Simon Tam

23/28 sipdowns

i feel like there is WAY too much going on in this tea for you to really be able to actually taste all the things going on in this tea. it’s not a terrible tea or anything but when i look at what’s in here, and focus on the taste, it all kind of blends together to make “brown” lol

Sipdown (166/172)!

So I’ve now finished Firefly; I absolutely adored it and I of course hate where it ended. I still need to watch Serenity, but I’m going to wait until I’ve finished off all the character blends first and then finish this kind sampler from VariaTEA off the the Serenitea blend and Serenity movie. Something about that just seems, I don’t know, “Serendipitous”? Just a touch.

However, when I had this one I had not finished it off yet. I think I was on episode nine to be more specific? I feel like I definitely got to know more about Simon’s character in those last few episodes though; especially in regards to his relationship with Kaylee. I wonder if I’d think this was more accurate to the character now? Although I thought it was a good fit before; I just couldn’t pinpoint why. Maybe I could now? Not the peaches really; but more the ginger.

I hate ginger, so personally the presence of that in this one was a bad sign; as well as the peach; one thing I hate and one I’m fickle towards didn’t look too promising. Wasn’t actually so bad though. I think the gingerbread was a nice touch for the character though; to me gingerbread says “comfort” and the holidays/family and that seems like a good way to reflect Simon’s relationship with River.

But yeah taste; (I feel like I’m jumping around; also the j and the h keys are way too close together) I didn’t dislike it so that’s good – I feared I might. But I wasn’t in love either. I think overall I really just felt like I could love it but I’d need to try it again to really pull my mind together (there’s a horrible pun somewhere in there…) and I can’t see that happening soon.

But here’s what I typed in my notes:

- Lots of ginger initially (WHY DOES THIS BLENDER USE SO MUCH GING’)
- As it cooled more peaches/cream and molasses (Gingerbread?)
- Oolong held its own with the black

There ya’ have it. That’s my very jumbled take on this one.

Adagio really had a good idea when they thought up these fandom teas. Seriously. I mean, none of them sound all that appealing but when you name it after something or someone we all love, all of a sudden it is in demand. A prime example is this tea. I would never have bought this based on description alone given I hate oolong and this has an oolong base. However, as a Firefly tea, I find myself more open to the idea and even more accepting of flavors I would usually ignore. Does anyone else have this problem?!

Anyways, the tea itself does actually have a fairly strong oolong flavor. I am also getting a fair bit of ginger in this particular cup which when the two are combined, it is creating a sort of drying taste (feeling?). With that said, there is also a nice amount of peachy type flavoring that balances out the cup and keeps it from being too earthy. On top of all that is just a splash of cream which combined with the drying is a tad bit strange but still not unpleasant. All in all, this isn’t my favorite tea out of the sampler, just as Simon was no where near my favorite character, but I don’t find myself rushing to get rid of this sample either like I anticipated I might. Perhaps I want to hold on to everything Firefly for as long as I can because I really miss the show.

In other news, I really need to stop watching old television shows on Netflix that I know will never come back. Every time I do, I am sad it is finished. That happened with Firefly, Dollhouse, and Buffy (can you tell I am a Joss Whedon fan? :P). Most recently, that has happened with Roswell. I finished it last night and I am going through Michael Guerin withdrawal. So much so I have been debating rewatching the series just for him. Although, the longer I sip on this tea and think of Firefly, the more I think I should rewatch that instead. If only it could be like watching shows for the first time, every time you watched because it is just not the same when you know what is coming. Luckily, I still have Supernatural (which a friend might have just reminded me came back last week so yay for two new episodes!). Anyways, I will stop whining now and enjoy my tea…

Surprise! One more Firefly tea! :) I thought I’d lost this but I’d just left it at work. Silly me.

So, this is a peachy oolong, with cream and a little bit of spice. It’s quite calming and relaxing which is awesome because that’s what I need as I’m feeling super anxious at the moment. What gives?

Well, Simon is here to save the day. I’m chilling out a bit.
Thank you VariaTEA! It’s only lightly peachy but the cream is nice. I can go for subtle.