Michelle select Send Message

Hm… this is a sipdown.

I think I was just too excited about getting Mario tea, along with my TARDIS mug.

It’s not bad, but I’m finding that the jasmine is overpowering, especially in the first few steeps. I’m on steep 3 or 4 at the moment, and it’s sweetly green with just a hint of the jasmine scent… I wish it would start out this way!

This is the last of the samples from the DAVIDs order I placed a few months ago. Don’t tell me it’s time to get more…

Straight senchas are usually a bit too grassy and vegetal for me. This one’s good though. In the scent I’m picking up the usually straight grass notes, but there’s also something toasty and sweet, sort of like kettle corn. There’s a little fruitiness in the smell too. I can’t quite put my finger on it – apples, maybe, or grapes.

I think I steeped it a little too hot, as there is a bit of bitterness, but it’s good anyway. Primarily it’s vegetal, but there’s a toasted note to it, almost like a very light gyokuro. DAVIDs website says that it’s dried using wood fires, so that’s probably where it comes from.

It’s good. I probably won’t order it again, but it’s good nonetheless.

EDIT: Thanks to a suggestion from ScottTeaMan, I tried steeping it at a much lower temp. I guessed on my kettle to bring it to about 155, 160. Suddenly all the bitterness and much of the vegetal has gone away, and it’s buttery and sweet with notes of fruit, so I’m upping the rating!

DOCTOR WHO SERIES: John Smith

John Smith is the pseudonym used by Ten in his stint as a human as a teacher in an English boarding school. It’s strong, traditional, and very, very English.

A blend of Earl Grey, vanilla and hazelnut teas. Drank with a touch of sugar and milk, as befits your traditional English teas.

I like this. When I want an Earl Grey, I almost always go to one of my flavored ones – it tones down the bergamot a bit. I’m tempted to try selling these on Etsy or somewhere, but I don’t know if they’d sell!

I’ve been noticing lately that I get really tense around 9 at night or so. My chest is tight, I can’t get a full breath in, my left thigh is crazy tight, I start experiencing all the sensations I usually tune out. In short, just generally panicky. I’m not really sure why, but I think it might have to do with the caffeine I’ve been drinking… although I’ve been drinking mostly green tea lately.

Anyway, I’m going to try a cup of chamomile at night to try and wind down. I bought a big bag of this from Adagio since it’s so cheap. Right now I’m drinking it hot, in about a 3-1 ratio of chamomile to lavender, with a pinch of spearmint and a spoonful of lavender honey as well.

It’s good. I don’t love chamomile and honey on their own, but the lavender and spearmint tie it together. The chamomile is a bit apple-y, and there’s a coolness from the lavender and spearmint. The strength of the lavender is smoothed out by the honey, and the lavender-scented honey isn’t as strong as, say, plain honey. All in all, it’s a decent blend. I may dial the lavender back a bit, next time, but it’s definitely drinkable.

I was looking through my sample box, looking for a green tea this morning, and I stumbled across this one. I can’t believe I forgot I had it!

The dry leaf is a dark-scented, almost like a light Darjeeling. The pieces are small and fairly broken, and although I’m drinking it out of my TARDIS mug (I can’t get over it. It’s fantastic.) it’s a mid-range light yellow.

It tastes the way it smells, sort of a darker green with hints of pepper and cucumber. It’s a bit bitter, but as my tea kettle only does 180 and 212 with accuracy, I had to guess for the 195. It’s good, though. It’s a hearty green.

I’m just going to keep drinking this until my little sample is out. I think I’ll order more from Adagio when it’s out… I definitely like it on the lighter side, with 1tsp/8oz at 212 for 4 minutes instead of 5 – more green tea, less jasmine.

Ooh! A nice mellow chai!

It may be that this TARDIS mug actually IS bigger on the inside… It says 16oz, but I fill up the ingenuiTEA all the way to the top and there’s still lots of space. I knew I was going to be adding milk to this, so I brewed about 12oz, and I may have added a bit more milk than expected.

BUT THAT’S GOOD. Because I don’t particularly like chais – too spicy.

Although now that I think of it, my problem might have been that I was leery of adding milk to tea (don’t know why, really).

But yum. 2tsp/12oz, 1tsp German rock sugar and a liberal splash of whole milk. I think I’ll add more tea next time, since I’d actually like it a bit spicier!

Dry leaf smells really warm. Lots of cinnamon and clove, ginger and cardamon… smells like a typical chai to me. Steeped, it’s got an yellowy-orange taste that sort of fades into darker orange towards the sides, surrounding my taste buds. It’s very warm. It smells fairly spicy, but doesn’t have any of the bite.

This just came in, along with my TARDIS mug (http://teatime—at—221b.tumblr.com/post/24204571395/i-have-a-tea-mug-now-tea-mugs-are-cool-you)

I’m so excited. I’m also such a fangirl.

Um. Right.

The directions on this tea say to steep at 212 for 5 minutes. I was a bit skeptical, as this is a green, so I did 180 for however long it took me to brush my teeth and let the dog in… so probably a minute or two? The next time I make this, I’m going to try it the way it says, because it’s weak. It’s not bad, just weak. The green tea is really nicely smooth with that little bit of sweetness towards the end of the sip / tip of the tongue that I really love, and the jasmine isn’t overpowering (which I’m usually wary of).

Does anyone know if this is the same Jasmine Green as I can order on Adagio? I don’t want to buy the sampler again, since it’s expensive and the tins are small and I’m not totally enamored with the other flavors… but I do like this one.

Update: Went to work, boss told me he had a cover for me (I’d been looking for one so I could hang out with my sister, but couldn’t find one) and that he didn’t need me, so I went home and made another cup of this.

Second steep: I steeped 4min/about 195

The jasmine comes out more predominately, and the green is a bit more vegetal this time. Also, I think it’s funny that I’m drinking 1 Up tea out of a TARDIS mug. (cough) Okay. I’m done now.

This is the second genmaicha I’ve tried, and this is the second time I’ve tried this one.

Every once in awhile, I get this strange craving for genmaicha, so I brew up a cup (in this case, a small pot), and then as I’m drinking it, I really don’t like it.

But I drink it anyway since it satisfies the craving… and it’s better than actual popcorn loaded with butter!

I’m on my second steeping of this one, and I think I prefer it to Teavana’s Gyokuro Genmaicha. The bancha green is smooth and there’s a bit of caramelly taste toward the beginning of the sip. The rice is toasty but it doesn’t overpower the tea, and it’s very earthy. Not necessarily earthy in the sense that a pu’erh is earthy, but maybe grounded or solid is the word I’m looking for.

I can’t see myself ordering this again, but I’ll get around to drinking genmaichas if people give them to me :)

First off, I should mention that I won this from Teavana in one of their giveaways on Twitter!

And right now I’m listening to the King’s Singers (a virtuoso group from England) singing about being trains. “Look at me, I’m a train, I’m a train, I’m a choo-choo train…” oh, it’s so great.

On to the tea! It’s definitely a strong Earl Grey. It’s much stronger than DAVIDs. That being said, it’s not bad. I certainly have to add milk and sugar to make it drinkable, since I don’t particularly like bergamot, but it’s a lot better than Teavana’s straight Earl Grey. I don’t think I’ll get it again, since Earl Greys aren’t really my thing, but it’s not something I just want to throw out.

Also My tea cupboard is getting a bit boring, but I don’t really have the money to go out and shop. Does anyone want to do a swap for a few samples? :)