Skulleigh

Break room tea making again. Packet of Splenda + a hazelnut creamer. Meant to grab a plain one, but they were jumbled in a bowl. I figured double hazelnut wouldn’t hurt.

sigh It’s all right, but it’s no Kuzmi tea.

Oh, my poor Captain. I steeped him too long. I am sorry for the abuse!

Brewed him up in my Lock & Lock, waited too long to sip, and then realized it was going to get bitter if I left the tea in the leaves. Poured it out into a disposable coffee cup. The indignity! My hippie heart aches.

Still dang drinkable though! Drinking straight this morning. I am determined to watch what I’m eating and drinking. I’ve lost 10 lbs in the last 2 months, and I don’t want to destroy that work!

Not feeling so hot today, so I am lazing on the couch and watching a Law & Order SVU marathon.

Steeped in my Adagio IngenuiTea. I’ve been using it a lot lately, so I guess it’s going to pass the test. I like being able to make just a cup or two of tea and still be able to effectively let the water reach the leaves, and they have plenty of room to expand.

I do have a small glass teapot that I might let take over if I can find some way to pour and keep the leaves from pouring with it. I saw a picture of a glass teapot with a springy looking thing that went through the spout, hooking through the pouring end, and the other side was a spiral of wire that strained the leaves. I don’t know what it’s called to look for one, or if they are available without buying the teapot.

As to the tea… I just love Prince Vladimir so much! Wow, that sounds like a lovesick teen :D

It smells so good before the brewing and then once it’s brewed, it is smooth and sweet. Made a latte, which is my go-to for comfort.

My cup is empty now, and I kind of wish I had made a full pot, but that’s probably not a wise idea anyway when I am sick. But maybe later I will make some more later. I definitely will order a big tin of it later. As my reward for drinking the rest of my stock down, maybe :D

Finally got my homemade matcha frappucino. I used this recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/matcha-green-tea-smoothie-or-iced-latte-133955

But I didn’t have any vanilla syrup, so I dashed in a little bit of vanilla extract.

Upside:
I think it tastes pretty darn good!

Downside:
I have to clean up the mess. And ice cubes are hard to blend, I had a couple of whole ones and big chunks. Maybe I’ll used the crushed ice setting on my fridge for the next one.

I also had to dig an old unused spare McDonalds straw from a drawer to drink it. My bendy straws were too skinny to hack the bigger ice pieces.

All in all, I’d do it again. It’s cheaper, and I don’t have to leave my air conditioned house. And it was fun!

My last sample teabag from the Kusmi order. Given the indignity of the office breakroom treatment – a packet of splenda and a tub of liquid Coffeemate. It tolerates that with a quiet dignity. There’s not a lot of bergamot, but for this treatment, it’s ok – strong earl greys don’t really taste that good to me when I don’t have actual half & half and real sugar or honey. I think I might have to put this on my shopping list and get a tin when I finally run out of all the other earl greys I have. That might take awhile though. Possibly decades. I have a lot of earl grey.

Finishing up the last of the sample. At little bit bitter this time, but I used a tea bottle with a smallish basket, so the leaves didn’t have as much room for expansion.

I added this to my last Adagio order on a whim because the reviews sounded so interesting. I probably should have really waited to try this on a time other than on the heels of drinking Matcha. Took a few sips to wash out that taste. Not to mention the bouncing off the walls.

But, it is a nice rich black tea, that smells wonderful and tastes lovely straight, without cream or sugar. I will probably drink it the rest of the evening, continually topping the water in my tea bottle off, and not be able to sleep from the caffeine buzz.

This was probably a really bad idea. But a really good tea!

I love the process of making tea with Matcha. I make only 3 or 4 oz at a time, so it’s a quick drink, but that’s all right, it’s part of the “ceremony.”

Sifted the matcha, whisked it, and drank it down. I used more than I normally do, and I am now WIDE awake and ALERT. It kicks in quick too.

I was actually going to try making a green tea frappe, but then realized that I’m out of milk and really low on half & half, and my honey is crystallized. Whoops.

Tried this last night, when i was having some digestion issues. I was not fond of the scent or taste. It has a fishy/seaweedy taste. It reminds me or nori. I wasnt fond of it at all. But it did make my tummy feel better.

I might try a higher quality Pu-Erh. Just to say i did.

This is my second brew-up of this. The first time, I couldn’t get to Steepster to record it.
This was originally in my stack of “I’m not so sure about this” due to the heavy floral scent (big surprise, floral scent in something called Bouquet of Flowers, hey?). But it brews up quite lovely with sugar and cream. Just right for a lazy morning.

We have had this for probably a year now, and I use it constantly. It’s awesome except for one thing… the INFERNAL BEEPING. It makes the most annoying piercing beeps, whenever it can.

It has temperatures for different teas (and other beverages) on the side, which I like when a reminder is needed.

This is my daily go-to at work for brewing tea to drink straight (no sugar or cream).

Pros:
Fits well in my hand
Doesn’t leak unless you turn it all the way over
I can brew one batch of leaves in the cup, and still have more in the lower compartment for being on the go on a long day
Fine mesh strainer doesn’t let anything through
Insulates very well – I don’t burn my hand, and it stays fairly warm for a decent period

Cons:
Can’t remove leaves from bottle after brewing
Small bottom interior means I can’t fit my hand down in for thorough cleaning
If you take it all the way apart for washing, it’s hard to get it dry, and you end up with moisture/steam between the walls

I’ve got a green one with leaves printed on it – there’s a blue one as well. I got mine on Amazon.

Finished up my Traveler’s Tin today by brewing the last 2 bags at one time (a good tip from the first tasting note on this tea’s page. It makes it tolerable. I just didn’t like it brewed with one bag.

Drinking iced from my Lock & Lock bottle.

And the good part is that I now have the cute little travel tin to reuse. I was able to peel the labels off pretty cleanly, and I think some rubbing alcohol might clean the little bit of goo that’s left so I can make my own labels for it, and try carrying some loose tea in it. Might have to air out a bit first – the tin smells of ginger, which is odd since I could never detect it in the brewed tea!

I got a sample pouch of this on the order before last, and have had it a couple of times since. There’s probably about 2 “servings” left after this, though each of those will get steeped multiple times.

The dry leaves smell strongly of almond, but there aren’t any actual almond pieces in my sample. It smells sweet.

Brewed, it’s not bitter, but it is slightly astringent.

I tossed it in my Lock & Lock bottle this morning, and will feed it water through the day, drinking it unsweetened.

Decent basic tea with a little bit of flavor.

No notes yet.

Unbrewed leaves smell sweet, and almost floral.
Brewed, it’s a yellow liquor. Not too veggy, not too astringent. Not too anything really. Very basic, not unpleasant, but not that really impresses.

I’ll drink the rest of the sample, but I probably won’t reorder – it just doesn’t make an impression.

Before brewing, the leaves have a sweet, molasses-like scent that reminds me of good pipe tobacco.

After brewing, it becomes a light, but slightly smokey, good basic black. It stands up on its own without sweetening or milk/cream. It can steep forever in my Lock & Lock tea bottle where the leaves stay in, and it doesn’t get bitter.

This is my go-to at work for something that can be taken straight, allowed to cool off and still taste good.

I’m beginning to think Kusmi can do no wrong with black teas. This is the 4th I have tried, and it’s very good. Latte’d it up today, because it’s just one of those days where you’re lucky I got out of bed. I did take a few straight sips that seemed like they’d be ok if I weren’t in That Mood.

Forgot my tea bottle this morning, and didn’t feel like dealing with loose leaves with the metal basket for the mug I keep at work. So I grabbed one of these, tossed it in a cup, and after brewing went with a packet of splenda and a little creamer tub. Basic coffee room fare. It was all right, but I really wanted some loose Keemun.

Got a single teabag of this as a sample with my Kusmi order. Wouldn’t mind one more to try it again in more controlled circumstance. Making it at work didn’t result in a likeable cup.

Was very grassy, and the mint had the “wet washrag” taste I’ve referred to before, that I get with some herbs.

Small tin from the Russian sampler. Drinking plain, no cream, no sugar. In my Lock & Lock Double Wall Tea Bottle, which means the leaves stay in it.

On smelling the unbrewed tea, I was a little doubtful. It smells like candy from an old lady’s purse, or something. But it seemed like there was potential there.

On brewing, that scent goes away, and I’m left with an Earl Greyish taste that doesn’t jump up and slap you in the face. Good for a morning where I want a gradual return to awareness, instead of something to wake me up right now.

Drinking plain.

It’s morning, and my allergies are kicking my boo-tay.

This tastes a little burnt instead of like carmel. Just an undertone though, not enough to make me not like it.

I’ll have to try it on the weekend when I can brew it in something I can remove the leaves from.

I wish this tea had the ability to let me go back to bed and start the day over.

Glumph.

I purchased some tea from Kusmi, one part of the order being their Russian sampler. This is part of that sampler.

Hubs actually requested some Earl Grey this morning, so I made him a latte with my Adagio. I could probably use up the countless EG tea bags I have on him, but when I’m making tea, scooping and smelling are part of the ritual. To make good tea for me and mediocre for him… Eh. I should just take the bags to work for other people.

So back to the Prince. This stuff smells wonderful – I’m not sure what element of it is so pleasing to me, but it might be the grapefruit. I’ve not had that in tea before, so that might be why my brain doesn’t analyze it as grapefruit.

I went latte with mine too, probably should have tried it straight for the first tasting (though I did take a quick straight sip to get room for the milk – brewing in a cup with a basket doesn’t leave enough room for frothing! – and that was good). It’s not as intense as EG, which I thought it might be similar to, but it doesn’t have the bite that EG always seems to have. I think hubby might like this. I know I do.

So between the Captain the other day, and the Prince today, I’m hanging around with some title people lately. ;)

This is a sample from my Kusmi order. I got a sampler tin, and I think this is in that too, so hopefully I like it :D

Smells good, tastes good. Better notes once it cools and I’m done with work stuff. :)