58
drank Sleep Tight by TeaGschwendner
2036 tasting notes

This was an afterthought while I was preparing my TeaGschwendner order. Though I wouldn’t have known had I not been moved to read the ingredients, it seemed something I ought to try as part of the perfect lemon search.

The dry leaves have an interesting, savory spice smell. I’m reminded of my experience with the Harney & Sons French Verveine. It looks like dried savory spices as well, except for the fairly large dried flower buds.

The liquor is a dark golden yellow. It has a savory aroma as well. Not smelling a lot of lemon here. In fact, I’m hard pressed to smell any at all.

The taste is a little surprising. I expected it to be heavy and brothy, but it isn’t. It isn’t light bodied, either. It’s medium bodied and had a somewhat silky mouthfeel. The flavor is intriguing. There’s a suggestion of lemon in there, but it’s not strong. Oddly, the flavor mostly makes me think of chamomile, though there is no chamomile in it. There is also the definite and predominant taste of a savory spice of some sort. Sage? Thyme? It’s the same general suggestion that I found in the Verveine, but not strong enough to suggest herbed roasted lemon chicken.

In any case, it’s not at all bitter or pungent, and it’s neither tart nor sweet. I’m not sure it would be my first choice for anything other than medicinal purposes, but if it works as a soporific I’ll be all over it.

Preparation
Boiling 6 min, 45 sec

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Bio

I got obsessed with tea in 2010 for a while, then other things intruded, then I cycled back to it. I seem to be continuing that in for a while, out for a while cycle. I have a short attention span, but no shortage of tea.

I’m a mom, writer, gamer, lawyer, reader, runner, traveler, and enjoyer of life, literature, art, music, thought and kindness, in no particular order. I write fantasy and science fiction under the name J. J. Roth.

Personal biases: I drink tea without additives. If a tea needs milk or sugar to improve its flavor, its unlikely I’ll rate it high. The exception is chai, which I drink with milk/sugar or substitute. Rooibos and honeybush were my gateway drugs, but as my tastes developed they became less appealing — I still enjoy nicely done blends. I do not mix well with tulsi or yerba mate, and savory teas are more often a miss than a hit with me. I used to hate hibiscus, but I’ve turned that corner. Licorice, not so much.

Since I find others’ rating legends helpful, I added my own. But I don’t really find myself hating most things I try.

I try to rate teas in relation to others of the same type, for example, Earl Greys against other Earl Greys. But if a tea rates very high with me, it’s a stand out against all other teas I’ve tried.

95-100 A once in a lifetime experience; the best there is

90-94 Excellent; first rate; top notch; really terrific; will definitely buy more

80-89 Very good; will likely buy more

70-79 Good; would enjoy again, might buy again

60-69 Okay; wouldn’t pass up if offered, but likely won’t buy again

Below 60 Meh, so-so, iffy, or ick. The lower the number, the closer to ick.

I don’t swap. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I have way more tea than any one person needs and am not lacking for new things to try. Also, I have way too much going on already in daily life and the additional commitment to get packages to people adds to my already high stress level. (Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does.)

That said, I enjoy reading folks’ notes, talking about what I drink, and getting to “know” people virtually here on Steepster so I can get ideas of other things I might want to try if I can ever again justify buying more tea. I also like keeping track of what I drink and what I thought about it.

My current process for tea note generation is described in my note on this tea: https://steepster.com/teas/mariage-freres/6990-the-des-impressionnistes

Location

Bay Area, California

Website

http://www.jjroth.net

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