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Husband loved the smell of this one so much he made me get up and make him his own cup, something he never does. It’s definitely right for the time of year. It’s kind of gentle though, as these sorts of blends go (keeping in mind I’m a subtaster with leanings toward strong aroma and flavor). I bet it’d be good as a tea syrup for soda. Hm.

Had this midday and WHOA 7g is waaaaaay too much leaf for 8oz of water, unless I’ve misunderstood the packaging/site directions somehow. I wondered when I was preparing it as it seemed like double or even beyond that in terms of leaf amount. Turned me jittery as all get out. It did taste nice, but I’m bummed I messed it up as it’s such a fancy dragonwell relatively speaking. Will compare it to the Premium this week hopefully. I have to admit often I’m secretly hoping not to be absolutely blown away by Teavivre’s teas because of the distance and all that (and the fact for some reason USPS requires me to pick Teavivre packages and only Teavivre packages up at the station without fail). Unfortunately sometimes it can’t be avoided (Milk Oolong!).

Drinking this a bit mindlessly/tiredly (s’been a busy yet boring Monday!) after watching part 1 of Victoria Wood’s tea series thing. I was so disappointed she didn’t go into darjeeling, all the (imperialist-ugliness-glossed-over, granted) Empire-y romance of the estates. Also doesn’t look like she’s going to do Taiwan, alas (could be wrong though, only halfway through the whole program). Curious if she talks about how the internet has changed the premium tea market globally in the last 10 years (something I’m personally fascinated by). Hum. Who knew Morrissey likes weak bagged Ceylon! Ha.

I should probably like this more, but it has that thing standard orange blossom essence often has, a…I don’t know how to put it really, a specific strange element in the fragrance I don’t care for at all (it’s one of the reasons I was uber brand loyal to A. Montaux Orange Blossom Water and panicked when he recently closed shop—his never had that smell while just about every cheap bottle in Indian and Mediterranean grocery shops has it in spades). Even if it’s not, it makes me think “synthetic”. Not plastic quite, but kind of like those old ‘70s spraycoated braided and coiled rope-like fibrous trivets? Like fake glossy straw or something. Anyway. Aside from that part, I like this tea; it’s better than many in the vast array of EG offerings from Upton. Not my favorite from them—Lavender EG and Vanilla Creme all the way—but perfectly decent, again aside from that one smell component I just never like.

Had this last night. Good. Sorry I’m not more detailed; I like to note when I try a tea for the first time, even if I don’t have much time or wherewithal to express things fully or even much at all. And EGs tend to be my go-to comfort blanket teas, had when I don’t feel like thinking much about anything at all. So. It takes a really egregious one OR an outrageously sublime one to make me sit up and take notice enough to say much for posterity—generally it’s a case of “any halfway decent EG is just fine for my purposes”.

I like how freshly floral, clean smelling (that wonderful soapy-clean-in-a-good-way thing bergamot is all about…I don’t care for rose when it has that musty dusty aura about it but the bergamot makes it sparkle here) this is in the beginning, and how as it develops after steeping and in the mouth it gets thicker, deeper, less like taking a flower bath and more chocolate-y. A nice alternative to more conventional Earls for those occasions when you need something a little different. And I can definitely see how turning this into syrup for tea soda would make an excellent drink. Tempted to mess around with that concept and add gin…

Wasn’t crazy about the dry leaf smell on this one—potpourri which I shy away from, but with a smoky edge—but this is quite nice to drink. The smoke is definitely present but it melds really well with the other components, especially the chicory (I love chicory). It’s like fall in a cup—the smell of smoke and firewood and dry leaves crunching beneath your feet, with the rich warmth vanilla brings and maple from the fenugreek.

Thawed some chili (Clay’s Colossal Chili recipe, from the Spice House: http://www.thespicehouse.com/recipes/clays-colossal-chili-recipe not as “die and go to heaven knock your socks off” as Lisa Fain The Homesick Texan’s 7 Chile Chili but that takes aaaaaall day to make and every pan and gadget in your entire house…this one’s more classic American “Super Bowl Sunday” type chili, comfortably satisfying and nostalgia-inducing, but with a surprising depth of flavor) and was pleasantly surprised to find it was even better after being frozen, losing none of its depth (awesome on Las Delicias chips). Going to make Brown Betty with the sack of 20oz NYS apples my mom gifted me last weekend, yay (and Pandowdy later this week!). Trying to decide what to carve on my pumpkin. Smoothing out the details of my Krazy and Ignatz costume. Warming my hands by gripping my tea cup over and over. Come at me fall, I love you best of all and always have.

This tastes a lot like chai (unsurprising as it’s vanilla, cardamom, and Indian tea, albeit an unusual one for flavoring) without the hot spices. As such it feels more easygoing/versatile (I only ever really want chai as a singular form of dessert, almost like meal replacement on cold days, you know?), with the “spikey” flavor and texture peppery spices would’ve generated replaced by a relatively “clean”, smoothed out version of chai that manages to retain a creamy richness.

The astringent woodiness of darjeeling only really comes out at the end of the swallow; it’s not a strong or all-pervasive presence (which can be a positive or negative depending on how much you like darjeeling!). The front of the tea—the aroma steeping and freshly hot—is mostly vanilla (at first I was disappointed I couldn’t really taste the darjeeling), and then recedes to let the cardamom enter, and finally the darjeeling steps in. The lingering elements at the end of the cup are cardamom and darjeeling. The unfolding, three-act-play nature of it works because the segue between each is smooth and subtle.

This is a tea that grows on you; I was underwhelmed with the first few sips (seemed one dimensionally vanilla, kind of boring) but by the time I reached the bottom of the cup and had walked through all three flavor transformations I liked it. Also appreciate how even at the end, the aroma of real vanilla lingers, strong without being too much (tricky to balance, I find). A decent midday tea, I think. Will have to try it with some milk and/or sugar at some point.

Drowned in milk and sipped without much thought as I was distracted by a lot of preparation for upcoming events (going out of town yet again, Halloween costumes for a party we’re going to yay, fall projects, getting back into the grind next week, etc.). More pumpkin-y in smell than taste, but not bad considering. Find myself wishing it had a black tea base.

EDIT: Until my new fall Butiki order comes in (pumpkin and cider and carrot cake, oh my!) this is my go-to mindless late night jonesing-for-pumpkin thing. It’s much improved overleafed (like, double strength!) then tamped down with some form of creaminess…almond milk, say). Still not the greatest thing, but I do appreciate that you can taste pumpkin, not just warm spices. Cannot wait to try Stacy’s pumpkin flavors, crossing my fingers they’re as uncannily accurate and subtle as so many of her fruit flavored teas.

Had this last night. A decent middle-of-the-road tea in terms of not being so special or uniquely delicious it requires full attention but having enough flavor to be better than totally unnoticeable supermarket staples, if that makes sense. It hit the spot as we relaxed post-trip on the couch together engrossed in TV (R finally managed to watch the BB finale). Fruity sweet-tart, but the green tea smooths it out and keeps it fresh, not too candy-like/artificial. Have a feeling it would be quite pleasant iced.

This is yummy, a little more astringent/woody than other keemuns I’ve had but in a nice way. Getting ready for an evening of fun (couples massage and dinner courtesy R’s parents, then Alloy Orchestra at the movie theater). Trying to figure out what to dress as for Halloween as for once we have a party to attend!

Was out of town for a few days at a friend’s wedding back at my old college stomping grounds (Pittsburgh!), was the perfect time of year to visit (even the vine-y leaves growing on the sides of brick buildings had turned red) and I love to see how much the city’s changed in a good way (Oakland looks like it’s cleaned up a bit, Lawrenceville is thriving, the Strip is as bustling as ever on Sunday morning). And it’s so fun to show my husband all the places that used to mean so much to me 13 years (!) ago. Bizarrely, as in other recent trips I just stumbled onto good tea without trying—we parked to kill time right before the wedding across the street from a brand new loose tea shop where they offered Silk Oolong and Lavender Earl Grey (my car smelled like lavender and bergamot the rest of the trip, glorious) and were working on an intriguing white chai. The hotel my parents reserved (they live 5 hours from Pittsburgh so were eager to meet up, which was great) offered good tea in the morning too! And a handful of the restaurants we went to had good tea on offer. Even with all of those unexpected convenient and good tea surprises (Steepster is turning me to the dark side…this was the first trip where beforehand I briefly considered packing loose tea brewing paraphernalia), I found myself missing my tea buddy (we exchange messages multiple times a week on what we’re drinking) and my home set up. Uh oh. When we got in late Tuesday night, this tea was waiting in the mail for me.