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This tastes a lot better than it sounds, though I confess I have never gotten up close and personal with a camel. :)

see previous notes for more info.

This came as a sample in my latest order from Butiki – thanks for the sample!

I was in the mood for something decadent. We got some bad news that my sweetie’s department is getting eliminated and we are both very anxious. I might have to cut back on tea spending for a while… boo

I steeped this at the recommended parameters – 210 F for around 4 minutes. I like the base of this tea but I felt like the flavoring was very light. After reading the notes I decided to add a bit of turbinado sugar and some soymilk. That seems to have helped bring out the flavor a bit. Perhaps if I had more to play with I could try using more leaf but I wasn’t terribly thrilled with this, although it is not altogether unpleasant or anything. Instead of a truffle it’s like a light dusting of cocoa with a faint peep of a raspberry….

I got a sample size of this beeng from Mandala to check out. I’ve only had one other white pu-erh – I find them intriguing and they aren’t too easy to find.

I decided to steep this up in the gaiwan this morning. I did give the leaves a quick rinse with boiling water.

My first infusion is really lovely – it has the sweetness and smoothness of a delicious white tea with a hint of lingering smoke in the background. I am getting nectar like flavors with a bit of apple. Very mild in flavor.

My second steep I accidentally spaced out on the timing. I must have left it for two minutes or more. The flavor is a lot more assertive than I was expecting. It got more smoky and slightly musty but still very easygoing and delicious.

The third steep I used water that was around 180 F for 45 seconds or so, I’m getting a honey like aroma with tiny hints of malt and apple, again. The other reviewer mentioned nutmeg and I agree. This is definitely a non-finicky tea as the description states. Charming and interesting! I think this will age quite nicely. Good job Mandala… I would go for more infusions now but it’s time for work and I may need to revisit this when I am slightly less rushed for time.

I’m finishing off the rest of this sample today. This is a nice dessert tea – you definitely get the caramel element and it is slightly sweet but no weird aftertaste. I would consider getting this again. Just upped the score a few points…

My allergies are going haywire and I’ve read that rooibos tea helps with allergy symptoms, so what more of an excuse do I need to have another cup of this? Definitely my favorite of the Fusion Tea rooibos blends so far.

I checked my tin of this and the expiration date is 4.30.12 so I brought it into the office where I could focus on drinking it all day. This is not a hardship! Beautifully vivid green, slightly sweet and nicely vegetal. I feel so healthy when I drink this & need to finish off my japanese green teas so I can justify buying more … yum!!!

I love visiting the Monterey and Moss Landing area but their tea shop selection leaves something to be desired for a tea fiend like myself!

So a Peet’s was my saving grace this morning before we trotted off to the aquarium to see fish, penguins, jellyfish, birds and all manner of aquatic life.

I was a little bit scared of trying this from the description. Most lapsangs can be WAY too strong for me and the Russian Caravan from Peet’s is very smoky. Fortunately I rather enjoyed this a lot, not exacly sure what the Indian teas were, I think perhaps a mix of assam and ceylon. The lapsang note was very light and provided a hearty and rich flavor to this dark tea. Just what I needed to get going today… BF says it is slightly reminiscent of hu kwa. I might have to get a tin of this, at the very least I will get some more when I find myself near a Peet’s!

I’m back from my trip, sad that 3 day weekends seem so short (as do all weekends, or any time I’m not at work).

I decided I wanted a cup of something from the minute I walked in the door but maybe caffeine was not a good idea at this late hour. I had not tried this blend from Fusion Teas before now. It smells exacly like a pumpkin pie when you open up the bag… mmm!

This was steeped for around 8 minutes with boiling water. I did add some soymilk to mine since that’s usually how I drink rooibos. This reminds me a bit of a sweet potato pie! There’s some stevia in it which is definitely not my favorite. I’d rather just add my own sweetener. Stevia leaves a weird aftertaste in my mouth. Aside from that, this blend has a lot of cinnamon, ginger and mace which does give it the flavor of a pumpkin or a sweet potato pie. If there was no stevia I certainly would have rated this a lot higher. Note to self: be a bit more careful on reading labels in the future.

There is a very cute little shop in Monterey called Cha-ya, the sign said they sold Japanese tea so I was excited to go in. I got a cup of matcha and took these teabags to go. I am drinking one in the hotel. This is a delicious sencha, especially for a teabag. I was happy to stumble across this in my travels!

We are on vacation in Moss landing but it just started pouring down rain… boo

There was no good tea at our B&B so I was glad I brought some with me. :) I had a teabag of Paris that I brought with me, it was a sample from the International Tea Festival. All we had was hot water from a dispenser which was still not very hot. I am a whiner… yes, when it comes to tea I can be pretty whiny. I think tomorrow I will try green tea with my breakfast.