Calochortus

So my throat is sore today, and I’m chugging tea and gargling Listerine in hopes that I’m only coming down with a light winter cold. Despite the low ratings that this tea gets, it’s really great for under-the-weather days. Citric acid makes this tea a bit (erh, quite a bit actually) on the antioxidant/vitamin/lemony side, so it’s definitely not something you’d want to drink in the evening or put milk in. It’s sour, yeah, but it’s made my throat feel better. It tastes horrible with honey, but it really works well to ease cold symptoms.

I would actually suggest not drinking this tea every day, as it’s probably quite acidic and may negatively affect dental health. I actually get heartburn from it if I don’t eat something afterward. Despite that, it’s a really easy cold treatment that doesn’t involve pharmacies or NyQuil.

I think that this is the oldest box of tea in my stash. …It was actually from my mum’s stash. The box has the old red/white/blue ballerina art, not the cutesy purple fairy stuff. I mean, late 90’s/early 2000’s. I could probably sell this in the vintage part of Etsy.

….To be honest, it still tastes the same as it did 5+ years ago. That is, kind of like potpourri. Perhaps it has mellowed a bit, which is probably a good thing. I always brew it for about 2 minutes, then add a used black teabag for about 2 more minutes to kind of make a lazy person’s blend.

I wouldn’t be consuming this tea if I didn’t have a complex about food waste. I guess it’s just that sugared fruits, candied fruits, and applets/cotlets/Turkish delights/heavy sweet fruity winter things really aren’t part of my culture? Perhaps this tea is imbued heavily with Tchaikovsky elements, which means that I instinctively shy away from it? I don’t know. CS really isn’t my favorite company to begin with (but I really appreciate their packaging and production beliefs), so I’m not that broken-hearted. …Though I do have at least 4 more bags of this. …

I figured out the ladoo taste — it’s the spearmint and cardamom together. It’s kind of silly that I didn’t instantly point out the cardamom.

I’ve had this tea for the last three days, and I haven’t been able to sleep that well, mostly because I’m super awake after drinking this. I have some dried Valerian root that I’ll put in tisanes, and I’ve noticed that it makes me hyper. …Does anyone else have this problem? I feel like I still have the endocrine system of a child.

Once upon a time I was working 22 hour days at least 3 times a week, and it nearly killed me (it was more the work than the length of time, but still). I’ve realized that I get really off balance if I get less than 4 hours of sleep per night, so I checked out Yogi’s Bedtime tea during my year of evil work days. Sadly, after a few boxes, the local co-op decided to cut Bedtime. However, they brought it back and even put it on sale this last week! After long nights of mad NaNoWriMo typing, I kind of need to get back my normal sleep habits…

I couldn’t remember this happening before when I had Bedtime, but I was surprised to note that both the dry teabag and the tisane itself smells exactly like ladoo. Not the dry, chunky, airy kind, but the dense, buttery kind that you have to fish out of the vat of sugar syrup. I even made my mum smell it, and she actually asked if there was any rice in there. While it’s obviously not as sweet as ladoo, the stevia actually makes it taste more like it (and I actually kind of like it in this blend, which is honestly amazing). I know that part of this scent/taste is clearly the spearmint, which I love, but other than that, I’m just happy I’ve found something that’s like ladoo! It’s hard to want to go to sleep knowing that liquid ladoo exists.

Teabag tag quote: “Trust creates peace.”

*Note: Here’s a relatively healthy version of ladoo, in case you’re unfamiliar with this wedding staple: http://www.tasty-indian-recipes.com/indian-dessert-recipes/sweets-recipes/besan-ladoo-recipe/

The last time I rated this tea was last December. The local co-op has finally stocked Organic India tulsi teas after a massive tea cutback to make room for the ever-expanding coconut/palm/wheat/corn/soy/nut/gluten-free cooking section. It was a bit depressing at first, because they cut out all the teas I was interested in, but they’re finally building more diversity into their selection (yay!).

I’m going to keep my rating the same, but this time is a bit different from a year ago. Firstly, I noticed the smell of the tea straight out of the bag wasn’t as heavenly-amazing as last time. Sure, it’s still some sort of amazing, but not super-amazing. However, I will add that I like the flavor a whole lot more this time. The tulsi is a nice, warm base for the bright rose overtones. I can’t taste any stevia sweetness, which is always a plus, and I think the floral rosy taste satisfies my desire for any kind of sweetener. I did add milk (I’m stubborn like that, I know), and that rounds out the flavors a bit.

…..And I have to note that NaNoWriMo was a success this year, despite the fact that I didn’t get a cohesive novel again. That’s what happens when you pants 11k on the 30th. ….I’m not even sure folks outside of the biological sciences will understand it. Sadly, I feel a bit empty now that it’s over, since I created my characters more or less in a pantsy way, so I had just gotten to know them (and hadn’t killed any of them yet). The nice thing, though, is that this year’s NaNo has sparked me to get back into the evil crafty/artsy hobbies that I had to give up in grad school.

I started drinking this tea when I was in grad school (since grad school should be renamed “The Secret 10th Level of Hell”). My sister started up on it since it’s a bit chocolatey, so it’s kind of been a staple in my house. I don’t like the carob taste, but the Sister does. I like the cinnamon taste, but she doesn’t. I can’t stand the stevia, but she loves it.

I decided to have this tea because the world has decided to engulf me with all the worst things ever except getting a pink slip (I’m just going to continue part-timing and not ever get a real job, it seems). I kind of needed this today, and I’m almost thinking that just the thought of having a stress relief tea relieved my stress. Yeah, I calmed down even before I started sipping. The scent has really grown on me, but I can’t drink this tea unless I cut it with milk. The cinnamon is a nice mid-tone, but the stevia is way too much for me.

I’m 3/4 through my cup, and I’m pretty durn calm/sleepy now. The tag for this cup of Kava Stress is: “Love what is ahead by loving what has come before.” ….So I’m going to try to love Eugenics, War, and Slavery. I’ll see where that takes me (actually, I think that’s a pretty interesting quote; the stress is just making me sarcastic).

I started drinking this tea a few years ago just because it was one of the only green teas available at that time. This may insult some, but it tastes like hay! …Actually, hay and oatstraw. Some of you city folk may be disgusted by that, but I grew up in Idaho and that means that it’s pretty durn tasty. It reminds me of winter, actually — probably because of harvest season and usage of straw in barns. Considering that it has already snowed here in the Palouse, I probably just want to drink this because of association.

This is something huge in the nerd world, but I’m not sure if the more refined know: November is National Novelist’s Writing Month. Everyone in the nerd world knows this, too, but by saying that, that also means that November is NaNoWriMo* time! Every November, silly nerdy people challenge themselves to write a 50k novel in 30 days. And Epicness ensues.

I’ve participated in NaNoWriMo for 6 years (I started 8 years ago, but had a 2-year break during the Evil that is grad school), and won each time! Yes, I can fluff. There tends to be tangents that include bison and squirrels. And, every day, there is a whole lot of tea to be consumed.

I’m writing a post-nuclear post-apocalyptic literary post-genetic-renaissance Dystopian Scientific Romance. It’s pretty scientific, but not that romance-y. All this science and writing and dystopia calls for Blueberry Slim Life tea! I’ve been drinking this tea for about 2 years, and while I can’t say it’s helped me lose weight, I can definitely say that it’s pretty tasty as an iced tea. I know, I’m lame when I can’t have milk in my tea, but still. It’s still good hot, but I’ve noticed that it makes me thirsty unless I dilute it (thirsty = drink more water = feel full = eat less = lose weight?). It’s not sweet, but it definitely has a blueberry overtone that’s bright and very evident.

That’s really good during NaNo, because I’d be snacking otherwise. More tea = less food = not as much weight gain during mad typing month.
*Go to nanowrimo.org if you’re nerdy.

I tried this tea again with a longer steep time (~ 1 minute) and less milk (75% water, 25% milk). I’m still getting tree bark, but I think the candy taste is more throat lozenge. …It’s like menthol without the cold effect. I think this might be the note that throws people off, but I’m starting to appreciate it now that I’m able to pick apart the complexity.

…Considering how much I’m enjoying the tree bark taste, I think I may want to research whether poplar and aspen can be used as tea…

Edit: Aspen bark and leaves can be used as a tisane to treat urinary tract infection, and poplar inner bark tea can be used as a sedative/inflammation reducer. It looks like salicin plays a part in these effects.

I’ve only tried a few rooibos teas, and none have really been my fancy. I got this alongside a host of other Equal Exchange teas at my local co-op (they had a Fair Trade Month sale, so they had tons of EE in store. Score!). I figure that I need to expand my tea tastes if I’m ever to become a tea snob (with my degrees, I’m not going to have the money for that, but I can dream, right?).

Since I had such bad experiences with rooibos blends in the past, I figured this rooibos would be a good place to start. Pure, simple, organic rooibos is the only ingredient here. I steeped for about 30 seconds, half a cup of tea to half a cup of milk. Yeah, I’m a wimp, I know, but I figure I can work up to a properly steeped cup.

I actually like this. I think I’m going to have to give the taste a bit of time to grow on me, but I can do it. I can’t exactly put my finger on what the taste reminds me of; it’s something like a candy, a yeast (Kluveromyces?), and bark from a poplar tree (perhaps Populus tremuloides?) put together.

Please don’t ask about why I know what tree bark tastes like. I lived in Idaho, it was rough there.

I love Equal Exchange teas. Sure, they’re bagged, but the taste is so well-balanced and natural. I first tried the Darjeeling and chai pyramid bags around 2009. Excuse the non-tea review, but the box is adorable. It’s the kind of box that you’d want to reuse as a box for paperclips/hairpins/cotton balls/sewing scraps/anything else that can fit in there. I used my boxes until they kind of died (and then recycled them).

Anyway, EE does Darjeeling well. The leaves they use really live up to the “champagne of tea” moniker. Sourced from small tea gardens in Northeast India, they work off of a sustainable fair trade business model which makes this tea that much nicer. I admit that I’ve only had a few other darjeelings, but there definitely is a difference for me. This tea has a warm taste that’s not bitter, even if I oversteep. However, the taste is also delicate and smooth. It’s really good with milk, but I prefer no sweetener.

Honestly, this is my Darjeeling. I’m not going to accept any other substitutes, even if it’s the most heralded Darjeeling, picked by magical winged kittens on the most auspicious day of the year in the most sacred of mountain promontories. It’s that good.

(PS~ I’m not sure if this allowed on Steepster, but the tea.coop site has a great video of Darjeeling being made by the Potong tea garden. EE will donate 1 tea bush to Potong for every view in October. More tea bushes = more nom!)

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So on the scale of world importance, finishing a video game really isn’t high up there. That is, unless it’s Persona 3, one of the most depressing and mind-wrenching fake-dating-sim fake-rpg fake-SMT games ever churned out by the second-most-evil video game company ever (that would be Atlus; I claim that Nitro+Chiral is number one, even though I haven’t played any games they’ve produced).

Now I’m sure you’re wondering what this has to do with Perfect Peach (or tea at all). The truth is that Perfect Peach is perfectly suited for for P3. At least, for me it is. Brew it up strong in a mason jar and add some milk! A nice, soothing overtone of peach to comfort all your emoness over social links, a nice hint of lemon to perk you up through all the stairs you have to climb in Tartarus, and an underlying artificial flavor to remind you that the end is going to be so depressing that you’ll have to take a time out from life to recooperate.

You know what’s really sad, barring the end of the world that was supposed to happen in 2010? The fact that I can’t save the world because my sister stole the game and console from me and is not letting me play it because she said it was a stupid game and is playing it herself now. I mean, I was ~ 98.5% of the way through, I had gotten like 86% of the personae, and I had even prepared to drink a whole box of Perfect Peach in the last push to the end. …Now I just have this tea to console myself while I reassess whether I should still be playing video games at my age.

….At least the tea is tasty.

I’m really sorry for not being so active lately — my tea budget has dried up and I’ve been drinking tea more for the caffeine than for flavor nowadays.

Anyway, I’ve also noticed that I like to put milk in everything I can — especially oolongs. This will probably annoy some people here on Steepster, but really, it brings out the flavor, especially for this tea. I bought this tea as a little stocking stuffer for my sister about two years back, so it’s old and probably not as tasty as getting a fresh bag. However, straight from the box, it had a flowery, warm scent which was similar when brewing. The taste without milk was slightly malty, round, and warm. There were some nice middle notes of what I can only describe as “Asteraceae-like,” which probably means that it was the safflower. With milk, it was easier to taste the warm oolong and sweet peach notes.

I liked this tea, especially with milk. …I think I should revisit it, though, with a fresher sample…

I have to get up early in the mornings nowadays, so I’ve been making a 4-cup pot of coffee and downing it all to be able to get through the day. I know I’m ruining my morning tea habit and ingesting far too much caffeine to be healthy, but I’m actually kind of happy to be using all the old coffee that’s clogging up my tea stash.

This is the perfect tea for days when I drink too much coffee. It’s well-built and strong, but easy to mix with milk (anywhere from 10-50% milk), so it’s like cutting the caffeine and adding Vitamin D. The best of all worlds! Magnesium from the coffee, and calcium/fat/riboflavin from the tea-milk! I would totally overdose on this tea when I’m under the weather. It’s especially good with a little bit of honey.

From what I’ve read here on Steepster, everyone has an opinion on lapsang souchong. Being the not-so-gourment Steepsterite, I had no idea what that was. Luckily, the local co-op sells RTOP loose leaf tea in bulk, so it was really easy to try this tea out. I got about 2 cups-worth of leaves and prepared myself.

Despite a lot of people not liking the taste of lapsang souchong, I find this specific LS pretty enchanting. Now, I haven’t had any others, and I’m sure the quality and taste differ with each blend, but I’m happy with this. It’s smoky, strong, well-built, and aromatic. I also like that it can be watered down without affecting the quality — just add a bit more water if it’s too strong. I think that I would want to serve this at a Steampunk tea party, if those exist.

My family received a 400g bag of this tea (along with a gigantic bottle of honey and a big box of ramen) from our pastor when he decided to retire and leave the God-forsaken town of Nome, Alaska.

Anyway, I’ve had trouble keeping this tea in the bag. The bag itself is really not that sturdy, so I definitely suggest putting the contents into another tin or jar for storage.

The tea itself is really nice — when brewed accordingly to directions, it’s nice and balanced, with a light popcorn/popped rice taste over a warm green tea base. I’ve had Takaokaya’s genmaicha before, and I like this one more. It’s toasty and warm, but there’s no powdery taste. I’m having it with rasmalai and oatmeal, and it sounds weird to pair it with those, but it works.

I like to pull this tea out when it’s cold and snowing and icy and windy, which is the normal Nome weather. It’s like I associate this tea with Nome. …I wish I didn’t do this. Nome is horrible, really. If you can take one thing away from this review, it’s that you should never go to Nome.

Oh, this tea. Like most of the other Steepsterites, I found this at an Asian market — that is, the new Asian market in Moscow, ID, that has good turmeric, frozen lemongrass, some really nice peanut/sesame/adzuki mochi and Rotiland frozen rotis. One look at this place and it was instant love.

The only bad thing about this place is that there’s a $5 purchasing minimum. I can’t just pop in and get some Fruitery jellies or hot mango chutney — I have to buy multiple small things together. I guess that’s the reason I got this (they had mango Fruitery, and it was only $1.59). The tin of this jasmine tea was $1.99, and I’ve always seen it in the other Asian markets, so I decided to splurge. I was pretty glad that I did.

The smell from the tin is very floral, and the taste of the tea is, too. It’s incredibly sweet and aromatic, and really great for blah days. I’ve had pretty unhappy run-ins with jasmine teas before, so I was a bit wary of the strength of this tea. However, it’s not too bitter or too strong (unless you leave the leaves in for 30 minutes while drinking, which I did the first time). In fact, I brewed this tea, left it for approximately ten minutes, then remembered it. I thought it’d be horrible overdone, but it was perfect. It seems that the taste doesn’t change much from about 5 minutes to 10 minutes of steeping. Lucky me, since I’m the tea-forgetting queen of the world.

Overall, I’ve had good experiences with this tea. It may not be too special for someone who loves jasmine and drinks it regularly, but it’s good enough for me to keep it as a regular in my tea stash. Oh, and the tin is adorable.

This is a backlog going back to…. somewhere around the end of November. I’m that forgetful…

Anyway, a lovely lady whom I stayed with in a hostel in Alaska gave me a teabag of this, and it looked amazing. Because, you know, it’s from a company whose name involves the words “Organic” and “India” — it’s like they know who I am! If only they also included the words “bhangra,” “evil microbiology” and “thermal underwear,” then they’d really describe me.

Anyway, the teabag smelled floral and rosey right after being taken out of the pouch, so I was a bit worried. I mean, not like gulab-jamun worried, but just a bit eau-de-toilette worried. When steeping, I knew that this wouldn’t taste sweet, so even if I had gulab jamun worries, they were alleviated.

In the end, I actually liked the taste — it was mellow and relaxing. However, the scent was AMAZING. I don’t know, I may have to try this again, since I was running around Alaska and dealing with all sorts of not-pretty things, so this was super-feminine and super-pretty for me. However, this may be a very desi thing, since rosewater and gulab-ish stuff is very popular in general for South Asians. Then again, fried and super sugary things are also very popular, and that’s just too much for me…

Hm. It’s hard to rate this one. I’ve just been talking about other things. I guess I could say I’d get a box or two if it were in the local co-op, but I’m not going to go out of my way to order it online or anything. Though the scent is amazing. It would be wonderful to make bath products out of this tea. I would totally do infused oil with this if I had a source for it.

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My local grocery store has Stash teas at $1.78 for 20 bags. Perhaps it’s time to revisit Stash and hope that their other teas are better than their chocolate and vanilla ones. Since I know this one is good, I grabbed a box. I’ve been told by a very trustworthy lady that the orange spice is good for sun tea, so I may try that (when there’s light again. Goodness, Washington, why do you have to have so much fog this year?).

I’m finally back to my home tea stash! It’s been a few days, and I’ve noticed I’m back to being my mopey, boring old self (none of this Alaska adventuring for me anymore…) — and also back to a house that looks like a hurricane went through it. My family isn’t into spring cleaning — we do winter cleaning. It’s still autumn down here in the contiguous 48, but I’ve seen enough snow and ice up in Alaska to make it winter already.

This is a great go-to tea for cleaning days. It’s flavorful, and I now taste the chamomile (after having about 5 cups in a row). I have an odd desire to somehow use this tea to make bath products — it smells that good. I only have three more teabags left, though (even the tea stash is getting a winter cleaning), so I have to decide whether I want to make a mess with body products or just enjoy the tea as it’s supposed to be…