Rabs

I finished off my sample tonight ::cry:: and confirmed that when I order from Georgia Tea Company that this is the Cancer Fighting Tea that I’ll purchase. When I poured the last of my sample packet into the teapot I was a bit concerned by the large amount of rooibos that was in it compared to my first pot. The smell of the wafting steam as I poured in the hot water seemed more mediciney than I remembered. Ruh-roh.

But hot-diggity-darn! It’s still good :D I continue to consider this to be more “sweet floral” than the original Cancer Fighter, but I think a lot of it is the fruit. It’s like you took the vegetative aspects of a late spring meadow (blueberries included) and blended them up into a tea. The second steep didn’t morph as beautifully as the first time I had this, but I’m thinkin’ that it’s because this was so rooibos-heavy. Healthy yummers. NE

JOEmo works great with iced teas as well! I did notice that I could really tell that I had a cold drink in the thermos vs. when there’s hot liquid (it insulates the hot ones beautifully). The only thing now that I’m sort of bummed out with this is that I’ll need to get some sort of “sponge-onna-stick” to do a thorough cleaning of the inner thermos.

Doulton’s Shakespeare: A Tasting Note in 5 Acts
Act IV scene 6

And therefore, — since I cannot prove a lover,
To entertain these fair well-spoken days, —
I am determined to prove a villain,
And hate the idle pleasures of these days.
Richard III, Act I scene 1

This morning I fumbled through my Shakespeare box trying to find one that I hadn’t had that would be good for the morning. I’m getting closer to the last “Act” of notes and I’m not wanting it to end! I picked up the packet of this tea and got ready to keep rummaging because I thought that I’d already tried it. But no — it’s unopened! But it’s an oolong, isn’t it? NO — it’s a black tea! Awwww yeaaaaah!

I popped open the packet: Golden Monkey? It must be a kin of Adagio’s Golden Monkey (I’m too lazy to google at the moment). I started to scoop it into my teapot and froze: the leaves are striking! Many are spiraled up like mini cinnamon rolls. They’re fuzzy-wuzzy cinnabuns! Two different shades of brown (again, like the Golden Monkey). I dub these the cutest leaves that I’ve seen so far.

The smell was very reminiscent of the Monkey as well: malty and dark. The first few sips I was amazed at how much my tastes have changed over the past few months. It has a sweet rich maltiness that I really enjoyed. It’s not my favorite flavor in teas, but I liked it better than ever. There was a great sweetness that I couldn’t place and I finally looked up the description. Unsweetened cocoa? I enjoyed something quasi-chocolatey? ::earth shatters:: As the cup cooled I got a bit more earthiness that’s very similar to a Pu Erh.

I shall call this tea my Richard, Duke of Gloucester (a.k.a. Richard III). One of Shakespeare’s greatest villains: a bad boy whom you love to hate. The only problem I had with calling this tea Richard III is that he’s known as a rather unattractive hunchback. Well, I think that I’ve figured it out: if you were to make a Richard III action figure, then you could stuff a spiral tea leaf under the shirt’s back for the hump. Yes, that’s lame and also insensitive to hunchbacks, but that’s what I’m going with and I’m sticking to it. Ultimately I think this is a really good tea and deserves a dark and complex character to represent it. NE

The description of this tea mentions “pink rose petals.” Well, I gots me some pink rosebuds in my sample packet which made my inner girlie-girl squee. This is a very pretty looking tea. The smell is somewhat…wait for it…waaait for it…coconutty and vanilla-ey.

The first steep is all about the white tea and coconut. The vanilla is complimenting the coconut nicely. I should mention that I’m not the biggest coconut fan, but this is pleasant in a suntan lotion sorta way (sorry, that’s my main association with coconuts).

I’m really enjoying the second steep (kept the same parameters). I’m getting a bit more vanilla and the coconut/white tea is more mellow and blended. I’m really liking this. I am getting a bit of a dryness at the back of my throat, but am unsure as to how much of it is from this tea and how much it is from my ceiling fan kicking up dust. Maybe it’s a bit of both. I’m thinkin’ that I need to try this iced. NE

On a side note: I’m really liking my JOEmo XL that I got from TeaFrog. I’m still figuring out how best to prep my tea, but it’s getting better each time. It truly keeps the tea shockingly at or near temp. I had it at work yesterday and it kept the tea hot for close to 7 hours (I drank verrry slowly to test this out and I think it could’ve gone longer, but I finished my tea on my commute home). At first I wasn’t a big fan of how I had to push down on the button in the lid (germ issues), but then I realized that the liquid came out on the perimeter and not through the button spot. Still not my favorite thing, but I think that it’s a good tradeoff for being able to drink from any side of the lip. I may have another issue, but I want to give it some time before getting into that.

I decided to take this tea to work with me today in my JOEmo. I think that I’m getting better at using it in regards to the right temp and only using a teaspoon of tea. I think that I should drop it 10 more degrees for optimal drinkage using this thermos.

Onto this tea. Every single sip was uber-yum. I don’t know if it was the lower temp, or the fact that it was in consta-steep in the thermos, but lordy was it sweet and good. It tasted less Earl Greyish, but oh the creamy sweetness was awesome. Again, I’ve never had an Earl Grey Cream before, so I have no basis for comparison. I’m bumping up the rating from an 84 and a NE to a TG.

I thought I’d keep up my Earl Grey trend of late and start my morning with something completely new to me — an Earl Grey Cream. Since I drink all my teas straight I really couldn’t fathom what a “cream” flavor would be like paired with an Earl Grey. The answer is yummy.

This tea isn’t listed on GTC’s website yet, so I sent Daniel Mann a PM to see if there’s any info available yet — I’ll update this tea’s listing and my note once I hear back. ETA: Daniel got back to me and yes, this is a brand new blend and he’s using us lucky Steepsterites as guinea pigs. I’m a happy guinea pig :D

The smell of both the dry leaves and the steeped ones were a sweet vanilla-ey fragrance with undercurrents of a black Earl Grey tea. I can’t say that I’ve ever used the term “hairy eyeball” in my life until I started trying GTC’s teas. I can’t say that I’m in love with the general combo of EG and a sweet vanilla-ey creaminess, but with this tea it’s really really good. I could imagine this type of tea going horribly wrong, but I think it works here. There were quite a few sips that were “NOM! NOM! NOM!” in a desert tea type-of-way. I could imagine this tea eventually becoming something that must be in stock in my cupboard, but it’s too soon for me to say. The EG itself was nice and smooth.

I must admit that I was once again distracted while trying to enjoy this tea: my final shipment for my Geek Pride Day Giveaway came this morning (only took the order 20 days to arrive :P) so I was busy putting the final touches on everything before I posted them. Therefore, the last 1/3 of my cup had completely cooled. I did not like the cooled cup — the citrusy aspects of the EG came through too much. The second steep (added a minute) was still yummy, but perhaps not as sweet. I look forward to trying this one again with complete focus. Another huge THANK YOU to Daniel Mann for sending this sample to me. NE

Right up front I gotta tell you that I’m trying to remember my experience with this tea from about 10 hours ago (in my basic to-go mug during my commute, so my focus wasn’t completely on the tea). And then I used it for my first tea in my new JOEmo and I think that I botched that. I will definitely be trying another round with this tea under more controlled circumstances. Even will all these distractions, I can confidently say that this tea deserves a minimum grade of 75.

I was expecting a floral ‘splosion. No floral ’splosion ocurred. It came across more as a tea potpourri and walked a fine line between that tea-pourri and mediciness. As I drove along and sipped I was rather disappointed that I wasn’t getting to enjoy this more and figure out the flavors.

I won’t get into it too much in this review, but holy moly the JOEmo is serious about keeping the water hot. The recommendation is to put less loose leaf in and lower the water temp if you plan to keep the tea in the thermos. I should’ve gotten the water down to 170 and I might have put too much leaf in it. I think I cooked the tea. It crossed the line into mediciney (seriously, I was getting an odd menthol-type taste). I added some less hot water halfway through and it helped mellow the flavor. I felt bad for this tea. It was still very much drinkable, but I knew that I’d affected it in a negative way since the original cup was pretty good. As it stands I prefer the berry/floralness of the Lavender version. NE

I was sad and a wee bit jealous that Doulton had already married Upton’s Black Dragon. I am sad no longer: I’ve found my smoky tea to marry! This tea and the Black Dragon could be fraternal twins. (Would this make Doulton my sister-in-law?) The Dragon is mellow in its gentle seduction. This tea is aggressive in its…ravaging? Okay, so it’s like you took the sweet depth of the Dragon and swapped it for blunt smoke. The depth that I was hoping for in GTC’s Lapsang Souchong is here.

The first steep is just divine, but only slightly hints at the sweet undercurrent that I enjoy in most smoky teas. It’s not a bad thing, it’s just different. The second steep (added a minute) seems a bit flatter, but then that wonderful sweet sensation comes through and makes everything okay in my world. I adore the aftertaste of this tea. I find myself taking extended pauses between sips so that I can enjoy the aftertaste. NOM.

This one’s a definite keeper and will be kept next to its Dragon brother in my tea cupboard. I shall drink whichever one matches my mood. TG

It was like I had another psychic tea moment this morning with the Earl Grey: I didn’t know that Patrick Stewart was getting knighted, perhaps at the very moment I was drinking this. In honor of Sir Patrick Stewart I present this montage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2IJdfxWtPM

My TeaFrog samples and JOEmo arrived yesterday and today I finally am trying them out! I’ll be using the JOEmo on my commute (still a few hours away) so I’ll write a mini-review of that in the near future. This tea was the one I was most excited to try.

Nothing too remarkable about the dry leaf smell beyond knowing that this was an Earl Grey. Same with the cup — it’s an Earl Grey. I’m the first to admit that I’m not the most familiar with EGs, but I’ve had the good, the bad, and the ugly. This one’s definitely in the good category. It’s smooth, it’s not a fake bergamot-Pledge hybrid, and there’s a little something extra with the jasmine. If I’d been handed a cup of this without any information on it, then I’d think it was a really good EG. But knowing that there’s jasmine, I can sense its presence like a Tea Psychic. It’s more in the smell than anything else, and even then it’s a whisper. But it’s really pleasant. The second steep is equally nice.

If I hadn’t discovered my cup of frou-frou, then this would have been a contender. As it is I can easily dub this my cup of frou. I feel like an oaf drinking it in a huge honkin’ mug — it seems to want to be in a small china cup and demands that I lift my pinky whilst drinking it. I’m really curious to see what other more experienced EG drinkers have to say about this one. NE

I must admit that for the entire first cup I gave this tea the ole hairy eyeball. There’s a lot going on and I just didn’t know how to even begin to write a note about it. I always think that I like the idea of lavender, but in reality I always wrinkle my nose at lavender toiletries. And there’s rooibos. Rooibos and I aren’t the best of friends. I waver between thinking “medicinal” and “ooh — flowery meadow.” It walked a very fine line between floral and potpourri (both the dry and steeped leaves fell on the potpourri side of things). Near the end of the first cup I practically had half of my face shoved into the mug trying to get more aroma as I drank. There’s this great little “oh hai — I’m blueberry” trying to come through. It smells like a meadow full of wildflowers. And rooibos.
::hairy eyeball::

Okay, so this is only my second Georgia Tea Company sample (thank you Daniel Mann!), but I’m thinking that there may be a trend here: the second steeps are faaabulouuusss. I added a minute to the steep time and I think I spent most of that steep with my eyes closed. It was like I was drinking a late spring meadow. ::sigh:: Part of the reason I love Lapsang Souchongs is because I feel like a fire breathing monster while I drink them. Well, this tea took me to an alternate universe where I’m a flower breathing monster. I’m actually attempting a third steep (maintained 6 minutes). It’s definitely more watery, but still yummy. I really would love to try this cold brewed. This may be the first time I’ve split my personal ratings: first steep NE, second steep TG.

Warning: I’m on a bit of a tea high so I might start waxing poetic. You have been warned.

I came home from a stressful day at the library to find two packages in my mailbox. One was my Teafrog samples/JOEmo traveler, and the other was this box of samples from the very generous Daniel Mann. When I popped open the Georgia Tea Company box I was hit with the wonderful aroma of teas. ::sigh:: Immediately I grabbed the Lapsang Souchong since I know that I will judge Georgia Tea Company first and foremost on their LS. They fail this one and it’s an upward battle for me to like any of their other wares. Harsh, but true.

I think that the only other LS that has come close to having this large amount of smokiness with their dry leaves is Adagio. I got excited. The cup has a wonderful aroma and stays true to its smokiness. First sip. My brain does the “Dur-hur” which is the beginning stages of a teagasm. I throw up some shields to make sure that my obvious tea high doesn’t color my judgement.

Halfway through the cup I realize that this isn’t the most complex LS that I’ve had, but there’s something different about it. It’s like this tea is aggressive in its “yeah, I’m a smoky black tea — you gotta problem with that?” The aspect that I’m missing is the sweet undercurrents that I get with good LSes. I finish my cup and the most amazing thing happens: a sweetness comes out of nowhere and just dazzles the back of my mouth. I must try the second steep immediately!

Oh yes, the second steep (added 1 minute). Shields drop and I just grovel in the yumminess. It’s still this smoky black tea, but the sweetness is dancing all over my mouth. It’s like a piney sweetness and utterly new to me with LSes. It’s not that typical LS sweet base. It’s like this tea is teasing my tastebuds with sweetness. There’s a hint of dryness at the back of my throat, but it’s not unpleasant. Oh yes, I love this tea. TG

I’d label this LS as a forest fire. And on the “kitty cat sound scale for LSes”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHZm52nvBB4
Yup, I’d pretty much say that the entire video about covers it (with an emphasis on the Cougar’s noises and the Serval’s nummy sounds).

On a somewhat unrelated note: we’re having our first or second Tornado Watch of the season and I had a flashback to childhood. I was probably 6 or 7 and the sirens were going off so I grabbed all my beloved stuffed animals and piled them under our coffeetable in the basement so that they’d be safe. Well, I’m sitting here and thinking about what I’d do if the sirens were to go off and I think that I’d grab as many of my teas and teaware as possible and put them in a safe spot.

ETA: 200th Tasting Note — woot!

♫ The best part of wakin’ up — is Sherlock Holmes in mah cup!♫

I had the last of my sample this morning :( But it’s on the “I should invest in more of this the next time I order from [insert name of tea company]” list. NE with benefits.

No notes yet.

No notes yet.

Doulton’s Shakespeare: A Tasting Note in 5 Acts
Act IV scene 5

Or, if there were a sympathy in choice,
War, death, or sickness did lay siege to it,
Making it momentany as a sound,
Swift as a shadow, short as any dream,
Brief as the lightning in the collied night,
That, in a spleen, unfolds both heaven and earth;
And ere a man hath power to say “Behold!”
The jaws of darkness do devour it up:
So quick bright things come to confusion.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act I scene 1

I am so pleased to have finally tried my first Kusmi tea! This was a tea sachet — which Kusmi’s sachets are pretty cool in and of themselves. The empty tea packet had a really pleasant floral/bergamotty smell.

Oh, but the cup. The cup is a bit of a letdown. It was a weak somewhat papery earl grey with a lime tang. It’s not a very memorable tea. It was neither offensive nor memorable (wait, didn’t I just say that?). Trying to come up with a Shakespearean equivalent was what kept me from posting a note all day, but I think that I’ve finally come up with it.

This is the stage set for A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It’s a beautiful, flowery facade: an illusion of a fairy-forest made from muslin, wood, and paint amongst other things. It’s a nice tea, but I tend to enjoy more depth. M

No notes yet.

I chose to finish off my sample of this tea this morning so that I could compare it with the Colonille I had last night. Oh yes, they are both yummy-nummy. I think that the Colonille has a simple elegance about it. This one is more in-your-face with lots of stuff going on, but it still works. I would think of this more as a desert tea than the Colonille.

Before I tossed the sample packet I noticed that there’s actually some green tea and almonds in the mix (there’s coconut too, but I think those are for the visual appeal). I can’t tell if the slight almond aspect is the power of suggestion or not, but I’m liking it. There is a creaminess here that wasn’t in the Colonille.

What it boils down to (tea-hee!) is that I will definitely be purchasing more of either one of these teas. JacquelineM is spot-on with her assertion that vanilla teas are so very wonderfully different and not boring at all. When I visit new virtual tea shops the first thing I check is their Lapsang Souchongs, Caravans, and oolongs. I think that I shall be adding Vanilla to that list. (bumping up the rating from 80) NE

Warm fuzzies inna cup!

After the exciting contest put together by Daniel Mann, Morgana and I decided to both try the Colonille. Can I tell you how cool it is to have a tea buddy thousands of miles away? Yeah, it’s pretty cool. My sample of this tea comes courtesy of the wonderful JacquelineM a.k.a. my fairy tea sister! Okay, onto the tea: the first few sips the vanilla seemed to be all coy and hiding in the background — teasing the back of my throat with its presence. As the cup began to cool the vanilla gained strength and was just nummy. It’s one of those “sink into your chair” type of teas. Aaaaah…

I think that it’s a lot more subtle than the Tea Guys’ French Vanilla — which I’ll have to try again tomorrow to compare more accurately. Thank you so very much JacquelineM! TG

Ahhh…I’ve been holding off on finishing this sample that Doulton sent me. I thought it’d be nice to drink it right after a plain Keemun to get a better picture of their differences. I’m further impressed with this one’s subtle floral aspects. The second steep is definitely its best. TG

Doulton’s Shakespeare: A Tasting Note in 5 Acts
Act IV scene 4

O! for a muse of fire, that would ascend
The brightest heaven of invention!
A kingdom for a stage, princes to act,
And monarchs to behold the swelling scene!
Henry V, Prologue

The last time I had a straight-up Keemun I was doing my basic black trio comparison in order to learn what Keemuns, Ceylons, and Assams generally taste like. Keemuns came out on top as being my favorite amongst the three. With this Keemun I didn’t have to focus on the comparison at all, but instead just enjoy a good cup of black tea.

After my first sip I knew that this tea would be one of Shakespeare’s histories. It just seems too earthy and real to be anything else. I had visions of a mud-spattered Kenneth Branagh with a bad haircut giving rousing speeches to an outnumbered army. Therefore this tea is my Henry V (the king formerly known as Prince Hal). In Henry IV part 1 we watch Prince Hal go through his “Lion King” type transformation. Well, now that he’s a king we get to watch him get his king on.

This tea seems to give me an internal speech that says:

Once more unto the morning, dear Rabs, once more;
Or close your eyes with your braincells dead.
In peace there’s nothing so becomes a woman
As modest snoring and humility;
But when the blast of dawn blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger. . .

Or something like that. NE

I haven’t had this oldie but goodie in awhile so I was curious to see if my palate had changed since last I had it. It’s about as I remember it: mango lotion! I’m getting a lot more mango in the aftertaste this time around which is a pleasant surprise. Perhaps it’s because I bumped up the temp to 190. NE

I think this tea has helped me realize that I’m not the biggest fan of hot white teas. They’re fine, but not my favorites. I really like some of them iced, but I don’t think that I’ll be going out of my way to sample more (or if I do, then it will be as an iced tea).

I’ve also realized that I’m not a big fan of melon flavor in teas. They just seem extra “musky” to me and I only enjoy melons when they’re sweet. I might have a different feeling about melon tea if I added sweetner, but I’d rather do tea straight up.

Overall it’s probably a decent melon white tea, but it’s not for me. M

Another big thank you to AmazonV for the packet of this that she sent me! I’m not a big plum fan (yes, I do actually eat food, but I could live off of fresh bread and good cheese to give you an idea of my taste preferences). It’s been years since I’ve sampled a plum and went “patooie” so maybe it’s time I need to try again. Keep that in mind.

I love this tea just for the happy-bright packets — I’ve cut the top off carefully and have preserved the two that I’ve had so far. I sniffed the granules and my eyebrows immediately knitted together. Burnt metal? This does not bode well.

Blended (since it’s not really steeped per se), the smell is more fruity. With burnt metal. It reminds me of the smell emitted from large double boilers used for soup when the heated water would boil away and the two metal surfaces touched. This was something to be avoided for both health, safety, and smelly reasons, but it did happen occasionally. If you had had never smelled it before, then you’d wander around the store going “I smell something like an electrical fire.” Once you figured it out you would forever know exactly what that smell is and be able to correct it immediately.

You add that metallic taste plus some plum-fruitiness with lots of sweetness and you’ve got this tea. I couldn’t finish the cup (sorry AmazonV!). I am forever grateful to have gotten a chance to try this, but it’s something I’d never want to try again. GA