Skulleigh

Been drinking the same ol’ same ol’ for the last few weeks, so I haven’t logged. I will do an order soon since I have almost demolished my Prince Vlad and my decaf Earl Grey.

Time to scout for some new things to try :)

This morning I had a Prince Vlad to start my day off, which is never a bad way to start the day. I really need to get a milk frother for work. Also tempted to bring in some match for an afternoon boost. I always get sleepy after lunch, and maybe that would help combat that. Anyone do match at work? A frother would probably work for the whisk on that, as well as kill two birds with one stone.

This tea got such good reviews, I’m not sure why I’m kind of meh about it. Maybe it’s just that I was wanting something more green this morning.

I’m drinking it plain/straight, and I am not getting any of the waffle cone/vanilla/buttery notes that are talked about.

Had a cup of this on Friday at a Barnes & Noble cafe. It was pretty good, despite their using screamingly hot water to brew it. I at my entire lunch before it seemed cool enough to sip.

Once it cooled, it seemed pretty nice. I would definitely like to try it again, and they were selling tins of the the sachets, but while H&S tins are cute, I don’t have that much room left in my tea cupboard for a bulky tin! I’d also like to try some plain oolongs. So I might have to shop online for some samples.

Another sample size from my last Adagio order.

Once in awhile, I read “bodice ripper” romances – you know the ones – set in Victorian or earlier times, where the dashing hero is a pirate or a spy. Lapsang Souchong often gets mentioned as a very masculine tea. I can see why.

I opened the packet, and the smokey smell nearly leaped out and assaulted me. I gave hubby a sniff too: “It’s like a campfire, the morning after it burns out. And they used an entire pine tree.”

I brewed it up and made it as a latte with Splenda and half & half. Sippped away. The smoke smell is soooo strong! But it’s good! I would not want to drink this daily, but it’s really interesting drink!

I definitely want to try some other Lapsang Souchongs and compare them.

I received a sample of this with some gaiwans that I ordered last year. I decided to give it a whirl this afternoon.

I opened the packet and gave it a sniff. Initially, it honestly didn’t smell that good – it reminded me of a wet cat. I gave the leaves a quick rinse with hot water in a gaiwan, then moved them to my Adagio ingenuiTea to steep. The wet leaves didn’t smell great to me either, but I continued on.

I whipped some splenda and half & half in a cup and dispensed the tea into my cup.

I took a hesitant sip. Light, smokey… it smelled fine now, and didn’t taste bad either. I added more water to the leaves and will try a second steep plain.

My current cup is pretty good – I think it’s a decent tea, but it’s not something I feel compelled for find more of. I definitely would not refuse a cup of it, if offered one, though.

I ordered a new round of samples and refilled my Black Dragon pearls. They arrived today, and I chose this tea to sample first.

Yum! It’s like desert in a cup! It really does taste like sweet potato pie, without the crust. I generally don’t like the crust that much, so that’s ok!

A coworker gave me this yesterday, the tea she always drinks when she goes to PF Chang. It came in a tiny little cardboard box! Very cute package design.

The tea is quite good – the peach & apricot really come through. I’m not getting the smokey taste that the package and other people mention, but that’s all right. I’m not sure what effect the safflower & marigold have on it – I’m not sure that I’ve had a tea with them in it before.

I would definitely drink this again. I had it with 2 packets of splenda. The sweet definitely brings out the fruit.

My one gripe, but it’s not specific to this tea, happens with a lot of teabags… that moment when you add the water to the cup and the string and tag get pulled into the cup… grrr!

Oh wow. This isn’t bad. I was afraid of all the descriptions of Pu’er as being fishy, and indeed, the one from Whole Foods that I’d picked up was fishy. This isn’t fishy at all.

This is a sample from an order of samples I made from Verdant. I haven’t liked any of the other samples much so far, so I’d been putting off trying the two pu’er samples.

I’m not sure how to describe this, other than to say I do like it. I brewed it in a gaiwan, and poured into a small cup, added nothing, and sipped. After about 3 sips, I can say that I do like it, though it’s probably not something I’d drink on an everyday basis.

Oh, hi. Remember me? I have been seriously neglecting Steepster! D’oh!

I was at Barnes & Noble today, and found this one lonely tin of tea on their 75% off table, and having always meant to try Harney & Sons at home where I can control the water temperature (instead of the Barnes & Noble cafe who always seem to keep their water at nuclear levels) I snatched it up and brought it home. $2.74 for 30 teabags is a pretty good deal, I think, especially since, thankfully, it’s pretty darn good!

Not overwhelming, very tasty, no bitterness. I like it!

And it came in a cute metal tin. Yeah, I’m always a sucker for that!

I think I like it better than Kusmi’s holiday tea. I might have to keep an eye out for it next year.

Dangit. I didn’t rinse my work mug enough, and it still had soap on it, so I wasted the last of the sample of this.

Oh well, it’s not a tea that I covet like Gollum.

I got a sample of this with an order, and finally pulled it out for a try. It smells quite lovely, but really doesn’t taste like “tea” to me. I will have to try a longer steep next time.

I’ll admit it. I’m no spring chicken anymore. If I drink anything caffeinated after about 7pm, it will keep me awake. So I am starting to explore some decaffeinated and caffeine-free options.

I decided to give this a try with my dinner tonight, and I quite like it. No odd tastes, it seems like a normal Earl Grey with a tasty shot of citrus.

And I seem to be getting sleepy, so it must a truly decaffeinated!

It’s a misty morning here, and it calls for Chai. Splenda + Mini-moos from the breakroom, and I have a sufficient cuppa.

Wow. Sooo… got busy and didn’t log in for awhile, it seems. Tried last week, and the site seemed to be down. But I’m back, baybeeees!

I ran out of Prince Vladimir last week, and wanted to replace it with a biiiig tin of it. Decided to add a couple other teas to the order to make it worthwhile, and was tempted by the description of this tea. I got my order today, and immediately steeped myself a mug. Unfortunately, it doesn’t live up to its description. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad tea, it just doesn’t taste all Christmasy or even orangey or almond. Maybe a vanilla-y.

So I’ll drink it, but this doesn’t taste like Christmas or Three Magis/Wisemen/Astronomers/DudesWhoWereWAYLateToTheBabyShower.

Happy Holidays!

This tiny tin is getting low. I will most likely order a big tin of this, Anastasia and Prince Wladmir once I have drunk the Russian set and the big tin of Caramel down.

Don’t tell anyone but I’m cheating on my diet this morning. Two shortbread cookies, and it’s not cheat day. I just don’t have any energy! I got maybe 1 hour of sleep last night all told. Ugh. Working from home.

Breakroom tea time again. :)

My work started stocking Mini Moo’s half & half instead of Coffee-Mate. I like that so much better. I think they might have increased the temperature of the hot water dispenser too!

…Sip…

Ahhh! A much better mug of breakroom tea. Hotter water and actual half&half make such a difference!

Now to just get a frother to keep at work, and I’ll be completely happy!

It’s Saturday morning, and I decided to drink a mug of this old standby. Hubs and I were at the Container Store last night, and I picked up two things to organize my tea cabinet – a clear teabag box with 6 compartments, and a nice deepish clear bin to keep zip bags of samples. When we got home, I pulled everything out of that cabinet, sorted and filled and refilled canisters; getting it all in order. I can actually see what I have now! Woo hoo! Now I can get to all of my teas, and see which ones I have been neglecting.

This tea is getting low, and is good, but I don’t think I will reorder it. I enjoy Keemun Concerto more, and Black Dragon Pearls even more.

Feeling better today, though a little more sleep would not be unwelcome. So, feeling lazy, I decided to use one of the bags I have a work.

Not a bad tea, but with this brand, there’s always been this oily taste that I’m not fond of. I’m not sure if it’s the cinnamon or the clove. It’s not there in other chais that I have tasted. So I’m not sure what it is that’s not to my taste. I just know that I’m unlikely to purchase this particular flavor for myself, though I generally do like Stash teas.

I made a cup of black dragon pearls to bring to work with me, and promptly left it on the counter at home. I have no energy this morning – I slept sitting up because of my acid reflux and still feel it lurking. I thought this might be good for how my esophagus is feeling, but I am not sure. I just am not a big fan of the licorice taste.

Grunt. Meh. It’s morning. So, tea.
The usual breakroom tea treatment, which holds up well in this particular tea.

Not much to say, except that I’d like to go back to sleep. But that’s not going to happen, so, tea.

Oh my, this is good. I opened this up this early afternoon and sipped it while watching Felix Baumgartner jump from the stratosphere. That was very cool.

The tea doesn’t have the spicyness I normally associate with chai, but it’s a very good, very enjoyable tea. It’s a very gentle chai I suppose.

Frothed a small amount of stevia and half and half, then added the chai after steeping it in my ingenuiTea.

I am defnitely getting some maltiness – it’s more chocolatey than the chocolate chai as I did it yesterday in the gaiwan.

I purchased two gaiwans very inexpensively recently, because I have been wanting to try brewing that way, and I wanted to try some pu-ers. So I ordered those from one vendor, and some various teas from Verdant. The gaiwans came during the week and I got them washed and ready to use.

I got the package of teas right before my guests arrived for a party I hosted yesterday for my doll club, so I could not dive right in. I put the package on the counter in the kitchen to open later. For some reason, my husband decided to open it while the party was going, and I got to giggle at him pulling out bags and trying to pronounce things like “Mi Lan Xiang” and “Shui Xian Wuyi.”

After the guests left, I broke out the Chocolate Phoenix Chai and gave it a try in my 4 oz gaiwan. It’s the perfect size for my tiny hands. Since the directions on the package are for a gaiwan type brewing, I gave it a try. It was all right, but that method just did not brew up as something I would describe as either “chocolate” or “chai.” Good but different. The steeping times were really short when done as per the package.

There are big green pieces in there that I think are the cacao nibs, and lots of other various bits and pieces. It’s a really interesting looking tea. It doesn’t smell chocolaty to me, or malty. It does smell good, but just not like chocolate to me.

I will try a “regular” steeping on my next cup of this, and see if the chocolate comes out for me.

I had this in my drawer at work, so I pulled it out to accompany the scrambled eggs and sausage that I brought from home. Brewed the first cup for only 2 minutes or so, rather than the 3-5 listed on the tin. Added splenda and a creamer tub, and it was quite good. Next cup (same leaves) I steeped for 3 minutes or so, and it came out pretty much the same.

Good morning wake up tea for a day when I wanted a more “plain” black tea – as in not a blend or Earl Grey type.

Semi-backlogging
Brewed some of this up twice yesterday, drinking something like 5 cups in all, and then refridgerating the last cup, which I brought to work with me this morning.

I just love this tea, it’s malty and awesome. So good frothed up. Used stevia and half&half.

This morning I was drinking it straight, no sweetener and no creamer, but the cup was a bit strong. It had steeped for awhile. I’ve been using that Mio stuff to add to water lately, and added a shot of the Strawberry Watermelon flavor to my cup – oh man, it’s really good! Suprisingly good, I figured I was going to ruin it, but no! It’s very tasty. Makes me want to try blending other things with it… oooooo – maybe peppermint! It would be like peppermint cocoa! Definitely going to try that some chilly weekend.