let’s all write textbooks and get rich!
Just drove middle daughter through the campus to show her where to park, where to buy her books, etc. Infuriating that they are FORCED to take a course called Study Success Skills and pay for it, when they learned all of that when they wrote their ninth grade research paper. And the price of books! Ay yi yi!
My professors got around that by just scanning sections of the books if we didn’t need the whole thing, it was pretty nice! Textbooks can be killer, they $200-500 a semester for me and on a tight student budget that’s brutal.
Thankfully, they have a rental program, which I know saves a bundle, but there are still “mandatory purchase titles.” I think that’s my beef with the orientation thing - you learn to be a student by being a student, yes?
(Same producer, 2009 version, too lazy to start another tea description.)
Yankee Candle recently created a line of “man” candles—a couple of which have made it under my roof for candle-loving hubby. Their “2 × 4” scent smells like sweet, light, clean sawdust in a cabinetmaker’s shop. This tea tastes like that.
This is interesting. I’d like a man sawdust candle if a good looking, tea drinking and highly tolerant and intelligent guy with money in the bank and no wife came with it. Just dreaming.
(This guy probably would want me to be his mom)
I guess you could get one of the little sample sized ones, light it, and see what happens ;)
I’d get a sample sized man in some way or another with my luck. Intelligence, or only likes bagged blech tea or something. Oh well.
LOL! BONNIE!
This just in, leprechauns spotted in Colorado. Find out more on Nightly News at 11.
That’s a good one Dylan!
Then again, you may want the giant economy size candle.
Just my luck it’ll still be burning at my funeral!
I just needed to pretend it was autumn, I guess, so I grabbed this for my lunch dessert. Very cookie-y, especially with French vanilla creamer. Cardamom isn’t my favorite chai spice, and there isn’t much in this one, so that’s a plus.
I think this was a goodie-box tuck in from one of you wonderful people, but I can’t remember whom, so … thank you, whomever!
Lol! Glad you enjoyed! My daughter’s BF loves it, too, and I send him a box now and then!
I have been feeling that way a lot lately! COME ON AUTUMN!
It was you! (I’ve started trying to write initials or names on incoming packets so as to give proper credit.)
Drought is so bad here, the trees are dropping leaves like crazy; I have a small sneak preview of what my back yard will look like come early November. (Crispy leaves under your feet aren’t quite as appealing when it’s 98 outside.)
Upton Season’s Pick Vietnam BPS (+1 day) + Ahmad Warwick Assam = nice breakfast blend.
Used day-old leaves of the Vietnam BPS and sprinkled in a little of the Assam; these unflavored black leaves work together nicely. The Vietnam BPS softens the stiff kick of the Assam, but still plenty of caffeine to jump start me.
I pulled this one out of … not retirement, uh, well, the bottom of the basket and I’m glad I did. Primed with a fistful of candy corn (this is the time to eat Brach’s candy corn, while it’s soft and fresh from the store, not in October after it’s gone chewy and waxy), it has a lovely, sweet, juicy, not-unlike-caramel personality. Kept steep time at around 3 minutes to prevent bitterness, based on past experience.
Fall is coming. Just hold on to that cool and lovely thought.
mmm…candy corn.. dang it now I want some candy corn…
Sorry! ;) How ’bout those buttercream pumpkins made out of the same stuff? More sugary goodness in every bite!
I’m not looking anymore ;D
Candy corn & peanuts. Mmm… It is about time for Halloween candy to show up. After all, it’s almost Labor Day. :)
That’s one of the things I like about tea. Just like wine, pairing it with different foods lets you notice different flavors in the tea.
honey roasted peanuts? still not looking lol
The puerh is basic. It comes out more later or with shorter steeps. But yes this is candy in a cup.
less than a minute ago
Excellent second steep. Slightly less chocolately, but that’s not a huge loss, since the first cup was like licking the frosting spatula.