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092/365

Brought this one to work today so I can spend a whole day with it. I’ve heard good things about this one (it’s another from Dark Matter 2016), so I’m excited to give it a go. As I’m at work, I’m brewing this one western style.

First steep is a pretty orange/amber. It’s lightly earthy, with a touch of forest mulch, and a little sweetness. Most shou I’ve tried isn’t this sweet straight from the get-go, so that’s a nice surprise. It’s also lighter and less pungent altogether – both in terms if liquor and flavour. It’s not your typical “muddy” shou.

Second steep is very similar. It’s still very light-tasting, but smooth and with an almost buttery quality. The leaf is still pretty compacted, although the liquor is slightly darker this time. Mild-earthy-sweet is how I’d describe this.

Third steep is, again, similar. The liquor is much darker this time – the black/brown that I’m used to seeing with shou. The creamy smoothness is perhaps a little more pronounced, but it still retains a nice balance between earthy/sweet. It’s very easy to drink, and not at all funky.

Fourth steep is still pretty much the same in terms of flavour! I get the impression that this is a tea that could keep going and going, although I’m starting to experience a slightly drying mouthfeel.

I’ll probably carry on a little longer with this one, but probably not for more than another 2 steeps. I’m sure it still has a fair bit to give, but it’s making me feel quite thirsty because it’s become drying – and my still-fairly-sore-throat really isn’t enjoying that very much. I’d return to this one again in the future, though – it’s a great, drinkable shou!

091/365

This is another I chose to try in sample/taster size, and another almost instant regret. Two cups just isn’t going to be enough…

The first thing that attracted me to this one was the name, for its inevitable Simon & Garfunkel/The Graduate connection. I also like the deeper celtic/pagan resonance, and the inclusion of rosemary and sage. It adds an extra something to an otherwise straightforward raspberry darjeeling blend.

In taste terms, it’s delicious. The raspberry is sweet and tart by turns, juicy, and an accurate representation of an actual raspberry. The rosemary and sage are very delicate background notes, but they add a slightly savoury, herbaceous quality that’s more complementary than I thought it would be. Who knew raspberry would work so well with herbs? Certainly not me!

The darjeeling base is light and very mildly floral, kind of fleeting actually; the raspberry is clearly the main focus here, and remains so throughout.

Overall, I’m really happy with this one. It’s another I’d buy more of next time, perhaps for cold brewing in the summer…

090/365

I picked up a taster/sample size of this one with my first AQTT order (I’m seriously late to this party!), and I’m already wishing I’d bought a bigger bag. I knew straight away, after only one tiny sip, that this would be tea love. I don’t know that I absolutely get pancakes, but as it happens I really don’t care. That’s because there’s banana and nuts in spades, and that’s what I really wanted from this blend. Something to rival Butiki’s Foxy Roxy’s Banana Walnut Treat, which I still miss. Well, this is it. I’ve finally found it!

The banana here isn’t over-strong or artificial, but it’s at a level I consider perfect. It tastes like actual ripe banana, like it’s been somehow smooshed into the tea. It has that sweetness, and that undeniable banana-ness, that you’d get from an actual banana. The nuts play second fiddle, but they’re definitely there. I get mostly walnut, but there’s something richer and more pecan-like in there too, along with a light creaminess.

I adore this, and it’s definitely one I’d buy more of next time.

089/365

The cold I thought I’d just about shaken off (after two weeks!) came back with a vengeance yesterday, and so I pulled this one out to try and see it off again.

I used 1 tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it 4 minutes in boiling water. The scent isn’t exactly promising – strongly herbal/medicinal, with a strong hit of peppermint. To taste, it’s not so bad. It’s not a tea I’d drink for enjoyment maybe, but it’s not off-the-scale horrible either.

I’ve tried this one before and was pretty happy, so hopefully it’ll be a help again over the next few days!

088/365

I made a tea pop for the first time, and I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out. I started with a fairly basic tea – this supermarket herbal, in fact – in case it didn’t turn out for whatever reason, but fortunately it has!

The base is a simple syrup – 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, with 4 bags of tea infused in the boiling water for 5 minutes before the addition of sugar. I used 4 david’s perfect teaspoons of syrup and topped it off with sparkling water. It’s not quite as fizzy as I imagined, but I suspect that’s my choice of water more than anything.

I’m not usually a fan of lemon and ginger tea, but in this case I just used what I had to hand (and what I thought might be nice for my throat…) In actual fact, having made it into a syrup seems to have muffled the ginger and amplified the lemon, so it’s actually nicer than I expected. It reminds me of honey and lemon flavoured glycerine (and I’m rather a fan of that, so it’s no bad thing in my book.)

After this small success, I’m looking forward to experimenting a bit more with syrups as the weather gets warmer!

I was looking forward to a warming cup of this today, but it’s not quite as I remember it being the first time I tried it. It’s apple and spice, yes, but there’s an underlying soapiness that’s really distracting, to the point where it’s spoiling my enjoyment of the cup.

I’m going to put this out there – I don’t wash my work mug with soap of any kind. It gets a rinse under the tap, and the occasional wipe with a paper towel, but that’s the extent of it. That’s not to say it’s not clean, just that I don’t trust any of the cleaning implements in the office kitchen anywhere near my cup. That’s how I know it’s not contaminated with soap from a lack of proper rinsing, so the soapiness must somehow be coming from the tea. I used a little more leaf this time than last, but that’s the only difference. Mostly, I was trying to boost the flavour level since it turned out a little weak and watery last time.

I don’t know what’s making it soapy, but it’s making me sad.

I made up more spiced apple juice yesterday morning, for the walk in to work. It was a cold, snowy day and this was the perfect accompaniment. Not over this yet!

087/365

This was last night’s latte, and I’m going to say straight off that it’s the best flavoured matcha I’ve ever tried. Brewed, this is like drinking liquid blueberry muffin – it’s absolutely spot-on juicy/sweet/slightly tart blueberry, and that’s one thing, but there’s also a deliciously creamy, cake-like flavour that I absolutely wasn’t expecting. I can’t even imagine where it came from, if I’m honest, but I hope every cup of this is as good.

If you like dessert teas, you really need to try this one. It’s amazing.

Tried this one with some actual lemon juice and a bit of honey. Unfortunately, it didn’t really improve matters. Mostly, it just contrasted rather sharply with the overpowering woodiness of the rooibos. Not a success, and not one I’d repurchase. No zesty lemon here!

086/365

I bought this one largely so that I could make golden milk, because it’s probably not something I’m going to drink straight, if I’m honest! Given that it’s supposed to be good for colds/sore throats/general under-the-weatherness, I gave it a go pretty much as soon as I got home last night.

I went with Bluebird’s recipe, and used 300ml coconut milk, 1 tsp. of honey, and 1/2 tsp. of matcha. I added a sprinkle of cinnamon for pretties, and also because I was being reminded of curry quite a bit, and I wanted something sweet to cut through that.

In actual fact, I needn’t have worried. The coconut milk is pretty sweet on its own, and overpowers any lingering savoury notes from the turmeric. There’s really nothing curry-like about golden milk, except the colour (and the scent, while under construction!) It’s super creamy, although the milk is obviously contributing that – there’s nothing creamy about this particular matcha otherwise.

Taste wise, it’s predominantly coconut. There’s an additional sweetness from the honey, and a touch of spice from the cinnamon. The turmeric doesn’t play much of a contributing role in the flavour, and neither does the rooibos base of the matcha. There is a chilli-like heat that lingers in the aftertaste, and I have to assume that comes from the matcha. It makes for a pleasant counterpoint to all the sweet creaminess, and my throat certainly approves.

I appreciate that I’ve not really done the matcha justice by drowning it in coconut milk, and I can’t really comment much on what it’s like in its own right. What I do know is that it was easy to whisk up, stayed in suspension, and would likely be much more savoury brewed differently. I also know that golden milk is delicious! It could well be a new winter staple for me.