Secret Weapon

This is the last of mine/my roommate’s tin of this one from last year’s advent calendar. I had a recollection that neither of us particularly liked this one, although I tolerated it a bit better. Sure enough, it tastes like dry, ground-up almonds. And smells like dry nuts. Looks like I said the same last time. I do have a little sample packet of this still, but I’ll probably send that off as a bonus sample in a swap to someone!! :D

Also, wooo, it’s getting windy now! I have doubts that “post-tropical cyclone Sandy” will have too much impact here in southern Ontario, but it’s gross outside regardless. (Maybe school will be cancelled tomorrow?!)

ETA: Second infusion similar, but lighter. Unsurprising.

I made this iced today… in an effort to drink down some of my stash. It was nice, but not mind blowing. Maybe it’s too old? I’ve had it for awhile.
The almond flavour was very present, which was great… except that it hid any tea flavour that might have been present when made hot. Yep, I think this is better hot. No surprise there! Despite that, I think I’d give it an 84 when iced. Overall, one of the better iced teas I’ve made of late.
Oh and lookeee what I found! I’m sure some of y’all have seen this pic before but I thought it was worth mentioning.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/179592_494413537254771_207883224_n.jpg

I just got a package from DavidsTea and I’m not wasting any time jumping in!!! This is the first of 5.

Upon opening the package this smells like nuts! Lots and Lots of Nuts! Almost a peanut butter type aroma. Underneath I can smell a little fruit and even less flowers.

I’m not gonna lie…I stole an almond sliver before infusing…it was tasty!

After infusion this smelled like almond but more mellow. I can also taste the Goji Berries slightly. The white tea itself has a great clean flavor! I can’t really taste the licorice much…that’s ok with me…oh wait! There it is…it’s on the assist with the aftertaste…but only a hint!

I thought I would have a cup of this because I have a little sniffle going on today…I think it’s more my eyes watering than anything…I decided to change from my contacts to my glasses and I hate wearing my glasses! Oye! But…with 500X more Vitamin C than Oranges…YOU BET I will give these lil Goji Berries a whirl! POW!!!!

This is a creative and comforting blend! Fun and unique and GOOD FOR YOU!

Wow. Just a mental day at work. We’re all a bit unhinged. But this is nice and calming. Now I just need a nap.

2013/01/30
i don’t understand this tea.

2013/02/03
peace out secret weapon.
i can’t say that you’ll be missed.

I need a secret weapon about right now. I didn’t sleep last night, and I’m really hoping that this tea will be the ticket to chill me out so that I may sleep tonight. My husband leaves for a research trip tomorrow morning and the car service will be here early, so sleep is a must. Thank goodness I don’t have to drive him to LAX but I’ll miss being able to see him off. It’s silly, but I miss my husband terribly when he’s gone because he’s my best friend. Blah, blah, blah…

I think I need to steep this tea a little longer next time. I can smell and taste the coco nibs and almonds, but I want more. I don’t really taste the goji berries but I’m glad to know they’re in the mix. The body is refreshing and light. I get slight licorice flavor in the finish.

I like this tea but I just want more flavor. I brewed it at 185 degrees for 3 minutes, and I think that another miniute may be the ticket.

Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me some of this tea.

This is really tasty. The almond and chocolate flavors are the most prominent, with hints of the goji berry peeking in. The goji is especially noticeable in the aftertaste. If I were to change anything, I’d like there to be a bit more licorice flavor, because it is a very subtle note.

I find myself a little surprised that the white tea can be tasted – some of these other flavors are very strong… but the white tea is definitely there. After the first few sips, I notice the licorice more (yay!) I’m really liking this.

Finishing up the last of my tin, I don’t think I have drank this in months. It’s still delicious but I think I’m going to refill my light green “white” DavidsTea tin with Checkmate (or maybe a 2nd tin of cookie dough) and give Secret Weapon a break for a while.

This one smells quite almond-y dry, though now that it’s steeped I’m getting a scent of…pencil lead? That can’t be right.

The taste is not so bad. But I’m finding it difficult to get past that bizarre scent. I go to take a sip and all I can smell is pencil lead.

So…another one I won’t be rating.

A friend brought this to work today to share with me. I was extremely nervous because I loathe licorice. He didn’t know that. He did know I love almond, so it was a genuinely nice gesture.

That said, this is really an uneventful tea. I wanted the almonds to be toasty, the goji berries to burst with joy, and the licorice to be unnoticeable. All I got was unnoticeable licorice.

I shared it with Dylan and my friend Mary. The reaction was the same all the way around.

I have had several amazing bai mu dan teas in the last few days. This isn’t one of them. This is unremarkable.