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I realized tonight that the scent off the surface of the brewed liquid is rather complex and smells a bit like greenish herbs or dried grass.

There are some layers in the flavor as well, though I never really noticed them before, focused as I always seemed to be upon the peppermint.

I remain surprised by the changes in color of the brew from bright yellow to dark brown over the course of a few minutes.

White Chocolate Peppermint is another foody beverage from Teavana, this one also from the Christmas collection and featuring such calorie-laden items as white chocolate and milk powder. I wonder how many calories there are in a serving of this infusion, given that the flavor-making components are chunks of food and rooibos is very far down the list of ingredients?

The flavor is somewhat pepperminty, but it is compromised by all of the food. This is another case where I feel like going to brush my teeth after drinking a cup.

I made this strong, with a heaping tablespoon for two cups. In fact, peering into the 2 ounce bronze-foil ziplock bag, I see that I seem to have used nearly half of the contents! That’s okay, since I won’t dread seeing this disappear in another brew or two. Not horrible, but not really for me.

When I want something foody, I just go eat.

Another snow day, another perfect opportunity for Earl Grey!

We began with a wintry mix, then the sleet-like precipitation suddenly became fluffy and flocculent. After a few hours, the temperature rose and all of the snow on the ground turned to slush.

To celebrate, I stayed home and drank a big Bodum of creamy Earl Grey Blanc!

Because a day without sencha is like a day without sunshine.

Once again, I found the second infusion of this tea to be vastly superior to the first. The liquor was bright yellow with just a hint of green, and fairly clear—definitely much less cloudy than the first round.

I noticed that the dried tea is not whole leaf—there are lots of small pieces and even some powder, which ends up in the bottom of the glass in the first infusion. It’s not that I’m using too much tea, but that the fine particles are not filtered out from the first volume of brew produced. Then they are gone, which is why the second infusion is so much better—not at all bitter. Clean, slightly vegetal and thirst quenching and smooth.

The solution to this problem may be to use a paper filter rather than only a metal mesh colander-like sieve. We shall see…

Today’s trip to Starbucks began with a venti quad Caramel Flan Latte with soymilk and whip—extra hot (I almost forgot: that is very important to say, because their large drinks do not stay hot long enough otherwise…). It was a reward, so I went all out. Every time I do this, I have regrets. A beverage with 500 calories is not really a beverage but a meal, so usually I make sure that I have not eaten the meal in question before ordering this kind of monstrosity. To be honest, I don’t even really like dessert drinks, though I always end up trying each variety once. I should probably just use my rewards for sandwiches. I’m still planning on losing my Teavana store virginity at some point, which would be a good way to redeem rewards, but I could not muster up the courage to penetrate the mall today.

So my take-away refill was Calm brewed from the sachets. I noticed today more than before that there really is quite a dose of lemongrass in this blend. Also spearmint, but the lemongrass gave it a rather woody taste. I later examined the sachets and discovered that there were major stalks inside!

I usually take a Refresh away as my refill and probably I will in the future as well, because this was not as good. Of course, I was really full, too, so that may have played a role in my reception of the quality of the brew. I usually do not order a venti quad soymilk dessert drink. For some reason I feel compelled to get the large size just because it’s free, even though I prefer the shape of the grande cup and consider it to be a more appropriate size for a beverage. I noticed that the difference in price between the grande (16 ounce) and the venti (20 ounce) is only twenty cents, so I imagine that lots of people order the “supersize” for that reason alone.

I ended up drinking my venti Calm chamomile, too, and as a result I may not be hungry again until tomorrow.

I’m back to a bitter first infusion again. Not sure what I did wrong today. I definitely did not overheat the water. I may have overleafed, as I’ve been drinking a lot of very subtle greens of late, so I added a big tablespoon to my 27 ounce tetsubin. Or perhaps I oversteeped. Is three minutes too long for this tea? I shall find out the answers to these and more questions in the steeps to come…

I would like to take this opportunity, however, to ask whether this little statement on the cardboard two leaves and a bud cylindrical container is true or false:

tea is like wine

Well, obviously the fact that this statement caught my attention reveals how false I find it to be! Here a just a few of the many ways in which

tea is not like wine

1. Tea is a stimulant, not a depressant
2. Tea enhances productivity. Wine? What is a wine-o?
3. Copious quaffing of tea (as in multiple infusions of loose leaf green) is good for the health of the body. Copious quaffing of wine leads to alcoholism and liver disease.

I understand that the marketers’ intention was to elevate tea, but this is just a mistake. Why? Because

tea is higher than wine!

rain and snowy mix
flakes of frost and drops of slush
enough is enough

My 2 ounce bronze foil zip lock envelope of Teavana Spiced Apple Cider came in the Holiday box (not the “12 Holidays of Tea” but the box of four larger envelopes). I understand the low ratings, because this is literally apple cider—but only if prepared correctly.

The way not to prepare this infusion is with a dinky 1.5 teaspoons of stuff for 8 ounces of water. The problem with that method is that the chunks of stuff in this mix are huge, so if one attempts to use 1.5 teaspoons, there is not going to be much flavor.

I took a different approach. Upon seeing that the chunks of apple and cinnamon were humongous, I ground a fair amount of the mixture in a spice grinder (it’s actually a coffee grinder, but I use it only for spices so as not to contaminate flavors), and then I used probably two whole tablespoons—maybe three!—in a Bodum. I added boiling water to just over half capacity (probably 16 ounces?), and let the ground food stuff soak in the water for about ten minutes.

It was delicious! But it was literally a liberally spiced (primarily cinnamon) apple cider, not tea. This brew is so foody that it should probably come with a nutritional breakdown table on its label. Or is everyone else really making this as a dilute, Vitamin Water-esque pseudo-apple cider? I wonder….

second infusion: since I put so much stuff in and there were lots of visible (now smaller) chunks in the bottom of the Bodum, I decided to try a second infusion. It was not as good, but more like a tea beverage than a juice, so this is probably closer to what it tastes like when the indicated instructions are followed.

I first tasted Tazo China Green Tips in a Starbucks store with rather low expectations (I was trying it out as a free refill), but I was very pleasantly surprised by the brew produced using the sachet of the loose leaf. It tasted fresh and clean and vegetal—rather sencha-like—though I had never encountered such a China green tea before.

I ordered a supply of the loose leaf at the amazing Tazo tea sale in November 2013 at Starbucks online, and I must say that this really is good—provided that one loves sencha! By the light, bright yellow color alone, it becomes clear that this tea must be produced by steaming.

Today’s pot (prepared in a tetsubin) really hit the spot, and I’ll be enjoying this fresh and satisfying tea as a rotating post-lunch green. It’s very solid green offering, and to be honest, I cannot believe the negative reviews. I can only surmise that the reviewers either do not like sencha or did not brew the tea properly. Anyone who appreciates the distinctive quality of sencha will appreciate this variation on the steamed-green tea theme, it seems to me.

Needless to say, it’s important to follow the usual rules for brewing this tea: Do not overheat! Do not overleaf! Do not oversteep! Any of those mistakes will result in a bitter brew and may explain some of the negative reviews.

second infusion: I had this a few hours later, after dinner. Same color, a slightly lighter taste. Still good.

I learned over the course of the day that the tea is Mao Feng. China Green Tips was my first experience, then, with Mao Feng!

third infusion: still thirsty, but afraid to whip up any new green brew, with sleep (hopefully) on the horizon, so I gave this another try. Thirst quenching and still colorful. Lighter flavor still. This will be the end of this pot, I swear!