Featured & New Tasting Notes
Yes? Yes. This is a really great tea. It has ‘real’ banana flavours and just a little bit of chocolate flavoring on top of it. It really makes me think of the chocolate covered banana chips I buy from the bulk store. DELICIOUS.
I wonder how well Lupicia teas re-steep? I’ll have to find out.
From the queue
Yes, that is what the blend is actually called! Can you imagine going into the shop and saying, “hello, may I have some bad weather, please?” It makes me really want to like it, just so that I can buy some more and get to say that. Also, this was December 22nd in my Christmas calendar, but since I wasn’t very good at keeping up with that and still (writing this in mid-January) haven’t actually tasted half of them yet, I’m just going to start adding them to the queue.
Unfortunately, it smells rather anise-y and I’m not really a fan of anise in general. It gets far too cloying very quickly. I can’t tell what else might be in here, and looking at the blend itself isn’t really helping much at all. I can see some yellow bits and some green bits and some reddish brown bits and a few red bits. Could be anything, although I think the red bits look a bit rose-y. I’m also wondering if the reddish brown bits might be some sort of freeze dried fruit. There is a note under the anise which may or may not be kind of fruity.
The first note I can taste is anise, and then with something possibly fruity underneath. I think there must be some mint as well, but that’s really a no-brainer, because I’ve found that it’s difficult to find a herbal blend which doesn’t contain mint in some form or other. I’m sure they exist, but few of them have crossed my particular path.
In spite of the anise, this isn’t actually as dreadful as feared when I first sniffed it. I shan’t be going into the shop and asking for more bad weather, but I can probably finish this lot off.
I’m not sure about the rating here, as I find myself in the odd situation of not really having an opinion on it either way. I think I’ll just leave it off for the time being.
Is it ‘Bad Weather’ in English or Danish?
Dårligt vejr. I tend to translate these Danish names, but I’ve been wondering whether I ought to.
Personally, I think it would be really helpful if you could put both! If I get excited about something and want to google it, or buy it, that really helps. This is what I usually do:
http://steepster.com/teas/kranku/39594-kiwi-vanilj-kiwi-vanilla
That way you have both the original name and the translation up there. I don’t know if there are any downsides, like, ’it’s too long’, or ‘there are weird letters there’, but I like that I see all the info at a glance.
A portuguese store sells a “bad weather” tea, titled in english. supposedly black tea with cinnamon, almond, tangerine and flower petals. it does not sound like this one does it? But it is a cool name.
I once had a finnish tea called cheery rainy day tea. Though my rainy day teas are smoked usually and it was not.
I don’t really like that solution. It seems so clumsy to me, like repeating myself.
I dropped a comment on the suggestions thread. I should like to see an actual place on the tea page where alternative names could be listed. Like these blends, for example, or your Swedish ones. Or just when now and then a blend is relaunched under a different name.
Yes, good idea!
And yeah, it’s hard with alternative languages, because it feels wrong to me to just make up my own translation – I mean, I wouldn’t call Noël à Pékin ‘Christmas in Beijing’ as I entered it into the database, so why would I translate a Swedish product name? Granted, it’s a smaller language, but that shouldn’t make a difference on an English-speaking community.
I’ve given this way too much thought, as you can tell, haha.
I’ve had the same considerations with French names when ordering form LPdT. Luckily, with their English version of the site, the names were translated as well, so I could go with those. :D
On the other hand, whether it’s French or Portuguese or Swahili is all the same matter to me. I can’t understand either.
Hehehe. Swahili tea names would be awesome. Oooh, so you entered the English LPdT names! Yeah, we clearly need a system here, my OCD is getting really twitchy now.
By the way, do you know anything about the origin of the A.C. Perchs and Fru P blends? Are many of them also German imports, like the majority of Swedish teas? I find myself getting more and more curious about this. (‘Auntie Ang, where do teas come from?’ 0_0)
I think for the LPdT the majority was already in the database, actually. But that’s what I usually do. I look for an English version and use that name. It’s what I do with ACP as well.
As for your other question, I haven’t the faintest. ACP, I believe do some of their themselves and import others. Small shops like Fru P, I would be hugely surprised if that was not some sort of wholesale.
We clearly need Pu’erhonica Mars, Tea Detective. Anyway, I’m off – thanks Ang, hope you have a good weekend!
Anna, I totally spat my tea out. Thanks for the laugh! :D
This my first Teavivre tea I think and I used the full sample sachet to make a teapot (of 1 liter).
Let’s go for a stupid digression but I am not very attracted by Tea pearls aspect because they always remind me rabbit’s turds.
Anyway all the tea pearls I had in the past were very lovely experiences so it is really not an issue to pass though this stupid prejudice.
The pearls are quite dark but with lots of golden streaks.
It is not a full bodied tea, it’s a mild one, sweet, mellow . I am not noticing any bitterness at all.
I can detect earth notes, baked bread and malt of course. The cocoa note to me are poping up at the end of the sip.
A very lovely tea, perfect for a morning cup. Thank you Courtney for sharing.
Preparation
Now I will never be able to that image out of my mind! you are right, sadly.
LOL.
ahaha I know I know I am terrible but it looks really much like that rather than “pearls” :) but for sure the name pearl goes better with tea and as a poetic evocation.
I had never thought about it, but yes, they do. :)
Glad you enjoyed this one. :)
“I used the full sample sachet to make a teapot (of 1 liter).”
“It is not a full bodied tea, it’s a mild one …”
How many pearls did you use in 1 liter?
Per http://www.teavivre.com/black-dragon-pearl/: 9 pieces for 500 ml, or 18 pieces for 1 liter
I didn’t pay attention to how many pearls I had in the sample but probably around 10. I only steeped it for 5 minutes so it may have been stronger if steeped 10 minutes (as proposed on the sample sachet)
Having said that it was really a very lovely blend and I more appreciate plain teas with a medium body rather a strong one
Haha, we should rename this tea “Bunny Pearls”!
This sample from VariaTEA is from ages ago, and I’ve really been putting off trying it since I didn’t care for the Maple Bacon from 52Teas a whole lot; however tonight something inside me just went “well, just FUCK IT – we’re pulling this out and you’re trying it; personal taste be damned”. So, that’s what I did.
Dry, I smell mostly a fain bacon/savory smell and not much else – and then sort of right up until the last thirty second or so of steeping this, the aroma was this mostly savory and sort of unappealing bacon sent and I was sure I was going to hate this. Those last 30 seconds, though? Suddenly this full, vibrant and INTENSE pineapple smell emerged and I instantly went “Oh!” – in the best way possible.
Drinking it now? I have to say, this tea is giving me the fireworks that I’ve been looking for all day. It’s a flavour explosion in my mouth and I’m getting the most well balanced and delicious pineapple/bacon flavour EVER. It honestly reminds me a little bit of A) the pineapple flavour in Butiki blends, which I adore and B) my favourite Pineapple and Cheese pizza from Boston Pizza.
The sweet/savory just works SO FUCKING WELL! I’m surprised in the most brilliant way, and now I’m both sad I waited so long to try it and sad that I only have a few more cups worth left. I want a full pouch of this! Seriously; it’s pineapple (my favourite fruit) done in a way that no other pineapple tea in my cupboard can compare to.
Yum! What a delightful, shocking surprise!
Oh man, now I really want Pineapple Bacon Pizza…I never get a chance to get it because no one else in the house likes it :(
How can anyone not like a pizza with bacon on it?
Yay! I am glad you liked it :). This came to me through Dexter3657 in one of my very first swaps so really she is the one you should thank :).
Also, I am a fan of pineapple on pizza too but when I go to Boston Pizza, it’s their Spicy Pierogi all the way :P
I can do bacon on pizza, but not pineapple… Just weird having sweet on pizza. Now combining them in a tea.. who knows, might be a whole nother experience.
I haven’t had bacon in, uh, over 10 years? Which is more than half my lifetime, heh…
Now I just simply want bacon.
What ? No bacon for 10 years? Wow! .. We had some this morning. Of course, you have to take into account that I grew up on a hog(pig) farm in Indiana.
I’ve been a vegetarian for the last ten years, though (52Teas uses fake bacon so it’s Veggie friendly) – so I can’t even recall what “real bacon” tastes like. I also don’t eat vegetarian bacon either; not regularly, anyway.
Good for you! I think it’s such a healthy lifestyle. Not one I am inclined to try being where I live and with my upbringing. I know people do it for varying reasons, and I’m not one to argue a point either way. I think it could be difficult depending on where you live- protein alternatives have gotten much better in recent years though.
Grabbed a small pouch of this to try, along with some others in J-Tea’s lineup. This tea was the main reason I made an order, and so it made sense it’s also the first I’m trying.
And.. wow. It’s like pu-erh candy. It’s still a pu-erh, however it’s faint and definitely in the background. I get more wine candy, red berry richness, something tannin, woodsy (in a rich, chocolatey way, not a rooibos way). I have some red wine here, and this tea is considerably sweeter and more full bodied, which surprised me. I do get the pu-erh coming through the more it cools, and it adds an earthy, sharp, mineral taste. It’s almost too sweet with added sweetener.
And.. wow. It’s like pu-erh candy. It’s still a pu-erh, however it’s faint and definitely in the background. I get more wine candy, red berry richness, something tannin, woodsy (in a rich, chocolatey way, not a rooibos way). I have some red wine here, and this tea is considerably sweeter and more full bodied, which surprised me. I do get the pu-erh coming through the more it cools, and it adds an earthy, sharp, mineral taste. It’s almost too sweet with added sweetener.1.5 tsp in 12 oz.
Flavors: Berries, Honey, Tannin, Wood
Preparation
oh man, I want it!!!
Shipping was a bit … interesting. $7.50 I think for $20 worth of tea, and then he contacted me asking for another $7.50 – which I paid yet complained about, then was refunded that amount. I can send you some if you’d like, although they do sell it in sample sizes.
ooh that sounds interesting. I’ll have to check this place out.
Wowzers, that sounds cool! I’m suitably intrigued :)
Whew, yeah I just checked it out on their website. $16 for one ounce of tea because of shipping?? That’s a bit too rich for my blood. I appreciate the offer to send me some to try, but I’ll probably just pass and not pursue this one. Shame though because I tend to love anything bourbon barrel aged! (Beer, etc)
I may have to look into getting this one, too. Bourbon barrel anything is awesome.
Thank you Dustin for sharing this with me. I have never actually tried a sweet potato pie but it sounded like a tea that would be different from the typical fruity, caramel, vanilla teas I tend to drink. I was certainly right about that and it is different in the best way possible! It is unique but still with elements familiar enough that I can see myself drinking this often. It is buttery, it is sweet, it maybe even has a caramel-like quality but the sweet potato is also distinct and provides a nice quality to the cup. This is one I would order in a heartbeat. In fact, so is Cookie, the only other Lupicia tea I have tried. Now I want MORE! Bring on the Lupicia!!
In other news, my friend really did NOT like this tea. She felt it tasted like a mediocre plain black where as I am getting a lot of flavor. Gotta love how people can have such polarized reactions to the exact same tea :)
I need to try more from Lupicia :)
They are 2/2 so far. That definitely has me intrigued.
I am SO excited to hear that you’re getting into Lupicia. If I had to stick to one single tea company for the rest of my life, Lupicia would be it.
Dustin was kind enough to send me samples of two different teas and they have both been amazing. Also, Sil stuck a teabag of Cookie into our swap which I was very happy to have more of. Now I have a mission to try more as I really enjoyed the ones I have had so far. I guess I will add Lupicia to my list of places to order from :P. What are your favorites from them btw?
I’m glad you liked it! I just placed two orders with Lupicia recently. The first one came with a sample of their Momoko and it was so amazing I lost impulse control and placed another order the other day. I have never had a peach tea that I really enjoyed before and this one was super flavorful and juicy. They were also out of Cookie when I placed my first order, so I had to add that one… and two or three more. So bad.
My order shipped today, but once it gets in I can send you some samples of those and some of the others I have if you like. Then you will know what you like and should order and I’ll feel less guilty for buying more tea when I already have enough to fill a couch with. Man, that would be one great smelling couch!
Aw, Dustin, I’m so excited to read that! Momoko is a huge favourite of mine.
My faves are Cookie, obviously (the only tea I’ve given a solid 100 rating) and their BEAUTIFUL flavoured oolongs. Ripe mango, Momo (like Momoko in oolong form), Melon, etc.
I also really, really love their flavoured greens – Tsugaru Green is the best apple tea I’ve had, and Bravissimo! is one of my all-around favourite teas.
Oh, and their toasted teas, like that apricot houjicha.
They’re just really good, haha.
Oooooo, I haven’t had all those Anna! I haven’t had many oolongs so it isn’t a base I gravitate towards. I like that they have different base options for their flavors, but I wonder how much they differ from each other.
Have you had Nina’s Marie Antoinette? That was the most impressive apple tea I have had. I’d love to know how it compares with Tsugaru.
I have had two or three flavored houjichas before and liked them. I’ll have to try Lupicia’s sometime. I can see another order in the making already. :/
Dustin, I might actually take you up on that because I want to try ALL their teas. You are welcome to look through my cupboard and we can arrange another swap :)
And Anna, I am not a lover of oolong but Sil made their Melon Oolong sound AMAZING!
No, Nina’s drive me sort of nuts (rant starts here) because they’ve ignored my questions SIX times – I have seriously e-mailed them six times without receiving a response, which makes me wildly cranky (rant over).
And I hear you – the only thing keeping me from not ordering more tea is the sheer bulk of my cupboard. I need to swap more…
Also, I just saw the message about Marie Antoinette too and it might be my favorite apple as well.
Anna, I have only had amazing experiences with Nina’s so I don’t understand why they are being super annoying to you.
I know, everyone is head over heels with Nina’s, so I have no idea how we manage to have zero karma.
And it’s true, the melon oolong is quite something (don’t miss keychange’s review) but if you can’t deal with oolong at all, there’s a white melon tea that works as an excellent substitute.
White melon…I will have to look into that. Thank you. Also, Anna, if you ever want to swap, I am always happy to share my teas (though I am a bit far from Rome :P).
It’s very flavourful for a white tea.
And sure, I’m always up for a swap – I do more trans-Atlantic ones than European, it seems, haha.
Probably because there are A LOT of Canadians on here. Canadians and Americans seem to account for the bulk of members. Or perhaps I only tend to interact with the people from US and Canada since when I started, I only posted on the US/Can. swap board…
Well, this is highly unscientific, but if you go by internet penetration (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_Internet_users) tea culture vitality, and Steepster’s location, language and average target group, it’s not overly surprising.
Haha I suppose not :P
Now I’m looking at their Japanese website to see what exclusive teas they have there! I need to stop this madness. They have Hello Kitty tea. And it looks like they had Halloween tea last year?!?!! Talk about two things I love!
Anna, I don’t know why the words wildly and cranky make me laugh when put together, but they do. Have you tried emailing them from a different address? I wonder if your emails are caught in some sort of filter and aren’t getting to them.
VariaTEA, I just saw your post in the swap thread and responded with the teas that looked interesting to me. I’m a little curious about David’s Pistachio Cream, but I’m worried that I will love it and have to buy 250g of it since that is the only size they are selling it in now.
Haha Dustin, you are serious about trying ALL the Lupicia, aren’t you? Also, did you want just samples of the teas or the full amounts? Actually, I will just send you a message.
Yes, three addresses. And Japanese Lupicia is a WONDERLAND!!!
You have SEEN it?! I would loose my mind. My husband keeps throwing around ideas of places for us to travel asking me things like “Would you want to visit Paris?” and my response is often based on that country’s reputation for tea. I don’t know how I would control myself while tea shopping in Paris.
For reals. My partner’s visiting family in Japan right now, and when he asks what I’d like him to bring back for me, I’m tempted to change my answer from “just being reunited with you is all my heart could ever ask for,” to “TEA. ALL THE TEA. PLEASE BRING ME TEA. YOU MIGHT NEED TO BUY A NEW SUITCASE JUST TO FILL WITH TEA. I LOVE YOU PLEASE BRING TEA.”
(And I am so taking us tea shopping in Paris when I, Gosh willing, get a full-time job)
I wish I had known about Lupicia (or umm maybe that a store existed where I was travelling) when I went to Japan. :)
Sami, the answer is ALWAYS tea. Always. :D
Sami, if your partner is hitting up a Lupicia store, can we place orders with him? A tea mule in Japan would be fantastic!
I’m mostly kidding about turning your partner into a tea mule btw. Mostly. :)
DigniTea sent over a few samples to me instead of accumulating more teas with the teabox! Completely unnecessary but it seemed like it was more necessary for DigniTea to pass along some teas. So thank you so much! I had to try this one first since the Steepster rating says it’s magic… I went with one teaspoon but I really wish the site had steep instructions.
Steep #1 // 35 min after boiling // 1 1/2 min
Well, I’m not getting magic from this one, sadly. It doesn’t taste much like milk oolong… not even really strong enough for any of the usual oolong flavors. It’s so light! So vaguely oolong. I must have steeped it wrong. It’s good but if it’s the best oolong on Steepster it should have a ton more flavor… any flavor.
Steep #2 // 30 min after boiling // 2 min
This cup is much the same as the last – not much flavor! Sadly, I think I’ll be the one lowering the rating on this one.
I’ve only brewed this one western style and had thoughts similar to yours. It’s a decent enough oolong so when I want an oolong, I enjoy it. However, I did not discover the buttery and sweet notes mentioned by many. I attributed it to my “easier” western brew rather than gongfu. Sometimes I wonder if extremely positive reviews don’t just set us up for a bit of disappointment.
Sadly, it doesn’t even have an average/typical oolong flavor to me, let alone the flavor of a highest rated oolong, so I can’t help but be disappointed. I appreciated trying it though!
I definitely get buttered popcorn from this one but I wish it had more of an oolong twang, if that makes sense.
Hi Tea Sipper – please clarify what you mean by “30 min after boiling”? Thanks!
I don’t have a temperature setting electric kettle, so I just let the water boil to 212, it shuts off, then I wait until it cools enough for whichever tea I’m drinking – 30 minutes for green tea, white, sometimes oolongs.
Waiting 30 minutes should get the water around 180 degrees if I’m making sense.
Probably let the water cool for 30 minutes after it finished boiling before infusing?
And buttered popcorn! That sounds great.
I think it is possible your water is way too cool for best oolong results. Milk Oolong is recommended at 195F. In a nutshell, if your kettle is anything like mine your first infusion may have been at 170F or lower. If your vessel was not pre-warmed, even cooler.
I tested water temperatures using the method you describe – bring to full rolling boil (212F) and wait. Room temperature of about 70F.
Kettle: Bonavita 1L Electric. A solid and relatively thick-walled stainless simple boiler (not variable temp), filled to the top.
Measurement: NSF TruTemp digital, probe dangled in the center of the kettle through one of the holes in the cover. The kettle remained covered throughout.
min 0 212 degrees F
min 2 208
min 4 205
min 6 200
min 9 197
min 10 195
min 15 190
min 20 185
min 25 180
min 30 176
min 35 171
min 40 166
Ah! Thank you so much for this. I know that I don’t have the same kettle as this one, but this is extremely helpful in getting an idea how fast water cools. I don’t have the tools (thermometer) to do this. I have one teaspoon left of this oolong, and within the next couple of days I will retry it. I’ve definitely been using water that has cooled too long.
No problem. I really think careful control of temperature, time, and leaf to water ratio will blow open your results and enjoyment. This tea, for example should be brewed at 195 using 1tsp dry leaf per 8oz of filtered water. Even remarkable teas can taste flat without care.
You have 1,000+ tasting notes. You have EARNED a thermometer, if not a variable temp kettle!
haha! Well now I’m thinking those tasting notes aren’t even accurate. But they will be more accurate now. I’ll try this one again soon!
Another one from Sil! Thanks!
So I have to agree with her on this; it’s not your typical oolong. It’s light and sweet and very refreshing. It’s also just a little bit grassy and I imagined a bit of peach in there too. Neat!
(I always think of Cecil from Night Vale whenever I heard ‘neat’ and I guess I’ve been using it more too. He has the effect on me I guess.)
Anyway, I would recommend this oolong to people who have not had much experience with them and want to dive in!
(243)
I made a pot of this, lightly sweetened with Maple syrup, to drink with one of my students. She loved it! It is pretty tasty, but for me, it’s not something I’ll ever really love. The pecan flavor is from real pecans, but somehow that bitter material that resides between the nut & it’s shell manages to be present in my cup, which I don’t care much for. If it wasn’t for that, this tea would be perfect.
And there is just enough for one more cup, so I think I’ll start a new Sipdown Extravaganza box!
Awesome that you shared this one with a student! That reminds me that I need to, gee, actually drink this instead of hoard it. :)
Double maple! PS I hoard this one too LOL
…half my cupboard is one big sipdown extravaganza box.
Sil, that’s because you aren’t as big of a hoarder as I am, LOL. There are so many teas I love, & I NEVER want to run out of them!
Made a matcha latte this morning. I made this with plain almond milk vs. the Silk soymilk I usually drink. The silk tastes a lot better, more creamy, but we are talking a difference of 30 calories vs. 100. I’m worried I’m getting fat while I sit around my apt. waiting for my arm to get better. This is a good lower calorie option.
Note to self: next order with Red Leaf Tea should include an almond matcha.
I haven’t tried Almond milk. Does it have enough creaminess? I use the light almond soy, 70 cal. I use half soy milk and half water with a couple ice cubes when I do matcha. Matcha is sooo good. It has become one of mr favorites.
Oops! many typos because of my broken finger… make that I use " light vanilla soy" and make “mr favorites” to “my favorites”. At least 3 more weeks with the splint. :(
Hi Carol, I feel that the almond milk is thin and lacks creaminess. It reminds me of skim milk in that regard. I should try to find the unsweetened soymilk, might be fewer cals.
Hey I’ll trade places with you, broke my shoulder :)
Broke your shoulder! :( Oh, that sound so painful. I hope it heals quickly!
How is it healing, anyway? Is the end in sight yet?
The fracture is healed but my arm is extremely stiff and sore from being in a sling for 6 weeks so now I have to work on rehab. At least the worst is over but it will take a while.
Aw. Yeah. Hopefully it won’t be too much longer until it feels better… :-)
I have heard that the almond matcha is amazing!
backlog from yesterday. This one was sent to me by terri and she got it from teaexplorer. I have to say, this is a really nice tea. I love that the smoek isn’t super intense and, as with all my smokey teas, i tried it with maple syrup. The result was a delicious tasty cup that i gulped down and was finished before long.
Final Count Yesterday: 193 (thanks to Cavocorax and VariaTEA)
I ended up leaving work early because no one was at the shop and I didn’t feel like I was being useful AND I had a lot of tea work to do at home, updating my cupboard etc.
This was the first one I made when I walked in the door. It came in the paper container that takes up room so it was an obvious choice for a first sipdown.
Except that it’s herbal. Whoops.
It’s really amazingly tasty though. The banana is perfect. Like Sil said, this is like drinking liquid banana bread, and believe or not, that is a VERY good thing.
I’m so thrilled I was able to try this. I think I’m going to drink the other half later, after it chills in the fridge to see how that tastes!
:D
ETA: It’s good iced as well. I had a few sips, then poured the rest into my daughter’s sip cup.
yay!
I’m ALMOST disappointed. Imagine the possibilities if it had been bad iced! We could have called it Sad Banana.
Haha Anna (I may have just typed “Anana”), if this were facebook, I would most definitely have “liked” your comment :P
Happy Anana says thank you!
(Fruity fact of the day: in Swedish, ‘pineapple’ is ‘ananas’.)
It is also ananas in French, isn’t it?
Yup :)
Oh, it’s ananas in lots of languages (It’s the Latin genus.) but SWEDE PRIDE.
Yeah, English and Spanish are basically the odd ones out:
http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/527a8a30eab8ea69159ab764-1024-837/iyjwkifh%20copy.jpg
oooh, I will need to try this
It was hard to save some to share……this is like making banana bread and eating it out of the oven….only it takes 3 mins not 55…
I’m happy you did! I’ll definitely have to grab some for summer!
I’ve been boring for what feels like months now, where I just want to dwell a bit on old favorites every day and rediscover why I fell in love with them in the first place. Means a dearth of logging but wonderful tea time as some I feel I almost appreciate more upon revisit. This is a good example. What an excellent tea. This morning was slow going for no good reason at all, and one of those where you wake up having to do approximately a billion little tasks before you can even make your first cuppa. When I finally had a second to do so I wanted it to be failproof satisfying and this fit the bill and how. I’ve had something like 6 cups—I figured I’d waited so long I deserved to do this in the gaiwan and set myself free for 15 minutes, whee—and it’s still going strong, smooth and sweet and clean but rich bordering on hearty. Present but refined. Delicious. Teas that offer so much flavor and depth in a matter of seconds when it comes to steep time still amaze me.
You could never be boring. Also, you’re totally fancy.
oh you! i love the idea of “fancy” becoming an injoke. :D
i am amazed someone who sees me prattle on on FB about hair buns and cat puke can say such a thing. but grateful too. <3 goodness knows it’s quite a shock coming from a lady who jetsets and gets her hair did splendidly and can talk theory and feminism with the best of ‘em. it’s been a pleasure running into you on the internets. (:
Aww. Aww. AWW!
oh, my heart ate my comment. this is what text cache is for!
oh you! i love the idea of “fancy” becoming an injoke. :D
i am amazed someone who sees me prattle on on FB about hair buns and cat puke can say such a thing. but grateful too. (heart) goodness knows it’s quite a shock coming from a lady who jetsets and gets her hair did splendidly and can talk theory and feminism with the best of ‘em. it’s been a pleasure running into you on the internets. (:
…ok. internet group hug with bouncy curls. ha!
OMG I DIDN’T THINK IT COULD GET MORE BEAUTIFUL BUT IT JUST DID
teaspoons all round!
You want to be the big teaspoon, the small teaspoon, or the middle teaspoon, keychange?
… is wondering whether the hair buns and cat puke were somehow related? Heh.
Best pet related hair styling product EVER.
I cannot stop laughing. Thanks, Anna.
Yes, this is how I like to introduce myself to new people on Steepster, Cheri – cat puke jokes!
In case you can’t see my profile picture, it’s one of my furry kids. In fact, he’s the pukey one. I know all about cat puke and cat puke jokes.
just last night i found out something i kind of wish i could unknow, that all those bouffanty ‘40s hairstyles were accomplished with the use of something known as a “hair rat”—women collected their shed hairs and made them into a little sponge like filler for their up ’dos! i mention this weirdness because now i’m imagining cat puke as a result of one finding one’s hair rat and taking it as a snack. eugh.
cat puke. it’s what brings people together. that or an immature/gross sense of humor.
haahaha, “the pukey one”…oh feline terms of endearment.
Does every home with more than one cat have “pukey one”? And here I thought we were the only ones.
I think so, yes.
I think every home with no cat also has a “pukey one”, to be honest.
Our two share the pukey duty equally it seems. Luckily they don’t do it very often. Mostly during shedding season.
ours share it too. unluckily all the time during shedding season. and worst of all, their favorite time of day to do it is while we’re asleep at night at like 3am, either right on the bed or right where i put my feet when i get out of bed. :b the first time that happened, husband was in the shower and heard a loud curse word from the bedroom when half awake i stepped in it. now i know to check before getting out of bed. oh cats. “you’re lucky you’re cute!” i only-half-jokingly tease at them.
Our pukey one is majorly pukey. The others do it much more rarely. We took him to the vet and the vet said there’s really no medical explanation. I suspect bulemia.
A friend was just telling me that she read somewhere that if you raise up their food bowl up about 6" or so, so that they don’t have to bend over all the way to eat, and it helps with the puking. She said it worked for her. I’m thinking about trying it. Pukey Penny was puking only occasionally for a while, but he’s back to puking a lot again.
Interesting. We’ll have to try that.
yeah, thanks for the tip! i will try that…
It could be over-eating, maybe. Luna has done that when she was younger, eating far far too quickly and then the whole thing came up again and you could easily see how some of the pellets had just been swallowed whole. They have a ‘food maze’ now, where I pour both their portions in at the top and then they have to use their paws to get the food out. Slows down the eating pace a lot and entertains the cats. It’s a bit noisy while they eat, but it’s cute to watch.
“Good for you you’re so cute!” Oh I know that statement well. It was directed at Luna when she attempted DIY surgery by removing all her stitches two days after having been spayed so that we had to go and have her re-stitched. By the emergency vet. On a Saturday evening. In the next town over. By taxi. And pick her up again the next morning. By taxi. (We didn’t have a car then and public transport would have taken three times as long) That little adventure cost almost as much as the intial spaying and ear tatooing of two cats!
I’m baaaaack. My son and I built a new desktop computer. I used parts off my old system – power supply, cooling fan, DVD/CD player, the case from an old system my son gave me, along with his old graphics card. Then I ordered a new motherboard, CPU, RAM, and a 1TB hard drive. I now have a monster system. Because I didn’t think it through, I bought Win7 64 bit. This meant all kinds of headaches with my older programs. To make it worse my old system had melted down making transferring data a real challenge. The last hurdle was moving my mail and address book without being able to launch Vista to do it. What a bear – and what fun. I’m weird that way.
Anyway, yesterday I had one cup of tea. Teavivre Keemun grade 1. I didn’t log it as I was still too preoccupied to notice much about it.
Today is my first day be able to pay attention so I grabbed this Yunnan. First off the price looks a lot higher than my general teas. Reading on, the recommended leaf works out to 2.5 g per 8 oz cup. That means this is roughly $0.75/cup. That is less than McDonalds charges for their corn syrup water or whatever it is. Resteeping twice brings this down to a quarter a cup. Who wouldn’t pay that?
OK, the next thing I noticed was this higher end Yunnan is made from a tree variety normally used for oolong. That is why the bud and leaf is so dark. I found this information on Teavivre’s website.
Opening the sample (provided by Angel), my sophisticated palate immediately noticed malted milk balls (with the chocolate) and Cheerios. Kind of makes me want to put both in a snack bowl for munching. Once steeped the aroma is brownies and honey. I’m gonna need a bigger bowl.
Tasting this really reminds me of honey without the sickening sweetness. The orange brew tastes like dark browned sugar or molasses. It kind of reminds me of a Fujian tea. There is malt and cocoa I think or maybe my mind just expects those notes. Very smooth. Easily drinkable. Some astringency but no bitterness.
welcome back! I’ve missed reading your reviews.
:) thanks
It sounds truly “nonpareil.”
BTW: Fun? I would weep if I had to do anything more complicated than turn the computer off and on again. And sometimes then.
Welcome back! Congrats on the new computer!! Upgrading can be a pain, but it the long run, it’s SO worth it.
This tea sounds interesting too! :)
Have to tell on myself – when we were installing the RAM, I commented how amazing it is that they could pack 8 mb on one little stick. My son looked at me and said, “What is this, the 90’s? They’re GB’s not MB’s!” Yeah, that’s why he was there. lol. Once the hood is closed I can generally figure out how to make software and hardware work together.
LOL, so exactly how old was your old computer?
Uhm, well, I could still run DOS games. lol
LOL!
My first computer had half a mg of Ram, can you believe that? That was before Windows, & everything was just DOS commands.
Memories. My first computer ran on DOS 2.0. It had been my uncles and he totally ripped off my mom when he sold it to her. Oh well.
My first computer was a Commodore Vic 20. When was that – early 80’s?
The fried computer we just replaced actually had 1 GB RAM. I just had a brain fart and it amused my son.
Another true story – when I was working I helped introduce CAD computers in to our office. The first units were IBM machines and cost $20k each + software, in mid ’80’s money. We had 3 of them networked to a single 70 MB hard drive. yes MB. The IBM guy told us we would never need anything bigger. How times have changed.
yyz, my dad sold me that crappy computer, LOL. He didn’t think I’d ever need anything more. He included a few games with it, with the favorite one being something called ‘FaceMaker’, I think.
I made him buy it back a year later, once I had a chance to look around & realized just how crappy it was.
Good for you Terri, my mother never said a thing to my uncle…
Sadly he sold it to her in the early 90’s. It was his second computer, before he got into Macs and after the commodore he built from a kit! Still better than the one one of my friends was reminiscing about where you would have to download each page of an essay onto cassette or it would crash. My uncle did include software, some games and an interesting diskette of early virus’s.
A diskette of viruses? LOL!
I did not have a good night last night, in fact it was one of the worst in a long time, not meaning to start drama but it consisted of no sleep, a spouse argument, broken tea drawers and me applying for a residential Visa to China. Why China? I imagined I would have little trouble finding a job there in the tea industry, even if it’s just production or warehouse storage. Though chances are I won’t get my Visa. I would have applied to America but I need the job before applying, much stricter regulations. Same goes for Canada.
So as a little pick me up I’m having this Jasmine green along with a bag of vanilla fudge for breakfast, perhaps not the most nutritious but right now I don’t much care. Not sure if it’s the fudge but the jasmine is not as strong as I remember it being. Oh well, it’s still nice and refreshing.
Aw, sweetheart. I hope you feel better soon.
:( Kitty. I hope your day improves.
Thank you both. My day has just gotten weirder….I just found someone in my garden knocking down my fence with a hammer, upon asking what the hell he’s doing he answered “Don’t worry, I’m putting up a new fence for you”. WTF??? He does have a new fence outside but both me and my husband didn’t arrange this….is this the fence fairy?
Fence fairies are GOOD?!? I wish someone would come put one up that I can’t see through between me and my trashy neighbor. The fence fairy is sign that things will improve.
Well it’s certainly a start, and interesting at that. In my friendly nature I have offered him tea or coffee should he work up a thirst. The wind broke my fence a few months ago when we had them gale force. The one he is putting up is twice as thick and tall as the previous one.
Perhaps it’s some sort of Pay It Forward thing he’s doing? As for the drama, I do hope things will get better.
I hope things continue to improve for you (the fence is a good place to start!). My sister lived in China for years and loved it. Best wishes wherever life takes you. <3
Really sorry you had such an awful night :( Hope things get better soon.
Hoping things all work out well!
Want to know a neat little trick I’m about to do? It’s pretty fantastic. I’m nearly at the bottom of this tin; there’s enough left for one more serving. So I’m going to finish that up right quick, and then head on to David’s tea tomorrow to get a tin of blue lagoon! Because like so many people have accurately pointed out, it’s the summer version of this blend, and I adore it. But that’s not the tea we’re talking about, are we?
I can’t remember who’s idea it was to throw in a dash of maple syrup into this tea, but that person is a genius (sil? Roswell?). I couldn’t outright taste the maple syrup to the point where it was cloying or anything, but it gave the tea a distinctly maple after-sip and it was just such an excellent combination. I really need to try maple syrup in more of my teas.
Ok guys. Wednesday. And tomorrow is Friday eve and then it’s Friday. We can do this!
Oh, I’m also thinking of getting the carry travel mug from DT. Do you guys have any opinions on it?
http://www.davidstea.com/ice-blue-carry-mug?&TF=ADA13E5CAE3F&DEID=
We have two(the burgundy and the green) and we LOVE them. They’re easier to open, the mesh filter on top works a lot better than the timolino top and the feel of the outside is awesome.
That does look nice. I have never ordered from DT, but they’re on my list of places to try. I might add one of these to that order, when I get there. (I have so much tea coming. Once I decided to jump in with both feet…well…)
I have a similar travel mug but mine is glass. I like it very much for cold steeping!
Hmmm, good to know. isling of tea, by easier to open, do you mean that when you twist off the top lid, you don’t end up inadvertently twisting off the whole thing? because that was one thing I found with the timolino—you had to brace your hand such that you made sure you were only unscrewing the top lid, and not both lids.
No, unfortunately you have to hold the bottom lid in place, but with the handle, it’s easier to grip the top lid.
oh oh right. Ok that makes sense.
I believe that the maple was my idea. Blueberry Pancake syrup ;)
mmmm so good!
I just bought some of this blueberry jam tea last night, so the maple syrup advice is quite timely! I’m looking forward to trying it.
MissB is a star! I have been equipped with no less than four boxes of this one AND a myriad of other samples. I counted them. There were nineteen different teas in the box. Nineteen! Many of them are herbals, so I’ve got a lot of choice in my Before Bed Beverage now. (As has Husband, of course. I’m not that selfish) Some of them are from companies I don’t think I’ve ever even heard of before. How exciting!
So, yes, this is intended as a Before Bed Beverage, but as I’m writing this it’s only actually mid afternoon. I just couldn’t wait. I have high hopes of this one. I’ve come to be quite fond of the normal Sleepytime before bed, so in my mind adding vanilla to that couldn’t possibly go wrong. The worst that could happen, that I can think of anyway, is that I can’t actually find the vanilla in it at all, leaving me with something that tastes much like regular Sleepytime and then… what have I lost, really? Not much, the way I see it.
Well, I can detect the vanilla in the aroma, definitely. It’s rather peculiar, because it depends on how close I put my nose to the cup. I do have a bit of a cold, but my nose isn’t completely incapacitated at this stage (and I hope it stays that way!), so I can still smell things. If I put my nose close to the cup, I can pretty much only smell mint. If, however, I’m sitting normally upright with the cup in front of me letting the steam waft up past my face, it’s all sweet and vanilla-y. It’s almost as if the mint is a heavier scent and doesn’t make it all the way up to my face. I’ve never noticed this happening before. Isn’t that odd?
I tend to like steeping Sleepytime for a pretty long time so I’ve done that with this as well. It must have got at least six or seven minutes I think. Now that it’s stronger I can also smell the vanilla among the mint when putting my nose closer to the cup. It smells wonderful!
I’ve tried a few sips, but I can’t really taste anything. Still too hot. I’ll have to be more patient, I suppose… Ah yes, that’s better.
It still tastes like Sleepytime. I’m not sure I would have been able to tell that it’s a different variety had I not known, but as I do know, I can find the vanilla. I can find it because I know it’s there but that doesn’t mean that it’s not done properly, if you know what I mean. Sometimes you don’t need to be able to taste everything. Sometimes just a hint is enough to enhance an overall experience. Just think of a sauce which has just a pinch of salt versus the same sauce with too much salt in it. The pinch of salt enhances the flavour of the whole, but too much of it just takes over. I tend to like heavily flavoured vanilla teas, but in this particular blend I think the vanilla works much better as that enhancer. It smooths the whole thing out and adds a touch of sweetness.
I’m really glad I decided to ask for someone to play middle-man so I could have some. I don’t usually like doing that because it seems such a lot of bother for everybody involved. I shall have to put together a really great box to send back to MissB after we’ve moved now.
when are you moving?
She already moved.
She has a queue.
(Yes, Ang. I am your secretary now.)
i know she has a queue..i’m just used to see her prenotes when it’s from the backlog lol
TIME WARP. This might not be backlog, though, and that last sentence really reads, ‘…a really great box to send now after we’ve moved.’
haha
ANG WE NEED YOU TO EKSPLAYNE
I think you need to come visit me Anna. I think we would have fun together being weird. Except that my hair might get jealous and try to take yours out.
I agree. Imagine how awesomely we could stalk Ang if we teamed up on the same continent!!!
And I’m sure our hair would probably just merge. For world domination.
oh man. I’m coming your way… we can stalk ang, and hit fru p on the way!
…gosh. O.O hides
Yes, Sil, this is from the queue and from before we moved. I try to remember to write ‘from the queue’ on them, but I’m not very good at that. I don’t know why I don’t just start with that sentence when I write the post in the first place. 99% or what I post are from the queue, so you can generally assume that it’s a couple months old.
Also, you two are scary. Seriously. Scary. (But I’d still feed you and rustle up something you could sleep on if you showed up)
SIL DID YOU SEE DID YOU SHE WOULD FEED US FOODS AND BUILD US A NEST DID YOU SEE
HALP!
Would she also hug us and call us George? ;)
I would, Geor-I mean Sil.
This Oolong is pleasant in a middle of the road sort of way, by that I mean it’s not too grassy and floral nor is it toasted, but rather somewhere in the middle. It has some sweetness and dryness but both are light. The after taste is nice and it lingers on my tongue for a while. It also has some mineral tones.
It’s nice but not special if I’m honest, at least not for me. I did like the samples Teascent were kind enough to give me though and I would consider placing a small order with them in the future. I’m always on the look out for teas that would be suitable for icing, with minimal harshness, maybe this would work well.
Preparation
Had to get up at 6:30 today, which is brutally early for me. That is why I made this tea “Tea Fairy” gaiwan style, meaning using a ton of leaf with 10 second brews. I think I’m starting to feel alive and I love this tea tastes very different and much fruitier than the way I normally make it which is more chocolatey. It tastes almost like a different tea. It is very strong this way but I sometimes enjoy a bit of astringency.
Tonight, me and my friends are having a surprise birthday party for my best friend. We are doing a potluck, decorations, and a painting/creative session. Normally, she hates birthday stuff but for some reason this year she wanted to do something special but both days (one with her boyfriend and one with her friends) she had stuff planned, it turned out to be a disaster so we are organizing tonight to make up for that. We are trying to do a lot of special little things for her today. A couple days ago, me and my really good friend decided to make special guayusas for her. She loves guyausa and strawberry and chocolate so both of us came up with special blends for her based on that. My friend made a Salted Chili Chocolate Strawberry Truffle and I did Espresso Cupcake with Strawberry Cream. We even put some really cute pics of us with her on the labels. Here are the pics if anyone is interested: http://i1094.photobucket.com/albums/i446/butikiteas/tea_zps574ae381.jpg. I’m crossing my fingers that tonight doesn’t turn out like her other 2 disaster days.
The Espresso Cupcake blend sounds amazing! I hope she likes it and enjoys the party. :-)
It sounds like she has some pretty incredible friends :)
Aww, perfect. See, this is why Birthday Week is a good thing; you get a few chances to make it right!
sounds complicated but worth it!
sundaysipping-Thanks! I would make it part of our collection if we didn’t have so many teas with strawberry in them. Maybe if we change the fruit. It’s very tasty.
adagio breeze-Thanks :)
Anna-Indeed! I celebrate birthday week myself. I’m really low maintenance but when birthday week comes around everything is me me me. I get all of my high maintenance and selfish wants in one week.
donkeytiara-it was a lot of work but my friend is the type that really truly appreciates effort and she deserves it! She is a great friend.
Wow how special :D
Aww, thanks for sharing this with us, and what an amazing personalized present! Your friend must be really special :-)
(Lol, I see you are now an adept of my brewing method, an eye opener on those early mornings, that’s for sure, and sooo goood!!!)
I’ve taken to making whole pots of tea for myself now that I have a good teapot – it saves time now that I’m mostly in work mode. Rome is beautiful right now, but tourist season is here with a vengeance and I’m glad I already got most of my on-site work out of the way.
Anyway, a pot of this lasted me through an hour and a half of yoga and an hour and a half of work, and it’s still warm enough to drink. Plus it’s as perfect as ever – I never want to be without this tea. Never ever.
In other news, I’m still adjusting to being back (unpacking gradually) and this week is a logistic quagmire of epic proportions – I’m sorry for being so behind on messages and comments, but I’m getting there.
Preparation
I’m going to try this tea soon, I hope, and am so excited!
Go for it! I wish I could have sent you a fresher sample; all in all Lupicia’s teas age very well, and I store them meticulously and obsessively in terms of temps and such, but still, when it was fresh it seriously took over the room in the best of ways.
Mmm I can’t wait.
This sounds lovely, and an excellent way to break in your new teapot. How large is it?
That’s ok. I’m behind and I didn’t even go anywhere!
I actually broke it in with Montagne de Jade, and it was awesome. It’s 1.2 l, and from Maxwell & Williams – this colour, but a completely different shape: http://www.maxwellandwilliams.com/mw/maxwell-williams-coffee-tea-teapots-infusionst-oslo-teapot-teal-500ml-gift-it13005.asp
Gorgeous colour!
I must be a glutton for punishment but I keep trying keemun samples to find a few that I like. :)
I steeped this for 3 minutes and am finding this is one of the most gentle keemuns I have tried. I definitely get the cocoa/roasted notes but not much tobacco/smoke that you find in some keemuns. There’s a few interesting fruity notes in here that are reminiscent of wine. I’d recommend drinking this straight in order to appreciate the delicate flavor. it is lighter in body than most other keemuns I’ve had. In fact, I might try steeping this a little longer next time.
Not destined to be a personal favorite, but I have enjoyed the cup. This morning I’m thinking about going back to bed after I’ve had my tea and breakfast!
Preparation
Have you tried Mandala’s Black Beauty? They describe it as ‘keemun style’. I’ve never found a keemun I love but can’t get enough Black Beauty, and it gets rave reviews here.
Ha, never mind – just saw your review on it. ;)
yes I do recall that it was good, I should get some more
TeaBrat, You may find this thread of interest:
http://steepster.com/discuss/7057-notable-keemun-teas?post_id=122680
It also sounds like your Keemun search experience may be helpful to the readers of it.
Flowery – Im very sad I just read this. My most recent Mandala order is likely on its way and now I have toi turn around and do another. I LOOOOVE Keemuns and I love Mandala. Sigh. Y’all are bad influences.
@TeaBrat – I recntly got samples of most of Upton`s Keemuns. I need to get busy and try them.
Oh that stinks MzPriss… at least they have very reasonable shipping? Definitely not one to be missed. :) I just ordered 4 ounces myself, and I almost never order more than 2 ounces of anything, usually 1. It’s really special and has just grown on me!
MzPriss – I look forward to your reviews
looseTman – I’ll check it out
@Flowery – mine is on the way
Well, this was my first actual experiment with a cold brew! I was inspired when I saw that roswell strange cold-brewed this tea successfully, and so followed her steeping parameters: 4 tsp in about 25 oz of water in my mason jar (yeaaaahhh mason jar!) and in the fridge for about four and a half hours.
And I’m pretty sure it was a success. Largely, this tastes like a cold version of the hot version, as scientific and verbose as that sounds LOL. When I say I’m pretty sure it was a success, it’s because I wonder if I don’t like the flavour of melon as much in a cold drink? I don’t know. I like it but I don’t love it, but it’s a perfectly fine cold brew, if that makes sense. at the very least, I’ve been sipping away at a delicious tea here at work all day, and I also feel encouraged to try cold-steeping other teas now! (I’m especially excited to try cold-steeping blue lagoon from David’s tea).
What are your favourite cold brews?
Lemon Chiffon is a great cold brew if you have that in your cupboard.
Fruit tisanes. Most of them heh
I don’t have lemon chiffon, but it sounds like it might be interesting. And sil, fruit tisanes sound great.
Watermelon Xylophone is tasty cold brewed as far as Butiki goes. I also enjoyed David’s Superberry cold-brewed.
Oooh I forgot about superbarry! that does seem as though it’d be delicious cold.
superberry is amazing coldbrewed… that, and surprisingly kiwi`s big adventure…. i didn`t think i`d ever like that one, but when i cold brewed it it was perfect!
Superberry is definitely good coldbrewed. A lot of fruity blacks seem to be. Tangier (from American Tea Room) is my recent obsession! I can’t believe it took me so long to get around to coldbrewing it!
fruity blacks eh? I’ve never tried any of them before. I’m kind of scared the black tea will taste strong and bitter.
fruity blacks make nice cold brews. :)
Hmmm, maybe i’ll try blueberry jam, then. do you think it’s ok to use like 4 tsp to 24 oz and jus steep for like eight hours? or will that make it bitter?
I think Roswell Strange coldbrewed Blueberry Jam and didn’t enjoy it as much as she liked it hot but I might be wrong.
My weekend was far more exciting than it had any right to be.
I learned I’m still extremely allergic to Wild Cherry Pepsi. We’re talking angioedema, anaphylaxis, the whole thing. But I can drink Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi. I think I took five years off Fiance’s life in the process of accidentally rediscovering this, though.
So! This tea is my current iced tea obsession. When it’s cold steeped, it tastes just like dried apricots (which I love, but get tummy aches from). There’s a very small amount of black tea flavor, but really it’s all apricots all the time and better for it. It also tastes really good half-and-half with lemonade.
Fiance has dictated we need a large bag of this for summer (yay!)
Preparation
Oh scary! Glad you are ok!
you don’t do allergies small style, do you? geez! be careful =0\
I figure go bog or go home :p But really, I’m usually very good about it. I just had a (huge) lapse in judgment.
Thanks for the concern, guys :)
Wow, glad you’re ok!
I know how scary it is. My son is allergic to almost everything. I think it’s easier to say what he can eat than what’s no-no. Plus environmental allergies on a top. When in doubt don’t. Take care of yourself!
i adore this cold too! and eeek, i’m glad you’re ok.
Glad you’re ok!
Oh, this is a massive HELL NO.
I cold-steeped it overnight and tried a sip this morning and it tasted like whiskey. WHISKEY.
This is not what I’m expecting at 7am on a Monday morning!
(and down the sink it went…)
Umm… thank you VariaTEA? Hahahah (187)
OMG, I am so sorry. I never got whiskey however I only tried it hot.
Or do you mean, “Oh, this is a massive HELL NO!”
:-)
=0D
….. wait, i got it, when i read this i saw will smith! lol.
Irish whiskey for St. Patrick’s Day? :D
With a score of 3 & “a massive HELL NO”, it sounds like a nominee for the “Hall of Shame”
Yep. It totally is a nominee. Such a fail. I totally did that whole body shudder that I do when I quaff hardbar without mix. I don’t do alcohol well and this tea was just too close.
I like the suggestion to bold it. :D
Per your Bio: “So far it seems that I prefer unflavoured black teas, although I still drink a few that are flavoured each day too.”
“It is pointless to resist the DARK side!”
Have you seen this recent discussion thread?
http://steepster.com/discuss/7224-straight-tea
I hadn’t until now! Now, it seems like my preferences vary depending on my mood. Sometimes I want serious business unflavoured tea, and usually in th evenings, I like to drink dessert and flavoured teas. Fandom teas are utterly silly but I enjoy them because they inspire different moods! I try to be open to trying anything too.
But I won’t try that one again.
They’re not overly resteepable, in my opinion – I feel it’s the same tea, but weaker and with less complexity, overall.
Good to know especially since you’re such a big fan. I wish they offered shipping to Canada though.
Also, my resteep was super weak, like you predicted.
It’s pretty good for me, though – I’m not big on resteeping, and I sort of feel, ‘Okay, done with this, moving on,’ like the leaf is spent and that’s it. So those oolongs and whatnot that you can resteep forever always come off as very daunting to me. Because what if I don’t have time, or feel like another cup?
Anna, I am with you. I am not one for the resteeps. Mostly because I like to have a billion flavors a day. Sometimes I feel wasteful but other times I realize I have soo much tea that if I always resteeped, I would never get to a lot of my teas before they went bad and that would be even more wasteful. (and yes, I am aware my logic doesn’t really make all that much sense but shhhh because it comforts me :P)
Yeah, I totally get that. I hate feeling pressured to resteep fancy teas, and feeling guilty for ‘wasting’. I do appreciate those teas when I’m in the mood but even then 3 is the most I resteep. My cups are 12-16oz, so that seems reasonable. How much of one tea can you drink?
Anna – where do you get Lupicia teas from? I saw that you live in Italy and I know the US store doesn’t ship internationally… Do you just rely on connections? Or do they have other online stores?
how much of one tea can you drink….looootsssssss ;)
In one sitting??? Ha. Maybe for you, but I can’t do it. I can set it aside for the next day…
so many things i want to drink….and yet there’s a giant box of samples taunting me…. TAUNTING ME!
I think my cupboard is mostly samples too and there are drinks I want to have but can’t help but feel like I should be drinking the swap teas first.
Yeah, I’m mostly focusing on samples. If I have teas that are sealed, I don’t want to break the seal yet, even though I’m really excited about my sealed Nina’s or Lupicia.
I still haven’t opened my Mandala order from black friday. :( :(
I always plan to keep teas sealed but then that doesn’t always work out.
I have to open all the teas when they arrive so I can smell them all and decide which to try first.
I have a hard time with the resteep 6x teas too. I just get bored and it feels like it goes on forever.
Oh, Mandala. Damn, you just reminded me how I miss Special Dark!