I couldn’t let VariaTEA finish the day with more tasting notes than me, so I did the next best thing to having more tasting notes than her: I tied with her. Fingers crossed that she’s done for the evening, because I am just absolutely filled to the brim with tea. This is my 13th cup of the day – and I think I’ve peed like ten times today…
Maybe that’s a little TMI. Gah – I had suggested a friendly competition, not realizing just how into it I would get. I should have known better: I typically have two competition modes – “Meh, fuck this shit” and “I’M GONNA KICK ALL OF YOUR ASSES”. Anyway, I start at Tea Desire tomorrow so hopefully that gives me a bit of an edge since I’ll be surrounded by tea all day.
I’m being trained by the head of the company himself; that’s right, the guy that founded the company – Tony Auper. No pressure there, right? Who am I kidding; tons of pressure there. But hey, at least I’ll be able to get an answer to my review question from the best source there is.
Anyway, I wanted something with chocolate as my last tea but I’ve also had A LOT of caffeinated blends today and it’s getting late – so rooibos or herbal was the best option. Except, I don’t really have any herbal blends with chocolate other than my Tea Desire blends which I’m still not sure if I should be writing reviews on now that I’m working there. So I broke this one out. Funnily enough, this sample comes from VariaTEA.
My steeping parameters were 1 1/2 tsp. of leaf in 8 oz. of boiling water steeped for four minutes. Based on dry smell – this is just a typical, average sort of mint/chocolate tea. The steeped smell is chocolate with a faint hint of mint. I also added a splash of milk to this to cool everything down so it could be consumed quicker. I still have lots of VariaTEA’s sample so I can try this straight another time.
Taste wise – a pretty typical chocolate mint tea. I will say that this is now as rich as I was hoping for, and I personally would prefer a strong presence of mint. Additionally, the rooibos base is very strong and pretty wood chippy, and I also get a “metallic tang” from the tea and nutty notes too. Ultimately, it’s not bad but I’m not heavily impressed either. I’m sure I could find better mint/rooibos teas elsewhere.
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Haha way to use my samples against me. It’s okay because I intend to pull ahead using the cold brew I have in my fridge of the Rum Cream you sent me. hehehe.
Also, your competition modes sound a lot like mine so more and more I am pretty sure we are kindred spirits.
Finally, don’t think too much about it being the founder of the company training you. I am sure you will do awesome and impress him with your first hand knowledge of their many teas!
Just a warning about the Rum Cream since I’ve had it cold brewed a few times now, don’t let it steep too long. It gets sour very quickly.
Like, really sour.
Congrats on the gig! I’m soooo jealous, especially now that I’m completely, totally, addicted to their caramel pu-erh.
I think I cold brewed it for 15 hours. I strained it this morning but decided to save it for tonight. I figured it was caffeine free so I could drink Monkey Fart during the day and that later on.
Oh, and in regard to the kindred spirits thing, I also noticed we had Maple Bacon back to back today – so yet another thing in common. Great minds think alike.
Yup, my competition modes are similar. Fuck this shit vs. you bitches don’t know who you’re up against! LOL
Haha way to use my samples against me. It’s okay because I intend to pull ahead using the cold brew I have in my fridge of the Rum Cream you sent me. hehehe.
Also, your competition modes sound a lot like mine so more and more I am pretty sure we are kindred spirits.
Finally, don’t think too much about it being the founder of the company training you. I am sure you will do awesome and impress him with your first hand knowledge of their many teas!
Just a warning about the Rum Cream since I’ve had it cold brewed a few times now, don’t let it steep too long. It gets sour very quickly.
Like, really sour.
Congrats on the gig! I’m soooo jealous, especially now that I’m completely, totally, addicted to their caramel pu-erh.
I think I cold brewed it for 15 hours. I strained it this morning but decided to save it for tonight. I figured it was caffeine free so I could drink Monkey Fart during the day and that later on.
Oh, and in regard to the kindred spirits thing, I also noticed we had Maple Bacon back to back today – so yet another thing in common. Great minds think alike.
Yup, my competition modes are similar. Fuck this shit vs. you bitches don’t know who you’re up against! LOL