MegWesley

This is my first Earl in my Earl Grey Challenge. It is exactly what I need right now. Nice, mellow, and comforting. I didn’t have a chance to get breakfast today because I had an intense online midterm, but I think I did well and now I get to relax for about two seconds before I get to run off to my next class. Just enough time to finish a cup.

It is really hit or miss every time I have this tea because there is just not enough rose in the blend. Each time I get a different amount of rose and the black tea base is a little flat without it. It is times like these when I just need to get a pouch of rose blooms or blossoms or hips or whatever is in this tea to make it rosey to just add to the tea when I don’t think there is enough in it. Then it would be perfect every time.

I was talking to my friends at breakfast about my Earl Grey addiction and the topic of different brands of Earl Grey came up. I have decided that tomorrow I will go through the entire day drinking as many different types of Earl Grey as I can. Bring it on for tomorrow!

Nothing is better than a cup of hot Earl Grey you love when you are sore and want to be soothed. Well, unless you don’t like Earl Grey. Then you should just learn to like it because it is so comforting.

This was the second cup of tea I had in class today. I was one of the first ones to try this flavor. The second person to try it was my teacher. I didn’t think she minded it, but it didn’t go over so well for me.

It started off very, very sweet. Then the taste got slightly sour on my tongue with a fake-sweet taste. Then it made my tongue go numb for a little bit. Apparently, I made faces and amused the girl sitting next to me before class started.

It sounds like a novelty, but do not get this tea. Numb tongue and sour. I didn’t even finish my cup.

-Discount this tasting note. I discovered that this tea was not Earl Grey French Blue but that it is a very delicious tea and I should try it some time. The tea I was drinking was named correctly as Bel Ami.

I was reading one of my classmate’s essays for senior seminar and it was about her family—her mom, specifically. It was so well written that it made me homesick for my mom. Two of the things that remind me of her is a cherry-almond lotion and Constant Comment.

Sometimes, nothing satisfies you more than grocery store tea. I have a feeling that I will always have some Constant Comment somewhere in the house.

I have been craving this tea since yesterday, but I was too tired to make it yesterday because of my writer’s conference. Now it is officially over and I have both time and energy to make tea.

I think I lost track of time when making my water. It is slightly hotter than the last time I made it. I also steeped it for slightly longer because I am bad at keeping track of time today.

The buttery creaminess is still present, but only slightly. I think I might be able to get another steep out of these leaves with cooler water and a slightly longer time. I’m being experimental.

Second Steep

I let it go for four minutes instead of three this time. I’m not sure if it will get any flavor out of the leaves or not, but that is what I am going to find out. The color is light yellow now instead of the clarified butter shade of yellow.

At first it has that nice light green taste to it, but then it has a really rough after taste on the back of your throat. Really drying even though it has a register of smooth butter for a brief second.

Moral of the story: pay attention to my water and time when steeping this tea. I will have a better cup next time.

This tea doesn’t really remind me of tea. It reminds me of something else, but I’m not sure of what. It smells nuttier than the last time I made it and I think it is a darker amber color than the last time I made it too.

I am getting a fair amount of chocolate and a good amount of hazlenut when I sip this. I had to let it cool for a little bit before the flavors developed. I think it doesn’t register as tea for me because it doesn’t taste watery. Even though it doesn’t have the thick body of cream, I am getting a more creamy mouth-feel. It feels like I am getting something rich, creamy, and decadent when I am not actually getting something thick and creamy. It is decadent though.

I think I have to boost the rating because it really feels like I am sipping on cocoa instead of tea. I am falling more in love with it every minute I sip this. Thank you Ashley! I will have to remember to actually get some of this when I have the tea funds.

I haven’t had this tea since last semester. This time I only used one teaspoon for my cup. I’m not quite sure how much I was supposed to use, so this is a guess.

The liquid is a nice amber. It smells like damp earth. It isn’t unpleasant to drink. It tastes toasty and roasty. It also tastes a little bit like wood and slightly dries out my mouth. It tastes nice, but I’m not sure if I actually care for it or not. Nothing really jumps out at me. Of course, this could be that she has had this tin of tea for a long period of time and it is still mostly full.

So, it is a nice cup of tea, but not something I would drink most of the time. It is kinda “meh”. The more I sip it, the more it doesn’t really taste like much.

I decided to try this again. This time I took the kettle off of the burner when it just started to make the slightest bit of noise. I kept the leaf the same and only did 3 minutes or so for the steep time.

The liquor is still golden, but it reminds me more of clarified butter than sunshine. The aroma is gentler. I still smell a light scent of fresh cut grass. It is a lovely smell though.

The biggest thing that changed was the taste. Wow! What was first very grassy and dewy changed to be slightly sweet. It reminds me more of honeysuckle. Barely there and sweet. It is really smooth and tastes slick on my tongue. The more I sip on it, the more I get an almost buttery taste. Especially if I just let it linger in my mouth before I swallow.

This is just so different from any of the green teas I have ever experienced. I really taste butter now. It is freaking me out a little bit, but I think I like it.

Ok, after it cooled down a little bit the butter mellowed out from the initial taste. Now it is just a slight aftertaste on the sides of my tongue. I still feel like I should be drinking this with pancakes.

Ok, I managed to go one day without having a cup or three of yerba mate, but I don’t feel like going more than one day. It just tastes too good!

Compared to the loose leaf teas I have been drinking recently, the cup isn’t as clear as the other ones. But it is the nice chocolate with a hint of spice chocolate mate I remember. I found this bag floating around with my roommate’s stuff. She said she didn’t remember if it was a gift or not, so I took it back. Yummy.

Two cups of tea this morning. I’m going to have to have a glass of water to follow these ones so I don’t get burnt out by the caffeine. Well, more from the caffeine in the mate than anything.

Now I get to compare a french press brewed Queen Catherine to one brewed in a tea ball. The liquid is much darker now. It is a nice rich red-brown. Almost approaching the brown I see off of dark beers. It smells even better. Deep and rich. It reminds me of the happy feeling I get off of smelling coffee, only you can tell that the smell is tea.

Now to the taste. It is definitely richer and fuller in the press than it is in the tea ball. I am just getting a hint of cocoa, but I am getting a richer almost smokey thing going on. Not as smokey as Lapsang Souchong, but it definitely has that quality. It is really, really smooth too. No hint of bitterness.

I have been trying to get up earlier to brew tea before class, but I didn’t make it today. Luckily, my teacher cancelled class and I was in the mood for the Queen. I am so glad I made her too. The only bad thing is that I am now out of my sample that Ashley was kind enough to send me. I wonder if I could convince my mom to help me order tea? I think that will work better if I drink up most of the teas I have left. Then I can get more of the Queen.

I got this tea last summer when I got my little red tea pot. I made one pot of it and liked it, but I haven’t made it since. It is time to break into it again. The leaves are large and they have been unfolding as it brewed. It looks a lot like plant leaves now, which is to be expected because tea comes from a plant. I used three teaspoons because I wasn’t sure how strong to make it. I’ll find out with this batch.

I always expect green tea to be bright green when it is brewed, so I am always surprised when it takes on a nice golden tone instead. It smells, well, green. Ok, I can do better than that. It smells sweet and like early morning dew. And this is where it becomes apparent that I have not had a lot of green tea. It tastes like grass.

Grass is good. I like grass. I don’t know what I was expecting. The dried leaves smelled minty, so I guess I was expecting mint. It isn’t bad. I know how to describe it better now. It tastes like you went out and rolled down a grassy hill early in the morning right after a light sprinkling of rainfall. Grassy, smooth, dewy, and with a little bit of bitter aftertaste. This would be better if I brewed it and then stuck it in my glass bottle to have after or with meals. Especially after a bigger meal.

I think I might just try two teaspoons next time though. Or be brave and only try one teaspoon. I might not need more than one since the flavor is getting more intense as I reach the end of my cup. I think I am getting a little bit more of a minty taste now too as it cools down a little bit. The type of mint that is only slightly minty and makes your gums tingle. Very pleasant.

So, I brought back the second batch of tea samples. Knowing what I do know about loose leaf, I should have brewed two teaspoons at once, but I’m just using a little bit less water to make up for it. Because I have a french press now, I just dumped in the packet Ashley gave me all at once.

I’ve been a little depressed this afternoon and I am hoping some tea therapy will do the trick. I have a big kettle of hot water and several types of tea at my disposal. All I’ll have to do is watch my water temperature and wash my french press in between tea types. I’m starting with this one for tonight.

I am really having fun watching the leaves steep through my press. The golden bits swirled around the water with the leaves when it was steeping. The steeped tea smells so good. I just ran out to make my roommate smell the tea and her eyes glazed over with envy. It smells just like vanilla cake! The liquid is deeper than the last time I made it, even though I only steeped it five minutes. But the french press got the liquid super clear. No tea particles in this cup.

The taste is smooth and almost silky on my tongue. I can taste the vanilla better and it blends really nicely with the black tea base. I think it has to be a gentle base because it has no bite to it at all. I am drinking this plain like normal, but I bet a little bit of sugar would bring out the sweetness more. Right now, it is more teasing at a dessert drink. I am really glad this is a decaf tea because when I order a tin of this (and there will be an order eventually) I’m going to have my mom try some. She can only drink decaf.

I had a little experiment with my french press today. If I could brew my mate in it, then logic dictates that I should be able to brew tea in it too. So, I did. I used four teaspoons since my tea ball fits about 2-3 and my french press hold two cups. I managed to dig out a rose blossom from the tea as well.

The cup was nice and smooth and rosy. It was so cool to watch the tea leaves get bigger and the water to turn this nice golden amber. A few tea leaves did manage to get on the wrong side of my filter, but no leaf escaped from the press itself. I think I might have found a new favorite vessel to brew my tea in. If I want to keep it warm, then I can just dump it into my little red tea pot and the ceramic will keep it a little warmer for a little longer.

Guayaki has all of these recipes for drinks that you can make with mate, so I took inspiration from the juicy recipe idea. I mixed slightly sweetened mate that I made yesterday with a cup of strawberry kiwi juice and had it iced. Wow. Nice and light and juicy with that earthy mate finish. Perfect to have on a hot day. Can you tell I’m in denial about it turning quickly into summer?

I shared this idea with my roommate and she mixed her with cranberry and didn’t put any extra ice in it. I have to make another batch of mate to chill in my bottle again. I’m out. I might have to look into buying another bag at the rate I’ve been drinking this. Or another box of teabags so I can try more flavors. I want to see how many different ways I can have mate.

Note to self: If I add grapefruit juice, make sure to chill the grapefruit that I am eating first. Grapefruit flavored mate would taste better cold.

I finished my bottle of this early in the morning. I had to get up at 3:30 AM to go back to school with my dad and this is just such a nice pick-me-up when I am exhausted. I am sad that I ran out because it was so tasty, but I am keeping the bottle to re-use so I can have a bottle of cold mate in my mini-fridge.

I am normally not that big a fan of bottled teas because most of them are just way too sweet for my liking. But, I love Pomegranate and I am in a current love affair with Guayaki Mate, so I searched high and low for a bottle of this. Luckily, we had it local so I didn’t have to risk $30 on a case of bottled mate and not like it. I shouldn’t have worried anyway.

The taste is very interesting. It it only slightly sweet, but the sweetness is not overwhelming. I get that splash of pomegranate tang and then a note that tastes like ginsing. It does have some tulsi in it, so that may be what I am tasting. It is very good and not very expensive. About two bucks and change for a big, heavy bottle that feels like it is very good quality and two servings of a yummy drink.

I had my fiance try a sip or two and he thought it was very interesting. It was stronger than he was expecting, but he liked it. He read the memory enhancing properties of the tea and teased me for the rest of the night. He’ll just have to wait until I get some of the other flavors to try out. We only have three flavors local to us though, so it might take a while.

One note on the bottled mate: you will want to shake it up before drinking it. Some of the mate powder settles on the bottom and all you get is the slightly bitter pomegranate and really weak mate flavor.

My fiance helped me get a french press to take back to school so I could make a fair amount of mate easier in the morning at school. Getting the tea ball out first thing in the morning is a little hard to do and I always spill some from my tea pot when I try to put it in my travel mug. So, I had to break it in this morning.

I followed the instructions on the bag and pre-wet the leaves like it said. It tastes so earthy! Earthy, strong, and yummy. I took a sip plain to see what it would taste like and it was strong! But it didn’t get bad-tasting strong like some black tea can when you steep it too long. Then I added milk (unfrothed, sadly) for a nice mate latte. I am convinced that yerba mate will probably go well with everything now. I am thinking about getting a bottle of chocolate to use on indulgent occasions to make mate mochas.

I only did one steep this time, but I am sure that the second steep would have been even better. The french press is also nice and easy to clean as well.

This is the box of Earl Grey that my junior got me for a gift. I have been putting off actually trying some because I don’t really like the Tazo brand. So, I have decided that if I don’t like this one, then I will just pop the box into my teacher’s tea basket when I get back to school.

It smells like an Earl. I think it smells a little stronger than Numi’s Aged Earl or Twining’s Earl or Lady, but it doesn’t smell bad. It is very astingent. I can feel my mouth get dry as I take a sip. It tastes like perfume. Yeah. Mouth drying perfume. I think I can see how it might taste good as a latte because the milk would tone down the flavors. But, I don’t normally drink milk with my Earl Grey. And if I did, I would want to start with a better Earl.

I am finally at home for spring break. It is a little weird being able to sleep in and getting up to an almost empty house. I get no break from the pets, but that’s ok. I missed the cats and dog.

I think I have too many boxes of Earl Grey in the house again, so I am going to drink them up. Hopefully, I drink one up before I leave for school again. But, I’m taking my time with this one. I am always surprised that this is an assam because it isn’t overpowering. Instead, it is lovely and balanced with the bergamont and the maltiness of the tea. I think this one will always be one of my favorite Earl Greys.

Making a pot of something rosy and delicious to sip on while I finish editing my story.

I actually remembered I have a real teaspoon to measure out my tea leaves with. The only trouble is that I didn’t get any of the rose powder and I think my tea may have ran out of rosebuds, so this tastes just like plain black tea. Still better than Lipton black tea, but I was kinda hoping for the rose. Next time, I’ll shake my pack a little and try to get some of that pink rose powder I see on the leaves and look for some more rose buds.