It’s funny I must have been channelling Lupicia today, as I see Cameron B mentioning Lupicia’s Christmas teas are out today. This is from a long ago order, but I haven’t written a note yet. It seems that it is not as special as I wanted it to be. It’s a tea with actual vanilla pieces on a strong black base! I should love it! But it’s just not vanilla enough for me – just barely (and I noticed this also when it was new, so it’s not an aging problem…) I do see the occasional piece of vanilla which I appreciate. But the black tea is also almost a fine powder – so maybe the base is a little TOO strong. My blend seems like a much smaller leaf and also much less vanilla than the photo for this tea. The color of the dry leaf almost matches the color of the vanilla. At least the real vanilla isn’t being drowned in artificial vanilla. And I have no idea why I made the mistake of brewing the second steep so long. Really, this should have been one of my top Lupicia teas in concept, but brewing it up is always disappointing.
Steep #1 // 1 1/3 teaspoons for a big mug // 15 minutes after boiling // 1 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 5 minute steep
This is You :-D
Profile
Bio
Hi! I love tea and trying new ones – it adds a bit of variety to my day! Books, music, TV & movies are my thing… and tea, of course.
Some of my favorite tea shops (still operating):
birdandblendtea.com
teavivre.com
52teas.com
svtea.com
whisperingpinestea.com
justea.com
harney.com
Dammann Freres
fusionteas.com
shop.Javateaco.com
Lupicia
Octaviatea.com
Davidstea.com
eco-cha.com
what-cha.com
singleoriginteas.com
teasenz.com
tealyra.com
Mandalatea.com
verdanttea.com
Favorite tea shops (RIP):
butikiteas.com
steapshoppe.com
steepcityteas.com
aquartertotea.com
dellaterrateas.com
zentealife.com
angrytearoom.com
theteamerchant.net
joysteaspoon.com
tealiciousllc.com
Rivertea
Specialteas
My icon photo is Richard Mayhew from the graphic novel ‘Neverwhere’ by Neil Gaiman, Mike Carey & Glenn Fabry.
Most of the teas listed in my cupboard are actually sample sizes. I don’t really have 2,000 ounces of tea around here! Many of my teas have only one teaspoon left… maybe two. But I like keeping them in my cupboard list for reference to what I could be sipping. Usually, I write tasting notes once for each tea. I’m still drinking them, just not writing tasting notes each time!
I’m always in search of: Hattialli, Qu Hao black, Jin Jun Mei, teas using marshmallow root.
My dislikes: hibiscus, ginger (unless in chai), turmeric, bee pollen, charcoal type flavors
My ratings:
95-100 – Super awesome deliciousness favorites – cupboard essential
80-95 – Also pretty delicious
65-80 – Pretty good
50-65 – Okay
1-50 – Probably won’t want to sip it again
I’m planning on being a Steepsterer as long as there IS a Steepster, so if you’re not hearing from me, that means something happened to my health… if you know what I mean. (Or as evidenced by the great computer hiatus of 2019, something happened to my computer… I have a dumb phone so can’t access internet on that. As of 12/20/21 my wifi might start getting unreliable.)
Happy sipping!
Location
USA
I just ordered my Christmas teas this morning and I am so excited, ha ha!
As usual, I will live through the tasting notes of everyone else – even if I’m always a few days behind on reading them. :D
YEEE Christmas teas!