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This tea smells so cozy, like the earliest hints of holidays on the way. I wasn’t as impressed by the flavor. It’s good at first, but a quarter way through the cup I began to lose interest as the flavored-tea characteristics started to gang up on me. I am finicky about flavored teas and a lot of them are only good to me while still very hot (luke-warm dessert teas are the worst) and usually only for half a cup before they become too much of a good thing.

My husband, on the other hand, likes this one a lot (he rates it around 95). I was worried about brewing it for him because he hasn’t liked many black teas yet (flavored or not), but this was an exception.

Last time I logged this, I said it didn’t compare to Laoshan green. I take it back. This is currently my favorite green. I think I had this whole psychosomatic response to the Laoshan, being the first fresh-from-the farm tea that I purchased. I made up my mind that is has to be superb, therefor it was. Well of course, it still is a good green, but most of my enthusiasm was the novelty of it.

Anyhow, back to normal daily tea life, this five peaks is the star of my cupboard. It’s such an easy tea to work with. Doesn’t go bitter if I look at it funny, doesn’t have that textured/granular flavor (yes, Im referring to a texture as a flavor, because to me it does have a flavor :p ) that some of the heavy vegetal greens get. Its pleasant, sweet and juicy without overdoing it.

Sipdown

This has been such a lovely breakfast tea. I like the new version too, but not as a breakfast tea. The new one is more mellow, more like an afternoon tea. I am shopping around again to find good breakfast teas. :)

This has been my go-to black tea recently, whenever I can’t decide what to brew. But, alas, I’ve finally used it all up. I have several new black teas on their way to me, so I won’t be re-ordering this one for a while, but that will make it all the more special when it makes it back to my cupboard again in the future :)

Farewell for now, yummy tea, until we meet again (^.^)

I’ve had this tea several times since I last logged it. I don’t know why, but it tastes so much more bitter than the first few cups I had. I don’t know if its just the current batch that I have or if I’m preparing it differently or if my tastebuds simply changed gears (happens surprisingly frequently)

I still like it and I reach for it when I want a dunking tea for my biscuits, but I am not as in love with it as I was in the beginning.

It’s finally cold enough to use my heater. I love autumn! It’s supposed to warm up a bit next week, but not too much.

I completely forgot that I had this tea, a small sample from my last Verdant order. I haven’t been too impressed with dragonwell teas in the past, so I was in no hurry to try this sample when I first got it.

I’m enjoying my second cup of it now and must say that it is the best dragonwell tea that I have tried. It hints at wanting to be a japanese green, but maintains a non-astringent sort of nutty and fruity dragonwell characteristic too.

And now I’ve finished my cup and must get ready for class :)

I haven’t been much in the mood for puerh lately (been in a black tea phase) but decided to kick myself back into eclectic variety.

These really are very good Tuo Chas. I don’t care if the puerh nerds say that mini cakes are sub-par (could’ve fooled me). They try to tell me that sheng is better too, but nothing has yet compared to the rich full-bodied flavor of a cup of shu for me :)

On a side note: sorry guys if I don’t log as often as I used to. I still check in with steepster everyday, but I don’t have any new teas atm (just sipping through the oldies but goodies) and school work is consuming my time. I’m also stressed about applying for graduate school this year. If I don’t get into my preferred school, there will be complications. But besides that, applying at all has me a trifle stressed.

OMG soooo much homework! Today was the third day of classes and I had to stay up so late last night for all the reading. I only have 12 credits (and 2 of them are my piano lessons) and I feel like the work load is heavier than when I was taking 21 credits the last few semesters of my english degree AND working part time. So what the big idea here?! Have I just forgotten how to manage?? Times like these I really miss when all my homework was just math. I am not such a fast reader. On top of that, most of the texts are in German and most of my classmates have more years of German study behind them than me. I am not used to being the one lagging behind.

So anyway, I brewed this tea trying to take a quick breather before I prepare dinner. I put some rock sugar (4 pieces) in this time and it came out so good. Or maybe its one of those times when any hot and comforting drink would seem good just because I am so stressed (that does happen. . and then I brew it again later and think “This isn’t the same thing!” lol)

I will miss this tea so much when I run out :(

First day of the semester today. I made it the the gym and dropped off a cat at the vet. It’s been such a productive morning. I even have time left to enjoy a cup of tea. yay! It’s going to be a heavy semester and I have to start getting things in order for my grad school application. I’m going to need a lot of tea to make it through :)

I still have some of the Organic Irish breakfast left and I had it yesterday. Today I am drinking this one and I think I might like the original slightly better after. Don’t get me wrong, this is a good cup, but the other seemed bolder and stronger, more like a breakfast tea. I’ll have to be frugal with what’s left of my supply :(