JacquelineM

Thank you Doulton for this tea!!!!!

Chocolate and almonds. Two of my favorite things in the world, and two of my favorite things paired! The aroma of the dry leaves is so nutty and pleasant. Even though it was almost 9pm I was willing to pay the price of having a caffeinated tea!!!! Readers, it was worth it. Chocolatey and rich with almonds. If I had to bet, I would say an Indian black tea base. It was a little weak (which is a good thing at 9pm!!!) – next time I’m going to add a little more leaves to the pot. All you need for dessert with some milk and sugar. I would serve this to company in a heartbeat!

I received the most A-MAZING package from Doulton yesterday! You are going to be seeing many, many THANK YOU FOR THIS TEA DOULTON tasting notes in my log in the next few…months! at least months! :)

So, Doulton. Thank you for this tea!!!!

It is tied together in a little bunch, but is not “blooming” – it just gets…plump. It does not scare me. :) It smells great – sweet and tea-y – and it is DELICIOUS. Imagine Golden Monkey with a little extra attitude…and a bottle of honey! I read that one puff makes 6-8 oz of tea, so I was careful not to put too much water in my brewer cup, and was rewarded with an absolute elixir! LOVE that golden mouthfeel.

Thank you, thank you, thank you Doulton!

I got an A in my class and am feeling happy and silly so I wrote a poem to my tea!

Golden Snail,
You leave a trail,
of chocolate delight.
It’s the very height,
of deliciousness.
I could give you a kiss!
But you are a tea,
And would spill on me.

Many, many thanks to ashmanra for this tea!!!

I was trying to learn something new at work, and had one of those frazzle dazzle mornings that turned to afternoon before I knew it. This was my company :) Delicious pomegranate taste! Delicious tie guan yin type oolong! BUT – perhaps they are like two perfectly good people who just don’t get on together – maybe they would be better apart. I kept on wanting to taste the green oolong alone, and also have a fruity tisane – alone! (in fact I’m drinking Tazo Passion as I write this note because I was really enjoying the fruity!) Really nice high quality tea – and I’m even looking forward to drinking the other sachet ashmanra so generously sent!! but not an OMG run out and get it one for me. I love the flavors but I’d like then in two separate cups ;)

I had some of this today, and AGAIN was craving a little more assertiveness. For my second steep I added a half teaspoon of Harney & Sons Hao Ya A and was so pleased with the resulting flavor that I mixed in the rest of the dry leaves from my sample packet into the Emperor’s tin! The Emperor was not happy about this but I have opposable thumbs, and he does not, so I can do what I want!! ;)

There was only one tea I wanted today – Queen Catherine!

The house next to ours caught on fire, and burned to the ground. The firemen had to break into our house to make sure it wasn’t on fire, and our dog bit the firefighter in the face! Thankfully we were able to get his rabies vaccination certificate and all is as well as can be for our home, and none of our neighbors were injured, although they lost everything. It was very sobering and scary.

The Queen is keeping me even keeled and chin up as I plow through miles of work now that I’m finally back in the office today (as well as trying to keep up with scheduling repair people, insurance people, etc etc etc). The little bit of smoke in this tea is like the little bit of the virus they put in a vaccine. I’m reminded of the other side of smoke, and the impermanence and fragility of all this worldly stuff. Appreciate each day, each moment. You never know.

Mmmmmmmmm! This is the kind of tea I adore at work. Roasty cocoa. Assertive but not too. Invigorating & makes me want to take care of business – with a smile! I am drinking my third steep, and it’s still super flavorful. Little Golden Snail, I love you! I hope you are still around when I come out of my self imposed tea buying ban and do my Fall ordering!!!

Many thanks to Lady Londonderry for this tea!!!

It’s sweet, roasty, chocolatey – all the things I loved about Harney’s KMF. Delicious! but!!! it’s like they took the remote control and put the volume to, say, 5 or 6. Harney’s KMF goes to 11 ;)

I am totally going to enjoy every drop of this sample, but most likely will order Harney’s despite the fact that the price goes to 11 too. If Harney runs out, I would order this in a heartbeat, and be very pleased. It’s good stuff!

Many many thanks to ashmanra for sending me some of this very precious tea to try!

This is one of the most interesting teas I’ve ever tasted! I think it’s called “wild forest” because it tastes a bit like those fresh pine needles that I had in that pine tisane! That piney/menthol/lemonyness… but fine delicious tea too! It’s a great combination and addictive! My taste buds are curious and keep nudging me to take another sip because they can’t quite place these flavors…together!

I’m looking forward to many many steeps today, and will post a comment later on how they evolved!

Many thanks to ashmanra for sending me some of this to try, with the most adorable drawing of a GOLDEN SNAIL on it!

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Awwwwwww!

This tea is delicious! When I had my first sip, I was bowled over by the sweetness of it! I think ashmanra hits the nail on the head when she describes it as Golden Monkey meets Emperor’s Red. It has the roasty and chocolatey going on, but it has the sweetness and mouthfeel (thick!) of a Golden Monkey.

Harney & Sons says they found this as a sort of replacement to Keemun Mao Feng, but I would argue that it is its own beast. It did not strike me as being Keemun Mao Feng’s little cousin, and having both in one’s cupboard would not be repetitive in my humble opinion!

I just wanted to swoon a bit: Rainy day + Earl Grey Supreme = perfect, perfect, perfect.

As soon as I tasted this, I said “Wait?! This is a Keemun? It tastes like an oolong!” Lo and behold, it’s supposed to :) Formosa – I see! Once I wrapped my head around the fact that I’d be enjoying an oolong, and not a roasty chocolatey Keemun, I relaxed into it.

This one is pleasantly woody, with a rich, complex, sort of tangy flavor. Second steep sweeter and less woody. I bet it would be great with food. We are actually out of water here at work (we get spring water delivered because our faucet water is so vile) but I am going to save my leaves in hope that we get a delivery some time today so I can have another steep!

Thank you Michelle, my SweeTea, for this tea!!!

So I’m drinking my friend the Emperor here, and…gasp. All I can think of is Keemun Mao Feng! The Emperor is certainly a delicious cuppa, and I’m enjoying him immensely, but… but… Keemun Mao Feng just heaps it on! Unforgettable. I’m going to be swooning over it until it comes and lives in my cupboard methinks.

Now that I think of the Emperor as a lighter tea (!!!) I will certainly be enjoying him all summer with much pleasure, but I have to admit he has been knocked off his throne a bit!

Many, many thanks to ashmanra for letting me try this tea, because I think it is one of the most delicious teas to ever cross my lips! I am feeling tragic that this is the end of my sample.

Smooth, sweet, chocolatey. Balanced…tangy, a little smoky and savory too. If I had to narrow it down to one word, it would be RICH. To my mind, this tea is the perfect example of why tea connoisseurs say an extremely high quality single origin tea is so head and shoulders above any flavored or blended tea. I like a nice flavored or blended tea just as much as the next person, but OH! This is something so special and delicious.

Truly, madly, deeply in lurve!

Many thanks to SimplyJenW for this tea!!!!

This is my “I’m done my final paper/poster/presentation wheeeeeeee!” tea treat! I thought it would be lovely to have a nice tea with some chocolate happiness infused throughout :) This does not disappoint. The tea base is excellent. The play between the chocolate roasty notes in the tea, and the added chocolate flavor is really, really, nice. I’m having it at work sans additions, and it is a pleasure to drink unadorned.

Thank you so much Jen! This is so lovely!

I had this one last night because it is supposed to encourage calming. Calm is what I needed after our sump pump stopped working in the rain storm, and started backing up into our heating/cooling unit in the basement. We had to turn off the sump pump and, yeah. Flooded basement does not even begin to describe it.

We’ve drained the basement and gotten the sump pump fixed. Everything that was in the basement is now thrown away (sigh). I’ve mopped a bunch of times but there is still that musty flood smell. This is going to be a long process.

This minty chamomile concoction really helped last night. Even though I was exhausted my brain was going a mile a minute. I had a sweet, herbaceous cup of this and got so knocked out that I slept in my clothing! I couldn’t even get changed into jammies I was so knocked out. That’s pretty calm I’d say :) Highly recommended for Nervous Wrecks!

I placed a big order to Mountain Rose Herbs for essential oils, herbs, spices, etc. and couldn’t help choosing a few teas to try, too :) I am one of those people who love a nice simple rooibos, and thought one with a little vanilla added would be right up my alley.

This one is truly delicious – fresh tasting and very rich. The vanilla is subtle, and I’m thinking of cutting a vanilla bean into it to enhance the vanilla flavor (I also got a bunch of them from Mountain Rose!).

I really like the idea that it’s so full in Good Things. As the Mountain Rose site states: A gentle and effective tea full of anti-oxidants, Vitamin C, Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium, Iron, Zinc, Sodium, Copper, and Manganese. I think this sounds much better for a person than the processes they use to make decaf tea :) I still love my Vanilla Comoro 4ever & ever xoxoxoxo, but I think I’m going to give up on my searching for decaf teas, and enjoy these naturally caffeine free tisanes that have some nice benefits.

P.S. Finally got the Tea tote I’ve been coveting from Mountain Rose Herbs for the last year!

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Hello everyone! I’m going to change the way I do tasting notes, and wanted to let you all know :) I’ve decided I’ve learned enough about my daily tea habits to start logging only when I try a new tea, or when I have something exceptional to say about a tea that I’ve already logged. I’ll still keep my cupboard up to date, and be checking in regularly to see what you are all drinking!

This was my cup today, but in the spirit of my new system, I’ll refrain from saying mmmmmmm roasty and delicious for the 29831982301238 time ;)

I simply adore this tea. It has instantly shot up to my top 10 list :) It kinda reminds me of a love child of Queen Catherine and Emperor’s Red. Just a little smoky. Rich. Roasty. Chocolatey. Sweet. Somehow relaxing and decadent…almost like a glass of port or some other spirit that makes you want to sit back and sigh and ruminate.

Feeling better today, and enjoying my zingy, roasty friend! Four steeps, including one cold one. No one can say I don’t wring every last drop from each teaspoon of tea :)

I wanted a tea that I could drink alllllllll day, and this one came to mind. So nice and sweet. I can’t taste the complexities with my illness, but the sweet potato-ness and gentleness come through. Very soothing and delicious.

I made one bag of this tisane with an addition of a squeezed lemon and honey for my Endless Cough and felt dramatically better…for about an hour. I felt that it worked better than any of the cough medicines I’ve been trying. Friends who have had this nasty bug say the cough lasts for 2-3 weeks, so you will be hearing me complain for about another week ;)

I think this is the 9th or 10th cup I’ve had of this in the past two days. When I’m drinking this, I don’t cough. They really are magic herbs for sickness. Medicinal in the best way possible. Tasty and helpful for two steeps.

A nice sleepy cup with lots of honey. This one isn’t as fresh tasting as it once was, and it’s low on mango and cranberry pieces, but still very enjoyable. I’m one of those people who actually like the taste of chamomile :)

I chose this one partially for relaxation, and partially because I’m still coughing and the honey is soooooo soothing. If anyone has a cough remedy, or even an OTC medicine that always works for you, I’m all ears. I haven’t had a full night of sleep in almost a fortnight (and neither has my husband!).