1438 Tasting Notes
CNN projection for president is up!
This one is hitting the spot this morning. The perfect balance of mint and cacao. The mint is always more prominent, but I enjoy the base and cacao do a great job of mellowing it out.
Also, just polished off my chemical runoff into wetlands article for volunteering! Great start to a Saturday!
Enjoying this as the last tea of the night as we hang out with the bunnies! You know, this tea was tasty the first time I tried it, and it’s really grown on me. I may have to order this one again (if it’s available next year when I place my annual TTC order). I left the leaves for a second steep tomorrow.
I’m going to turn in early tonight to try to get some decent rest for some serious paper-writing this weekend. I also booked off Monday and Tuesday from work to write this paper and work on other assignments as well.
Preparation
This has arrived!
I steeped this up at 3 minutes because the tin said 5, and I told myself that I couldn’t possibly steep it for 5 minutes. I mean, why would 5 minutes even be necessary? Well, 3 minutes wasn’t quite enough. XD But I do think 4 minutes might be the sweet spot.
I put a little bit of simple syrup and frothed almond milk in here and it’s quite tasty. I don’t know why I’m craving these Earl Grey lattes, but I’ll just enjoy it while it lasts!
It is helping my productivity, at least. I’ve got a paper outline and I’m officially started in on the first section. What a Friday!
Preparation
I have always had my tea without anything in them until about 2 weeks ago! Now I can’t seem to get enough! I’m super lazy about how I make them, but they taste good and that’s what counts.
I can definitely understand the craving as the weather gets colder. I’ve been hitting the cocoa pretty hard lately! :P
No, LOL! I’m in Austin, TX. We did have a few days of around 7° C a week or two ago, but generally it’s more like 24-25° C… XD
Honestly I was so sad when the temperature went back up. I’m ready for cooler weather and cozy sweaters and boots!
So glad this tea helped your productivity! I am so curious to try Harney & Sons. I keep hearing wondering things about them.
I really enjoy H&S. I used to have a lot more of their teas, but that was when it was more accessible to travel to the US and pick them up! I’ve been looking at ordering again! You can also find them a few other places for sale too!
Honestly I should try more teas from Harney, they have nice little sample sizes available for most things!
They do! I was on their website just last week haha. I should really make a list of the companies I want to order from so I don’t lose the run of myself.
I’ve started kind of doing that, mostly because Black Friday and Cyber Monday will be coming this month and maybe there will be good sales at some places. :P
I am the worst for forgetting about Black Friday/Cyber Monday haha. But the Teavivre was a good idea — I think it was ashmanra that mentioned I should wait for that one. I’m not sure where else I absolutely need to order from right now. I was looking at a couple teahouses in BC last night. We are contemplating picking up a TV for Black Friday this year, so that may be most of the budget. :)
I’ve been wanting to order some Holiday teas from Simpson & Vail since they don’t seem to offer an advent this year, so I’m hoping they may take part. :)
Oooh, good idea. I have my entire cart set for them, and I’ve already emailed them about different shipping options to Canada. Maybe if they take part, the price will be right!
A sample from VariaTEA!
This tea smells very juicy and peachy, but more peach flavour as opposed to real peach. I’m not sure what it is with peach flavouring, but it just doesn’t sit right with my senses. However, new teas are always exciting, so in keeping an open mind:
I did accidentally oversteep this as I agonized over the wording in an email I had to send to a group haha. So, instead of 5 minutes, it steeped for 9.5 minutes.
The flavour is more subtle, but still peachy with a hint of sourness, almost like a slightly unripe peach. It actually reminds me of an unsweetened fuzzy peach candy mixed into tea. I don’t think the overstepping has harmed this, which is a plus. The base is not astringent at all and I always enjoy the black/green base mix. Sadly, this is not my cup of tea, but I’m always happy to have tried a new tea!
I had to go in to work today, and because I work on a hospital campus, I was a tad panicked (I am so grateful to have the opportunity to work from home). However, all went smoothly, and now I’m back home in my sweats with tea!
I was feeling a clove tea and didn’t want to use up the chai, since I have very little left. So, this was the only other tea in my cupboard with clove! I’ve had this one a fair amount over the years of purchasing New Moon and I do enjoy it. It’s very herbal-y, but still quite tasty. It’s fairly ginger-forward, with some cloves and hay right behind.
Preparation
Oooooh, that sounds good. The name is bizarre, hahaha! I’m in a huge sweater and leggings with my super cozy felted wool slippers on and just made myself some tea, so I’m right there with you.
Hahah isn’t it? I originally picked it up after Lex’s double wisdom tooth surgeries, so it all worked out!
Cozy clothes are the best.
Also, I have more of this one to share jessi, I just ran out of swap bags hahah! More are being ordered today!
Yaaaaay, that’s exciting news! When did she have her wisdom teeth pulled? I had all mine done last year and it was not fun – I definitely needed some surgical recovery tea.
Hers were years ago now — before we left AB (maybe 2017?). She actually ended up having two separate surgeries for it to work with insurance. Craziness! The tea made it much better!
Ugh, that’s brutal. Did she look like she got in a fight? Stefan was scared to go out in public with me after my surgery, because it for sure looked like I was a battered woman, hahaha!
Good morning! It’s just before 7a here and I’m about to start a volunteer shift before work. I’m fairly tired, but this tea to the rescue!
The scent of this tea is just a nice calming wake-up. :) Also, it’s always so quiet at this hour and I love it.
Preparation
This one is a fairly even mix of hazelnut and cocoa for me. It has a scent to the dry leaf that doesn’t appeal to me, but once I steep it up and actually start drinking it, I enjoy it.
I wouldn’t necessarily say I get roasted chestnuts from this tea, but the nuttiness helps. The oolong base is smooth and pairs well with the flavours. Maybe I can play with the steeping parameters a bit to try to coax more chestnut-specific flavours out.
Preparation
I steeped this one up this evening after a bit of a disaster last time (where I couldn’t even bring myself to create a note).
After Cameron mentioning the orange blossom, it made this tea so much better. I actually really enjoy orange blossom and going in with that in mind made all the difference. I’m still sad there isn’t more of a maple hint, but I enjoyed it fully this evening for the flavours it did have.
Preparation
I cleaned my infusers today with baking soda and they look brand new!
It’s grey and rainy here, which I love because it reminds me of home! It also calls for a super cozy tea. I wasn’t sure which one to make so I thought maybe this one as a latte would be perfect.
I only added frothed almond milk and a tiny bit of simple (coconut) syrup, because this one has a pretty sweet scent all of its own. Thus far the only latte I’ve had has been with Earl Grey, which went well.
This one is also tasty. Perhaps the bergamot just does well as a latte? It does tone it down so it’s manageable for me, which is delightful! The other flavours of this tea, I really enjoy so finding a way to also enjoy the bergamot is a win.
Ivan seemed to agree, because he hopped up on my lap and tried to go right in for a sip! Very out of character for him! XD
I have two very clogged Finum basket infusers and am wondering if this would work. Do you just soak them in mugs full of water/baking soda?
I have the infusers from David’s, and they are metal. I would recommend soaking them in water with a polident tablet first (I do this for our water bottles or anything that needs a refresh and have done it with my infusers before), then try scrubbing. From what I understand, the Finum is more of a metal mesh and I wouldn’t want to recommend something that might alter the structure!
Enjoyed a peanut butter bagel and now enjoying this tea!
I’ll never get over the deliciousness of this one. It’s always so amazing how much depth and flavour can be in a straight tea.
\o/
You’re one with the text emojis! I’m learning so much I’ve forgotten since T9 haha!
Gotta do what I can when modern emojis don’t work here! ;)
Yaay! So happy for you guys!
Happy for our American friends! ❤
You can talk wetlands to me all you want. I would seriously soak up anything you say with lovey-dovey anime eyes.
derk wetlands are so cool! This article I wrote for a wildlife conservation institute I volunteer with, but I’m also working on a paper in my peatlands course for my degree. It’s 40% of my grade :|. I’ll try to put some small updates in my tea notes. :)