JacquelineM

I also can’t help but mark The Opening of A New One Pound Bag of Vanilla Comoro! So delicious! The caramel flavor was very pronounced and extremely yummy. We had it with some little pastries filled with hazelnut creme (think puff pasty and Nutella. Yeah :) and I was pretty much in heaven!!!!!

I wonder what tea base is in this tea, because it is IN! VIG! OR! A! TING!! There are just a few teas that make me feel like zipping around like a nut, and this is one of them :) and I mean that in the best way possible :) :) :) It doesn’t hurt that I find it absolutely delicious, especially in crisp, cool weather!

First stovetop chai of the autumn! Also, the first time trying this tea. Many many many thanks to Doulton!!!!!

I made it the usual way (cup of milk, cup of water, 4 teaspoons of tea simmered 8-10 min, generous squirt of honey) and it was exactly what I was craving. The spices were warming and delicious without being overpowering (black pepper was present but not obnoxious). It was full of cardamom pods which makes me extremely happy! I also love the fact that it’s fair trade and organic.

What a treat!

P.S. I have a book review on Unputdownables & you can win the book I reviewed, In the Kitchen Cooking School. Check it out: http://unputdownables.net/2011/10/06/the-kitchen-counter-cooking-school-by-kathleen-flinn/

P.P.S. I had a guest post there when my Steepster wasn’t working & it’s a little bit about tea! http://unputdownables.net/2011/09/23/bringing-out-your-inner-martha/

P.P.P.S. We are reading Anna Karenina together if you’re interested! I know there are many book lovers here on Steepster. Here is the reading schedule if you’d like to join in! http://unputdownables.net/2011/10/07/anna-karenina-read-a-long-starting-post/

You’ve already heard me wax poetic a million times about how much I love Vanilla Comoro. I just wanted to mark the fact that this pot was made with the last scrapings of my 1 pound bag! Don’t worry – another pound arrived on Saturday. My evenings would be sad indeed without my sweet vanilla, caramel friend that doesn’t keep me up all night!

Many many many thanks to ashmanra for sending me this tea to try!!!!

Well color me surprised! This tea tastes absolutely nothing like I thought it was going to taste! I was thinking it would be a Golden Monkey on steroids, but it actually tastes quite bacony and smoky to my palate! A bit Yunnan-y. A notch or two smokier than Queen Catherine I do believe. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had something proper to pair it with (like an everything bagel with cream cheese!) but my little multigrain roll really didn’t cut it.

As it cools it’s getting a little sweeter, and I think it’s a very fine tea (VERY smooth) but I have to be honest. I think this is going to my husband, who loves this flavor profile. I think what it is is that it’s smoky bacony not smoky chocolatey which is my kinda smoky (Queen Catherine, Keemun Mao Feng). Who knew there were so many kinds of smoky!?!?! There is ashy smoky like Gunpowder, and piney smoky like Lapsang – I’m sure there are more. Can you think of any? :)

Oh my roasty, chocolatey, earthy, touch of fruity/winey on the end of the sip, completely delicious friend, welcome to my cupboard! I completely agree with LiberTEAS that this brings to mind Dawn from the Simple Leaf, only a Chinese instead of Indian, perfect sans additions version! Wow, wow, wow! I’m completely head over heels in LOVE!

It’s really nice when you get to the place when you can read where a certain tea hails from, read the tasting notes from people who you share the taste of, and can order 8oz of a tea without tasting it and KNOW that you are going to love it. I have Steepster and my beloved Steepsterites to thank for this :) THANK YOU!

Ahhhh! Finally, after months and months of “waiting til the fall” to order this tea, I have more in my hot (cinnamon spice) little hands! It’s completely over the top in the best way possible. Sweet, oh so cinnamony, and just the right touch of orange and clove. It’s pretty much screams “autumn in a cup” to me! It never fails that someone tells me how good my tea smells when I make some of this.

I had one steep of my Chinese Blend – Black so I could have my breakfast then get on to the good stuff – some Rose Congou!

Mmmmm. Musky true rose that perfectly compliments the faintly pastry-esque Congou. Slightly sweet but never sickening or too much. I think of it as pearls and a chignon rose tea (vs some of those… hair extension and fake tan rose teas!)! Money certainly does not equal elegance (this tea is one of the most reasonably priced teas!)! Love!

Oh, honey! I love the sweet profile and luscious mouthfeel of this tea! Such an enjoyable cup. I am always surprised when I get to the end of my cup, because it goes down sooooooo easy. It’s like liquid heaven gold :)

Many thanks to Lady Londonderry for this amazing treat!

I decided to try a little experiment today: steep Yunnan Golden Buds like I do all my “golden” teas (200 degree water, 4 minutes).

It’s quite delicious. I’m surprised that it’s honestly not that much different than when I steep it at 175 for a minute or two! So sweet and delightfully yammy. Not astringent, bitter, or strong (a tad stronger than the lower temp/time brew but I see that as a positive).

I made a second steep at 5 minutes and it’s delicious as well. I believe I found a new steeping parameter for this tea! I am loving the boost in flavor!

Yay! Steepster loads at work, too! I am so happy!

Even with the humidity, Fall is in the air. I don’t know how to describe it – a different quality of light, a clammy humidity instead of a hot one. All that I know is that I am starting to crave my heavier teas and foods :) Today is the first time I’m drinking Keemun Mao Feng in weeks and weeks!

Ahhh, so rich and delicious. Light smoke and depth, but a sweetness, too. Spectacular.

Hello Steepsterites! I have missed you all so much! The page would not load for me, but I read on twitter that the Steepster Overlords were doing updates, so I tried this morning and YAY! It works!

We’ve had a stretch of rain and humidity in these parts, which means I’ve been drinking lots of this Earl :) It’s so refreshing in the mugginess, and cheering in the rain. As I’ve said before, I’m not sure what kind of English Magic they put in this tea, but it gives me so much vim and vigor without ever tasting too strong or bitter. I totally agree on the name of Classic in this tea. It’s not rainbows and moonbeams, new or extravagant – it’s an absolutely perfect, dependable in all situations, and never out of place Earl!

I’m so so so glad Steepster is working for me again! Kisses to everyone!

I was so crazy for Fortnum’s Countess Grey that SimplyJenW sent, that I hightailed it over to Williams-Sonoma after work. I knew they carried a selection of their teas, and I had my eye on their Earl Grey Classic. Ran over and bought it (hey, I needed parchment paper, too!)

Oh, I love this tea! It is not only smooth and flavorful, but it gives one a lot of vim and vigor, making it very appropriate for those that like an Earl Grey in the morning! whispers I think I like this the best of all the Earl Greys I’ve tried!!

!!!!

Gotta run – terribly busy – I will try to provide more details the next time I drink this!

Thank you SimplyJenW for this tea!!

Mmmmmmmmm! Orangey! It’s like a very orangey instead of bergamotty Earl Grey, and it’s absolutely delightful. Very smooth tea base that lets the flavoring shine. And the flavoring! It’s so natural. I tastes exactly like the juices and oils that squirt out of an orange when you peel it.

When one has been through an earthquake (albeit minor) and hurricane (albeit minor) in one week, one needs a little something zesty, punchy and DIFFERENT to put everything back in its place, and this tea is absolutely perfect for this purpose. Bonus: this was a kind gift, which makes it 29834092840 times as wonderful, imo.

Thank you Jen! Another one I adore!

I knew that I would love this tea the minute I read the description on the Harney and Sons website. I thought I was going to have to wait and wait to try it, but SimplyJenW surprised me with some! THANK YOU JEN!!!!!

This is actually the second time I’m drinking it. Busy at work, we need a new roof, jury duty, an earthquake – you know. Just those every day things ;) kept me from raving about how delicious this tea is! It reminds me a bit of a stronger, yet sweeter Emperor’s Red. Instead of roasty, I taste a nutty profile. Not just nutty, but that papery coating that walnuts have over their meat? That taste! It’s really nice in a tea.

I’ll write more when things slow down – I hope to purchase this one asap because it’s fantastic! Really great when you are in the mood for something inbetween – mellower than Keemun Mao Feng, but gutsier than a Golden Monkey, let’s say.

It works! A pinch of baking soda after you pour the water over the tea leaves will take care of cloudy iced tea! Thank you ashmanra!

This one, iced. As satisfying as usual :) Now prettier!

Today is an especially wonderful Keemun Mao Feng day. Very rich and chocolatey. Miraculous!

This one is a bit of heaven with an Everything Bagel, toasted, with cream cheese too. :)

Mmmmmmmm! I had my favorite pairing today – The Queen and a toasted Everything bagel with cream cheese! The slightly smoky tea, the creamy cheese, the garlicy, oniony bagel – Heaven! I think I’m going to up the ante tomorrow and slice some of my garden tomatoes on top, too.

Bonus: always good with a little Rose Congou for the additional steeps après breakfast.

I made this hot brewed for our weekly iced tea. Since it’s a Chinese tea that resteeps well, I did 2 steeps of the “double strength” leaves (4 tablespoons tea, 4 cups of water, 4 minutes each steep) and put about 4 tablespoons of organic sugar in the hot tea (easy to remember: 4,4,4,4!). Delicious! The sweetness of the GM makes a lovely iced tea. A nice change of pace from the Earl Grey iced tea we’ve been drinking for most of the summer, and I don’t feel toooooooo bad about using all those leaves when I can do two very flavorful steeps of them.

A very sad day. The last puff of Golden Mudan!

This tea is so easy to drink! Round, full, but gentle. Honey and soft sweetness. Just a complete pleasure. Plus, it’s cute! I wish you could still purchase it at H&S, but it’s not even on the website anymore :(

Thank you Doulton, from the bottom of my heart, for this extraordinary tea!

As far as I’m concerned, Harney & Sons have really been hitting home runs with their new-ish teas. I am so very loving this chocolatey wonder. Forget about it steeping? It tastes fantastic! Get busy and it cools? Still amazing. Multiple steeps? Yup! Add a little Rose Congou on the third steep for some zip. Oh yeah!

I can no longer say “I do not like green tea” after trying these French ones. Me-ow this is good! Subtle and delightful. No bitterness. I’d be hard pressed to name a single flavor – I would not say “jasmine!” or “mango!” or “almond!” but I would say “sweet!” and “nutty!” The only sencha I’ve ever liked comes in these French teas – I wonder what it is about them?! I’m so curious to try more!

Many many MANY thanks for Dinosara for showing me a new facet of my tea personality!

As I’ve said a few times previously, Emperor’s Red was starting to taste a little lackluster now that I’ve come under the sway of Mr. Keemun Mao Feng! It’s still a nice tea, but I wanted a little more “oomph!” So, I blended together the Emperor, some Panyang Congou from Harney, some Upton China Black, and some Upton Keemun Mao Feng.

…and I love it! I used about 2 oz of the Emperor, so you can still taste him in all his tangy roasty glory, but the few tablespoons I put in of each of the other teas added a little backbone to the blend. I am especially loving the little bit of pastry the China Black is adding!

I now have a tin full of something I’m excited to drink! It’s a perfect daily drinker – delicious, great sans additions, tastes good with any food pairing. Horray for tea experiments!

Many thanks to Lady Londonderry for this tea!

I was really excited to try this one since “Golden” teas are some of my favorites. This one is SO GOOD! I’m not getting cocoa notes, but more of a rich honey Golden Monkey profile. I am tasting this one to be more like the Golden Monkey I’m used to than Upton’s Imperial Golden Monkey! Deeeeee-licious! It has that heavy mouthfeel that I associate with these kinds of teas, and which I absolutely crave!

I was very much saddened to see that this is discontinued at Upton (I zipped right over there because I wanted to order it I liked it so much!). Alas, this will have to be one of my little special hoarder teas that I have every now and again so I can savor it for as long as possible!

Thank you once again, Lady Londonderry! This is making my Monday morning!