Terri HarpLady

My piano tuner came today for his annual visit. It was 8am, we were both groggy, but he perked up nicely when I offered him a cup of tea. When I asked what time he preferred, his response was, “Oh, anything will do.” He started to lift the lid off my piano, then turned back, “but if you have anything smokey, I’ll be in Heaven!” He smiled.

How often do your guests ask for a smokey tea? Mine never do! I hooked him up with this Caravan, & he loved it!

This tea started out ok for me. The aroma of the leaf hints at peach, roasted oolong, & light florals. The flavor didn’t really deliver any of the flavors promised, other than a very lightly roasted oolong & a physical discomfort on the tip of my tongue that I associate with artificial flavors. There was also a soapyness/perfuminess that built up after a few sips…blech!

3. from TTB-A
   When I first saw this one I was immediately excited, as I enjoy a good rose black tea, & this one looks so beautiful with the pink of the rose petals against the dark chocolate color of the tea leaves. The rose scent is not particularly strong in the dry leaf or the brewed cup, & for the most part, it’s a fairly nice cup of tea. I’m not a huge fan of ceylon, I much prefer a Keemun as the base for my rose teas. Also, there is an odd after taste & sensation, kind of salty, but not really salty, if that makes sense. Kind of soapy, but not really soapy…
   Sorry for being vague…it’s hard to define.

I steeped up a pot of this to share with one of my students this morning. It’s a fairly nice Dragonwell, but fairly plain compared to Ms. Li’s…

2. from the TTBA:
   This was tasty! Not as interesting as Butiki’s Caramel Vanilla Assam, but still a nice cup of joy :)

This is not from the TTBA, but I realized looking through it that it’s mostly flavored blends, heavy on the rooibos, & although I still plan on sampling them all, I gotta have some black tea that is unflavored first!
This is a pleasant Darjeeling, nothing special, but nice enough.

TTBA!! (For those who are new to Steepster, that stands for Traveling Tea Box A).
There’s an envelope with 2 bags of this. I had one as my pre-breakfast tea. I probably should have made it my breakfast tea, it’s nicely bold & malty. Not sure if I’ll drink the other bag, as it’s a little on the bitter end as well. I might leave that one for one of my other black tea loving friends to sample.
Anyways, for a bagged tea it does pack a punch, which I find rare, but probably not something I’d stock.
NEXT?

Added 4 hours later: Had errands to run & knew I’d be stopping off for 2nd breakfast at a little hole in the wall I like, so I brought the 2nd bag, which as was pretty nice with the meal.

Home from my performances, I’m enjoying a cup of this. Although I’m not always a fan of bergamot, I am a fan of Steven Smith, at least of the teas from him that I have tried so far (plus, as I’ve said before, I had a crush on a boy once named steve smith, so I can’t help but feel a small bit of nostalgia). The Earl is a little bolder than most, as it includes some Assam along with the usual ceylon. All of the blacks are of high quality, as is the Bergamot oil itself, and that, my friends, makes all the difference. :)

Yes, I am still hoarding some of this, & how could I not. I hadn’t drank any for awhile, & so I steeped & resteeped, filling a 16 oz cup to take with me to my gigs today. It was such a pleasure to sip while playing: Puer, Ginger, Licorice, Elderberry…it is the most delicious tea blend ever, IMO. I will be sad when it is gone, but I also have a small supply of Yanxin’s Reserve Shu, & I have plenty of licorice, elderberry & ginger, so I might try making a similar blend. I even have sichuan peppercorns! It is rare that I enjoy Shu mixed with anything else, I prefer such teas on their own, but this one is the exception.

This morning while I was getting ready for my gig, my son’s Drew & Leif fixed breakfast! Leif steeped a large pot of this tea, which he refers to as ‘Lemon Song’, to go with breakfast. It’s a mix of earl grey moonlight, rooibos lemon cloud, & coconut. It’s a bright & lemony brew, I don’t really taste the coconut. Purchased because of our love of Dr. Who, of course! :)

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms out there in SteepsterLand & Beyond!
I will spend most of the day playing for other Mothers at 2 separate events, a brunch which I will leave for soon, followed by an Afternoon Tea.

I chose this Hattialli for my first tea of the day because it’s A very nice assam with malty fruity flavors, & nicely bold enough to start my day, but not so bold as to yell, “I AM ASSAM!”

Another Sil Samplebox Sipdown! Thanks Sil :)

So this would be ok, except it has a wierd bitterness to it that resulted in me dumping the last part of it, as it continued to get worse as it cooled. Anyway, I do taste the Genmaicha part of it, but am not getting chocolate or graham crackers.
Oh well, win some lose some, right?

Sil’s Sampler Sipdown #3
Hmmmm….this is really interesting!
It definitely tastes & smells like pretzels in a way, only with an amazing sweet aftertaste that grows & lingers.
Back in my vegetarian days, I used to eat buckwheat quite often: Pancakes, Kasha with cabbage, savory buckwheat crepes stuffed with shrooms… Buckwheat groats are an under-used grain, very flavorful in a lovely earthy way.
I don’t know if this is just toasted buckwheat groats, or if there is more to it, but I’d like to buy some buckwheat, roast it, & then try steeping it to find out. Wouldn’t it be great if it was really that simple? I’d enjoy drinking this in the evening anytime. :D
Thank Sil!

BTW, for those who love Tattoos, check this one out:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=292955120839095&set=a.187908691343739.46929.171861656281776&type=1&theat

Yeah! The Cardinals won, 3 – 0!
Tony & I watched the first half of the game at the pool hall. A couple of hours of shooting pool while watching baseball? Perfect!
I’ve been enjoying this tea for the last couple of innings.
I am a grandma, & I bake a killer pumpkin pie. This doesn’t actually taste like it to me, but it is pleasant & spicy.
It’s also a sipdown! #2 from Sil! Thanks!

Sil Sample Sipdown #1 (of the day)!
This is an interesting tea. The main flavor I’m getting is a toasty rice breakfast cereal, or a sweet rice crispy treat, with salted butter. I’m also thinking of a payday bar type confection, with the rich caramel center, only with toasted rice on the outside instead of peanuts.
It is tasty. Thanks Sil!

I finished breakfast with a cup of this, because that’s the only thing worthy in the selection at the restaurant. The other options were (all by Numi) Rooibos, decaf vanilla black, & gunpowder green (which I wasn’t in the mood for). Their aged earl grey isn’t bad with stevia added. The Bergamot is nicely mellow.

Tony & I went to breakfast & their tea selection was a little lacking, but I had a package of this & my Tuffy Tea Steeper from the Tea Spot.
I got 3 nice cups worth, steeped at 3 min, 4 min, & 5 min. Sweet & chocolatey, it’s so good & really rivals Laoshan Black for me.

Here’s my first cup of the day.
I went a little crazy on the amount of leaf, So it’s really very bold & kind of brash today. I’m feeling the brightness & astringency of it in my sinuses, & my throat is getting dry. The flavors are of malt, oaky tannins, & sourdough rye bread. I know I’m making it sound bad, but it’s actually quite good, LOL! I much prefer the premium Taiwanese Assam, however.

Sipdown of the day #5
I went with a heaping Tbl & steeped 4 minutes this time. That extra minute made all the difference, as the toastiness of the rice enhances the already roasty laoshan black flavor, & I can really taste the chocolate too. The resulting cup was sweet & wonderful!
Definitely a re-order…sigh…in june…

Sipdown #4
I went ahead & steeped this 4 minutes, & IMO it made all the difference! The banana flavor really came out. Very delicious & the perfect tea to bring along when I left the house this for the afternoon. This will definitely be a re-order in June.

I’m claiming this 2nd sipdown of the day for Leif, who enjoyed this tea more than I did. He says, “It’s actually pretty good with stevia & french vanilla coconut milk creamer.”
And now it’s gone.

Sipdown #1 (for the day).
This Tea was shared with me by Sil, so once again, thanks my friend!
Not bold or malty, but a mild cup that it somehow sweet & a little marine-like. What I’m getting is a slice of a good quality french bread slathered with lightly salted butter. Yup. There is also a hint of stone-fruit in the background.

I’m enjoying a cup of this as my first cup of the day. It’s a big departure from the bold Assams & mouth filling Yunnans that I usually start my day with. The initial flavors while still hot are making me think more of green tea, with essence of spring shell peas & asparagus, which seems really strange.

Letting the cup cool down a bit…

Now I’m starting to get the hint of peach. This is probably more suited to be an afternoon tea for me. It is nicely mouthwatering too. I mistakenly brewed it at boiling (oops!), but it didn’t ruin the flavor at all. No bitterness or astringency, just a mild & pleasant cup.

I still haven’t tried this blended with either of the TOMC teas from Feb, but was looking for something without caffeine, & also trying to work my way through ALL of my teas this month, so I gave it another try by itself. It’s ok. I had forgotten there was frankincense in it, but during the last couple of sips, a perfumy taste arose & I began to feel a bit quesy. I had the same problem with the Earl of Anxi.