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Ok, this is the cold brewed batch that I made for me and my brother to try! Formula was 2 tbsp. of leaf for about 6 cups of water, cold steeped for a good 18(ish) hours. The steeped colour is a dark red/purple that kind of reminds me of some darker red wines? It looks kinda scary and really concentrated, though.

I’ve actually had two cups today, which I suppose in itself says that this wasn’t so bad I wouldn’t drink it again. That’s a plus.

My second cup, I was suffering from some pretty horrible toothache so I wasn’t really so focused on the taste. But my overall impression on the taste from both cups is that this is a much nicer way to drink this tea. The tart and sour initial flavour is much more mellowed out but still retains the taste of hibiscus in a not completely overwhelming way. The rest of the taste is juicy strawberry and maybe raspberry, with a creaminess to it in the end sip accompanied by a sort of fermented fruit/borderline rum taste. Really, the “rum” flavour the name implies is just kind of barely present in the weirdest possible way.

So yeah – this is much more enjoyable cold brewed and I think that’s probably how I’ll end up finishing off what’s left of my 50g of it. I’ve definitely used at least 25g worth at this point, so that’s good.

Sort of sipdown (161)?

Sort of in that I’ve already placed an order for 100g more (like, weeks ago) that’s on the way – so I’ll soon have more to enjoy! Also, sort of in that I still have enough leaf left for one more cup, but I promised my Dad I’d save it and make it for him tomorrow.

I was perhaps being overly cautious of my water temperature (here at my Dad’s I have no way of measuring the temperature without guesstimating), and as a result I believe I used water which was too cold – so I don’t think I got the full flavour potential this cup could have had. I suppose that’s better than using too hot of water, though.

Anyway, I’m getting lovely and delicate jasmine and silky notes of sweet white tea; like honeysuckle! It’s still amazing, even if it’s not at its best. I’m excited to be receiving lots more! So thank you Lala for sending this to me – I’ve really managed to make the sample last, and I have thoroughly enjoyed each cup!

Unrelated, I just got back from The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and it was a truly astounding and breathtaking movie! 10/10 would recommend to just about anyone! Seriously – amazing acting, and plot, and a killer soundtrack. More people should see it (and keep in mind this praise is coming from someone who worked at a movie theatre for over a year, and who saw a lot of free movies). I’d gladly watch this again.

Plus, it was really nice to go to the theatre I used to work at and visit with all my old co-workers! I got pretty emotional, I’ll be honest. I knew I missed them, but I just didn’t realize how much. I’m still trying to not care about the fact that Kevin (my former “best friend” who helped bring me out of my depression and who basically acted as an older brother to me for months) has ignored me since moving, and then tonight refused to look me in face and acknowledge I was there, though…

That hurt, and was kind of cold…

Sipdown (162)!

I made up the last of my sample from BrewTEAlly Sweet today to take with to the mall. Since I had it cold last time, I went for a hot cup this time. I have to say, I don’t think my new white timolino is retaining heat nearly as well as my black one does; after only being in the timolino maybe two hours the temperature had severely dropped.

This was still very lovely though; a really great and well balanced apple tea with sweet and not overpowering cinnamon notes. I’m not in a rush to repurchase it, but I do plan to eventually obtain more.

Full day of shopping!

I met my friend Renee downtown and did a whole bunch of shopping all morning and afternoon! We started at DAVIDsTEA and I’m proud to say that I managed to walk away with only 30g of Honey Bee and this as a to go, iced.

I asked the guy what he personally enjoyed most as an iced white tea, and this is what he suggested so I went for it since I’ve never had this blend before and to go teas are a great way to sample without committing to too many grams worth.

Dry, this smelled really lovely! It was super peachy, and had a strong floral smell to it; jasmine, and other floral smells too. My first few sips iced were really nice; lightly peachy and just a touch of jasmine – but the more I sipped at it the more this highly perfumey and chemical taste became apparent until, about halfway through, I was just overwhelmed by harsh, bitter, and chemical perfume taste.

I waited until the salesperson was in back grabbing something, and then tossed the rest. Yuck – no thanks.

The rest of my haul was non-tea related:

- 2 Primarily orange (though greatly different shades) long sleeve plaid shirts
- 6 Pairs of food related earrings (Avocados, swiss cheese, etc.)
- The new Cage The Elephant CD
- Some make up; just some blush and stuff

It was a good day! And it’s not over; I’m still going to see The Secret Life of Walter Mitty later tonight! :D

Had a cup of this after supper as a sort of gentle, sweet treat! I offered some to my step mom who said she wanted a green tea, but she opted for Hot Lips instead.

My preparation was a slightly overfilled tsp. in 8 oz. of 80 degree Celsius water, steeped for 2 min. 30 seconds. The liquor was a very lovely light green colour and had a nutty pistachio aroma with a strong green base. Taste wise, this was mostly nutty and sort of roasted pistachio with a dominant but mostly pleasant green tea taste, and a smoother, creamy taste towards the end of the sip which is slightly lingering in the aftertaste. It left a dry feeling in my mouth.

Ultimately, I think I enjoyed this better than my last cup of it – but I still rest easy with my decision to not restock it.

Made a small cup for me, and a small cup for my brother who said he was willing to try a flavoured black tea tonight. Both cups were made the same way; 1 1/2 tsp. of leaf steeped in boiling water for 3 min and 30 seconds.

My brother said that it tasted very weak and watery (he has issues tasting basically any tea), but that it didn’t taste bad. From him, that was practically glowing praise.

My cups was very well balanced with defined notes of cinnamon, cloves, sweet pumpkin, and caramel and fleeting notes of carrot. I swear I also got notes of honey, too. I don’t have this as much as I should…

Also, I’m very excited because I have plans tomorrow to hang out at the mall and go to DAVIDsTEA with a friend I haven’t seen in ages (last time I saw her was Halloween I suppose), then go to the movies in the evening and hopefully see some of my old coworkers! Plus, Cuppa’T Specialty Teas on Thursday!

Tasting note 400…

I made this in the morning in a timolino (2 tsp. of leaf, steeped four minutes at boiling), but waited until a couple hours ago to drink it. By then it had cooled down just enough to be the perfect drinking temperature; warm and toasty without burning your tongue or requiring very small baby sips. Mmm!

This was very smooth with a strong black tea taste and the usual notes of rum, butterscotch, and coconut. Delicious!

I made a 12 oz. timolino full of this for myself, to enjoy sipping on in the afternoon. My preparation was 2 tsp. of leaf for the timolino, steeped with boiling water for four minutes. I noticed that after removing the brew basket, not all the chocolate drops had completely melted.

I split the 12 oz. amount into two cups – 6 oz. each. One I had straight and one I took with milk. Both were delicious, and I was able to note with both that the cherry was coming through more prominently than it had last time; I’m going to chock that up to the chocolate not fully melting and there consequently being less chocolate in the cup the mask the cherry notes.

It’s quite sweet and smooth, with very light notes of chocolate and the black base. The rose comes off in smell, and slightly in taste for the milkless cup. The one with milk, however, has no rose notes as far as the taste goes. Obviously, the milk cup is significantly creamier too and has a thicker mouthfeel.

This is a very pleasant tea, and I’m quite impressed that the sample size I received from RiverTea has been large enough to yield three cups so far with enough leaf left for at least a fourth. I still wouldn’t restock this though, but only because it’s quite similar to DAVIDsTEA’s Love Tea #7 which I have lots of; I wouldn’t want large amounts of both at the same time. Once I’m out of Love Tea #7, I may choose to stock some of this for a while instead, though.

Morning tea! Drank this one cold.

Nothing new to add except that I still quite enjoy this one (despite being in the minority). The licorice was nice on my throat, too. Sometimes this one reminds me of hot chocolate, too…

Sipdown (162)!

So, I’ve had this before in store and I really didn’t like it and consequently had never planned on acquiring any more, but my Dad bought me the holiday sampler which of course includes this one. Blah.

I’ve been sipping at some neo citron all day today, so not a lot of tea drinking going on because you shouldn’t really have tea and medicine. However, my Dad asked me to make him something and this is what sounded good to him. And then I figured that since this is herbal it’d be totally safe to drink along with my neo citron, and I also seem to be running out of the herbals I brought with me at an alarmingly quick rate so I just made a timolino full of this for myself too.

My 12 oz. timolino full used 3 1/2 tsp. of leaf steeped with boiling water for seven minutes. Based on reviews and my only other experience drinking this I was very generous with the leaf. My Dad’s cup had the same steep time but used 2 tsp. of leaf for an 8 pz. cup. And, between those two cups that used up the whole 25g sample amount. This really is a stupidly heavy blend and the fact it needs so much leaf to be flavourful makes is very expensive. No thank you.

Dry, this smells like sweet, sticky figs and dates with the tartness of cranberry in a gentle way and with some delicate spices. Honestly, it’s a nice smell and I remember really liking the smell in store too. Steeped, it’s a nice balance between gentle spices and figs. It’s nice and festive smelling.

My Dad really enjoyed his cup, and I’m assuming my stepmom did too because she kept stealing sips out of his mug.

As for my timolino full? The first notes are light ones of clove and slightly stronger ones of figs. The fig notes hold throughout most of the sip and a joined by mild notes of dates, apples, cranberries, and maybe something like brandy and cinnamon. No presence of almonds, and no lasting aftertaste whatsoever. This is quite a lot better than my first experience which was highly watered down and had zero fig taste to it all, which was just embarrassing because “Fig” is expected as a flavour when it’s in the bloody name. However, while this is stronger and more flavourful than my first experience, it’s still pretty weak which is sad considering how much I had to overleaf it just to achieve this taste.

So, yeah – 25g of this basically made two just barely adequate mugs worth. That’s pathetic. This is one of the heaviest blends I’ve ever seen which makes it horribly expensive to keep stocked; that might be doable if the taste was jaw droppingly, astoundingly good – but it’s not. Never ever going to be a restock for me.

PS. I just finished watching Sherlock Season 3 Ep. 2 and it was just so perfect! Again, I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone but the whole episode had me madly switching from hysterical laughter to immense feelings of sadness at a moments notice. If that’s not a sign of great television then I don’t know what is!