104 Tasting Notes
The bags my sister gifted me only got me through the week, but as it turns out, it was perfectly timed! The mint was refreshing, which was necessary for the São Martinho summer — how was it 25C yesterday? We didn’t get weather that nice in August!!
In other news, I finally got my neuro appointment!! It was a surprise; a bunch of patients missed their appointments, so they bumped me — they contacted me at 10:40, letting me know there was an opening at 11:20! I cried (okay, I sobbed) from happiness the whole drive, and the doctor was really nice too
I’m now on preventative medication; let’s see how it does!
my wonderful sister bought me this from a tea store where she lives; every tea there has, at least, five ingredients, which is great if you’re looking for fun, but not so much if you’re looking for something…. simple? there’s something nice about a clean, pure green tea, or a black tea with a single flavoring; and do not get me started on oolong or gunpowder
anyways, this blend is quite surprising, and I’m glad I have something with mint at home now; I don’t know yet how I’ll survive the week without the extra caffeine, but then again my gf will be happy to know I’m somewhat scaling back my daily caffeine consumption
the brew is fresh, with some hints of a warmer and flowery background; it’s not as shocking as Lipton’s Moroccan Spices, but I’d say it has the same DNA — minty, cozy, perfect for transitional weather
as a side note, I can’t believe I used to say that anything with mint tasted like toothpaste; if it does, then I am surely a tooth!
Preparation
slooowly making my way through this tin; with the new class schedule and my body’s sudden new ability to wake up at 6AM SHARP, life’s been a bit hectic
however, although my bones are tired, I’m happy — building my future, one brick at a time; tea always helps, not just in the sense of waking me up, but also in the overall ritual of preparing the water, weighing the leaves, giving them a sniff and just reconnecting with the “normal” world
this tea came with no information regarding steep time, temperature, and even the ingredients list is scarce; I was debating on whether or not to log it but life has been happening and I moreso want to spread the news
One, I have taught! Twice!! It was so so nice, I genuinely see myself doing this for the rest of my life. I know there will be easier and harder days, but if this is the job, then I’d rather have 10 bad days at this than 5 good ones doing anything else; I don’t know how to explain it, it just FITS
and talking about fitting…. turns out I’m a lesbian! the realization of that core, honest, truth has been genuinely tectonic; I no longer have a bf, after almost 4 wonderful years, but he’s still my best friend and I don’t regret it
and I don’t know if already wrote about this, but IM IN! FEUP has already asked me to pay my tuition, and everything is in place
life makes SENSE right now, and although none of you are technically my friends, I genuinely care for all of my mutuals; I love glimpsing into your lives, and I wanted to share these bits of mine
happy brewing <3
(also, about the tea itself — it’s nice! It’s the first oolong I’m actively drinking and I really like it — I don’t know how to explain it, it’s light but there’s some other stuff there? I now understand why oolong is typically only described as oolong, that’s what it is!)
Preparation
a very chaotic past week, and a chaotic week again; however, good news - I’m officially in! Not only that, but I was lucky enough to teach (officially)!!! I already taught my first class!!!
knocking back this tea while preparing to have a meeting with the Port of Sines, as we’re discussing other exciting things
I took K S’ advice to heart, and made sure the water was colder on this steep; indubitably the right call!
Preparation
final brew!
this infusion is pretty inoffensive; would I hate it if someone handed it to me? no; would I run to add this to my cart? no as well; but if I find this at a good discount, or if I’m running low on herbal blends, this would make its way to my home once more
not only that, it’s a good tea for when you have guests over and don’t really know what they typically like — in Portugal, we always serve lemonbalm; this is close enough to be a crowd pleaser, but different enough for people to notice
(kind of like wearing really flashy socks and long skirts, it looks the same, but if the wind blows a certain way, there’s something different there)
working, already have spots in the classes I wanted for the PhD, and now I’m realizing I probably havent’ really been describing this tea very well!
It reminds me of a regular lemonbalm infusion, but there’s clearly other stuff here, an added freshness and earthiness; it has a sweetness that sort of clings to the tongue, kind of coating it like a cough drop
I find this brew incredibly cosy, but not in a ’let’s huddle with blankets’ way; instead, it’s more so crunchy leaves, some breeze but all you need is a light jacket — early autumn instead of the middle of winter
having this at work, it’s another week but there’s still excitement!
I’m actually working on development again (yay! out of writing!) and, more importantly, I talked to the head of the PhD program and… I’M IN!! They have to deal with the bureaucracies and everything to make it official — hence the lack of official news
either way, happy times! I’m in! I’m going to be a student again! I’m going to teach!!
funnily enough, this is a joint programme with my uni (Aveiro), Porto and Minho — when I was younger I REALLY wanted to be a FEUP (Porto) student, but eventually I changed my mind; well, turns out I AM going to be a FEUP student either way — funny how these little coincidences happen, right? feels like I had the right dream, just timed poorly
as my mom’s grandfather used to say, what is meant to be yours will come to you and, well, turns out this really was <3
made this as a pick-me-up at work, as yesterday I went to a concert and went home pretty late (it was after midnight! I go to bed at 11 at most!!)
sadly, I think the water was too hot, as this is slightly more bitter than what I typically go for :(
This was a favorite of K S who was a wonderful Steepsterite. He made it at 195F to cut the bitterness according to his notes. So I think you are spot on as to why you didn’t enjoy it. Maybe try a lower temp steep and see if it helps.
yes, I think that was precisely my mistake! I got distracted and let the water boil :(
I love cornflower with anything! Hope you see good results from your med appointment soon.
Oooooh, so glad they got you in sooner than expected!
thank you everyone! <3