119 Tasting Notes
Backlog from Sunday
I had this the other day at a restaurant after my first VYO concert of the year!! It was pretty exciting and we sounded really good, and I can’t wait for the rest of the season (VYO stands for the Vermont Youth Orchestra, for those who are knew/have forgotten. It’s the top youth orchestra in the state and one of the best in New England). My parents all got food but I had had a burrito a little while earlier and I was literally stuffed so I figured it would be best for me not to get any food (but I really wanted to! It was this really good burger joint called Sky Burger and they have this burger called the jalapeno popper which has pickled jalapenos, cream cheese, jalapeno pepper jelly, and slaw and then has a jalapeno popper on top! Yum!!!!) so I settled on some tea instead. They brought out a little box of Tazo teas (which, I must admit, I actually like a lot) and I settled on this one.
In all honesty, I really liked this. I left the tea bag in the entire time so the flavors got a little too strong towards the end, but I really do like it for a nice alternative. I don’t know about it’s calming effects because I had the earl grey right after, but I do actually enjoy the taste of this.
I’M BAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!
Did you guys miss me? I missed you!!! I’m super sorry that I’ve had such a long absence but I’ve come back to everyone still being here and to a lovely message from Bonnie, thank you for that!
This summer was pretty hot therefore tea free and I went out to explore more interests that I’ve had, and that is what usually happens-summers are tea free because of laziness and then when things actually start and I don’t have time to make a bunch of different teas I want to start again! Anyways, this is (in all honesty) the first tea I’ve had since probably June-ish.
This is still as tasty as I remember! It’s a very full (please don’t laugh at my tea-describing vocabulary, I haven’t done this in a while and I’m afraid I lost a little bit of my touch!) tea and it’s really really nice and comforting.
I’m sorry that my return is somewhat short as I have some other things I need to get to tonight so I’m afraid I’m going to have to leave it at that but I will be back ASAP and I hope that you are all doing well and didn’t miss me too much :P
Preparation
Welcome back!! I was wondering when you would return!
Welcome back! We were wondering about you, glad you were off having adventures!
Welcome back, Ian! Hope we get to hear more about your adventures.
Yay, welcome back!
Welcome back =)
You’re back! Welcome back! You should have seen all those tea logs and discussion posts where everyone was like “I wonder where Ian is?” :)
Yes… we did miss you! Glad to see you again.
Yay~ Ian is back!
Is that IAN? Are you 25 now?! Grandma Bonnie wants you to stay in touch! You’ve got a lot of catching up to do!
Welcome back! missed ya!!
Hi there!
IAN!!! Welcome back!!!!
Yay, glad to see you’re still around! A bunch of us have had brief hiatuses (hiati???) but nobody else quite as long as you!
I know I’m a little late to the party, but Welcome Back!!!
Sipdown!
I made a huge gallon pitcher of this one iced the other day. I knew that I didn’t have enough tea left for just the right amount so I dumped the rest of what I had left and kept it in the fridge for well over 24 hours to get the most out of it.
OH MY GOODNESS! The rating on this one is going waaaaaaay up! This is one of the most interesting iced teas I’ve ever had! I’ve iced this one before by pouring it over iced but cold steeped this one really shines! The sage and lavender really came out this time! That paired with the fruit is just sooooo delicious, I can’t even handle it! It’s such an interesting herb-y than fruity flavor combination! I’m ramblin so I’ll stop but omg this one is soooo good cold steeped!
Preparation
Hey! How you doin?! By the way, David wrote a nice piece on iceing tea’s in the latest Verdant newsletter…did you read it? Talked about iced slushies. Very good article. Hope you’re well! WHEN are you getting your drivers license?!
I love this one!
@Bonnie: Hi there! I’m pretty good, school is just now ending for me so I’ve been a little busy but other than that I’m pretty good! I’m going to read David’s article right now, sounds sooo interesting. And unfortunately I can’t get my drivers license for another half a year because I am the youngest in my grade (I’m only 15 still and won’t be 16 until August 20th) so I’m last in line for driver’s ed at school (can’t take it privately, it’s waaayyyy too much money)
@Michelle: This one is sooo yummy! To be honest I have no idea why I didn’t cold steep it earlier while I still had some left!
Sigh you make me want to buy some of this just so I can cold brew it. That said I probably won’t as it always did a funny thing to my throat, made it feel all dry and filmy, I wonder if that would be different not using the hot water. I always wanted to like this tea, unfortunately there’s no way to go in and get a cup of cold brewed tea from the store.
hey hey hey, I’m gonna suggest something really delicious right now that you might not have tried already… mix it with Jasmine silver needle or jasmine dragon pearls… You’ll thank me after you do. =D
Backlog. Thank you to TheDJBooth for sending me this one!
This had been in my “Try” basket for a while and I finally got around to making it the other day. This one was iced by pouring over ice. Is “Dragon Eye fruit” supposed to be dragonfruit…..? I can’t tell….. Anyways, I love dragonfruit. It’s unique and I think pretty tasty! This tea however…… Not so much.
Not that it’s bad because it’s definitely not horrible but, like others have said, it’s very perfumy. Like a fruit and flower perfume. Not so much my thing, but I’m glad I got to try it! Thanks again TheDJBooth!
I’m not sure if this is the same fruit the tea is supposed to taste like but there’s a fruit that translates to dragon eye from Chinese. This fruit is more popularly called longan or long an. They are similar to lychees only less floral and sweeter. The shell is also smooth and brown instead of rough and reddish. It’s called dragon eye because when peeled you can see the dark pit through the translucent white flesh. It looks like an eyeball. And dragon eyeballs are delicious. They’re in season late summer and very pricy. But so tasty! Again, I’m not sure if this is the fruit the tea is supposed to taste like. Just thought I’d share. :)
Interesting… Thanks! I may have to take a trip to an Asian supermarket to see if they have any!
They are usually sold with branches attached since plucking them tears the protective shell. Good luck finding them! It’s not that easy. A Chinatown might be a better bet later in the summer. :)
This one was sent to me by brandy! Thanks so much!
Hmm…… it’s odd how there’s no info OR reviews for this one…………
Anyways, this is a backlog. One reason I hate doing backlogs is because even if I don’t forget how it tasted, I literally ALWAYS forget my brewing parameters… Sorry folks!
Anyways, I iced this one (double strength then over ice) to compare it to Adagio’s raspberry black tea. And oh my goodness. This one is so much better! No sugar needed to be added to this one! It tastes like a real, juicy and perfectly sweet-and-tart raspberry! None of that fake fruit crap! And I could taste the black base, it’s pretty nice. My guess would go to Ceylon but I’m not 100% positive on that… goes to check hmmm there doesn’t seem to be any info on the website so I guess I guess I’ll stick to my Ceylon assumption.
This one was super yummy! Thanks again brandy!
A backlog from my lovely Memorial Day dinner! It’s the same mix as last time (Sencha Jade Reserve from Teavana, Fresh Green Mate from Mate Factor, and Fusion Tea Room’s Orange Grapefruit). I used 1.5-1.5-1 in terms of measurement (respectively) and then I poured it over ice.
Yumm! So tart and then there’s the grassy flavor of the sencha that provides a nice contrast. Yummy!
In other news, this three day weekend was quite rough. Saturday was very busy in a not-so-pleasant way (between marching in a parade in a full suit in 90 degree weather to then rushing to an improv show to then going home and doing chores in the hot weather) and then on Sunday, we had to put my poor kitty down :( Well, not really a kitty, as she was older than me, but still! I’ve come to terms with it now, but it is a weird adjustment because I’ve literally had her my whole life and it’s weird that she just isn’t here anymore. However, it was her time and she was in pain so I’m glad we were able to put her down and send her to a better place without any misery on her part!
For those looking for a visual, here’s one from quite a few years ago, though she doesn’t/didn’t look any different (she was quite……. large to say the least :P): http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/215913_1021623156092_1690618482_40422_2489514_n.jpg. This was the only image I could find :( It’s not very good but that black one is our other cat who is now larger but still a kitty
:( Sorry to hear about your cat – that’s always tough. I went through that with mine a few months ago, and although we hadn’t had him my whole life, he had been around for 16 or so years of it.
sorry, losing a pet is never easy…. but it sounds like your family made the right decision.
Aww sorry to hear about your dear kitty. It is always hard. I say a tea session in honour of her is needed =)
So sorry :(
Sorry for your loss, it’s very difficult to loose a furry buddy.
Losing a pet is not easy. So sorry to hear that Ian :(
Sorry to hear about that. We had to deal with the same thing with one of our dogs last Memorial Day ourselves.
Sorry for your loss, I understand having gone through the same thing a few years ago.
I’m so sorry… I hope you are doing ok! It is heartbreaking…
My sincere condolences to you and your family. May your kitty rest in peace. :(
Ian! Are you back? I missed you :)
Hey Ian,
My name is Zach and I live in Burlington Vermont. I was reading your bio and didn’t realize you were local. I was wondering if you were interested in doing a mailed tea-swap. Thanks for your time!