Campfire Blend

This one came from Darby in the second round of the secret pumpkin swap.

On first smell of the dried tea, this one really reminds me of toffee. I had expected it to be more of a smokey tea due to the name.

After brewing there is a soup broth type smell to me. This one again tastes strange to me. Not bad, but not flavours I would normally mix together. I am getting sweet elderberry mixed with the coriander and ginger. It is really reminding me of a soup broth but will a bit too much sweetness to it. The other thing it reminds me of is warm orange juice. I feel like I am getting a “burnt” flavour as well. Kind of like a burnt marshmallows (?).

Not sure I like this one. Not a bad blend but just not to my taste.

I decided to try this one out this evening, because it is caffeine free, spicy and warming, and new and shiny. This one is from OMGsrsly I think.

I was not sure what to make of the smell when I opened the bag, as there was something that gave a vague hint of a licorice like smell. Is it the orange peel or the coriander or a combination of the two? I dunno.

That taste does come out in the steeped liquor also, though, just as in the dry smell, it was not too offensive in the way I find licorice to be.

Now do I like this tea, that all being said?

I’m not sure. I like it enough not to dump it. I like it enough I’ll probably have more from my sample. But I am not likely to order on my own, and I may give away some or all of this. I think it is one I have to be in the right mood for, so I feel like I will get another cup or two from, but it is not my favourite.

Right before my Social Security check comes every month (tomorrow for me) I’m out of almost everything except tea!

So yesterday, with a couple of eggs and some flour I made noodles for the first time in my life. The results were a bit iffy, but I did manage to make some pretty good broad noodles!
I had two tilapia waiting in the frig.
With those two fish, I created a delicious Thai coconut curry, enough for two dinners, then added my homemade noodles at the end to bathe in the savory broth. It tasted so good! I love making my own from-scratch curry!
The last of the apples were roasted with almonds, cranberries, cinnamon, spiced apple balsamic and a little brown sugar for today and tomorrow’s breakfasts.

I’ve learned over time that I can live very well without much money.

Celebrating life costs me nothing.
It’s Faith, Family, Friends, and lots of tea that warms my heart and makes me happy…!

After dinner, I sat down to watch a movie, placing a tea tray on the wooden bench table in front of me.
I picked Campfire Blend as my evening brew because it’s spiciness could stand up to the curry.

While the tea was steeping, I was ‘Googling’ tea houses in Canada for a friend on Steepster, completely loosing all sense of time.
Tick, tick tick…

(Luckily my teapot was safely tucked under a domed tea cozy nice and warm…steeping away…on and on.)
“Yikes! 15 minutes!” I said out loud!

I was so happy this was an ‘herbal’ blend and not regular tea! But had I gone too far? Was it going to be ruined and bitter?!

I poured myself a mug. The flavor was somewhat like Verdant’s Winter Ginger Blend and my favorite Peek Freans ginger cookie, but with more citrus and coriander (I do love coriander!!). This was unbelievably good tea and strongly (yes strongly) good tea I have to say! Spicy, orangy and gingery, coriander yumness!

I sweetened my cup and added milk (which I was hesitant about). Again it tasted… sooo good…. really good!!!

(I use condensed milk. Just pour it into a resealable glass jar and it doesn’t taste wierd.)

Of this month’s three Club Blends, this is my hands down winner. I’d do a longer than recommended steep again but not 15 minutes!

Backlog from last night!

I think I need to play around with my steeping parameters with this one. I brewed it up a little weak for my tastes. Also, there’s a flavor in here I’ve never tasted before! That is always exciting! I presume it is the dandelion root.

Also? I know this is supposed to be caffeine free but I could NOT sleep last night! It could have been a coincidence, but man, it sure felt like I’d had some sort of stimulant.

I’m starting to become a bit leery of herbal teas, and I really don’t like genmaicha, or at least the kinds I’ve tried. So… herbal, with rice. Open mind! Open mind!

The cinnamon saves this. Actually, it’s not bad at all. I think the rice makes it smell a bit funky, and this is my first introduction to coriander. I’m assuming that’s the flavor I don’t recognize. It’s yummy! Yay!

Unfortunately, I picked this up as Verdant was transitioning to China and completely revamping their products. I suppose if I really wanted to make my own, I could follow their blend recipe. :)

Is re-steeping a thing with herbal tea? I guess I’m about to find out! :D

Today I learned that the HPA axis is the main powerhouse for the stress response in the human brain. By activating it, there is an increase in stress hormone – cortisol – release. What I didn’t know was that the latest and newest research surrounding nerve cells is showing that there may be plasticity within them. This means that over-activating these cells can lead to increased adaptability so that the cells can go back to their most comfortable state. I thought this was interesting because most of the research has said that the cells become less sensitive instead of adapting. This is completely unrelated to this tasting note, I just thought it was interesting. You learn something new everyday, folks!

Anyhow, I am sitting here sipping this delightful cup of Campfire Blend. The strong musky scent of cinnamon hits me before I even take a sip. I can taste hints of vanilla, ginger and rice that quickly fade and I am left with the lingering cinnamon. It’s a nice tea but I can only handle one cup of this and I’ll be ready to move on. It reminds me of watching the gentle snow fall outside while bundled up in a blanket listening to Ben Howard.

Happy tea drinking! I hope everyone is having a nice evening.

it tastes like a colombian drink called Aguadepanela, people in bad weather drink this to fight the cold :) made me happy

I drank a LOT of black tea at work today. When I finally got home I really was looking for something lighter. This was the one that got pulled out.
I’ve drank a few cups of it tonight – so it’s obviously something I can drink – but I don’t think this is really my style. I’ve read the description and looked at the ingredient list and I’m confused. I’m getting licorice or fennel or anise – not a lot but enough to be annoying me. None of those are in the ingredient list. I’m so confused. There is a little nutty, a little citrus acidic, quite a bit of spice , but also just a little medicinal. I can see some people really liking this, it’s an interesting caffeine free blend.

I pulled this tea out this afternoon and made a cup semi chai style. Milk, sugar, simmer on the stove. This seems pretty much like vanilla citrus spice, minus the hole tea bit. This was yummy. Warm cozy flavor. It taste very similar to a short bread cookie to me with a hint of spice. I even indulged on a handful of my daughters animal crackers as I drank the cup. The combo was perfect to kick the sweet tooth craving.

This was a free sample with my latest order, which I think was back in October. The brewed tea aroma is heavenly! It smells like warm monkey bread fresh from the oven. Mmmm! The flavor is very similar to the aroma. I taste cinnamon and bread, vanilla and cream, and some other wonderful mixture of complementing flavors. This is so delicious!

Even though cinnamon bread is the predominant flavor I keep coming back to, this doesn’t strike me as a heavily cinnamon spiced tea. It truly blends with the other ingredients to make a whole new taste. The slower you drink it, the easier it is to identify the other flavors. I also detect a hint of something citrus-y in the aftertaste. Mmm, but I’m enjoying this so much it’s kind of hard to drink it slowly. I keep gulping it down, haha!

I don’t know why, but I was kind of put off by the name. I expected smoke and strong, harsh flavors. This is delicately balanced and very nuanced. It’s soft and potent at the same time. I really really love this! I think I may have to place an order…I know, I know! I’m really not supposed to! But this is too good to be true. I am so in love. It loses just one point for the name; I’d rename this blend “Monkey Bread.” It tastes exactly like the monkey bread my mother-in-law makes except in tea form. Yum!