Terri HarpLady

Hmmm…not sure how I feel about this one…I think I asked Sil for a sample simply because I’m a Christopher Walken fan, LOL. So while I was drinking it, I watched “The Continental”
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/the-continental/n10786/
:)
Then I also watched the ‘more cowbell’ skit from SNL too. God, I love that skit! LMAO!
The tea? It’s not bad. Not something I’d purchase, but interesting enough to enjoy. Thanks Sil!
It’s gonna need more cowbell!

I’ve been working at my desk all morning, answering phone calls & emails, booking gigs, etc. There is still a ton to do, always…

So it’s my lunch break, & I was trying to decide on a tea. Some part of my conscience keeps saying I should drink more green or white, or whatever, but really I just want another cup of black tea. Why not this?

Smokey teas are not my passion, but while drinking a cup of Keemun awhile back, I realized I do like a little smoke, as long as it doesn’t get to crazy! Also, drinking this tea, which is substantial through & through, not just a cup of smokiness, is making me want to BBQ something, or maybe use this tea as a marinade for something…

Thank you Sil!
Wow, this is a cup of TEA!
The flavor is deep ASSAM, with a bold & bitter edge that is satisfying for me right now. What I like about this tea is it has a strong base note, a substantial middle, & the top is also bright. It also re-steeps nicely! Hazzah!

No notes yet.

I had a cup of this with breakfast this morning. I’ve reviewed it several times, so there really isn’t much to say. Kind of an ‘even’ tasting blend, a little smokey, a little bright, mostly kind of in the middle flavorwise, if that makes sense.

This is the 2nd time I’ve drank this tea.
Dry, it has an earthy, mushroomy aroma.
The first time I used a formula of 5T + 4oz Gaiwan (rinse) & then steeps of 10, 20, 30 secs, etc.
This time I realized there were actual instructions on the package, suggesting 1T + 8oz X 15sec (then 30, 45, etc)
It was nice, smooth, but a little weak for my tastes.

I’ve probably been drinking too many xingyang Shu’s, following their guidelines of more tea & longer steeps. Maybe I’ll try this one like that the next time.

I wanted some sheng, & this one was up next, so there it is.
4G + 4oz Gaiwan (rinse) x 4 – 6 sec
The flavor of this sheng is still very green, like newly mown hay, but also slightly sweet like clover, and there is a brazzy edge, especially at the beginning, but it cleared my fuzzy head nicely, & I feel a nice lively energy throughout. That’s why I wanted sheng! :)

Working my way through the TOMC box, this one is from January.
Initially, I didn’t like this tea. Everyone else loved it, & I was like, “This is my next to least favorite from Verdant, only superseded by Earl of Anxi”. I guess the problem was that I tried to steep it like Laoshan black, & that was a big mistake! This is a black tea, but it needs to be handled with kid gloves, it’s very sensitive. I’m feeling sensitive today, so maybe we make a good pair this afternoon?
5G + 4 oz Gaiwan (quick rinse) X 4 – 6 sec steepings
I drank the rinse water. It tastes like french bread with butter, kind of like the formosan I just drank. Very mildly malty/yeasty.
1 – This is nice. I taste malt, butter, honey, & an essence of chocolate creeping in.
2 & 3 – More of the above, plus a little more roasty, & a nice tongue thickening sensation.
I have tons of things I should be doing…it’s still too wet to garden, so I’m off the hook there. I have several gigs coming up that require specific pieces, most notably a church gig (the only way they can get me to church is to pay me to come play). For that one, I’m working on Bernstein’s Chichester Psalm 2, which is choir, piano, & harp. It’s not a particularly difficult piece, but still takes time to figure out how I fit in. That’s one of the reasons I love youtube!! I can listen to it while I look over the music to find my place!
4 – nice tongue tingle, a little bit of a wuyi rock kind of thing coming into it.
5 – then 6 – this has been a nice session. I’ve been sipping, listening to that piece, looking through the music. I guess I’d better go sit at my Harp & try it out! I’m making this sound like a drudgery, LOL, but I love playing my harp, & doing so has the ability to elevate my mood better than anything else. My other mood elevators are: Tea, Food (preparing, thinking about, eating, & sharing), & gardening (which is really part of the food category anyway!).

I think I need some Sheng…sigh…

This is another sample from Sil. Thanks!

Opening the baggie, it smells kind of fruity.
I measured out a heaping tsp & steeped for 3 minutes (after drinking I read the instructions, lol…suppose to be 2 tsp (1 sec rinse) X 2min steep…oops!).
The resulting tea was delicious anyway. It reminds me of french bread, with butter spread over it. It’s very smooth, a little malty, sweet even. There is a bit of an ‘ocean’ taste to it, nothing overly objectionable, but noticeable.
The resteep was very mild.

I served this tea to one of my students this morning, drinking a small cup for myself as well. Measuring it out, the yellow flowers are unruly, doing everything they can to fill the teaspoon, so I have to take them out of the bag first, then measure out the tea, then break off a clump of flowers & add it to the steeping basket. This tea has suck a clean & fresh aroma, & although it isn’t a favorite, my student loved it! She is a love of light teas such as this, so I gave her the rest of the bag. She was delighted! I claim a sipdown! Now I only have 282 teas in my cupboard! :)

I am a grumpus today.
I had insomnia until 3am, mostly due to allergies. I forgot to drink my Nettles for a few days, & my allergies came back yesterday with wild abandon. Gotta get back to brewing my ‘medicine’, cuz I hate feeling irritated from head to toe, & that is exactly what allergies do to me. It’s a whole body experience, not just sinuses.

So this was my first cup this morning. I steeped, & resteeped, & crawled into a hot tub of bubbles with both cups of tea. I realized once I started sipping that I wasn’t really in the mood for something this strong, but I drank it anyway. This is a bold brew, this is what Irish Breakfast is suppose to be (although I find most of them to be lacking). There is a very bright fruitiness to it, & it’s malty. I probably over t’d it a little, because it seemed especially brash this morning, but that also might be due to my over-sensitive allergy riddled cells screaming, “too much stimulation!!” about basically everything.

Sil, you are now my best friend!
This tea is SO AWESOME!
I opened the package, & the smell is AWESOME!!!
It smells like butterscotch chips. It smells like cake, & a creamy frosting. It smells wonderful!
I steeped it, & I love it. My son Drew walked into the room & said, “What is that awesome smell?” I allowed him to sample 1 tsp of my cup of tea, & he said, “We MUST get more of this.”
He’s right!

So this afternoon I reached into my Verdant TOMC box. I have the box arranged with dividers, so I can work my way through each month. After I sample them, I move them to the back of the box. I’m back to January again, & that means Yu Lu Yan Cha, Anxi Fo Shou, & Chai Spice. Last time I tried the Chai Spice with the Yu Lu. This time I’m having it with the Anxi. It’s a very tasty & complex blend, & the Fo Shou is so awesome on its own, so deeply satisfying. The resulting cup was rich & spicy & substantial, almost like a chocolate chai!

In spite of the weather, my cherry tree is blooming & today was the day for my annual invocation! I bought myself an order of sushi, came home & steeped a cup of spring cherry green, & enjoyed my little snack out in the yard under the cherry tree, admiring her blossoms. After my snack, I laid hands on her trunk, calling upon the Earth, the sun, the wind, & the rains to support her. Then I called out to all creatures within earshot, welcoming them to nest in her branches, to savor the cherries when they are ripe, & then reminded them that I also love cherries, so please leave the lower branches for me. :)

I’ve enjoyed this tea for a number of years, & it is especially nice during this season, when the cherries are blooming. I’ll have more than one picnic under that tree, & this is the tea of choice for those occasions.

Its a drizzly dreary cool & damp day in St. Louis. It’s also my day off from harp students, & both of my son’s days off from college, so I had these great plans to garden, with the 2 of them as my yard monkeys, but alas, it rained all night & most of the morning, so it was not to be.
Instead we had breakfast together, & I spent the morning in my PJs, answering emails & phone calls, booking gigs, etc.

There were errands to run, & I wanted something sweet & spicy, & this tea fits the bill!

I really love a lot of different teas! There’s an old song from when I was young, “Love the One Your With”, LOL. That’s my relationship with tea. That’s not to say that I absolutely love every tea I drink. There are teas that I don’t care for. This is NOT one of them! I enjoy enjoy Keemun, & I can easily understand why the British were so in love with it. Gently smokey, with a hint of brown sugar sweetness, & although I usually drink mine straight, occasionally I’ll spike it with stevia & french vanilla coconut milk creamer. Today I’m drinking it plain. It’s just what I needed.

One of the things I love about tea trades here on Steepster is getting to sample a ton of new teas from companies I’ve never ordered from. Another thing I love is getting to share awesome teas with people who’ve never tried them. The very best part of tea trades is getting to know the person you’re trading with a little bit!!
I got this tea sample from Sil, & I’m really grateful for our recent trade! So many teas to sample! Yeah! Thanks Sil!

Thank you Sil for this sample!
I love the name of this tea! I have a considerable amount of Irish blood from my Mom’s side & Cherokee from my Dads, so the results is a long family history of alcoholism on both sides, LOL. Of course, this tea is alcohol free, with the flavor if Irish Whiskey, but honestly, I didn’t taste it. It’s a fairly bold blend, somewhat astringent, with a bright & fruity high end. A good start to my day!

And here is the third selection from the April TOMC. The appearance of this one is long gently twisted leaves, the color of dark ash, with tan, mahogany, & greenish tinges here & there.

The aroma is of roasted caramelized stone fruit, again I’m thinking peaches or apricots. This is a sweet, creamy, fruity tea, with more of a darker kind of roasting that I tend to prefer in Oolongs. In the later steepings there was a bit of the incense quality similar to the Dancong.

This is the 2nd tea in this month’s TOMC.
The appearance is long graceful strands in a deep chocolate brown, with shades of mahogany & sage here & there.
The dry aroma is rich, sweet, & fruity, with almost a wine like scent.
I preheated the gaiwan & then warmed the leaf in it, & the aroma was of a rich apricot & incense.
Once I steeped the leaves, they smelled like an even richer apricot liquor with an incense overlay that lingers in the back of the sinuses, reminding me of Big Red Robe.

Although I previously haven’t been a huge fan of Dancongs, I am loving the lingering honey & fruit perfume of this tea (and I hate perfume!).
This was a very tasty brew, with fruity & floral elements.

The Verdant TOMC bundle box came over the weekend, & today was the day to dig in & do some sipping. This was the first tea to sample.

This tea is in nuggets that vary in shades from a brilliant moss green to an almost black jade.
The dry aroma is of newly mown grass with a floral overlay.
The wet aroma is a cooked green veggie, winter squash, apricot, & floral essence.
I followed the suggestions to rinse, etc.
What resulted was a mildly floral & sweet cup with a soft bread-like flavor. It kind of reminded me of a rich french bread.
Very pleasant.

I shared a pot of this with one of my students today. It really is a sweet little tea, not bold, more along the lines of a Dian Hong mouthfeel & butteriness, but with a floral essence to it. Very nice!

Now for a really bold cup! This is a real contrast to the Yunnan I drank first, almost harsh in comparison, but not in a bad way. To me this is not a malty tea, but more of a deep fruity flavor, like blackberries, with a brightness to it.

My verdant tea bundle box came! Oh…where to begin?

First tea of the day, so smooth, I love the thick tongue sensation of this tea. It’s an earthy sweet potato type taste, with a little black pepper thrown in. A really nice start to my day, beautifully re-steepable.

I’m also taking this in my thermal cup to sip during my gig. YUM!
I deserve another treat, right? :)