Jessie's Tea

Last cup of the night. I was making Bday Cake by DavidsTea but the bf didn’t like the maple smell, so I poured it out haha. This one took its place. With a splash of milk, this tastes like a decadent coconut dessert, almost like cream pie. Yum. Definitely no sweetner required lol. Anyways, off to bed, work tomorrow then my first exam in my after work course! Eek! I’ve at least been studying tonight :) see previous notes on this tea!

Maybe it’s a little sad or needy of me, but I was wondering why no one had liked or commented on my tasting note of Jessie’s Day from earlier today – sure it wasn’t witty or anything, but not one like? So I went through my tasting notes and low and behold – Steepster ate it! Makes sense…

Anyway, I woke up last night/this morning (like 4 AM) with this ridiculous craving for lavender so I made a large mug of this, gulped it down and promptly went back to sleep. I must have been really out of it because when I got up today and went to the kitchen there was rooibos all over the counter! Like, enough for a mug or two (thankfully I have tons of this since I received it as a Christmas gift from two people). I think I must have missed the tea ball a couple times…

I’m finishing off this sample today. I can see myself maybe picking up another simple size of this in the distant future, but it certainly won’t be a cupboard staple for me. The flavor is unmistakably lavender with a complimentary coconut taste. Not bad, it’s certainly different than anything else that’s currently in my cupboard.

My step-sister is visiting from China and I’m helping to throw her a baby shower this weekend, so my reviews may be a tad on the sporadic until all the hustle and bustle of the event is over. I’m elbow deep in making party favors, banners, and planning games. Surrounded by mess but armed with my mug of tea…all is well.

So I took a sip and my mother looked at me and said “you don’t look like you are enjoying that” and to be honest, I am not. I loved it for so long but my last few cups just haven’t been all that pleasant. I am noticing it is a pretty thick tea and the combination of flavors is bordering on being just a little too lotiony for my tastes.

Another sipdown! I’m down to 106 now – not too shabby! This was nice. I’m always a bit nervous about lavender because I associate it with grandmothers and soap, but this was really good.

I just packed up 19 teas for my sister as a Loose-Leaf starter kit (with instructions, perfect spoon and perfect mug). I’m so excited and I hope she likes it. I tried to mix the traditional teas like Earl Grey and Assams, with all the fun flavoured ones that a lot of people start with. I hope it’s not too much. :| I will probably wait until Sil’s package arrives because I know she sent me some DavidsTea samples and some of those might be nice to pass on as well.

106 is nice, but I’m worried I’ll be up to 150 soon (which would be a record). I’m expecting samples from Jessiwrites, JackieT, Sil, TerryHarpLady, and Kittena, and I’ve got orders now from Verdant, Butiki, Steappe Shoppe, and Harney & Sons. And 52 Teas. Yikes. That sounds like a lot when you type it all out. I spaced it out though – that’s probably ALL I ordered this month.

This tin of rooibos is one of the “originals” from my initial first purchase at David’s Tea. Age has not weakened its resolve to invade entire rooms with its “stench” whenever I prepare it- it may even have made it stronger!

Despite owning this for over year I still have yet to figure out if I love it or merely tolerate it. Coconut and monstrous lavender carry both the scent and flavour profile. Sometimes that comes off as yummy creamy, floral, and mint-like, other-times it simply makes me nauseous in a soap and perfume guzzling way. I wonder what would happen if I bathed in this olfactory titan.

Although I have mixed feelings on the taste, it never fails to make me nostalgic of my first days of loose leaf purchasing. Back then I bought 100g tins of everything and was on a mission to obtain every tea and tisane that even mentioned coconut. If it weren’t for my obsession with coconut, the whispers of a delicious coconut tea at Murchies, and the continuous “sold out” status of said tea, I would never have begun exploring in the first place. My love of coconut and tea are deeply connected to each other.

Today, I find myself enjoying this rooibos blend. When it’s like this I always wonder why I don’t drink it all the time. I’ve yet to try other lavender blends but this one has always made me curious to try more.

Still unsure about this tea but it would feel so wrong not to have it around after our long history together. It’s odour would always be noticeably absent. :(

I don’t have a lot of experience with lavender as a flavoring component so I was going into this one blind.

The fragrance is strong of coconut and very subtly minty. Since mint isn’t listed as an ingredient, I’m guessing that’s how I was interpreting the lavender.

When prepared, there was a faint slick at the top of the cup which I’m guessing was coconut oil. There was a creaminess to this and the coconut flavor was very strong. I picked up a very faint wintergreen or peppermint note and a tart-floral finish. There’s a lingering coconut aftertaste.

I received a sample of this with my recent order. It definitely isn’t something I would have selected on my own but I was pleasantly surprised by how good this turned out.

So this is pretty great. The rooibos taste is strong enough that I know it’s a rooibos but slight enough that I can taste the coconut. I don’t notice much lavendar, maybe because I wasn’t looking for it. I made it hot a little while ago and it was soothing, now I’m picking up the remainder of what’s left (cold) and it is AMAZING cold!! I guess when I really pay attention to the details, the lavendar is there, but to me it’s much more of a simple soothing flavored rooibos, which I can seeing loving at bedtime or post meals (especially BIG meals). I would order this for sure, and with my tea club card that came with my steeper, I think I will once bills are straighened out!

made my breakfast and lunches for the week! feels good and healthy.

TRYING to decide on a book to read – Ninety Days, Devil in the Details, How Should a Person Be?, Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, A Field Guide to Getting Lost, Gone Girl, and Songs and Stories of the Ghouls.
i’m really good at reading the first few pages of each and then not deciding on one. and i’m freakin pissing myself off.
don’t worry, it’s my own burden and i do it to myself.

this tea is not very lavender i don’t think. i say that because i don’t really like lavender. but i loooove myself some coconut.

(i will say that i always have a hard time picking this tea because i made the mistake of listening to the songwriter and song the tea description mentions and the thought of it makes me hate people)

My coworker RAVES about this tea, so I decided to give it a try as a cup to go. I enjoy rooibos, quite a bit. I’ve found recently I also enjoy coconut. Apparently not that much though. This is an experience that I liken to drinking a cup full of the worst bad breath you have ever smelled. Not for me, that for sure.