Bonnie

Thank you hannaspring for this Sample Tea!

Comfort tea is needed again today.

Colorado has really been through some tough times lately.

First the fires… 2 lives and 720 homes lost.
Now a massacre.
A college student came here last year to go to grad school. WHY did he kill?

Why?…. is one of the themes that runs through life.
“Why?” And, “It’s not fair.”

My children used to say that to me. “Mom, it’s not fair.”
“Yes, Aaron (or Anna), life is not fair and never will be fair.”

Pain, suffering and death does not respect who is inflicted.
In the same way noone complains about an unexpected, undeserved reward. We delight in the good fortunes that arise in life without feeling bad about it .

Today is very sad though. I want to take the opportunity to tell the ones I love how much I value them.

I’ve been drinking Chai for comfort. I like the ginger and the scent.
I picked up the fragrant teabag which was all lumpy with spices…and brewed 3 minutes.
The scent was so full and sweet. I could smell the orange with the cardamom, ginger,clove and cinnamon.
There was a good bite of spice without bitterness.
I added almond milk and sweetening which almost doubled the volume in my mug.
Yum nom as many Steepsters say.
I can see why a large package of these sweet Chai tea bags would be nice to have available for home or to take on the road.
I honestly do like this Chai! A warming hug type of tea.
(I’d love to give more oomph to this review…but I’m in a mood that is too quiet right now.)

Might be a good time to join with all who oppose evil in the World… and lift up the families who have lost loved ones. The people still in the hospital and critical… so many who are in shock.

(I will pray…as the vigils (watchfullness) continue….lighting a candle)

We Steepsters are people who care.

For those who died. Memory Eternal! http://youtu.be/VIxQ_B3Wpzg
(The music is Rachmaninoffs full Vespers…very beautiful…I heard it live 2 years ago.)

Thank you Roughage for this tea Sample!

This morning I’m challanged with a raw Puerh that’s been produced for almost 50 years by the Xiaguan Tea Factory primarily for use as in Churned Yak Butter Tea.
Roughage or David Duckler (can’t remember which one) said that Yak butter is bitter which is probably why salt and sometimes hemp seeds are added to the brew. Yum…Yum…what a way to start the day!
I’m a bit short on Yak butter!

Here’s the recipe for ‘regular’ Butter Chai if you want to try it!
This recipe courtesy of Roughage!

Butter Chai
5 cups water
1 tablespoon black tea leaves
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup milk

Boil water in pan and then lower the flame. Add a heaping tablespoon of tea leaves to the water and bring the water to a boil again for several minutes.

Pour tea, salt, butter and milk into a big container that can be covered and shaken. Or use a blender. (The blending makes the flavor savory and exciting)

Serve the tea right away since po cha is best when it’s very hot.

(I’m going to try this recipe during the Olympics for my granddaughters as one of the international tastes of tea we’ll be doing).

Regular Brewing:
I went to the Yunnan Sourcing website to see how to brew this Pu-erh and there were no instructions. I’m winging this…without much experience with raw Pu-erh’s. Oh boy.

I decided to do 2 rinses.
This was big and chunky Pu-erh that looked like the muddy clods on a farmers boots after they’ve dried… with bits of grassy looking stuff packed in.

The steep was about 30 seconds (I went a couple minutes the first time and that was a mistake…oh my).
The liquor was a gorgeous gold and very pretty. It smelled smoky and mildly earthy.

The flavor was also smoky and peppery with a bit of astringency under the tongue and a little salty.

I decided to try the butter, tea, milk…salt…
WOW it was sooooo good!
WOW! WOW!

This was how the tea was meant to be…butter tea!

Thank you Roughage….! It tasted like buttered toasted bread or garlic bread without adding garlic. How could that be?

Thank you Bo from the The Tea Spot for this Sample!

My tea sipping today has run from Chai in the morning to a Tippy Assam in the afternoon then an Organic Green in the late afternoon to this Grand Finale Oolong…ta da! A lovely progression from bold to a softer and delicate bouquet.

Oolongs remind me most soft breezes and dappled light…the type that plays with Wysteria and small long stemmed Orchids in the garden, peeking through the leaves and dancing like light when it bounces off water. They are as mysterious as water nymphs.

When I smelled this Oolong dry, I was a little puzzled at the lack of any floral scent. It smelled like green tea. (I know that you can be fooled by the dry scent though!)

I followed the instructions for brewing and chose the longer steep time (4 minutes).
Then I put my nose to the basket…wanting that first glorious scent of wet leaves.
There was a roasted vegital smell, somewhat bitter…and a bit of orchid. The orchid smell was very faint.

(The liquor was pale yellow with a hint of green).

When I tasted the tea, the flavor was slightly floral and juicy, with some astringency on the tongue (which was not unpleasant). There wasn’t any bitterness.
I was a bit surprised at the flavor… which was closer to a Green Tea than an Oolong… and wasn’t complex. This was pretty much a one note tea.
As I thought about it, I believe that this is the lightest Oolong I’ve ever tasted.

I added some sugar (just to see if it would enhance the tea) and the floral taste came alive a bit more…!
There was an Oolong hiding in my cup after all but I had to sweeten the tea to find the flavor!

This is not a tea that I would choose to drink again unfortunately.

Thank you hannaspring for this Sample Tea!

I’ve been busy dusting and cleaning, moving my printer into a different area of the condo and rearranging tea things. Not stopping at that, I went to Sprouts Natural Foods and picked up a basil plant, feta and mozzerella then spring water for tea. Oh, and a salted dark chocolate bar (a necessity).
When I arrived home and put my things away, (my house was clean and chores done), I lit a fragrant candle and picked this bagged tea to relax with.
Bagged tea’s have advantages. One being, that if you’re zonked, there’s no measuring or work whatsoever other than boiling the water, placing a teabag in the cup, taking the teabag out of the cup and drinking the tea.
Because my candle was fragrant, green tea was my choice because it wouldn’t compete with the candle. There would be a mellow soft flavor which is what’s expected.
I was careful not to use boiling water for brewing. Steeped at 170F and 2.5 minutes. The liquor was medium gold and slightly astringent with a very subtle grassy scent and flavor.
The astringency increased as the tea cooled so I added sweetening to improve the cup.
(Brad’s is a company that provides various Organic products and several Organic Tea’s).

Thank’s for the Tea hannaspring!

Thank you Bo from The Tea Spot for this Sample!

When I tasted this Coconut Oolong I was expecting a ‘taste sensation’! (I am a lover of coconut and to pair the flavor with Oolong is just the best combination!)
When I poured the liquor it was clear and not cloudy like some Milky Oolongs.
There were bits of natural coconut in the brew basket mixed with the dark green tea… and the scent of coconut and flowers was steaming hot from the light yellow liquor in my cup.

The flavor was definately coconut! Good,good,good!

I tasted a little vegital background…ok… and to be expected with an Oolong. The vegital taste was covered well enough by the milky smooth, floral creaminess of the tea.
There was a good deal of astringency biting at my tongue. A tiny sourness too. Hum. It didn’t annoy me really. The flavor was too good for anything to be annoying!

I added sweetening. Come on, of course I added sweetening. This is a tea that cries for elevation to sublime dessertness!

Aha! That was more like it and took that sour/astringent edge almost all the way gone!

Natural coconut makes such a difference in the flavor. It’s much nuttier.
I used to make a Puerto Rican dessert called Love Powder (Polvo de Amor) using very very finely grated fresh coconut (no milk added)which was toasted in a pan with lots of sugar added to it. So good!

That’s the way I like this tea…like the Love Powder! SWEET

Thank you Roughage for this Sample Tea!

I keep apologizing for my lack of knowledge about darjeelings. Like the clumsy schoolgirl I was at my first 6th grade dance, I have no idea what I’m supposed to do. At age 11 and 5’9" there’s no way I was letting a short stubby boy even think of SLOW dancing with me (which they all wanted to do with their evil grins)!

Darjeelings grin their evil grins at me too. They all look the same to me. I don’t know why. I’M NOT A DARGEELING BIGOT!

Roughage was so kind to send me this tea. I need to buck up and slow dance with it. Sigh….

So…I smoothed out my dress, looked at my dance card and there were no instructions on brewing this tea. Oh great! What was I to do? No chit chat on the dance floor to get me going.
I had to duck in a corner to look up the instructions under another First Flush Darjeeling and just wing it.
(My cheeks were turning pink)
Ok, deep breath…I took the recommended steps to brew the tea and waited.
Everything stopped for 4 minutes. So long a wait.

The liquor was floral and golden amber. This was expected. I had seen this before.
What would make this different or special?

I went to a corner chair and sat down, putting my hands in my lap and looked down at my knees. “I must be stupid!”, I said…“I never can understand this type of tea.” And I sighed again. Then I just sat.

After a time, I walked back to my cup of tea and looked into it. I took a big sip and thought how it tasted a little like grape skins and peaches. It smelled like warm flowers but not orchids. I was about to say PASTRY but out of fear of being mocked…changed my mind (pastry ha ha ha)! There was a short biting bit of astringency that I didn’t mind. Instead of being too brisk there was balanced smoothness. Good flavor!

It appears that I had slow danced after all!
I’m sure I stepped on toes.

Either I’ll grow to be more elegant and refined a dancer or you’ll grow taller and able to match with me and be my teacher. I need all the help I can get.

(Hope none of you Darjeeling lovers mind my liberties…I mean no disrespect to the tea…I mean it when I say I am a Darjeeling idiot!)

Thank you Dhart1214 for this Sample tea!

I just had my first taste of Yerba Mate yesterday from another steepster and liked it. I’m aware that there is a punch of caffeine, so today…I told myself that I’d better be careful and not wait too late to taste and review this Yerba Mate blend or I’d be wired!

One of the things I wish tea companies would do a better job of, is labeling what’s in the blend on the packet of tea. Herbs and flavors might be something that a person is allergic to! I couldn’t drink this blend before going to the Tea Spot website to look up the ingredients. There are 19 listed in this one blend! (Thankfully none I’m allergic to!)

The flavor was tasty…mellow, not too spicy or herby.
If I hadn’t read the ingredients, I would never have known there were 19 flavors present.
I could taste cinnamon, licorice, a bit of ginger, cooling tulsi and yerba mate. The vanilla was almost lost as well as the other flavors. What I tasted was very muted, in a gentle way that was not unpleasent. (I don’t always want a tea to knock me down with strong flavor.)
This was an appealing high caffeine comfort tea.

I could picture this tea in a pouch added to a backpack stash for a hiking trip. A morning tea before skiing or biking. A tea to begin the day at the office or school. No milk is needed and the tea is sweet enough not to add anything to it. (I did add sweetening…I like my tea that way).

Energy! Caffeine! Mellow flavor and tastes pretty good.

edit After having an allergic reaction to some beans, my sister-in-law sent me a list of foods in the bean family which includes licorice! Guess what? Licorice is also an ingredient in this tea!

Yes, I drank my bean toxic tea too. Lesson for tea companies would be that it’s important to label ingredients please. In the future, I don’ t want to be this violently ill from unlabeled tea!
I had to look on the website for ingredient information before knowing about the licorice so the fact that I drank the tea is not the fault of The Tea Spot.

Drank this again today at H.L. with Granddaughter Megan and
had the awesome Ginger Cookies!!!
As always the companionship of Megan was the best…and her reaction to the malty tea without sugar paired with the soft ginger cookie was
such a treat to see. “Wow, this is sooooo goood!”
“I know, I know!”
“Who would have thunk that the tea without sweetening and the cookie would be heaven?!”
“Wow, grandma…this is great!”

And the experiences keep racking up. The lessons of life that a little pot of tea can cheer the heart and warm up a conversation.

I introduced her to all the tea Pro’s at Happy Lucky’s. Me beaming with pride of course.

I know that I’ve written about this Shu before. It has been one great friend in my Puer collection.
Today, I was able to share this tea with my granddaughter Megan who has been staying with me for a few days.
This was a symphony of love between a grandmother that she refers to as a ‘young soul’ and herself the ‘old soul’.
We are cool and can talk about music, books, ethics and boys. I show her how to put on make-up and she shares her secret thoughts with me. Is there anything better?!
I was the tea conductor today. I told Megan how to prepare this Shu. First, she looked up the Peacock Village Puer on the Verdant website for brewing instructions, then in my Gaiwan rinsed the leaves and steeped.
Our experience together:
The scent…like bread baking and sweet in the wet dark mulch.
The liquor golden and also was light like bread still waiting to emerge.

Again a second steep..darker and more brothy and thick. The taste was dry cedar with a linen feel across the top of the tongue. Salty. Smooth.

The third steep leaves were almost black and smelled of fine wet leather. We poked the leaves and noticed how much life was left to extract. Megan was surprised. I took one leaf and opened it up so that it was very large. We talked a minute about how Puer is prepared. The immense amount of work it takes to become the Puer that we were now drinking so casually.

There wasn’t any breadiness left in this darkest liquor. None.
There was cedar and clove. Juice, salt with juniper berry faintly in the background.
I pointed out an interesting thing you can do with a salty Puer. Add a little sugar which will enhance the flavor. (This is something a cook knows)

When we did this addition of sugar…Megan was wow’d!

She had a different wonderful taste experience that she can discribe in her review (don’t want to spoil it).
I tasted caramelized peach.
Yes! Puer is amazing.

It would be a great and awesome thing if younger people drank tea and learned to discribe flavor and experience. We are so out of touch with being present in the moment and in connecting with people without devices in the way.

Today Megan and I did not text each other. We drank tea! We had the best time. Some day, I hope she blogs about tea with me as a good memory in the same way I am writing about my time with her.

Thank you hannaspring for this Sample Herb Tea!

Never in a zillion years would you believe it…but this is my very first Yerba Mate!
Not only did I get a SAMPLE from hannaspring, but a whole 500grams!
Like a zillion cups of Yerba Mate! Wow!
I was kinda hoping I would like it since I recieved so much…..

There was a kind note that said “he” (hannaspring) mixed his with Black Tea in the morning to start the day.
Hum. Interesting idea.
I wanted to try the herbal tea straight first though. I was not able to read all the instructions in tiny, tiny Spanish…so I winged it using my Finum and a mug. (The servings on the package in Spanish were for a large pot using 50grams of Mate).
The flavor was smoky and quite nice and smooth. I gave some to my granddaughter who also liked the taste.
I think I was expecting a grassy flavor. Instead, this reminded me of some of the background earthiness of younger Pu-erh’s I’ve tasted.

Next I experimented by blending half very good Black Tea leaves and half Yerba Mate. I steeped the combination as I would for Black Tea and was surprised at how the Black Tea flavor dominated. I expected to taste more of the smoky Yerba Mate but it seemed to have bowed out and receeded into the shadows. What a surprise.

I think I’ll have to play around some more with this herbal to find out how it stands up to other blending experiments.
My first impression was quite tasty and better than I expected which was a treat.

Thanks for the 500 grams for me to play with hannaspring!

Thank you Will Work For Tea for this Sample!

Tonight granddaughter Megan (OldSoul on Steepster) and I are trying a couple of Oolongs and I’ve started a box of tea samples to get her started with her Steepster reviews.

This was our first tasting.

I tried to brew this Pineapple Oolong in a small pot which became a disaster. Too much water to Oolong tea produced a weak liquor. Bleh.
This would be part of this evenings learning experience! I wasn’t going to quit!
Reaching for my 4oz Gaiwan, I transfered the wet leaves and began steeping in the Gaiwan for 2 minutes.
Now the liquor was rich and yellow, full of orchid and pineapple scent.
This was what I had hoped for.
Megan smiled.
We added a little sweetening and sipped the smooth, pineapple flavored tea.
One of the things I pointed out to her was the change in texture as the tea cooled. The discovery of butteriness was something new for Megan. She was surprised at how floral the tea became as the cooling increased and how sweet the tea was without hardly any sugar.
Ah…
This was what I had hoped for.
What a delight to drink tea with Megan.

Although the Oolong orchid flavor is quite tasty, the pineapple is not nearly as good and pronounced as the Butiki Oolong which I prefer.

Thank you Bo at the Tea Spot for this Sample Tea

One of the first tea’s I loved was a Rose tea. It surprised me that I didn’t gag like I was drinking perfume…. even though it smelled like cologne.
I never liked the Bottled Rose Syrup my Nephew David slathered on pancakes or favored in Baklava (a taste he came to love on Cyprus where he was born).
Tea was different somehow. The flavor was always sweet but more like soft floral honey.

When I opened this tea packet from The Tea Spot the whole top half was pretty packed with pretty Rose Buds.
I dug around looking for the Jasmine tea strands to gather bits for a good cup to brew. It was hard to control the amount considering the size of the flowers and white leaves so I used a large mug and finum basket with a little more leaf and water.
The temperature is suggested 176F for 2-4 minutes. (I would go for the full 4 minutes!)

The flavor was a good balance of Jasmine and Rose. Very floral and not very astringent at all, (I think that’s what other reviews referred to as harshness).
To get the most out of the beautiful floral flavor I would add sweetening. There’s no way I would drink this without sweetness to make the flowers nectar. Even honey would be an acceptable addition, especially a very mild wildflower honey.

A calming tea that is exactly as the name implies…good for quiet time and relaxation.

This weekend I stopped at my tea pub to specifically pick up this Moroccan Mint tea as a base for my own homegrown mint that I have in pots on my patio.
I love to fix the traditional Middle Eastern sweet, hot brew now and then if someone drops by.
While in the shop I taste tested a pot. The mint was just right and minty enough to drink when my own stock of fresh mint runs low. Furthermore, the mint isn’t bitter (mint can be bitter if dried incorrectly or if the blend is not the right type of mint) and the gunpowder is mildly smoky.

Last night, my granddaughter Megan needed a break from her 5 brothers. She came to spend the night with buddy Grandma.
This morning was the opportunity I was looking for to try out my Moroccan Mint/home grown mint in a pot with lots of sugar.
(I cut down on the sugar by doing a 50/50 mix of splenda and sugar)

First I placed 2.5 TB tea in my brew basket in a 32oz glass pot. Then while the water was coming to a boil, I went to the garden and broke off 2 long stalks of fresh mint, rinsed, tore it with my hands to release the flavor, then put it in with the tea. The water was poured over the tea and steeped for 3 minutes.

Two mugs of deep golden liquor were poured, steaming with the scent of sweet mint. Megan and I hovered adding lots of sweetening until the right high level of sweetness was reached to balance the mintiness.

This is how this tea is meant to be. Hot,very sweet and sipped slowly on a hot day by the pot.

One of my best tea memories is drinking this tea with my friend Randa in San Francisco for hours and hours. The pot was full of mint leaves, always refilled with more and more water and the bowl was always full of sugar.http://flic.kr/p/cyh4kw

The Moroccan Mint tea was perfect this morning with my granddaughter, providing an experience that I hope will be a special memory for her also.

Megan’s comments:
The tea was sweet before adding sugar but got so much better with the sugar added.
My tongue stung a little but I liked the feeling.
The tea was creamy. (She noticed that and I didn’t…good for her!)

Thank you Roughage for thie big Sample!

Intro:
There’s something really fine about a Gent from the U.K. with the
handle of Roughage on Steepster, sending me a Pu-erh don’t you think so? (Roughage-Pu-erh…get it?)
Especially when the Pu-erh smells like I stepped straight from the garden with a basket of fragrant flowers on my arm into the poo musty barn where the horses are being horsy and curious about what I’m there for.

Big Story Turn:
There was a year and a half before coming to Colorado where I was pretty penniless and transient. I had no real home. My marriage had become abusive, I was sick and I had to leave abruptly with what would fit in my car.
I stayed here and there mostly on charity until I had enough money to move away on my own. This is a humbling way to live.
One place I stayed was in the hills above Cupertino,CA in a converted garage (no heat/air/stove) on my friends property. (I am thankful)
All the houses around me were multi-million dollar mansions on large properties. Right next to the the house was a horse path that everyone used to access open space trails.
My favorite horse buddy was a miniature stallion who lived next door. He was proud. That little guy would come into the yard and kick a ball around and huff and puff at any other big horse that came too close. http://flic.kr/p/cxLJSY (When you read my notes about food, I lived with a microwave and a crockpot for over a year and ate very healthy and organic without a stove!)

Drinking this tea today reminded me of the horses and hay. The smell of flowers growing in a rough English garden outside my front door. The mist coming over the hill from the Pacific in the evening. The smell of roses growing next door in the neighbors vineyard. Keah the husky/wolf dog barked at the deer and coyotes to get away, get away from the house you critters. Keah would wisely allow all the wild turkeys access without a bark though. The property had a gate. I felt safer there.

Taste:
The Pu-erh was smoky flavored and salty. My cup never got bittersweet. I am under-educated about this type of Pu-erh. I wish I knew more. It looks like a Shu Nugget that would be dark and thick when steeped. Instead what happened was a clear light honey broth, sweet, smoky and not earthy in the way I’ve experienced very dark Pu-erhs. The earthiness is like a light clear chicken broth in texture and weight, a little salty and earthy like a shitake (faintly). (HELP!)

Loose Ends:
I’ve gone so many places in my mind with this tea. All over the place. From barns and flowers, escaping from harm and back to the present.
Why?
Not to forget where I’ve come from I suppose. It’s good to enjoy the distance from sorrow, and enjoy the place I am in now.
I am happy with the gift of this Pu-erh from the U.K. and all my new friends on Steepster! What a miracle you all are!

This Pu-erh is young but tastes Ancient.

I somehow feel like I could become wise if I drank enough of it.

Oh my. Wait until it ages I would be able to write a book!

(P.S. that’s me before I lost almost 60 pounds!) BRAG!

Thank you Will Work For Tea for this Sample!

I’m catching up on my reviews now that Steepster is working fine again.
Hello all! Missed you’hooo!

This is my spiff up day. I put on a dress and heels, try to look a bit respectable but not flashy (don’t want to call attention to myself just blend in) and off to Church.
The drive is one of the most spectacular I’ve ever seen. There is open space set aside…long stretches of fields between Fort Collins and Loveland so that you have total unobstucted views of the Rocky Mountains. The Mountain Peaks jut up higher and higher in layers to just over 14,000 ft. and are snow capped much of the year. Breathtaking!

When I returned blessed twice with the Liturgy and the Rocky Mountains,
I wanted tea. Of course!

The Lupicia Caramel Macchiato Tea had coffee beans mixed in it. Uh huh!(You could keep some of this around for those “doubters” who have not come over from the dark side to the light.)
My steeping went a little long (I like it this way). A nice roasty coffee/tea. I must say, this had a strong coffee flavor. Mocha and caramel, much smoother than a cup of black coffee would have been.

I added a good bit of cream and some sweetening for a cuppa Joe/Tea.
This was pretty good.

Not too tea’ish if you want tea that tastes like TEA.

Time to revisit this spicy smooth yummy Chai.
Why?
I have a movie to watch and a Dark Chocolate “Love” bar with Crystalized Ginger from Boulder…(Oh Bonnie is a very bad girl)!

I love pairing Chai tea with chocolate. Black malty tea’s taste great with chocolate or with a spiced cookie like I had yesterday with a chewy ginger cookie.

Sometimes people think Chai is only for Winter. Ha! (I love hot Chai year round.) Then again, cold Chai is refreshing.
This spicy tea is packed with so much flavor…I mean really, packed with the best tea base… then the freshest spices layered on top. When you add your favorite milk (or almond/soy addition) and honey or sweetening of choice… you’re set. In the Summer, chilled this is the best! Tasty!

I wonder, what would this be like chilled in the freezer? A real slushy Chai steeped in milk and frozen then blended in the blender? (I’ve got to try this!) What an idea!

I vote for MORE CHAI PLEASE!

Keep making more and more Chai Verdant Tea!

Thank you Bo at The Tea Spot for this Sample Tea!

Breakfast 32oz pot of tea for my Saturday morning!

Hard to believe it but out of my huge cupboard full of tea…I only 1 Earl Grey Tea! This tea presented a perfect opportunity to expand my Earl Grey experience.

Lets just jump right to the taste…

This tea tastes like lemon cream pudding! Creamy slightly vanilla lemon milky creamy pudding!
I kid you not! Really it does. I can taste the bergamot in the tea in a non-overwhelming way but I am so in love with the creamy pudding that who cares about the bergamot!
There is supposed to be licorice in this blend too. Oh really? Wherever it is must be taking the bite off the bergamot…you know the usual tang or bite that can make it a bit harsh. Well that’s not happening here. The licorice is not a distinct flavor but mellows out the bergamot.

I really like this tea! The lemon pudding took me off guard! I want this in my cupboard forever!

Gotta go…drinking…wanting more and more….so good….

I stopped in at my tea pub again today…but I had a reason to drop by!
I had been to the doctor and was wilting from lack of tea! It was 3:30pm and I hadn’t eaten since 6:30am or had any tea (worse than no food) for many hours. So you see…? I had to!

Things were busy for a bit. I’ve become so familiar a face that after a few minutes at the bar, I began to say “ahum…hum..yoo hoo…I’d like to have tea today…” I got a smile, which happens with friends and I didn’t mind.
I wanted something new and different to drink. A dark and hefty tea.

Andy suggested China Golden Pagoda. “Oh,you’ve never had this? You’ll like this one,” he said with confidence.
“What’s that?” I proclaimed as Andy put the large tin of tea up to my nose to smell. Um, it was malty with hints of cocoa.
He pulled out some dry cones of tea that looked like smaller versions of Hershys Kisses. All pointy and fat bottomed. He said that each was hand tied. Looking closely I could see string lacing each into shape.

This tea was so cool!

When the steeping was done, Andy lifted the brew basket from the pot and handed me the wet leaves. They were brown sea urchin looking bundles. The scent was smoky and malty.

The liquor was reddish golden light brown.

When I tasted the tea I first noticed a dry splash of tannin across the roof of my mouth that was exciting. It felt like a dry sheet and wasn’t bitter or unpleasant. The flavor was malty but not smoky and had a yammy cocoa flavor sweet enough to drink straight.

I wanted something with this tea to kick it up a notch! It was good…but I wanted more.

In a glass case by the cash register were some goodies which I usually avoid. Today, I hadn’t eaten so I didn’t care about my diet!

I spoke up and asked for a large Ginger Molasses Cookie.
Do you have any idea what that Ginger Molasses Cookie tastes like with Malty, yammy, cocoa tea? Oh My Goodness!!! It was such a fantabulous paring! So, so…..to the zillions good!

I bought and ounce of the tea. (And I got a sample of Jasmine Silver Needle) And someone else took care of my pot of tea…Thank YOU!!!!

A side note.
I was talking with the Happy Luckys guys…about the Original Disneyland Main Street. The architect was from Fort Collins and Main Street U.S.A. in California is modeled after the buildings in our town.

The Firehouse (which is where Happy Lucky’s is located even down to having a firepole still inside) is where Walt Disney had his office.
It is the exact copy of where go to I drink my tea.

When I left with my little bag of tea, I walked around Old Town a bit, watching the crowds strolling about on a warm Friday night. People sitting at the numerous outdoor cafe’s and listening to the street musicians. A tuba trio, guitarists, a band, the outdoor pianos located around town. There’s a sidewalk sale going on with people shopping, sale tables and flowerpots filled to overflowing with color everywhere. I stopped in Savory Spice Shop to pick up some powdered Maple Sugar for my Lapsang Souchong tea, a Whole Spice Chai packet, and some Hickory Smoked Black Peppercorns. Then I stopped at the cheese shop for Powdered Tea encrusted Cheese with Bergamot and a strong Welsh Chedder.
Now I’m hungry!
Off home to watch a movie.

You might look around at this peaceful town and think there are no troubles in the World. It does seem like it. I wish it were so.

Thank you Happy Lucky’s Staff for this Sample from the back room!

When I go to my neighborhood tea pub, I usually have a few tea samples tucked inside my purse, and sometimes I have a whole bag or box that I drag in and set on the bar like treasure. I can’t help myself. I have beloved tea’s that must be shared with people that love tea too.
Many times when you go into a tea shop the people working there are transient. Students, or casual part time workers who may know something about tea but have not made tea their passion or career. This is not the case with my tea pub. (These people know their stuff!)

I received this tea on one recent visit as a gift. (There had been exited tastings behind the bar of my Laoshan White and the Bailin Gonfu Black that day).

Today:
I used a Gaiwan (4oz) with boiling water and steeped 2min.

Wet leaf, copper and olive…very pretty…changing to dark olive green by the 3rd steeping with the leaves open and large.
The liquor was honey red gold gradually getting lighter by the 3rd steep.

I was just about to go into the 3 tasting phases of this tea when I couldn’t. The tea is not about a sterile set of numbers and discriptions. So here goes ad lib…

When I look at the whole tasting experience I’m reminded of Fall.
There is an introduction immediately to a sweet malty rye bread with peach jam. Then banana peel, not a bitter taste at all…but a taste and texture that is thick and fuzzy. Fall, bread baking and holidays.

I could picture my daughter, three grandaughters and I in her big (huge) farm kitchen preparing our Thanksgiving Feast. She would grind wheat and make the bread for the family. Someone else would make pies (Used to be me). Homemade cranberry sauce bubbleing on the stove, Turkey already in the roaster. I’m commanded to make the beloved candied yams layered with apples and pecans.
The second steep had my yam and apple flavor (without nuts and butter), just a more squashy yam and the sugary golden delicious apples cooked together so that the flavor melts in your mouth. Fragrant and luscious. Oh the taste is so good and rich. Dripping. I’ve never tasted a tea like it!

The breadiness of the first steeping was gone along with the malt. The banana too.

The final steeping was like the end of a meal when you’re full and scraping the bottom of the bowl. Not much was left. It was still good to drink but lighter and squashier. This was a shadow of that amazing second steeping.

What a generous gift. One of the finest, fruitiest Black Tea’s I’ve tasted.
A Taiwanese Tea and Assam blend grown close to Sun Moon Lake.

Thank you DHart1215 for this Sample!

My daughter and grandchildren came over this evening to cool off in my pool (a plan I had when I moved in to my condo to ensure more family visits!). The teens watched the younger boys while my daughter Annalisa and I had time alone to chat and drink tea.

I was careful not to steep the tea too long. An earlier test had gone wrong and produced a bitter brew at 3.5 minutes. An adjustment to 2 minutes was just right.

Taste:
The scent and flavor is fruity and sweet but light. I didn’t taste any rhubarb which would have been warm, almost peachy and a little sour (rhubarb is hard to discribe). Even the strawberry was not very berry.
I’m not saying that the tea lacked fruitiness…there is strawberry and it tastes nice but it’s light.

Adding sweetening helps intensify the strawberry flavor.

When the tea cooled, the flavor changed. There was astringency from the green tea (which was not a bother), and a sour note that was what I would expect from rhubarb. With the strawberry flavor, this was better tasting cold than it was hot.

Some like it hot. I like it cold!

Thank you Will Work for Tea for this Sample!

I haven’t tasted very many 52teas which some of you may have noticed.
Noone sends me samples of them for one thing, and another is that the three I ordered were not very tasty so I just gave up. I still have hope that one will brighten my day.

Here’s my chance to try one of the 52teas!

I used a finum for a 1 cup brewing.
The liquor smells like one of those gummy mint leaf candies with vanilla creme. A nice scent.
Even without any sweetening, the flavor is mildly minty with smooth vanilla blended in. The peppermint and spearmint is united so that neither is dominant. If anything,vanilla is the prominant flavor and mint is a cooling afterthought.

While I crave a hefty mint tea with assertive flavor, not everyone feels the way I do and would prefer a muted version such as this one.

This is not my cup of tea, but there is nothing wrong with the flavor and is pleasing as a soft vanilla mint tea.

Thank you Roughage for this generous Sample!

Oh I do love Pu-erh! I admit that have so much to learn! So much fun!

How Roughage could break off a hefty amount of this Pu-erh cake to share with me…well…I am speechless (but not wordless).

The dry Pu-erh looked very dark brown with some green and gold woven in.
The instructions: Use a small pot with 3-4 grams at 203F (95C) for 20sec. Multiple infusions 6 times. (This sounded like a good morning tasting!)

I didn’t want to do 4grams so I chose 2grams (about 2tsp) and used my PIAO infuser with 5oz water.I rinsed the Pu-erh first. Each infusion was 20 seconds. The liquor was always a medium gold color.
The leaves changed color after infusion to medium green.(now that did surprise me)

I have to comment on the scent of the wet leaves. Usually this isn’t a remarkable enough event to comment on. The scent of these leaves was something special.
There is a scent that is woven in the life of my family that can be explained in a story…
A number of weeks ago, my daughter received news that the Godmother of all her children (and a beloved friend) only had a few months to live. Before telling the kids, she went to her Icon corner where she prays every morning, lit a vigil candle for her friend and prayed using a censor with incense (which she reserves for Feast Days). Up the stairs bounded Micah the 7 year old fully awake running into the middle of the room and announcing with a loud voice…
“What’s wrong?! Something smells Holy in here!” (In the middle of sorrow we had a laugh)
Ah, the power of incense. How a smell or scent can bring us to a place of full attention, or memory or quiet place.

I smelled incense in the wet leaves. It was a floral, charcoal scent that was familiar. Not the artificial too strong chemical stuff that I hated in the 60’s. Not that. The natural, faint…good kind that is natural. Very faint behind the vegital of the leaves. I never smelled this in leaves before.

1. The first scent of the tea liquor was spicy, salty, briny and vegital.
I took a sip and the tea sparkled with pepper. There was an energy that spread in my mouth tasting a little mineral with a vegital base and floral undertone that I could not understand. I was distracted by the juicy, peppery popping on my tongue, which was like this youthful tea playing a game with me. “Guess what I’m going to do next”?

2. I’m awake! I thought this was going to be an earthy Pu-erh. No, it isn’t. Then, maybe like a Sheng? No,it isn’t like that either. What is this?!
I think I know what it is at the moment.(This is my guess)
A Pu-erh that’s young and on a journey.

I used to go into the wine cave with the winemaker and tap a barrel tasting a young wine which showed the promise of what would come with aging. It might taste good now, but you could tell that with a little aging…oh, this was going to age into a fine wine.

This young Pu-erh is doing the same thing. Hinting at the future. Teasing and tempting with those hints.

2. When I tasted this time there was more fruit and more energy from the tea. Very potent.
I went back to the wet leaves and smelled them again but still could not tell what the underlying floral fruit was. I had to be content to wait with the sweet, salty light flavor thick and juicy in my mouth.

3. While the leaves were still steaming in the pot, I was able to find the fruit that had been so elusive. Nectarine. Not the sweet peachy fruit but more like the skin. I had been thinking of apricot pit but that was too bitter.
This tea was a bit vegital, spicy, juicy, vibrant and energetic. Youthful and naughty. Playful with a punch of mineral but no tannin and a touch of nectarine and briny salt.

All you Non-Pu-erh drinkers would like this. It’s a good example of why you should jump in the water and begin to get your feet wet.

This has been one huge Pu-erh learning experience for me! Loved every sip!

(I read other notes and I decided not to over pack with leaves and am
glad I didn’t. With a young pu-erh, I wanted to avoid the rough edges and get to the heart which I think you can do with a moderate amount of leaves)

Thank you so much Roughage!!!!

Thank you Bo from the Tea Spot for this generous Sample!

Morning Tea! It’s a beautiful morning on the Frontrange!

What is the Frontrange?
At 5000 ft. there is a point where the high plains meet the mountains running the length of Colorado. All along that point resides most of the population of the State. The views are stunning! I’ve seen antelope in the neighboring fields, fox and bald eagles.

Boulder where the Tea Spot is located, was voted the town with the happiest people in the United States. It might be because the people have been drinking this tea.
As tea lover, I’d stop in at the Tea Spot and pick up this tea to go, then stroll over to the Pearl Street Mall and walk until I found the perfect place to people watch in the shade. The Mall is open-air and closed to cars…filled with fountains, flowers, people walking their pooches and musicians from the Colorado Music Festival.
You can visit tea house after tea house, spice shops, boutiques and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. This is a tea friendly town!

Review:
I made a whole 32oz morning pot of “O” using 1TB leaves and steeped
3 minutes. The liquor was a medium honey brown.

First I took a sip without any additions and was relieved that there was no artificial chocolate flavor or sourness. Hooray!

You could easily enjoy this tea as it is without additions. I found so much more enjoyment with sweetening, cream or both added.

When I added a little sweetening the chocolate flavor began to wake up.
Um…“How about that”?! I wasn’t expecting such a change.

Then I added some cream.
“Well?!, Where have you been all my life my sweet sexy, smooth chocolate bonbon”?!
(I did say the “S” word which with the “O” makes “SO” as in “SO” good!)

The sweetened chocolate creaminess reminds me of Italian Chocolate Hazelnut Seashells that I used to eat at Christmas.
Marbled and precious…better than Nutella…way better. More chocolatey.

Ok Bo….this is a great tasting tea!

http://youtu.be/kccxXCGn9n8 A little Frontrange Slide Show….Come and visit….these scenes for you photographers, at Rocky Mt. National Park are about 1hr from me although the Mountains are right outside my door and just as grand.

Thank you Roughage for this Remarkable Sample Tea

An Oolong from India! Yes! This is one from only a handful of Estates allowed to grow Oolongs and it’s an organic tea grown at 3000ft.
(I always think that’s not too high since I live at 5000ft., but it depends on how steep the incline!).

I tried to brew a cup this morning but failed. The method with my Finum basket and mug was too weak. I decided to try again later.

This time, I decided to use 6oz (200ml) water at 185F (85C) in my Gaiwan
and steep for 1-2 minutes. I let the 1tsp of leaves swirl to infuse the water with more flavor.
The wet leaves smelled lightly vegital but sweet and the liquor was clear yellow gold.

The taste was juicy sweet with a muscat flavor and dry bite on the tip of the tongue. As the tea cooled the dryness moved to the underbelly of my tongue which instead of feeling wierd created a body to the tea like a tea confection was in my mouth melting slowly. Pretty interesting first steep.
As the Oolong cooled, it became buttery on my lips which I rubbed together like lip balm…it felt good.

The second pour was a little sour. I was informed by Roughage that this was gently sweet and sour. Right he was. It isn’t unpleasant, and very short in intensity up front. Then there’s a dryness that flecks up to the roof of the mouth and dies. So odd. Like you just experienced a defective roman candle. Pop, Whiz,…Fizzle.
I could detect the fig, muscat and plum skin that gives the sour edge to this Oolong but no chocolate like the notes on the tea discribe. No chocolate at all. Interesting tea. It was becoming increasingly sour.

I’m not the biggest sour fan unless it’s sweet and sour. I had to add sweetening to please myself. A scant amount. Ha! The pucker power was still there! It lingered as the tea cooled and became pretty strong!

Warning, not to let this tea cool down all the way! Wheeee! Tart!

This is unlike any Oolong I’ve ever tasted. It looks like a Darjeeling dry but it’s an Oolong. From India. One that a collector would want to try.

Thanks Roughage, this was a fun one!