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939 Tasting Notes

Random Steepings from Various Artists

I’d like to apologize for being such a whiner last night. My head was throbbing & my allergies were so bad that we had to turn on the air conditioning, which I’d rather not do this soon in the season. I also started drinking Nettles, which I should have been drinking for a few weeks at least. After 24 hours, I feel so much better!

1 cup dried Nettles (yes, that is a lot, but it’s not a pricey herb)

Put the nettles in a quart jar, fill with boiling water, put the lid on & leave it sitting over night. Strain it in the morning & enjoy a cup. Refrigerate & drink throughout the day, either a cup at a time, or sipping occasionally. Make another quart before you go to bed.
Drink a quart everyday! Once your symptoms are alleviated, you can probably drink it less often, & it will keep in the frig for about 36 hours or so. It’s high in Querticin, & other good stuff!

Places to order Nettles:
www.cherylsherbs.com (a st louis herb company)
www.frontiercoop.com

You can also probably pick it up at the health food store.

Earl Grey from Frontier Natural Products Co-op

This is not a particularly strong earl, & that’s ok by me. Because it is most likely a ceylon, & the bergamot scent wasn’t too strong, I added extra leaf. Then I added stevia & french vanilla coconut creamer. It was a pleasant cup, which I enjoyed. For awhile I didn’t care much for Earl Greys, & some of them are awful, IMO, but I’ve been trying several, & finding that some are very pleasant. This will not be a favorite, but not bad.

Coconut Oolong from The London Tea Room

In the latest version of my ‘Tea Inventory’, which I updated & printed out last night, I made a note in the margins of how many of each type I have (like 34 black teas!). I’m attempting to drink a cup of everything in my entire stash at least once a month, LOL. I tend to play favorites (who doesn’t?), mostly drinking lots & lots of black tea. No more! I’m hereby officially pledging to award equal drinking rights to ALL of my teas. There is one exception: if I serve a tea to a guest, that counts!

To celebrate I went to the farmer’s market, where there was a chick who has her own local tea company, fairly new. I bought 4 1/2 oz samples:
Celtic Cottage Tea – which is an Irish breakfast type – Assam!
Lemon Meringue – rooibos
Peach Melba – more rooibos
Gingerbread – rooibos
Why so much rooibos, after claiming I don’t like it that much?
Basically, I’m trying to get myself to quit staying up til 2am playing my harp, so no caffeine (except puer, which doesn’t keep me up) after…ah…6:00…or so…

Masala Chai from Adagio Teas

My son Leif brewed a pot of this to take with him to classes today. I resteeped it, then left the tea in the water & stuck it in the fridge to coldbrew a little longer. After a few hours, & put it in a sippy cup with a straw & went back out into the garden for more weeding.
It’s a decent chai, especially with a little stevia added.

Laoshan Black from Verdant Tea
100

Lovely Laoshan Black!
Earlier today I steeped this:
1 T x 3 Min. While I was drinking that one, I resteeped @ 4min & 5min. Those 2 steepings were combined into my sippy cup, & out to the garden we went. I sat there, clipping weeds in the Gazebo area, sipping tea, just as happy as I could be!
The gazebo is a wrought iron affair with 6 trellis sides, having entrances in between them. It’s directly on the ground, & I grew a bunch of stuff under it last year. There are still Turnips, whose seeds must have sprouted a month or so ago. I found a radish & some baby lettuces today as well, just getting started.
This tea was a wonderful companion, although lately I haven’t been enjoying the ‘bean’ taste on the later steepings as much.

Watermelon Xylophone from Butiki Teas

Although I’m not a huge fan of white teas, I love this one. Stacy is the Mistress of the Art of Flavorings, as far as I’m concerned. I’ve gone through several orders of this tea now. So my 2nd student wanted something white but fruity, & this one hits the spot to perfection. We shared a pot of it, lightly sweetened with Sweetleaf (stevia). Another mild but lovely tea.

Orange Ginger Mint from The Republic of Tea

My first student of the day requested something “orangey”, so I brewed some of this. It is an herbal tea that I used to really love, back when I wasn’t drinking anything with caffeine in it, & I still enjoy it’s mild herbaliness once in awhile, usually with students who don’t want caffeine.

Bolder Breakfast from The Tea Spot
90

First tea of the day, & a sipdown…sort of. I emptied the container, but then I immediately refilled it because the Tea Spot sells refill size packages, which I bought recently.

Random Steepings from Various Artists

I hate allergies! My head’s been throbbing all day, my eyes are watering, ears itching, sneezing…ghaaa!
This evening I’ve been sitting around, making adjustments to the list of my tea collection on my computer. There were several sipdowns, so those items were removed, & I added all the teas I purchased recently. I now have a total of 260 teas! This includes samples, bags, tins, everything.
While I’ve been doing this, I’ve been sipping on cups of Nettles tea, as it is rumored to be helpful for allergies. I used to take massive doses of Shaklee Alfalfa tablets for allergies, & it really helped, but these days I just can’t swallow that many tablets (20 tablets, 4 times a day, that’s what it took to keep my allergies away). So I’m drinking Nettles, & I’m using BioAllers Homeopathic Sinus & Allergy spray.

Nettles tea is a natural anti-inflammatory & anti-histamine, & isn’t unpleasant. It just tastes green, with a bit of a minty sensation to it. For years I’ve drank a mix of Nettles, Oatstraw, & a pinch of Horsetail (herb), which is a good tonic for women, high in bone building minerals (according to Susun Weed, herbalist).

Hattialli Golden Lion Assam from Butiki Teas

Stacy sent me a sample of this with my last order. I drank it on Saturday, while sitting around in my PJs & it was delicious.
Unfortunately, I didn’t take notes, & I’ve drank so many cups of tea since then, that I can’t really say anything specific, except that if Stacy adds it to her catalog, I will most likely add it to my cupboard!
Thanks so much Stacy, you are awesome!

Caramel Vanilla Assam from Butiki Teas

I played my monthly ‘Tea’ gig at the retirement home today. I enjoyed a cup of this while getting ready. It’s really tasty sweetened, but it’s also really tasty unsweetened, which is how I drank it today.

It also resteeps well, & I took the 2nd steeping with me in a sippy cup to enjoy during my gig.

This is a sipdown, as the rest of my sample is on it’s way to Canada. HowEVER, I have more coming on Thursday!

Wild Berry Plum from The Republic of Tea
Lemon Zinger from Celestial Seasonings

Yesterday I spent about 4 hours in my garden, weeding & mulching my asparagus beds (for a photo of the newly emerged asparagii, visit my FB).
This box of lemon zinger has been in my cupboard for a long long time, so it became a candidate for sun tea, which is quicker than cold brew.
It’s not my favorite, not by a long shot, & I don’t care for it hot, but it was refreshing enough iced.

Bite of Peach Pie Chai from Adagio Teas
Aquarius (The Zodiac Series) from Adagio Teas

I have enjoyed this tea, with it’s mix of Hazelnut, vanilla oolong, & black. Sometimes I sweeten it, sometimes I add a little french vanilla coconut creamer, today I’m drinking it straight.
It’s also a sipdown, & I’m sending the last bit to a friend :)

Wild-Picked Yunnan Jin Jun Mei from Verdant Tea
98

Little terri is a grumpus today, we are having allergies, which goes way beyond irritated sinuses to an overall sense of irritability. She’s clutching this cup of tea, like most kids clutch a favorite blankie, harrumphing at me, & saying, “Mine! Leave me alone!”.

As this yummy, malty, bold & savory brew draws closer & closer to sipdown stage (I think I have 2 cups-worth left), all we can do it savor every sip, resteeping the leaves as many times as possible.
We’re on the 2nd steeping now…

Premium Taiwanese Assam Upgrade from Butiki Teas

Another tasty Assam from Stacy, very nicely malty & Bold.
This one is very different from the non-upgrade version, & I won’t compare them to one another, except to say that this one has almost a Dian Hong mouth feel to it, & the taste even leans a little bit in that direction, in my opinion.

New Moon Darjeeling from The Tea Spot

Admittedly, I haven’t drank a lot of darjeelings lately.
I drank some years ago, & since I don’t follow instructions well, I think they were steeped at too high of temperature, or for too long.
I tend to fawn over Yunnans & Assams, mostly, but am trying to expand my horizons. So I followed the instructions.
The dry smell: kind of earthy fruity
The wet leaf smell: hmmm…it seems like most teas have a stronger wet leaf smell than dry. This is the opposite.
1 heaping tsp + 12 oz
“boil water, cool 1 min (203F)”
I did that, then steeped 3 minutes
The resulting cup: fruity & earthy. There is a brightness to it, a sweetness, a bitterness (which I kind of like sometimes), & an earthy muskiness.

Organic Assam from The Tea Spot

Little Terri fixed Breakfast, & the girl knows how to cook!
If you’d like to see the photo: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200556320925902&set=a.1840459966648.2104718.1095023403&type=1&theater
Wow, that’s a long link!

Nothing goes better with a breakfast like that than a malty cup of Assam! Although this Organic Assam is not as bold & thick as Tea Spots (not organic) Assam, it is still malty, with a lightly sweet essence & smooth body. A nice start for my day!

Caramel Vanilla Assam from Butiki Teas

Yesterday after my wedding gig I rewarded myself with a(nother wonderful) cup of this!
Then Tony & I went out for dinner & to hear some of friends band play.

Did ya know it also resteeps nicely?
I usually start my day with something bold & unflavored, but this morning I resteeped these leaves,
Because I didn’t want to waste their awesomeness.

Premium Taiwanese Assam from Butiki Teas
83

Oh, I have missed this tea!
My Butiki order came a few days ago, & I think sometimes you don’t realize how much you miss something until you have it again, ya know?
This is a rich, bold, spicey, tasty, malty Assam with amazing looking leaves. So good to be drinking this now! I’ve been on an Assam jag lately, & this one is SO satisfying!

Zhen Qu from Butiki Teas

2nd cup of the day! I do recommend 2 tsp @ 3 minutes! Yum!

No. 49 Assam FTGFOP1 from Steven Smith Teamaker

This was my first cup of the morning, so satisfyingly sweet, malty, & bold.

No. 55 Lord Bergamot from Steven Smith Teamaker

In an effort to broaden my SO’s horizons, I have been providing him with samples of various Earl Grey’s, since EG is his preferred tea (although he’ll also drink straight black teas).

He loved this one! He especially liked the lingering aftertaste, & his actual words were, “Where can I get more of this?”
Win!

Profile

Bio

I’m so excited to have found this community! I’m a self-employed Harpist (acoustic & electric – Originals, Classical, Rock, Jazz, etc) & Singer/Songwriter. My days & nights revolve around teaching at home, playing gigs, gardening,& fixing awesome food to eat. My schedule is different everyday, but I just go with the flow, & I sip a lot of tea!

My love of Tea began with Herbals back in the 70’s. One of my favorites was a licorice blend from House of Hezekiah, an old tea shop in Kansas City. There was also a tea with mint, rose petals, chamomile, etc called Nuclear Casual Tea.
In the 80’s I gave up caffeine, chocolate, alcohol, (& a few illicit substances…), and brewed medicinal blends & tinctures to support 4 pregnancies (all children born at home). In the 90’s my love affair with green teas began when I discovered ‘The Republic of Tea’. Their beautiful teas & packaging inspired my original song, “TeaMind”, from my CD “Zen Breakfast”. If you’d like to hear the song for free, drop by my website.

In general, I drink my teas straight, but occasionally I add a pinch of Stevia & maybe some coconut or almond milk (I’m allergic to dairy, gluten, & various other things & avoid most sweets.)

I’ve explored a variety of teas:
Whites tend to be a little bland…sorry
Oolongs are wonderful, especially Orchid & Peach! (I love anything with Peaches)
Roobios – I’m not a fan in general
Puehr – a fairly new direction for me
I’m not a huge fan of flavored teas, unless that flavor is peaches or chocolate, but I do make exceptions, & I’ll try just about anything.

And Black Tea, Oh how I love thee!!
I am on a quest for the most wonderful breakfast cup! I will find you, my Love!

Location

St. Louis, MO

Website

http://www.harpsinger.net

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