Rabs

Oh yes, my precious we are delicious cold brewed too. The rose and jasmine fade more into the backgroud. My precious. But we are so delicate and light. And we wept precious, we wept to be so alone. And we forgots the taste of bread, the sound of trees, the softness of the wind. We even forgot our own name. My precious. TG

ETA: We are upping our ratings (originally 95)

Now that’s what I call a tasty dragon!

Doulton’s Shakespeare: A Tasting Note in 5 Acts
Act IV scene 3

Cowards die many times before their deaths;
The valiant never taste of death but once.
Julius Caesar, Act II scene 2

I’ll be the first to admit that I have a very limited experience with Darjeeling teas. I couldn’t find any other Namring teas by Upton on Steepster, so I went ahead and checked out Upton’s website and they’re onto the 2nd flush of this tea. I’m drinking first flush. So I kept the heading for this tea basic and if it does indeed need some clarification on the tea name, then by all means adjust it.

Er, it seems like a Darjeeling from the dry leaves to the steeped. It walks like a Darjeeling tea, it quacks like a Darjeeling tea, therefore it must be a Darjeeling tea. I agree with the descriptions of “woody” and “nutty.” I could possibly squint my tastebuds and give it a “fruity.” Finishing with a sweetness? Not so much. It starts off quite pleasant and soft, but as the cup cools it gets more “bitey.” I only did one steep which is quite a rarity for me, but a big reason for that is that I have to be at work early tomorrow and needed to switch to tisanes STAT.

I dub this tea the character Julius Caesar. It seems a bit cockey and sure of itself. It believes that it’s entitled to a 100 rating. That it’s a tea god among tea men. I am its Brutus, stabbing it with my pointy knife saying “yeah, you’re not all that and a bag of chips.” It’s a fine tea, but nothing that has me wanting to back it up when the Ides of March rolls around. NE

No notes yet.

So, I sorta forgot that this tea was sitting in my fridge. I think it’s been there about a week. I know in Barista Land™ we would’ve tossed it about 12 hours after it was made, but that’s hot brewed. In Rabs Land™ we go ahead and try it — danger be damned! It actually is really yummy and has mellowed the flavors quite a bit. Now, if I suddenly stop posting y’all will know that this tea did me in and not to repeat my folly. NE

Maybe it was the tea fairy’s plan all along to have me spill my Rosy Earl Grey which then forced me to place another Teas Etc. order with a sample of this tea included. Perhaps the tea fairy is less capricious than I had thought. Because I loves me some of this tea!

The dry leaves smelled…like an old ashtray?…but not tabacco-ey at all. I was majorly concerned. Steeped it’s a very light smoke (says the Lapsang Souchong lover). I wasn’t impressed with the first few sips. I was getting a woody taste, almost like cardboard and no sweetness. It seemed rather flat. And then slowly this tea started to morph. It seemed like a yummy wood taste (now reading the description it’s like “oak!” ::facepalm::), the smoke is still more of a feeling than a scent/taste, and there’s the nicest sweet aftertaste left over from the sip. Warm Fuzzy detectors engage. My “I need MORE NOW!” feeling kicked in and I knew that this tea’s a keeper.

I’m drinking the second steep right now (added 1 minute to steep time) and I’m liking it more and more. The sweetness is shining through. It’s not as aggressive as most LSes, all the flavors I associate with smoky teas are present, but much more subdued. You know how tv shows and comics have a tendency to turn their characters into babies? http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SpinoffBabies
Well, this is the baby version of Upton’s Black Dragon. If I had to chose between the two it wouldn’t even be a contest: Upton would win with its maturity. But this tea is yummy in its own rights and has earned a permanent spot in my cupboard. TG

I’m really glad that I hadn’t looked up this tea on Steepster before chosing it as a free sample with my Teas Etc. order. I would’ve run screaming.

The smell? Both wet and dry reminds me of this little local gift shop that sold Mary Engelbreit stuff and tons of lotions, perfumes, potpourri, and jewelry. I haven’t been there in over a decade and smelling this tea immediately transported me there.

Berries? Not so much. If I do the Jedi Mind-Fuzzing Tea Trick I can sort of taste a hint of fruit. Potpourri? Oh yes. This is like a steeped potpourri. There’s a neat sweetness that lingers around my mouth after I sip, and that’s what gave my tea rating a boost.

I also had a wonderful realization: Tea Etc’s steeping instructions for samples come on the bag that’s tucked into the tins. You cut open the bag, deposit the tea into the tin, and then toss the bag. I think this is why the Organic Relaxation was so very different on my second steep. Just looking at my two tasting notes my first nummy cup was with boiling water. On the second icky cup I had dropped it to a typical temp for tisanes: 180. I’m really raring to go try the Relaxation again, but with the hotter water.

I have enough sample for one more pot and I won’t be dreading that pot. I’m just rather ambivilent about this particular tea. But will I order more of this? No, no I won’t. M

This is another squee-worthy sample of tea that JacquelineM sent me :)

The dry leaf smell is so very nummy — like a delicate black currant candy. The smell of the cup was a lighter more white-teaish version of the dry leaves. I was really surprised at how delicate this tea was. Dainty black currant (which I’ve only had black currants that were like “hey, I’m in your tea — makin’ it all curranty”) and light white tea.

As I was drinking the second lovely steep I was reading Steepster and saw Jessica mention marshmallows for another review (for Golden Moon’s Vanilla Jasmine) and it was a “eureka!” moment. This tea conjures up black currant flavored marshmallows. It’s a very pleasant tea, but I’m not clamoring for more. When I finally place my first 52 Teas order? Yes, I will get a larger bag if available. NE

Doulton’s Shakespeare: A Tasting Note in 5 Acts
Act IV scene 2

“I have no other but a woman’s reason:
I think him so, because I think him so.”
The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act I scene 2

I had forgotten about this tea, and yet it was one I had been very excited to try. With that name — how could I resist? Unfortunately it got lost amongst my books and when I went to grab the Rose Keemun I ended up with this in my hand instead. Woohoo! Surprise tea!

I expected this tea to be dark and brooding, and as it steeped I started brainstorming evil Shakespeare characters. I wasn’t sure what this tea was, so I tried looking it up on the Leland website: no dice. The leaves are such a mixture of browns, greens, and some yellow (sorry my picture washed out the subtle shadings). The dry leaves hadn’t really smelled like much, and when I poured the tea I kept thinking that one of the smells reminded me of something. This tea drove me crazy!

I really enjoyed the first half of this cup, the second half was fine but at that point I was really sitting there and loudly slurping and smacking this tea around in my mouth. My poor cat ran for cover not knowing what on earth I was doing. Is this sweetness an oolong thrown in with an Assam? Is there a bit of lychee? What is that sweetness? As the cup cooled it got more “yeasty.” This tea really starts to remind me of Golden Moon’s Persian Melon (for me, not a good thing). The second steep was “eh” and very much like the Persian Melon with a musky melon sort of yeasty taste but pretty light.

Surprisingly I consider this tea a comedy (regardless of its forboding name): The Two Gentlemen of Verona. A fun play, with some very funny moments, but overall one of Shakespeare’s less remarkable plays (if there is such a thing). NE

Doulton’s Shakespeare: A Tasting Note in 5 Acts
Act IV scene 1

Have more than thou showest,
Speak less than thou knowest,
Lend less than thou owest,
Ride more than thou goest,
Learn more than thou trowest,
Set less than thou throwest;
Leave thy drink and thy whore,
And keep in-a-door,
And thou shall have more
Than two tens to a score.
King Lear, Act I scene 4

When I received Doulton’s box and eagerly pawed through it I remember seeing this baggie and thinking, “Oh, I’ve tried that — I think it’s one I really liked.” and then continued rummaging. Well, this morning I wanted a Shakespeare tea and I wanted one that would get me going. This is the one I chose. I started drinking it and it was sooo perfect and yummy. Then I hopped on Steepster to see if I had indeed reviewed this before.

My jaw dropped.

This is the tea that I had my mini-meltdown of “why oh why can’t I appreciate black teas?!?!? Waaah!” and ~lauren had given me some encouraging words. This was about a month ago. My oh my, how things have changed! I think the highest contributing factor to my current enjoyment is my new electric kettle. Seriously. I have found that I love most black teas when the water’s heated to 205. Anyone new to tea who happens to stumble across this note: have a way to get accurate temps for your water. It’s not even funny how much of a difference this makes. Seriously. My original rating was 47 and M.

Enter The Fool from King Lear. Such a wonderful character (even though he does disappear) who’s the only sane one in this play. I wrote an epic paper in my Shakespeare course all about Lear and the verbal abuse going on within it. Christopher Moore’s The Fool is also a book that’s been on my “to read” list since it was released. Know that for me to name this tea The Fool is a high compliment. I also feel foolish for my earlier Note where I howled like Lear. I feel like this tea just gave me a talking to and set me straight. Yum. It’s just a great Irish Breakfast tea with a very subtle plum note. NE

Oh. My. Lordy.

I want to marry this tea company. I want to marry someone who works at this tea company. I would seriously consider dropping everything and moving to France in order to have easier access to this tea. This is the best floral green tea that I’ve ever had!!!!!

How can a tea be so complex, delicate, and beyond yummy? Dammann Freres? They really must be fairies masquerading as tea blenders creating rare, precious, and joyful nectar.

Violets? I never really gave much thought to this flower. Violets in this tea are a revelation! Bergamot? I didn’t even realize that there was bergamot in this until I looked at this tea’s description (on my 3rd yummy steep). This is the most delicate and lovely unassuming bergamot!

Okay, I’ll stop rambling. But this is an awesome floral green tea! Thank you so very very very very very very very very much JacquelineM for the sample of this tea!!!!!

ETA: Ummm…TG

Seems only right to drink a “Dragon” tea after a geek-tacular night of rolling dice ;)

Doulton’s Shakespeare: A Tasting Note in 5 Acts
Act III scene 8

Look like the innocent flower,
But be the serpent under it.
MacBeth, Act I scene 5

This tea is my Lady MacBeth. Part of my decision is due to some tea drama going on in my life. But we shall get to that.

The dry leaves made me think of a really old potpourri that’s almost done with being fragrant. It’s light and not unpleasant. Steeped, the fragrance is more pronounced with more of the pomegranate coming through. The first few sips were surprisingly good — a pleasantly light pomegranate green tea. Unfortunately, right after my first few sips I checked my email and saw that my Samovar order had been delivered, but not to me. I forgot all about my cup as I tried to figure out what the hell happened. I sent an email to Samovar and hope to hear back tomorrow.

When I remembered my tea I was in a foul mood and the cup was completely cold. There was a bitterness there in the cooled cup that hadn’t been there initially. I finished it still in a sour mood and steeped again. The second cup I drank hot. It was much better. I even steeped a third time, but now it seems a bit like soap (not bad enough for me to stop drinking it, mind you).

So I feel like this tea is getting the Lady MacBeth comparison because of my angry somewhat vengeful feelings at the moment. But also that it’s feminine and has many sides. There’s a bite beneath the flowery facade. Also, I can’t resist thinking of “Out, damned spot!” while drinking this somewhat soapy final steep. I shall try the second half of my sample when I’m in a better mood. But for now it’s NE.

♫ Yummy cup of Frou-Frou, hoppin’ through mah cupboard, scoopin’ up the tea tins and boppin’ ‘em on the head. And down came the Tea Fairy and she said: "Yummy cup of Frou-Frou I don’t wanna see you, scoopin’ up the tea tins and boppin’ ‘em on the head. I’ll give you three more chances or I’ll turn you into a Puerh!" ♫

Yes, I needed my Frou-Frou this morning to counteract my case of the Mondays.

After several weeks of lots and lots of black teas and herbals I realized that my poor oolong yixing teapot was so very lonely. And I missed my oolongs! So I decided to open up a new tin this evening.

This is definitely the nicest Wuyi oolong that I’ve tried so far. It had quite a kick on the first steep — quite nutty with a hint of Play Dough (yes, that’s one of many things I associate with Wuyis. Yes, I know that I’m weird). As it cooled it seemed more and more like I was drinking the essence of plant with just a bit-o-butter. Nom! The second steep seemed like the poor tea gave up. I almost gave up on the tea, but I gave it one more go. The third steep is still nothing like the first steep, but it suddenly has a nice floral note to it. But it’s definitely the last steep for this tea.

Next time I shall try this tea in my gaiwan (sorry yixing!). NE

Holy guacamole! I finally got to try this tea courtesy of JacquelineM. Thank you so very much!!!!!

I’m on my third steep (which tastes kind of like a waterier/chocolatier version of Adagio’s Golden Monkey), and had to do a quick peek at others’ notes on this tea. I knew it had great reviews, but I was curious about what others compared this tea to. I think others do a great job of giving full-out notes, so I’ll just add my highlighted impressions:

Yes, these leaves are insane! LOOOONG and a matte black. These might be the coolest leaves that I have yet to see.

I am completely flabbergasted that there are not additives in this tea. I think I want to call this a “black oolong.” Yes, I know that that’s impossible, but what I mean to say is that like an oolong it has a clearly veggie-base that’s not my favorite, but then the magic is what happens all around that base. I could grow to love this tea like I love oolongs. And that’s saying a lot. The only thing holding me back from a higher grade is the chocolate — which here is lovely, but I wouldn’t care to have it too often because of that particular taste in this tea.

I regret not having my first steep at boiling (subsequent ones have been so). My initial response was “Green beans? Yes, green beans.” I wonder how much of that had to do with the lower temp. It was like malty green beans. And there was what another reviewer mentioned: the hint of hash. But then the lightest milk chocolatey notes started to play with my tastebuds as an aftertaste. It was unbelievable. And suddenly, there were about four sips-worth of “MALTED MILKBALLS!” as the green bean taste subsided.

This truly is a remarkable tea. This tea reminds me how amazing tea is and how much I love it. TG

Doulton’s Shakespeare: A Tasting Note in 5 Acts
Act III scene 7

Four days will quickly steep themselves in nights;
Four nights will quickly dream away the time;
And then the moon, like to a silver bow
New bent in heaven, shall behold the night
Of our solemnities.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act I scene 1

My only experience with mulberries is with the nursery rhyme which as I prepped this tea I kept singing to myself: “Here we go ’round the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush. Here we go ’round the mulberry bush…mumble, mumble, er…mumble.” Yeah, I couldn’t recall the last part of the song. Internet to the rescue! Unfortunately the first one I pulled up had the more original “on a cold and frosty morning” and I became confused and questioned my entire childhood until I found the rhyme I’d been taught. I grew up with the “on such an early morning.” So yeah, I spent a long amount of time youtubing the rhyme and just checking out info on mulberries (wait, they’re not bushes — they’re trees? Childhood called into question all over again). All this is to say that I haven’t the foggiest clue as to what a mulberry tastes like.

Both the dry leaves and steeped tea have a fruity smell that sort of overpowers the tea. I’m guessing Ceylon. The taste reminds me of a “Xtreme Berry”-type gum made by Extra that I had tried years ago and hadn’t particularly cared for. It’s a pleasant tea, but nothing that I ever plan on purchasing. Sorry that I can’t really describe it more, but it’s just a fruity tea that leans a little toward the sweet side vs. the tart side of things.

All that said, I’m going to call this tea my Hippolyta from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. A character that says some nice things in the first act and then disappears for the most part until Act 5. Then she disagrees with her husband and sets him straight (which is a more agressive act than this tea would be capable of). A pretty much unremarkable part for an unremarkable tea. NE

I do like this at 205 vs. boiling. Not a huge difference, but it does allow me to drink it much faster and I got more of the warm fuzzy feeling. It also pairs well with Lucky Charms. I discovered this since my little niece and nephew are visiting my parents and I had breakfast with them. I’m getting closer to feeling like I want to keep some of this on hand after I finish my sample, but I’m not quite there yet. Still NE with benefits ;)

In some breaking news, the amazing JacquelineM has won the “Courtesy Death Match” that we had going on for a swap. I received her package today and was blown away. Check out these most adorable tins:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rabstea/4629760163/

And those labels? Each one is hand colored and decorated with absolute charm:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rabstea/4629760379/in/photostream/

Yeah, she’s amazing — and the teas she gave me are amazing too. I’m am unworthy! And I’m also apparently dead cuz she won the Death Match. ;)

A&D’s Earl Grey won out as the first tea I selected to try: an Earl Grey sort of fit my mood this afternoon. Oy — this is some yummy tea! It’s subtle and gives me even more warm fuzzies (if the Courtesy Death Match hadn’t already done me in, then the sheer amount of warm fuzziness I’ve had lately would’ve done it. I’d be a warm pile-o-goo).

I think that I like my Rosy Earl Grey more. It’s got a bit more oomph and the Frou-Frou Factor. But this is absolutely lovely. And it has pushed me over the edge to purchase this series as soon as possible. Thank you so much JacquelineM!!!!! TG

No notes yet.

I thought I’d treat myself tonight to a super-nummy tea from Doulton. Mmm…mmm Iago. Besides the nom-factor I was also curious to see how this compared to the Culinary Tea’s Russian Caravan that I had the other day.

The overall feeling I have is that this tea is much more of an afternoon/evening tea. It’s mellow, subtle, nummy, and just gives you the warm fuzzies. The CT’s Russian Caravan on the other hand is a breakfast tea with the “Kapow!” for the AM wakeup. It’s bold, it says “screw you” to nuanced, but it is still very nummy. I’m having one of those “I love tea” moments. Ahhhh… TG

No notes yet.

A HUGE thank you to AmazonV for sending me samples of these teas!!!!!

I had just arrived home from a few errands including donating mah blood (O neg woot!) when I checked my mailbox and found a package awaiting me. Squeee!!! I went inside and opened it up and almost fainted from a combination of both AmazonV’s generosity and the blood loss. ;) There was also a funny handwritten note on a beautiful butterfly postcard (I loves butterflies!).

With much contained excitement I opened this tea and gave it a wiff. Here’s where AmazonV may be able to attest to the fact that I have the oddest scent associations: I smelled graham crackers. Like, if you took a honey graham cracker and schmeared it with some generic fruit spread. Color me even more intrigued!

I boiled water and used my large 16 oz mug to mix up this very fragrant concoction. Wow — the smell is even more intensly sugary-sweet/graham crackery! Then the first sip: woah! That’s some sweet stuff! It’s been years since I’ve had full-out sugary Kool-Aid (is that even still available?), but that’s the closest thing that I can liken this tea to. I wonder if it’s possible to ice this sort of tea? It doesn’t taste graham-crackery, but that smell still lingers. I can’t say that I’ve had a straight-up date before, so I can’t say how datey this is.

Then a taste-assosciation occurs to me and it sticks in my mind for the rest of the cup: envelope paste. Like when envelope manufacturers changed from the bitter yuck to the sweeter taste in the paste. Only much much sweeter with a bit of fruit thrown in. I’m in this limbo land of “sweet yum” and “errrr…”

Ultimately I’m very grateful to have gotten a chance to try this tea before buying a large box of it. I would eventually drink it all, but it’d take me a long while. I’d have to be really really craving something uber-sweet. Oh — and it was great in helping me feel better post donation: all those vitamins and stuff giving me a recovery boost! :D NE

So I just had to bump this up to 100 this morning. The thought of this tea got me out of bed when all I wanted to do was stay cocooned within my quilts (and my cat wasn’t helping since he decided to go all “cat loaf” on my back thus pinning me to the bed). The other reason for the change of rating is that I dropped the temp to 205. Holy shnikes! That upped the “yum” factor by at least 10 points — the sweetness is even better. Oh, yes, I love this tea! This was my first pot of the tin that I purchased, but I shall always think of Doulton and her Shakespeare box every time that I enjoy a cup :) TG