Featured & New Tasting Notes
I don’t have time for a long review here, where I wax poetic about the glories of this tea.
Let’s just jump to the chase & say that everything you’ve heard about this tea is spot on. The initial aroma reminds me of a really high quality vanilla pipe tobacco (although I don’t know for sure if I’ve ever actually smelled one), & then you start drinking it, & it’s awesomely wonderful, vanilla ice cream with dark chocolate sauce drizzled over the top, the kind that hardens into a shell. What I love about it most is that the black tea underneath isn’t some woosie generic, it’s bold & thick chinese blacks. And yeah, it resteeps like a dream, & I’m taking all those resteeps for once. And the sweet aftertaste lingers…sigh…
I’ve said enough!
I’m liking Temple Stairs more and more…I find myself longing for it. Could it be addictive?
It fills me with positive energy in the morning. What a great warming feeling it provides.
I think it’s my most “elegant” shou pu’erh, not as bold and strong as some others, but still imposing its presence in a sophisticated way.
I love how the steeps evolve, and contrary to Special Dark, I prefer drinking this one Gongfu style. (Special Dark is my Big Mug guy!)
It’s got a light brothy mushroom flavour or “dampness” if the word mushroom in tea scares some of you.
There’s faint bittersweetness about it, hard to describe. Cooked turnips come to mind.
I love how creamy this is. I also detect notes of cocoa, but they aren’t prominent in this tea.
(Now, something I read put the thought of fresh cherries in my head early on this morning.
I think I have enough Temple Stairs energy stocked in me now to jog to the market and get me some!)
Have a great Wednesday dear Steepster friends!
You are right, Special Dark is great for “big mug” type steeping. I haven’t tried Temple Stairs yet but I hope to sometime soon! Also I too think puerh can be addictive :)
Mushrooms….you’re making me nervous about my Temple Stairs purchase, haha
Yay! I had Temple Stairs this morning! I am really excited about this tea. The 100 gram cakes will begin arriving in a few weeks and while I don’t want to wish time away, these cakes will be cha-mazing in 2 to 3 years. I hope I had enough of them pressed (500 cakes, 10,000 mini-tuochas) cause I’m gonna hog a few of them for myself :) Happy wednesday to each of you.
Stephanie, don’t we looove our big mug of special dark!!
Whatshesaid, I was actually thinking about you, lol!! It’s nothing offensive really, no worries :-)
Garret, i just love ALL your pu’erh!! Cha-mazing sounds just perfect :-)
I am having Imperial Dark for the first time and now I just don’t know which is my favourite anymore, so good!!
Your reviews are so seriously adorable. You make me want to do nothing but drink tea all day long.
Lol, Sarsonator, that’s because I haven’t been working for the first time in my life. I usually work 50 to 60 hours a week, so I actually DO take advantage and drink tea all day :-) life will take its course eventually, work madness will pick up where I left it and you won’t be seeing these notes quite as often, that’s for sure!
Then I will enjoy them while I can. :)
“Your reviews are so seriously adorable.” +1
You guys are very good for my self esteem :-) :-) :-)
This is mighty good.
I’m inaugurating a new bright yellow and blue Gaiwan, I love it!
I don’t drink Dancong as much as I should. I like them only Gongfu style. They are so full of nuances and surprises, I find it all gets lost in a large cup.
This one is super fruity. Roasted bittersweet citrus notes are the stars here, at least during the first 3 steeps.
Have you ever grilled Ruby Red grapefruits on the BBQ? You caramelize them slowly and brush them with honey. They get sweeter, but they remain bitter at the same time. This is what is tastes like.
The taste lingers and lingers…
Then it gets more roasty and woodsy, I get incense and sandalwood notes, that’s even more present in the scent than in the taste itself. It also becomes spicier and richer, but the finish is a nice floral. Told you it was full of surprises!
It also gets sweeter, my lips tastes like honey after each sips…(it’s not my lip gloss, not wearing any!)
I made up my mind, this is the dark oolong I’m choosing to season one of my yixing pots this week end…
It is totally worthy!
Nice! Have fun with seasoning!
This sounds lovely.
Mmmmm Dancong my fave
This sounds good…as does the grapefruit on the grill. Just honey? Direct or indirect heat?
Thanks boychik, I’m sure it’ll be fun :-)
The tea is really good, and it steeps forever!!
Cheri, I cut them in half, and brush them with just a little coconut oil, then I put them face down on the grill, indirect heat. When they are well caramelized, I glaze them with honey face up otherwise it would stick all over your grill. It’s a quick dessert when you have people over during summer and it makes you look really smart even though it’s so easy! I serve them now with Terri’s coconut whipped cream instead of vanilla ice cream. yum, I think I’m gonna make some now, lol!
TTF, that sounds amazing and pretty easy. Thanks!
Yummo
Oh, and the same with pineapples, also delish!!
I need some pics of this new gaiwan :)
Beautiful description, & so spot on! I need to have a session with this tea, it’s been awhile.
I almost made coconut whip cream today. I picked blackberries, & really wanted to use my almond flour pancake recipe to make little shortcakes, with the berries & whipped cream, but I didn’t really have time to do all that, so I ended up just eating them instead.
Thanks Terri..and that cream is so NOM!!! My CocoTerriWhip :-)
Haha! Here it is just for you Sarsonator…
https://www.flickr.com/photos/laafeevertee/14322089098/in/photostream
Lovely!!!! It’s so pretty!
I would like to add that I discovered grilled watermelon this year and it is fabulous as well. Especially if you use it in a caprese salad with mozzarella basil and a little balsamic omg!!
Grilled peaches sprinkled with brown sugar and apples the same way are nice too.
And figs! Grilled figs – also with the coconut whip or with vanilla ice cream.
New gaiwan??? Oh! Pretty! It’s other Mandala one besides the pink one right? I oogled it too :)
I have some of this tea too. Maybe tomorrow morning. I had kind if forgotten about it.
Lol, i love how these threads turn into food fest! Great suggestions everyone :-)
mzPriss, I came so close to buy the pink one!
Beautiful Gaiwan!
Grilled watermelon…never even considered that! I have several sugar babies in my garden, so I might have to give it a try, although I can’t have the mozzarella, but I have some kickass balsamic!
Stephanie, that sounds amazing.
Darjeelings are not always my favorite. I’m extraordinarily picky about them. For the last two years, my absolute favorite has been from Giddapahar. While, this estate seems to be a tad greener with their processing, the flavor is just outstanding. The tea is very complex and has wonderful sweet almond notes with peach and blackberry notes. There is just so much going on and quite a variety of flavors, including wood, lemon, hay, earth, and jasmine notes. When I heard that Giddapahar was making a special limited handrolled 2nd flush, I knew I had to jump at the opportunity, especially because they only made 11 kilos worth of this tea. It’s absolutely gorgeous. I was so excited when it arrived, I tore open the package. Wow, the scent was so amazing! The taste profile is very similar to the first flush, except that there is a muscatel flavor and the green-ness is much more toned down. It’s also a much fuller body and the astringency is gone. I’m really enjoying this tea quite a bit. It has a wonderful juicy flavor. Almond, peach, jasmine, and hay notes are the most prominent. There is something else present but I can’t put my finger on it right now. Will definitely have to experiment more on this one. Since this is so limited, when it’s gone it’s gone.
In other news, I’m working on 2 new teas today, a caramel apple Gui Fei and a mimosa puerh (this may or may not be a chai). Normally, I come up with flavors then find a tea for them and modify them from there but these guys I’m working with teas that I really want to flavor and trying to develop flavors for them specifically. I have done this with our Champagne & Rose Cream but it’s not typically how I work.
Oh yum. You sure make this one sound tempting! I am super intrigued by your caramel apple and mimosa ideas, too :)
Caramel apple anything would be fantastic. ;)
You make this second flush sound good. A little greener is more to my liking.
And since Champagne & Rose is one of my favorites that you do, I’d really like to see what you come up with on these other two. :)
Stephanie-This new Giddapahar is soooo delicious! I’m trying to figure out how much to save for myself.
I hope they come out good. I love working with the flavors in the tea and trying to bring them out a little more. crosses fingers
Cameron B-Indeed!
Cheri-It’s so yummy! I just flew through my first cup.
I’m excited to be working with these two teas. The Gui Fei is so unique and it was just calling to be paired with apple. The loose puerh was really begging for some citrus. So glad you like the Champagne & Rose Cream! That is probably the flavored tea I drink the most right now.
It seems as though Specialty Darjeelings are on the rise. Ambootia and Moondakotee are making fairly expensive Haute Couture Darjeelings for Mariage Freres. I’ve been meaning to try your teas and maybe I’ll get around to it in the near future.
Excelsior-they really are, especially in the last two years. It seems they are feeling the pressure to make teas that can compete with other countries luxury teas.
Caramel apple and mimosa chai both sound awesome. I’m going to have to revisit the gui fei oolong now so I can decide whether to get the caramel apple…
The caramel apple Gui Fei came out amazing! Needs some tweaking but I love it!
How much of this tea did you decide to sell? Do I need to place an order immediately, or can I wait until next week, do you think?
Cheri-You should have no problem waiting. Since it is a more expensive tea and a Darjeeling (Darjeelings don’t sell fast for us), it should be available for a few months.
Thanks! I’m trying to force myself to reorganize my tea pantry before I order more teas. It’s a mess and I don’t even know what all is in there anymore.
I love everything evergreen in my tea, and this one fully delivers. I’d previously pegged down White Wolf, from Bellocq, as my quintessential, super-expensive, cedar-vanilla tea but this one is really good too.
Port has a nice balance of flavours: cedar, smooth vanilla bean, and accents of salt and of something “nippy” that is distinctly eucalyptus. It’s a nice level of eucalyptus, and not at all like the time that I put a little too much eucalyptus oil on my hot hand towel and inhaled deeply- when hot, that stuff burns with righteous intensity. I probably won a Darwinian award somewhere in that story.
This is a “darker” tea than my other cedar-vanilla option, which has a white tea base. However, it also isn’t as cold, and so set in the dead of winter, as my other one. I can drink this at the lake camp in the midst of a broiling summer too, or on a foggy autumnal day.
I haven’t had a lot of exposure to saffron and I’m going to have to carefully budget it out, but I love this tea and I want it to be a part of my life! Also, the dry blend reminds me ever so slightly of marzipan. It also resteeps well, although the cedar is more pronounced in the second steep.
Flavors: Cedar, Eucalyptus, Malt, Vanilla
Preparation
It is expensive, but it is so worth it, I love Port. Have you tried cold steeping the used leaves? I put them in a mason jar for 24 hours and I get so much vanilla goodness!
I haven’t yet, but I’m planning too; my other cedar-vanilla tea cold steeped really well too. Do you think I’d get any flavour out of leaves I’ve already steeped three times?
Yes!!! I did mine after 3 steeps!! i figured I pay big bucks for this baby, might as well get the best out of it…minimum 24h or more…it tastes like vanilla water, subtle but very yummy.
Guess this is going onto my shopping list! :P
Ok, I’m looking forward to revisiting that jar in a 24h time period. Fingers crossed!
I can send you a sample, Cavo! It’s so expensive, I’d rather you tried it that way, especially if you’re not a crazy cedar fan like I am. :)
I tossed the last of the Caramel Corn into my wine bottle to cold steep (will it be better cold?) and moved onto this.
I really think this should be cold steeped, but am drinking it hot tonight just to try it.
HHHhhhhmmmmm when I think cherry snowcone I think overly sweet, completely artificial, dyed red flavored ice. This isn’t it. This is barely cherry – and while it is BRIGHT FAKE RED, the flavor just doesn’t come through. Weak cherry, a little tart (but not over the top hibiscus), and not much else. This isn’t even that good of a cherry tisane, much less snowcone. Oh well, again – I only got a little and maybe tomorrow will toss the rest in to cold steep – this one should be better cold.
I’m jumping on the MzPriss and TheTeaFairy bandwagon this morning with this tea. This is one of my free samples from TeaVivre that I hadn’t tried yet and I figured now’s as good a time as any! This is my first time trying a Fujian black tea. The leaves look very different than the other blacks I’ve been having lately – they’re very thin and extremely dark with a few scattered golden tips. The smell is quite unusual, it’s quite musty and earthy with dark bread and malt notes. I decided to be brave and steep it for 3 minutes! :P
Wow, the brewed aroma is very different from the dry! It smells like a completely different tea. Very sweet honey or caramel over baked bread with raisins, mmm… This would definitely be a breakfast tea for me, as the overall taste is quite bold and strong. It has a grain-like malty quality about it without quite tasting like bread. I seem to get a little tiny bit of smokey savoriness at the beginning of the sip. I was surprised to not taste the caramel or honey sweetness that a lot of others mentioned… Then I added a touch of sugar to the second half of my cup and a lovely dark honey or molasses flavor came out. I wouldn’t necessarily call it caramel because I don’t get any butter. This tea leaves an aftertaste on my tongue that reminds me of strong coffee!
Overall, quite good and a nice bold tea to take for breakfast. Would definitely stand up to some milk, although that’s not something I generally add to tea. Thanks again to Angel at TeaVivre!
Flavors: Coffee, Grain, Honey, Malt, Molasses
Preparation
Cameron – you will fall in love with Fujians
I included the Fujian Black Tea in my Whispering Pines order, so I’m excited to try that one, too. :)
That is a good one :)
Oh please, everything from Whispering Pines is a good one! :P
But yes, I am very impatient to get that order… I chose several straight blacks than I’m anxious to try!
Gongfu !
Has anyone sent you any Bai Lin Kung Fu from Shang? Like all their teas, it’s made from fermented white. I really like Teavivre’s but I may prefer Shang, I can’t decide.
Nicole, I think the only Shang tea I’ve tried is the Golden Needle King, and I just tried it today. :P But I really don’t need any more samples right now! I blame you! Lol.
LOL… I’d highly recommend getting Shang’s sampler when you decide you need some more to try. :)
@Nicole teaTiff sent me some Shangs and I’ve loved what I’ve tried. There is a Shang order in my future
Sooo…I could reach for the cognac bottle early in the day, but I don’t do hard liquor much. If you guys want to know why, just read passed the line.
I really need something powerful. Wicked good. Must also smell heavenly. Please.
Golden Orchid, sorry to pick you at such an irreverent moment, but I need you.
This tea…please, really? I dare anyone not to like this. For real, if you don’t like this tea, I’ll take it personal.
Don’t be fooled by the fact that this has vanilla. This is not just vanilla. Nope.
This is high end vanilla and fudge ice cream mixed together. It’s creamy velvety and gooey fudgy.
This is vanilla/chocolate perfected to the 10th power with soft notes of cherries and honey.
Can I be more clear? I don’t think so.
Have this and be happy. Life will be good again.
__________________________________________________
So this was my 5:00am ordeal:
Doggy needs walking, it’s early morning.
Leash unnecessary, obedient doggy.
Beautiful day, forest is calm.
On our way back, dog takes the lead.
See from afar, black and white critter.
Is it a cat? No time to think.
Dog is now running, I stand there frozen.
Eww, I can smell it, this was no kitty.
Sprayed by a skunk, doggy now crying.
The end.
That’s what people. This was his second time. You’d think they’d learn, but noooo, doesn’t work like that apparently.
Good thing I now keep a few litres of peroxide around. After spending nearly one hour washing him, the smell is now all over ME!
Beautiful fragrance, really. I call it “Skunky Fairy Funk”, a mysterious and pungent musty-earthy-woodsy scent that lingers and lasts for-everrrr…we guarantee it.
Oh noooooooo! 5:00am is way too early for most things, but especially for getting skunked :-(
OMG – poor Dexter! Poor Fairy! Maybe Dexter needs glasses so he can SEE what’s chasing. That is not the way to start the morning. You might night to drink the GO ALL DAY LONG! And I’m with you – I defy anyone not to adore the GO – the vanilla fudge bomb.
@TeaF just keep your snoot in the GO tin til the bad smell goes away – then you will be high on vanilla fudge smell and it will be all better…
Ew, skunk smell! You definitely need something good and comforting.
So sorry . Big hug <3
Thanks you guys, feeling much better already…scrubbed myself to death with my best shower gel and drowned myself in lotion. Hope I smell better now :-)
I’m having my GO right now. Damn this is good!
Isn’t it? And that new vanilla makes it even more decadent if that’s possible. I couldn’t do a side by side cause I was out when the new version arrived, but do you see the difference or is it in my head?
NO I totally can tell a difference. This cup is among the last little bit of my “old” vanilla and I still love it a LOT, but I love the new one a little bit more. I just called the vet – we got an early appointment – in a HOUR from now, so that’s good as it won’t take a chunk out of the day later.
Yay! Seems like both our dogs need lots of attention today….just wish they could have found a better way!!
Yeah. Sigh. At least she LIKES going to the vet. My older dog hated it and I mean HATED. He shook and shivered from the minute we got in the car of he thought we were going that way. Bess his little soul. These girls LOVE the vet. I need to finish up this cup of GO and then get them ready to go.
Oh no! That happened to me with my cat. Couldn’t wash him outside. Washed him in the bathroom and it took a week and 20+ cleans of the bathroom. He ended up with 4 or 5 baths and he’s a persian that hates baths and grooming. My nerves were frazzled that week. My heart goes out to you. Nobody else except those who’ve gone through this know what it’s really like.
Oh, so sorry you had to go through that with your cat Ubacat. You are right, it’s such an awful experience. Thank god for the peroxide/baking soda solution though, it really helps. At least, I was able to wash him outside, but yes, it will take some days and a few more baths before it’s completely gone!
Oh NO Mr. Bill! Skunky Dexter & “Skunky Fairy Funk”!
Perhaps these links may offer some additional ideas:
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=skunk+smell+removal+peroxide
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=skunk+smell+removal
Oh my! That does not sound like fun. I hope you two start to have a better day!
At least the tea was amazing. Hopefully the skunk smell dissipates quickly.
Lol, looseTman :-) and thanks for the links, will check them out.
Thanks TeaTiff and Cheri, we feel better already :-)
I fad animal problems today yet I have no cat and no dog and an SO who is very Very allergic. SO this am I was rushing out (for an extra workout long swim before starting the week) I opened the door an a cat ran in the house. Its a beautiful looking orange cat with cheetah like spots that kept jumping on things a yowling at me. Eventually I got it out of the house with a tuna bribe (which means it will come back no doubt) then had to vacuum everything before rushing off! Not as bad as your black and white kitty but I share some of your pain!
Oh noooo!
Oh, my poor Tea Fairy! At least your sense of humor is intact, & there is tea!
First off, this tea smells amazing! It totally smells like one of those strawberry wafers.
As for the flavor it’s rich and full. Now this one is cake-y! I taste a lot of strawberry and mild hints of espresso and chocolate. It’s not too overpowering. Just the perfect amount of every flavor.
Overall it really reminds me of those strawberry wafers that I used to eat all the time growing up. So this tea is definitely a win! :D
Flavors: Cake, Chocolate, Espresso, Strawberry
I actually wasn’t interested in this one initially, but it seems the espresso flavor is quite mild. I may have to try it when I finally do a Butiki order. :)
You definitely should! :D
Ugh, I want this so bad!
It’s amazing, you gotta try at some point!!
I read strawberry wafers as ‘waffles’, so now I’m a little hungry. The tea does awesome though… it’ll be part of a future Butiki order for sure.
xD wow haha I’ve never had a strawberry waffle. Maybe it tastes like this tea? XD
Probably not, they were Eggo waffles. And they didn’t really taste like chocolate or espresso.
Nevermind then xD
Maybe try the tea with waffles? For research? ;)
One of my requested free samples from Angel at Teavivre. I was very surprised when I saw this tea. Usually when a tea is called golden tips it means there are golden tips included. This one looks like it’s almost all golden tips! It smells malty and there is a strong apricot scent along with some honey.
First time, I did a 4 minute steep at about 190 degrees. The aroma is very malty with honey and a light stonefruit note along with some raisin. It tastes like yummy toasty bread with some honey over the top. Maybe a tiny bit of peach or apricot jam. Very tasty!
I saw that a lot of people had mentioned sweet potato so I tried a 3 minute steep. The flavor is definitely lighter, but it’s still primarily malt. I can see how it might be a little sweet potatoey. The honey is still there but I don’t really taste fruit anymore. Overall, I think I preferred the longer steep, especially with a touch of sugar. And it doesn’t seem to be astringent in the least.
Thanks again TeaVivre!
Edit: I forgot to mention that I also received a sample of this from TeaTiff! Thanks lady! :)
Flavors: Bread, Honey, Malt, Raisins, Stonefruit
Preparation
Teavivre does free samples?
I just requested samples to review as well: http://www.teavivre.com/contacts/free_tea_tasting/
Marzipan, yes they allow you to pick five teas to try, and the only stipulation is that you post reviews for them. They send super generous samples too! I was shocked!
I didn’t expect 3 packets of each :O
No kidding! And some of the black teas I ordered were fluffy, so it ended up looking like a giant amount when I emptied it into a tin!
Oh but you have to have a blog =\
lol fluffy tea! Did you get black teas mostly?
I’ve only opened the larger packet. I can’t drink any of them for the next day or so because my nose is stuffed xP Aroma is one of the best parts and I hate missing it.
Marzipan, Steepster counts!! :D
Thanks, here goes!
Yay! Which are you requesting?
I actually got all black teas. :) I opened them all and transferred them into tins since the packages aren’t resealable.
Marzipan I hope you enjoy them! :)
Funnily enough I saw someone mention that Teavivre does samples but didn’t link that link so I just contacted them separately asking to receive samples in exchange for reviews, and they responded back with 5 teas they said they could send me. I didn’t even think of picking out the specific ones I wanted. They should be here soon and hopefully they’re all good anyway (:
Mandy, I don’t think I’ve seen a negative review for any of their teas, so I’m sure they’ll all be good quality. I just hope they’re all types of teas that you enjoy. :)
Cameron B That’s what I meant, good tasting to me, haha. They’re sending me an assortment of greens and oolongs since I mentioned in my email that that’s what I prefer. Wish I would have requested some black now though, since in the last couple of weeks I’ve been starting to fall for them too.
This is what they’re sending me:
Premium Tai Ping Hou Kui Green Tea
Lu Shan Yun Wu Green Tea
Huang Shan Mao Feng Green Tea
Anxi Monkey King (Ma Liu Mie) Tie Guan Yin Oolong Tea
Taiwan Oriental Beauty (Bai Hao) Oolong Tea
I offered to let them pick which they want reviewed.
Marzipan, that’s so nice of you! I was like GIMME THESE ONES NAOOOOO! :P
Well I said non smoky blacks or very oxidized oolongs, so it wasn’t wide open.
I’m sure they’ll do a great job picking out. It’s probably a good thing I didn’t pick mine because I would have gotten over whelmed by all the choices, and the ones they picked all sound like something I’d like! (;
If you have enough left pls do gongfu. You don’t need gaiwan. 1 tbsp 4 oz rinse 5/5/10/15sec etc. you will notice more flavors including sweet potatoes ;)
boychik I have a ton! Ha ha. I was planning on trying some pseudo-gong fu this week with a couple milk oolongs and I’ll be sure to try some of these blacks as well, especially this one and the Fengqing pearls. I’ll jot down your parameters. How long of a rinse would you recommend?
The gongfu process is magical.
Rinse just few secs to awaken leaves. 2-5 sec
Oh boychik, always so helpful. :) I’ll make sure to try gong fu this week.
I have only gotten sweet potato a couple of times from Yunnans/Dian Hongs. Everyone else seems to get it a lot more than I do. I usually get a lot of malt in the ones I like and not as much malt but added smoke in the ones I don’t care for as much. :) Everyone’s taste buds are different!
Hah Kiwi, I got my first tea drunk experience today from gongfu!
Nicole I’ve only gotten smoke from one Yunnan so far, and it was extremely mild smoke. Enjoyable smoke! :)
Marzipan It’s such a euphoric experience, no? :D
I’ve been looking forward to making cornmeal pancakes with fruit (started out thinking about ripe Texas peaches) and cottage cheese all week. One of my favorite breakfasts. I decided to use a different cornmeal pancake recipe this morning. And who better to go to for a good recipe than Mark Bittman? Apparently, in the case of cornmeal pancakes – almost anyone. I have no pancakes. I have a bowl of fried-ish polenta-ish cripsy globs with some AMAZING cherry compote I made from frozen organic cherries, some lemon zest, freshly ground cardamom and little maple syrup. I knew better than to attempt pancakes with no leavening. I started in my extremely well seasoned cast iron skillet that is basically non-stick because it’s been cooked in for well over 50 years as it belonged to my grandmother. I used a little oil to ensure success. My poor skillet has crunchy chunks of polenta-ish stuff clinging to it like I would be to George Clooney’s leg if he showed up. I decided to try in the non-stick skillet which I almost never use. I have chunks of crunchy polenta-ish stuff which was scooped into a bowl along with the yummy cherry stuff and some cottage cheese.
In need of comfort and reassurance and inspired by TheTeaFairy, I turned to this tea. Chocolaty, chocolaty goodness. It goes really well with my cherries (also inspired by TTF this morning), and I am getting less hostile toward Mark Bittman by the minute. A big chocolate bomb that is smooth and delicious with zero bitterness or astringency even when steeped around 5 minutes is something that makes my semi-broken heart happier.
Flavors: Chocolate
I’m sorry for your epic pancake fail but this made me laugh so hard!
Pancakes with no leavening…? How bizarre. Imagining the clinging to George Clooney’s leg… Priceless. :)
The recipe ingredients:
1 1/2 cups fine or medium cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk, or more as needed
2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil, plus more for frying
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup pine nuts
Honey, for serving
The recipe: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/19/dining/19minirex2.html
oh god, i’m so hungry…. this sounds soo good.
@Sil – it does until you try to MAKE it. I still kind of have a heart ful of hate for ol Mark Bittman at the moment. I wanted pancakes
LOL we love bittman – have 3 cookbooks in our kitchen haha
I do too! Who would have thought he would try to pass off fried polenta as pancakes????
I got one of those skillets, over 100 now belonged to my great grandmother. And I miss her so and how she taught me to cook.
How did I ever miss this note this moning? Omg my spleen hurts that how much I laughed!
(Being attached to George Clooney’s leg brings all kind of images…)
And really, homemade cherry compote? Let me book a flight to Texas…
And count me in! I also have my grandma’s cast iron skillet…with a wooden handle. Almost as heavy as I am, but everything tastes better in it!!
Mrmopar, this is so priceless that your grandmother taught you how to cook…how precious that skillet must be.
@mrmopar – I learned to cook from my grandmother and great grandmother as well and I miss them both. My cast iron skillets are priceless to me
@TTF – LOL I’m feeling better about the whole thing now (except for the having to clean my skillet part) but I was grumpy this morning. The cherry compote was easy-peasy, just simmered the cherries and lemon zest and cardamom and some maple down until it thickened up some. I have some left for later.
Poor girl! I hate when something like that happens.
I’m thinking this recipe needs to have eggs in it, or egg replacer. Or ground flax seeds would probably work. Something that would bind things together.
I have one of mark’s books, in my crazy who’s who collection of vegan & vegetarian cookbooks from my 30+ some odd years of non-meat eating. Lately I’ve been feeling really nostalgic about all those tasty grain & bean based dishes, I really miss that stuff.
Side note…I use to love polenta, especially Fried polenta!
Maybe you were suppose to refrigerate the recipe in a loaf pan & slice it before cooking it? :)
At least the cherry compote was good, & thank god for tea!
Well if I had thought it through, I would have realized how it would turn out. I did briefly think about no leavening or egg – but Mark Bittman! They really are polenta cakes and not pancakes – but he calls them pancakes and they look like them in the recipe photo. I’m mostly over it now because I had great tea and I hsve some of the cherry stuff left over
You could spread it on toast (another food I REALLY miss).
Or layer it in a fancy wine glass with coconut whipped cream & other yummy stuff…
It JUST so happens I have some coconut whip and that had occurred to me :)
:)
Chocola-TEA covered cherry recipe:
1 strong cup of Fujian Black
1 cup of fresh and crunchy cherries
Take a sip, bite into a cherry. Mmmmmm.
Oh yeah! This is making my morning.
I want cherries
Lol, wish I could share them with you…I have to admit these are so good, I just don’t care where they came from!!
We have them in the stores now. I always get some every summer – but I dream of what they would be like if they didn’t travel so far.
yummmmmm! :)
Well I must say the ones I’m having now are pretty darn close of “bing” prefect!!
Did you see the snail pictures mj found to go with the Bi Luo Chun? They are amazing and adoreable!
This sounds amazing. I want a black cherry tea! But one without artificial flavors. Does that exist?
Tealux does have a black tea with whole cherries and fig pieces in it, but the ingredients list also includes “flavouring” – http://steepster.com/teas/tealux/33776-cherry-fantasy
MzPriss, those snails, OMG!! Did you see the cherry kiss?
Sarsonator, I gave up on finding a good flavoured cherry tea…I really don’t think it exists… I think my version of it this morning is much better :-)
YES @ the cherry kiss! Those pics make me want to have pet snails :D
Lol, pet snails ;-)
Christina, thank you…unfortunately, I have tried that tea and did not like it. Cherry flavoured teas always end up tasting weird for my own personal taste.
I’ll give it a try Christina!
Maybe I can use dried cherries and make my own cherry tea. I like your method, TTF, but I can’t always get fresh cherries here. So I’d like to find something for the winter months, too.
I’m glad you liked the snails MzPriss! I’m a little obsessed with those snail pics. They’re just so stinking cute
Also, I have a samples of this and now I’m going to have to bust it out this morning! Sans cherries though, although I don’t really mind. Cherries are ok, but aren’t a favorite of mine
I’m having this tea next and looking at the snails some more. But :O cherries aren’t a favorite???
I’ll make some now and we can be tea twins :-). MzPriss, moment of inspiration brought on by madametj’s recent turtle tea pet acquisition: you could get a snail tea pet?
Yeah, I mean I like cherries but berries are more my thing. Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries….mmmm. The best I ever had were in Germany, of all places, last summer
Firm, crunchy cherries are the best kind! <3
Also, fair warning: If you look up the photographer that took those snail pics, he has some other very cute insect pics on his site, but also some total boob pics which I discovered AT WORK. Total panic! I haven’t been fired yet though. Such a weird combination of subjects
I pretty much love all things cherry, and I’ve found a few that are pretty good (obviously have different tastes than TTF) – this is my favorite cherry tisane, but it’s showing out of stock. :((
http://www.nmteaco.com/Pondi-Cherry_p_404.html
LOL @ boob pics with the adorable snails
Oh man, I wish I had some cherries now! And those snails are the cutest thing! It’s like he has permission to go to fairyland and take photos!
That is exactly right – they look like snails in fairyland!
Skulleigh, that’s EXACTLY what fairyland looks like!!!
Another one from MissB this is apparently all the joy and fun i get today since once again i am stuck at home with work while my other half gets to go out with friends. I’m so upset i could just sit and cry. I spent all of today working so that i could go out this afternoon and tomorrow and now, thanks to work, i’m now here while our friends have picked up my other half and left. Even if i get away from this testing with technology, it’ll take me 90 mins just to join them so there’s hardly a point at this rate.
This tea is quite nice, though i’m not sure where the blueberry taste it. There’s a lovely lemon taste here, but if i hadn’t read memily’s review i wouldn’t have even known there was supposed to be blueberry here. This is just coming across as a REALLY earthy puerh with lemon flavouring in the background. I really wish the lemon were stronger here, and i can see this being really offputting for anyone who doesn’t like puerh. Thanksfully, though i enjoy puerh and i’m still enjoying this cup, though i wish it was more lemoney…and uh i guess blueberry too since i can’t taste any of that lol
You got more out of it than I did! :)
Aw. That’s awful about work. I hope it gets better.
Ditch work and teleport over here for cuddles, silly movies, and tea. If I had company I might even find motivation to make cookies or something.
MissB – hope you’re feeling better :(
So not even worth the overtime guys…. this is the suck.
Aww man. So sorry about work being a butt. kicks work
Sil what do you do?
marzipan… “whatever they make me” :) lol uh easiest way to describe it is that i’m part of the group that looks after our business banking platform @ a bank.
I so love this tea. It’s just comforting and delicious. Creamy and nutty.
I have a touch of a headache this morning. I guess since I spent several hours drinking last night, and all I have is a touch of a headache, it’s not too bad.
It’s our anniversary today. 12 years. It seems like just yesterday we were married, and yet, it feels like we’ve always been together. We’re trying to figure out what to do to celebrate.
Congrats!!
I hope you have a wonderful anniversary! :)
Congrats! Wishing you many more great years together in the future.
Congrats!!!
Thanks!
Happy anniversary!
Happy Anniversary! :D
Are you serious?? July 3rd is my anniversary. We’ve been together for 14 years this year. ^^
Happy Anniversary Cheri
And Happy Belated Anniversary Arshness
Thanks Mandy. :)
This was generously included as a surprise sample in my Whispering Pines order. Thank you!
I can see why this tea gets a lot of love. Not only does this have that delightful cocoa note that I adore, but the texture is also thick with a milk-like quality.
Although I drank the first steep too quickly to discern any other qualities past “creamy”, I’ve had more time with this second steep. The cocoa and milk are still present, but there is also a distinctive fruity note, like sweet, tangy plums.
It’s a delicious cup, and I think I’ll appreciate its profile even more in the fall or winter. As it was, it turned out to be an awesome rainy evening tea.
Flavors: Cocoa, Cream, Malt, Plum, Stonefruit
Preparation
Sounds like pure yummy awesomeness…thank goodness I have some on the way. I was always forgetting to order that one!
I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did! I think it may have made my evening.. receiving the parcel and finding this sample definitely made my morning. :)
Aww, so happy it made your evening CrowKettle :-) and yes, receiving a tea parcel is a great way to start your day :-)
I don’t remember hearing about this tea company even a couple of years ago, but some of their stuff sounds really good. Will have to try! :)
@Nightshifter, I started the business in 2012 :)
Glad you like this one, CrowKettle! :D
TTF, I think you’ll enjoy this one, too :)
Ah that explains it. Sounds like you are off to a great start though! I have already started making a little list of teas I want to try. :)
Oh my gosh, this tea has the best flavors!
@WP: I know I will…i’ve already tasted what it’s made of ;-)
Nightshifter, you know I’ve been on Steepster for a while…believe me when I tell you, this company has some of the best teas I have ever tried, and I’m not that easy to please!!
Awesome! Will be ordering for sure. :)
Ok, you know by now I’m a notorious insomniac.
Been drinking this tea every night this week and it has helped a lot sending me into Morphée’s arms. (Morpheus in English?)
I’m not saying I sleep all night, but it induces a certain sense of euphoria, calmness.
This tea was meant for me… I am the restless type, always doing something. I exercised today and did too much. Overachiever, I do pretty much everything “too much”.
This whispers “STOP” to me. Forces me to pay attention and let it invade me with its soothing effect.
It’s a a tea that says “relax, everything is going to be ok”, and I just let go…
It’s jasmine but with such a twist…who knew pine tasted so good. Now I want to go outside and hug all my pine trees to say thank you! Have you ever hugged a tree? If not, I strongly suggest you do.
I lost count of how much I ordered recently…did I get enough? Hope I did, cause I now NEED this, powerful stuff, really…
If you read my profil, you’ll see that music is one of the most important thing in my life with tea and art. Listening tonight to the beautiful music of Black Dub…that voice, instant shivers. (MzPriss, hope you enjoy ;-))
So notorious ;-)
Lol….that’s how we meet at night :-)
Can’t wait for mine to get here!
Mandy, you’re lucky, you’re in the States, it’ll get there in no time!! I have to patiently wait for Canada post to move their butts :-)
Good thing I’m a night owl then :-). Totally love to stay up late, but we can’t all be fairies so I also need my beauty sleep
Lol, I need it too, believe me, not such a glorious fairy after all!!
That sounds exactly like what a glorious fairy would say….your “hiding in plain sight” strategy does not fool me at all!
Hahaha! you are just adorable mj :-)
I got me an oz of Sleeping Bear yesterday. Lets see if it will work on me. Good night ladies;)
Hope it does boychik :-)
Go to bed!
Haha! Kaylee, doesn’t work like that!! How bout yourself?
Well, it’s 3:25am and I’m checking my dashboard every 5 minutes, so it’s possible that I have a bit of a sleeping problem myself.
Haha! Well, I feel less lonely already…although the tea did relax me a lot, it did not send me to bed tonight :-\
Aww, sorry to hear that. But hey, relaxed and not-so-lonely is good too! We should start a Steepster Insomnia Support Group. It will probably have some overlap with the Late Eating and Impulse Purchasing support groups.
Lol.
Reddit is good when you have insomnia, it goes all night.
(I LOVE that song!!) I did actually go to sleep for a change. I’m hoping all y’all are still sleeping
Good to know Marzipan, thanks..but I usually devour books during the night… And wander around Steepster a little :-)
MzPriss, So happy you got your beauty rest for a change!
MzPriss,
(Now it typed your name twice? What’s wrong with my posts lately? Steepster keeps playing trick on me!!)
my dogs are rioting all over the bed. I’m not all the way awake- only had two sips of tea and they’re play-growling and barking
Oh wow, Black Dub is Daniel Lanois and has Brian Blade in it too. This is good!
Black dub was kind of Daniel Lanois’s music project…The signer is Chris Whitley’s daughter. Im glad you know Lanois, not everybody does.
Lol, it must be quite a riot indeed with two dogs in the morning!
Oh yeah, I love Daniel Lanois’ Acadie record – his song The Maker is so beautiful. I love Emmylou Harris’ version and Willie Nelson’s but I love Daniel Lanois’ the very most. I really did like Chris Whitley as well.
Wild dogs.
thanks for sharing music teafairy. really enjoying this, this morning
Happy to give you some of my music vibes with Sil :-) nothing like dancing with a cup of tea in hand early in the morning!!
TheTeaFairy, thanks for the compliment of eight hours ago :-). I went to sleep and just saw it lol
That’s because you ARE adorable mj :-)
Oh wow, sounds like an amazing tea. I wonder if the pine needles open up the lungs. I have asthma and been looking around for alternative supplements and teas.
Ubacat, I don’t have asthma but I have severe year round allergies. I will let you know when I get it if it helps open up your air passages. You know also when I tried some sheng with camphor menthol notes, I felt so much better. White2tea White Whale was unbelievable. I need to write a note for it
boychik – really… hmmmm
“Hello old friend! Would you like to take a walk in my garden with me?”
And so I brewed a cup. It’s been awhile since I ran out of this tea.
We watered the Northern Quadrants, picked some dill & cukes,
ate some berries & sungold cherries, & harvested some zukes,
We gathered some greens, asparagus, onions & garlic. And then I weeded.
This lovely cup of tea was exactly what I needed.
How big is your yard Terri?
Awww…just awwww.
We need to start a compendium of Steepster poetry. There’s some good stuff buried in all these tasting notes!
(I’ll get right on that, after …. )
This made me smile.
When you talk about watering, I keep picturing you pouring a little tea on them… Because you said “we watered”… Hah. So cute.
My backyard is pretty huge…maybe a quarter acre? I guess the dimensions are on my property documents…wherever they are :)
Sounds lovely
So today being the fourth of july, I though about reviewing only fireworks teas.
Ya know, the ones that blow your mind.
The ones that create that explosion of happy in your mount.
The ones that you would bring with you on a deserted island.
The ones that you can’t live without…
Ailaoshan Black more than qualifies for the job.
Its salty caramel goodness makes me see bright colours every morning :-)
(Oh and look! Note 300th!!)
Happy 300! I love this one too
Congrat’s on 300!
This sounded too good. I’m having some right now in my cute new green mug
OH! And I’m having cherries in my smoothie this morning :D
Oh! Me too then…with almond milk and chia seeds. Mmmm, cherries. Me and my Steepster friend Dexter (not talking about my dog here!!!) are legendary cherry lovers. Happy to have found another cherry nut :-)
Mine has chia seeds as well because <3. I use half organic kefir and half locally made organic yogurt, cherries, chia and some whey protein. It’s cherry-y and tangy and mmmm-y
Whoa – half my comment disappeared. What I said was: mine has half kefir/half yogurt, cherries, chia and some whey protein.
Thanks loosTman :-)
Yours is a meal!! I don’t “eat” breakfast weekdays but have green smoothies with way too many ingredients to list here, lol. But I’m planning to have oatmeal and apples and berries later so I must keep the smoothie a smoothie!
WOOHOOO! grats on 300!
Mine IS a meal. It’s what I have for breakfast weekday mornings. Tomorrow morning I’m making cornmeal pancakes with peaches and cottage cheese. And probably a little bacon.
I love chia and almond milk smoothies! I use soy yogurt, rolled oats and fruit in mine. I also always add a handful of spinach to get some veggies. Can’t even taste it!!!
I do sometimes put a handful of baby spinach in – you’re right, you can’t taste it. I also do like some oats in on occasion.
I use flax seeds sometimes, too. You guys are making me want cherries. I found some wild cherries when hiking last week, but the trees were too tall for any kind of real harvest. So sad!
Thanks Sil :-)
Sarsonator, I add oat too most of the time, isn’t it great? I started making green smoothies about 3 years ago. I remember how everything tasted weird at the beginning. I now use a ratio of about 2/3 veggies 1/3 fruits. Kale, spinach, carrot, celery, beets, cucumber, anything goes, and I LOVE how it tastes. The boost of energy that follows is unbeatable.
I love the green juice with kale and spinach and celery and parsley – I can feel my cells just sucking it up and smiling
I make green smoothies, too! I normally do fruits, almond milk, soygurt, oats, chia in the AM, and then veggies/fruits for lunch. I love carrots and apples with spinach and kale!
Congrats on 300!!!
Congrats on 300! And this is a fireworks tea for me, too. :)
Congrats on 300!! :D :D
Great idea :)
Congrats on 300!!
Sounds like my tea twin VariaTEA had a cup of this one too this evening; it’s been a while since we both made the same tea during the same day I do believe. Although, I do have to thank 221Tea because she was the lovely human being who provided me with a sample of this one!
Mostly, I think my thoughts on this echo VariaTEA’s; a little malt, a little bread, a little cream, a little chocolate and a whole heaping bundle of vanilla! Gotta add in too that I thought this one improved the cooler it got; it was somehow smoother and richer at a lower temperature.
Overall I thought this was good, dare I say it very good. Would I order it? Maybe. But I don’t know if I’d need to get it in any sort of quantity. More than likely I’ll just occasionally swap other Steepster members who are obsessed with this one for cup or two sized samples of it. I feel like that would be enough to keep me happy.
I just ordered some of this & some samples in a tea ordering frenzy a couple of nights ago :)
i love this one…. vanilla chocolate ice ream to me =0)
Oh Roswell Strange…I have missed the days when we were so in sync with our tea drinking :P
Vanilla? Malt? Cream? Chocolate? I’m so in!
@Nightshifter – you want some of it
is it august yet?
Uh. I don’t get this tea, I feel like I’m missing something major. It might just be too subtle for me or something.
All I taste is a somewhat musty vegetal and also floral oolong base.
With maybe a hint of some kind of old fruit, I don’t know. Maybe that’s the frankincense? I have no sweet clue what that would even taste like.
I can’t stand the smell of incense though. I only have a fond memory of when I was 13 and would burn it because I used to pretend I was Wiccan. I didn’t even like the smell back then, at least it had a purpose at the time. Can’t imagine wanting to drink anything that tastes like incense.
It’s basically the opposite of everything I like.
Luckily this basically tastes like nothing to me… No bergamot, that’s for sure.
Sounded interesting but I guess it’s just not for me! Sorry I couldn’t do your beloved tea justice, but thanks for the sample, OMGsrsly!!
Hah, I did the same thing in my early to middle teenage years! Dragon’s Blood was my favorite (whatever that means…). Reading this made me laugh. :)
Hehe those were the days! I definitely kept my old “spell books”, neat snapshot of my life at the time!
I wish I had mine to look at right now! I used to hang out at the book store all the time and look at all the Wiccan/Pagan books… I had tarot cards too, teehee. I wonder if those are still around somewhere…
I find this one is super strong with the frankincense, but sniffing it I could see that the flavour might not come out too strongly for everyone. :)
I definitely still have a deck of tarot cards and a voodoo doll somewhere, haha!!
OMGsrsly maybe it’s because I don’t know what frankincense tastes like…. All I’m noticing is oolong for some reason!
If you don’t like incense, this wouldn’t have helped, but I could have sent you some resin and a wee charcoal piece so you could smell it. :) I find it really warm and heady. It’s tree sap, and is used in a lot of perfumes and soaps and things.
Probably in the perfumes I avoid buying, hehe :)
:D I had to pull some out and burn it. Now my whole apartment smells yummy. (Considering my neighbours smoke inside, I don’t feel bad about this at all!)
This tea is ridiculously good. I got a sample with my birthday order before the tea was named. I drank one cup plain a week or so ago and hoarded the other half of the sample till today, and I am drinking this cup lightly sweetened. To me the espresso manifests itself as just a richer deeper chocolate flavor. (kind of like a cake recipe I tried once with a tiny bit of espresso powder added, doesn’t taste like coffee, just richer chocolate! Don’t be scared, coffee haters!) The strawberry and chocolate seem very well balanced and with sugar the cake-vibe is definitely enhanced, though it was rich and creamy and VERY delicious even without. I love the assertive assam base. This is one of the best chocolate+fruit teas ever! Really great stuff. Can’t rave about it enough!
Preparation
God morning Steepster!
I am off to Minneapolis today, don’t know how much tea I will be drinking on vacation, but I hope to pop in on Verdant tea and maybe Mandala if I have the time.
This 1910 is still a fabulous breakfast tea and I hope it wakes me up soon because I still need to pack!
have a greeeeat week :)
Lucky!!! Enjoy your trip!!!
Awesome! If you stop into our beloved tea shops, please hug everybody & say it’s from me! :)
Oh how fun! I’d love to visit them some day :D
Enjoy!
Welcome to my neck of the woods! The weather has been GORGEOUS. I hope you have a great time :-)
Thanks mj! I’m packing right now and am really looking forward to being somewhere sunny, it’s FOG CITY here. :)
It’s’ bright and sunny here right now! I don’t know how familiar you are with Minneapolis or if you have contacts here already, but if you have any questions or need something, please feel free to message me :-)
Tea of the night…
I love my little green teas. Yes, they are my little ones. I don’t drink them as often as my blacks and oolongs but I do appreciate them. Yes, I play on the dark AND the green side!
This is like drinking morning dew. As if I had gone out at the first hour of the day to collect in my glass steeper enough little grassy drops to fill a decent tiny cup. In French, morning dew is called “la rosée”, I love that word, it sounds so soft and fluffy, just like this tea is.
I took a picture…
I know, I know, I often like to show…well see, I don’t have a blog but I take pictures all the time, especially tea pictures, so why not share them? Of course you don’t have to click, I won’t be offended… But for those who love to watch, here it is:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/laafeevertee/14377042107/
Isn’t it pretty and tender looking? Like beautiful seaweeds, moving in slow motion.
It tastes so fresh and vegetal, a bit salty and marine. It’s a pure and clean taste. The type I love to pair with fish.
I threw this one in my cart on last order cause ya know…my plan is to try ALL existing Whispering Pines teas!!!
I’m glad I did.That does look lovely. Why must you tempt me so! I told Steepster and my entire family that I wouldn’t buy any more tea until September!
So pretty in that glass. Do you love that steeper? I’ve been thinking about one…
Christina…just give in…september was way too ambitious ;-)
MzPriss, I love my test tube! Short steep for the lazy…works really well for green and shou but not so much for larger leaf like oolong, it gets too jammed packed.
I like the pictures you post :-)
Thanks mj :-)
@TeaF I’ve been eyeing one at I think Verdant. What I need to be eyeing is where I’m going to put everything that is either alresady here or coming to my house.
@Christina – she is a total temptress…
Oh, I hear you on that…massive shit load of tea coming our way…i have 2 yixing pots on the way also. Sigh.
(I did buy my test tube at Verdant…totally worth it…you should seriously consider…just sayin’)
Maybe when the Laoshan Choky Genmaicha comes in. I have massive shitloads still to come, but I’ve been putting Madala in tins this morning and it makes me happeh :) I have also been LOLing at my messages this morning but now I want chai, so that will be my on the way to work tea…
2 yxings??? LOL. I LOVE you.
Hahaha! I don’t blame you, I cold brewed some right after that conversation!
Well you obviously don’t know my relationship with yixing pots…I buy them, I break them…then I buy some more, and I break some more….CLUMSY!!!
I a breaker too. Well more of a chipper actually. Although, my sweet little cup w/infuser that I reviewed on here recently? I had it for a week and a half before I broke the mug :(
’scuse my typos. not enough sleep :(
Off to work (with my chai) Have a good day
Lol, you too :-)
Why don’t you have a blog? :)
I love your pictures!
Lovely pics as always, & we have matching test tube steepers :)
I love that thing, wouldn’t dream of brewing green teas in anything else!
On the topic of breaking things (rolls eyes dramatically), my desk & studio are both littered with chipped tea cups, because once I chip them I won’t serve tea in them. So they become holders of things: pennies, paperclips, a wet tea strainer, the weird little Bingo keytags that I write my daily tasks on (in hopes of actually getting them done), etc.
I have a fantasy of rounding them up this fall & planting a small succulent jade plant in each on, to give as winter gifts to my students.
Gratefully, I haven’t broken any of my yixings (knock on wood). I would be heart broken.
I love that jade plant idea! Teacup planters are adorable and I have a very handsome jade plant that I enjoy a lot. It’s one of my favorites (shhhh don’t tell my other plants)
Yixings? From where ? Links ?
I love the pics and you should blog, telling ya
Thanks you guys, but no need for a blog, Steepster is my tea-home, I’m way happier here with you all :-)
Terri, what a great idea!
Boychik…dunno if you remember, but when you were buying yours from Zen Tea, I told you I had purchased the pumpkin one and that IMHO, their prices could not be beaten for signed handmade pots. Well….I cracked it. It’s not conpletely broken, but can’t be used anymore. I liked it soooo much that I repurchased it…
http://zentealife.com/yixing-teapot-siji.html
And…couldn’t resist this one in the process…does it look familiar?
Oh I love the pumpkin and second looks very familiar. I just checked prices went up, mine was $29
Oh well, it’s worth every penny.
Lol, yes, it’s totally worth it…I have bought lots of teaware from them and I know they are 100% reliable. I don’t know any other places where you can get a certificate of authenticity for such low price. Kenneth, the owner had told me it was his last batch in inventory, he wouldn’t be able to get them anymore. So I made my move before they’re all gone :-)
Mine are all very plain, but wonderfully functional, all from Mandala. However, there are others I’ve been drooling over for awhile…
I got 2 fr YS some time ago but they are 200 ml. At that time I didn’t realize that they are huge. I really want them to be 100-130ml .
Damnit.
Turns out I like this one a lot more than I wanted to. Ugh.
I made it for my breakfast tea today because I actually, for once, woke up in time to make tea for breakfast and not be rushed drinking it. It’s sorta weird when that happens, not going to lie; I’m so used to waking up just minutes before I need to start getting ready for work.
It’s really, really good! It’s pretty much smooth toffee/caramel with hints of coconut and a kind of pineapple juice sweetness to it and the whole thing comes together in a way that perfectly emulates sticky, “smack your lips chewing” caramel popcorn to a tee. And, now I want to go pick up more of it because it’s really good. Downside? It’s sorta like Spiced Fig in that it’s a very heavy blend with huge pieces of stuff in it…
So, not really cost effective overall. Blah. Now I have to decide whether I really want this one. Boo to that.
Flavors: Caramel, Coconut, Nutty, Pineapple, Popcorn, Toffee
So I own 250g of this :P
And it’s so damn heavy that you’ll be out before you know it ;)
I will just have to keep stocking it. I am a fan.
I have to try this now. :) I guess I should just get it iced to go? Or is it worth picking up 20g and making it at home?
I liked it iced but it is not bad hot. If you grab 20g, that will be like 2-3 cups
hahahaha
Don’t laugh at me, Sil. If I have to go out into the West Coast style gross heat, I might as well treat myself. TREAT YO SELF!
Haha TREAT. YO. SELF. I just showed my brother that episode the other day :)
I haven’t actually watched much of the show, but that bit is just SO funny!
i will laugh. it’s what i do
I think I’m too dopey. I read “treat yo self” as “TEAT yo self”. god damn.
That may be some people’s definition of treating themselves. Not sure who but some.
LOL, Bear. That is definitely a different thing than what I did. :)
I blame lack of sleep (and besides, even if I wasn’t overtired, BEWBS!)
:D
Yay!! That’s EXACTLY what it is!!!
Welcome to the GO Cult :-)
There’s a tea cult? I’ve already exchanged some of my possessions for tea.
Mmmmmmm.
This one is so yum!!!!
I’m so sad that my Whispering Pines order didn’t come today. D:
I want to try mine but I can’t drink a black tea this late in the day.. tomorrow for sure!
You can make the chocolate sauce you describe by melting and combining coconut oil and chocolate chips (I do that from time to time)
Well…I kind of just decided that there was a GO Cult….cause ya know, it’s getting more and more followers. The Guru is Tea Whiz Of The Woods (Brenden). It’s VERY hard to resist all his charismatic teas…
Golden Orchid is the Kool-Aid of the Whispering Pines cult…
Tea Cults Are Us…just sayin’
Haha! Is wit a requirement to be a Steepster member? Cause I don’t know where else you can get as much for free!!!
And in this case cameron… DO DRINK THE KOOL-AID!!
Drink all the kool-aid! :D
The Illustrious Cult of the Golden Orchid
Guru: Tea Whiz of the Woods
Official Organizer & Cheerleader: TheTeaFairy
Meetings: Monthly, in the Steepster basement
Please bring a snack to share.
I’ll bring CHERRIES!!
I’ll bring mushrooms! ;)
I’ll bring tea flavoured bread.
Haha! And we can ask mj to bring her communal fridge!
Lol, Sarsonator, “The Illustrious Cult of the Golden Orchid” makes an awesome cult name!!!
I’ll make petit fours! With little pine trees on them!
I’ll bring almond flour scones! :)
I’ll sit in the back and drink all your tea! :p
And thanks, TTF! Glad you like the name!
LOL
I want to join the cult! But no more tea for me till black friday. I tried telling myself that buying samples didn’t count and I may cave there because the WP cult is ever so persuasive.
GO just sounds so decadent.
You’re not buying any tea until NOVEMBER?!?!?! Wow. I really envy your willpower.
There will be no black friday sale at WP. I am strongly against black friday. There will be a cyber monday sale though :)
I want to be the Court Jester for the cult. I’m trying to decide if I need to give in to my sudden GO craving or actualy sleep again tonight
I also dislike Black Friday. I refuse to leave my house. This year, though, maybe I will host an online Steepster Sipdown Fest!
HoneyBelle a.k.a MzPriss: You are now the official Cult Jester :p
Woo! I’m so like that HoneyBelle name as well I reeeeeeeeeely want some GO now
Hmmm…Sudden GO cravings are hard to resist….Court Jester, that’s exactly what we were missing :-)
(Oh, may I reserve my Fest tickets now Sarsonator?)
liking not like
You know – Steepster needs a chat
I am going to have to veto the idea of a Steepster Chat. If there was a Steepster Chat, I would never get anything done!!!! :p
I haven’t ever done one, but a friend of mine does some gaming chat and she loves it. But yeah, time sucker I bet
Well the tea buying may start on black friday but that doesn’t mean it’ll stop then…
It’s chat already ;)
Lol, boychik,I was just going to say that ;-)
I was also gonna say what boychik said. It’s kind of like a slow moving chat.
So we’re doing it? Cool.
I think people who go out shopping on Black Friday should get their heads examined. Pro Cyber Monday though.
I don’t go anywhere near any stores on Black Friday, but I definitely participate in the cyber monday tea sales!
This is going to sound super ignorant, but… What is Black Friday??
@Nattie – Black Friday is an unfortunate USA custom where all the retailers have these giant sales (allegedly) the day after Thanksgiving. It has gotten earlier and earlier to where now it starts on Thanksgiving. People trample each other and have fights over cheap TVs. It is an ugly custom in the stores. Cyber Monday, while sort-of the same thing – is online and much more civilized and NOT on a holiday you should be spending with your people instead of being in line for 12 hours to fight over stuff you can usually get just as good a deal on later.
Ahh okay, thanks! We have a similar thing over here with the Boxing Day sales, but at least it doesn’t start until after Christmas! Cyber Monday sounds much better (:
MzPriss, you slay me: “Black Friday is an unfortunate USA custom”
Could not agree more!