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Received this in a swap with someone. I don’t remember who, so if you were on here, I’m sorry! I just reorganized my tea collection, and what little semblance of “order” I had before is gone. Of course, now it’s much easier to find things. (http://bit.ly/Obi0Vy). It goes, in descending order, Black, Green, Herbal, White/Oolong, Fruits/Flowers/Herbs. Whew.

This is my study break. I had class until 10, and then I was in high school from 11-3. Run to a voice lesson, practice my Bach, grab food, back to the room, it’s time for Psych, Disabilities, Shakespeare and Drama. AND TEA.

I had this pre-bagged because I thought I’d have time to stop for water. Not the case. Sigh. But I’m drinking it now.

It’s okay. It’s sort of like a spicy black. There’s a little bit of the bergamot from the Earl Grey Green, and that’s chased with the cinnamon. It’s a strong Irish Breakfast base too. It’s not my favorite, but it’s good.

And now back to psych notes. Sigh. Leave me love :)

I got this from Davids as an “instead of paying shipping I can get one more tea” tea.

Upon opening the bag, wow, there’s a lot of color in there. It smells a lot like caramel.

Knowing it was a dessert tea, I steeped it with a bit of German rock sugar and immediately added a splash of milk.

WOW.

This tastes like I’m drinking creme brulee. It tastes like I’m drinking dessert. I don’t understand it, I really don’t. It was almost off-putting how accurate the flavor was. I found it difficult to finish the cup, not because it was bad, but because it was the wrong time of day for it (if that makes any sense).

Thanks to Nature’s Tea Leaf for this sample!

Upon opening the box and delightfully sorting through the contents, this was the first one I grabbed. After the utter decadence of David’s Creme Brulee, I wanted something a little bit more natural.

The dry leaf is all oolong and cinnamon stick pieces. Cool. It smells very much like cinnamon. I can’t smell the oolong too strongly, but that’s okay.

In steeping, it’s actually the opposite for me. I get a bit of woodsy oolong flavor with a hint of cinnamon, especially in the smell. I like it. The cinnamon doesn’t overcome the tea, but rather blends with it harmoniously.

I’ve been so eagerly awaiting my Red Leaf order that I’ve kind of been on a kick with these. Not healthy at all, but whatever.

I think it’s just a bit of an acquired taste. I love the odd looks I get when I’m drinking something this green!

Many thanks to Autumn Hearth for this.

I don’t really know how to measure this, as the leaves are so long and flat. I ended up just putting maybe seven or eight leaves into the steeper and winging it. I also didn’t time it as maybe I should have – just however long it took for me to rinse out my mug etc.

But even still, it’s good. The liquor is very pale, almost white, and it tastes like a very light green tea. It’s good. It’s soothing.

Last night I went bowling with a group of friends. I’ve only ever bowled candlepin (little balls), but most of the other people had bowled regular. I think candlepin is a MA thing… ah well. I wasn’t the worst, so that’s okay.

We all came back to our room afterwards, and I (of course) offered everyone tea. My friend Ana said to me “Hey, can you show me how to drink not-bagged tea?”

I was so proud.

I brewed a pot of this for us, and she loved it. Another tea convert…

There’s a DAVIDsTea 3 hours away, just over the Canadian border. I sense a road trip in our future.

Every Friday night I go over to my friends’ room to watch British drama (currently we’re 4/5 of the way through Parade’s End – SO GOOD). After this finishes I think I’m starting them on Doctor Who and they’re starting me on Game of Thrones. Although if I can convince them not to start that until I’ve read the books, well…

Caitlin offered me a “hot beverage” and so I went with this. It’s okay, more of a warm cup than anything, but it’s not something I particularly care for. It’s not bad, it’s better than some bagged teas, but meh.

Verdant tea – spring 2012 Laoshan Dragonwell style green

I received this in a very generous swap from Autumn Hearth. As much as I love Dragonwells, I know that this one is special, and so I decidedly didn’t drink it until I had a chance to sit down and really savor it (especially since it’s no longer available).

Upon opening the little envelope, I’m struck by how thin the leaves are, and how pure the olive-green color is. The scent is similar to that of snow peas or sugar snap peas. It’s somehow very rich.

I might be a bit stingy with my leaf, but I don’t have a scale and I want this to last as long as possible. I tip a little bit into the tasting cup, just enough to mostly cover the bottom. I figure that’s enough.

I ruined the first steep, at least according to David’s suggested guidelines. I forgot that I left my tasting bowl at home, and only brought the brewing vessel. In my search for an appropriate substitute, I pulled out one of my Amsterdam teacups. This is about the same size as the bowl, and has about the same rim thickness (important to me). But then as I began pouring, I realized it was pink. Oh no. Scrambled around and found my English teacup – white ceramic inside, but a very thin rim. What I’m going to do is decant into the English and then pour into the Amsterdam to drink. Messy, but I think this is better. But in all my scrambling around for cups, I let it steep about ~7-10s, instead of his recommended 3.

First steep: ~7s. The liquor is almost white. There’s a barely-noticeable ecru (how’s that for color vocabulary?) tinge to it. It tastes sort of like the way grass smells after there’s been a rainstorm, or very early in the morning when you’re crossing a field covered in dew. Although the tea is hot, the taste is a “cold” taste.

Second steep: 3s. The liquor is lighter than the previous steep, and I feel this is as it ought to be. Very, very pale; hardly distinguishable color. The scent is definitely green, almost a sort of baby spinach note. The taste is perfectly replicated in the aroma. It’s definitely a very light tea, but the flavor is fully developed. Although it’s delicate, I don’t feel as though I’m missing anything.

Third steep: 3s. The liquor is the same color as the previous steep. I’m getting the taste of the peas I smelled in the leaves.

I looked inside at the leaves lying limp in the tasting cup. They are a bright green olive color. It’s really cool how I can see the plant itself: many of the leaves consist of two leaves and a stem.

Fourth steep: 7s. As I poured this from the brewing vessel into the teacup, one tiny leaf attached to a stem slipped into the cup and swam around like a little fish. It’s currently floating, stem at the surface of the water and the tip of the leaf just barely standing on the bottom. On a couple sips, I get a very strong sweetness, kind of like a floral honey. But it’s elusive, and I don’t taste it often. One touch and it’s gone.

As I finish the cup I take the leaf that is floating in the bottom out. It is perfectly formed, with the leaf spreading out from where it is almost folded into the stem. It’s oval-shaped with a pointed end, and maybe half an inch long. I’ve never seen a tea leaf like this. It feels smooth and rubbery and delicately veined. It is fully expanded from its time spent stewing in the cup, unlike its still-folded brethren in the brewing vessel

Fifth steep: 10s. The liquor is still white. I love this. It’s beautiful. I’m getting more and more of that elusive honeysuckle. Good

Sixth steep: 13s. There’s something really sweet surrounding this, like a nut that’s been dipped in chocolate. Only it’s sort of a grass that’s been dipped in honey

I’m going to end this review here, as I’m already at six hundred plus words.. but know that this is one phenomenal tea. I don’t have much from Verdant because really I always want to give them the respect they deserve, and I’m often running around like a madman, but I want to do an order soon (when I start working again.. heh) and get a variety of teas, maybe in one ounce sizes so that I do have teas that will stand up well to this sort of extended session.

Needed a bit of a kick in the pants this morning. I was “supposed” to be in bed by 9:30. I ended up going to bed at 12:30 after spending three hours working on poetry critiques. The downside to being in an intro to creative writing class is that, even though it’s a prereq for the higher levels, there are a lot of beginning writers. Which isn’t a bad thing at all, but I spent SO much time in high school as editor in chief of our literary mag reading bad poetry that I’m a bit sick of it. I’m sure there are people in the class that are very good, we just haven’t gotten to them yet.

And then of course I had to be up at 6 for my 7:15 education seminar. The plus side is that I’m done with classes by 10:10… the downside is that I am NOT a morning person. Or I am, I just need my sleep. And I start student teaching today, so I went shopping and bought “professional” clothes… I feel like a kid playing dressup. But I LOOK LIKE AN ADULT. I don’t understand. I put on makeup and painted my nails and thought about jewelry and oh my goodness how is this me?!

http://hundredottertarget.tumblr.com/post/31462859618/do-i-look-like-a-teacher-yet

Just a bit stressed. I’m sure it’ll be fine. T-minutes two hours until I meet my teacher.

Sigh, tea.

I like this one. Hazelnut is one of the few nuts I’m not especially allergic to – I don’t even know if I am allergic, but after walnuts I get a terrible headache.

it’s bold and nutty and really good in the morning. Not a very good tasting note but I just had to rant.

:)

Song of the day: Safe to Shore by Of Monsters and Men.

Started my day off with this because hey, it’s my birthday, I do what I want. Adagio kindly included it as a sample with my last order, so that was exciting.

The dry leaves smell like vanilla cake, but I can smell the flavoring. Steeped 1tsp/8oz/212/2minutes; added a bit of milk and sugar.

The flavor is surprisingly light, but it’s still a decent tea. Not my favorite though… I think I’ll be celebrating for reals with a fancy oolong later on!