Bonnie

I’m having an odd day.

I began with this tea, one that I like but had tucked away too long and should have been drinking. It’s not old or anything like that…but has escaped from my vision. We do that, forget a tea in the back of some other tea that we’ve taken to heart.
I shared a pot of Tangerine Guayusa with my granddaughter last night
while we made tea and chocolate dusted toffee and watched ‘The Artist’ on Netflix.
There was the Guranse…so I put it out for the morning pot of tea.

This is a yum Winter tea. It has all the maple black tea taste I remember with a bit of malt. Very nice on a cold day.

Then I read a Facebook note from my daughter. A reminder of something that happened 24 years ago today. A horror.

My daughter and 3 other girls were driving down Skyway from Paradise, CA to Chico. The road is on a ridge with canyons on both sides, quite beautiful. Two lanes up the mountain and two down with a wide buffer between. The division of upward and downward lanes wasn’t even. At times, you could look uphill or downhill on the oncoming traffic.
Katrina turned 17 on Dec. 7th and my daughter was turning 17 on the 12th. I knew the driver a little. The other girl I didn’t know. In fact, I had no idea the girls were going to Chico.

It’s amazing that all 4 girls wore their seat belts in a new convertable. California hadn’t passed a seatbelt law yet.

At some time, on one of the mountain turns…the driver lost control, flipped over and over the median and ended up in the uphill lane upside down. The driver and front seat passanger got out and my daughter and Katrina were trapped in the back.
A fire started and someone stopped with an extinguisher and put out the fire.
A tow truck driver arrived and had a heart attack and died on the spot.
The fire department arrived and used the jaws of life and cut out my daughter and Katrina.

I received a call to get to the hospital in Chico but nobody would say anything else. My son had my car and I couldn’t reach anyone to take me to the hospital for quite a bit…until I found a friend of my mom’s.
Going down Skyway, all we could see was a massive traffic jam for miles and miles…not knowing that this had anything to do with my
daughter.

At the hospital I was briefed. My daughter was in shock but fine. Katrina was dead. She died instantly. My daughter didn’t know and was not to be told yet, she was still too fragile.

When I was allowed to tell her the next day, she somehow knew. She remembered and was heartbroken. What grief for such a young girl, and what a big heart she has always had full of compassion.

Every year my daughter still misses Katrina. A sweet daughter of Hawaii who lived in a difficult situation at home, but had such a pure heart and deep love for others just like my Annalisa.

I sat with her mother in a bar while she got drunk. Me, drinking coffee, making sure she got home safely. She was mad for awhile that my daughter had lived.

I can’t imagine such sadness.

Memory Eternal Katrina Afong.

The only alarm clock needed this morning was the bright sun! Those of us fortunate enough to live in higher altitude’s know about sun glare and the need to wear sun glasses year around. It’s really bright out today!
My condo looked like an alien spaceship was outside shining lights under the doors and windows trying to get a beam on me in my pajama’s. No deal! No alien was going to separate me from my tea cupboard!

A nice warm sunny day usually comes right before snow, someone pointed out yesterday. (Heck, we’ve had nothing but nice sunny days
for the past year!)
It’s December! The forecast looks promising for this weekend…we hope! I that December magic with a couple of inches of snow!
I have my camera ready!

The Tea:
This morning, I wanted to practice my Gaiwan skills with the new Verdant Sheng I purchased during the Black Friday sale.

I’ve been watching the new Verdant video and practicing how to pour and strain tea, shaking off all the water from the leaves so that there is none left. (Which causes bitterness in the next steeping)

I have a small 4oz. FAT (easy to handle) white Gaiwan, and I used a small amount of hard sheng (about 1.5 tsp). Boiling water.
(It is important that the water is filtered or you may have bitter tea.) A strainer is very useful. Always rinse the leaves once first.

My infusions were as quick as I could manage (5 seconds).
The liquor was a light yellow green, and the leaves smelled like sweet salty tobacco then changed and had a sweet herb scent.

The small amount of hard Sheng I used almost filled my Gaiwan half way with big green leaves when it expanded fully.

My first tasting was smoky, salty but not harsh. The scent was light tobacco, but the leaves were still tight and hard, waiting to expand. Not much to comment on as yet.

The second tasting was softer than I imagined it would be…sweet and savory on the finish with a smoky tinge and vegital something that reminded me of the feeling when drinking a Gyokuro.

For the third and forth infusions, the light smoke and saltiness settled down and an herb flavor, Greek Oregano came to mind… with a peppery bite. The tea never became dry or harsh but stayed smooth and very easy to drink.

As I went through each steeping (now on the fifth) I realized just how smooth this Sheng was. Something that I don’t always experience with a young Sheng.
The flavors were rolling around in my head for a long time because there was a definite umami quality about it!
There, I’ve said it!
Usually this is only a term used for Green Tea, but I experienced umami as this tea hit all the sweet, salty, savory, slightly bitter taste points.

This reminded me of roasting root vegetables like potato, red onions, sweet potato, parsnips with olive oil and butter, Greek oregano and sea salt. The vegetables retain the savory quality but roasting brings out the sweetness and smokiness too.

One thing that I don’t understand much about is aging Pu’er. That’s something I have to study up on. Right now though, this is a tasty
Sheng. You just have to be careful not to oversteep or you’ll have a bitter cup.

Thank you mrmopar for this sample Pu-er!

What a lovely gift I received one day a about a month ago from my friend mrmopar. Samples of Pu-er! Tears of delight, really!

Tucked into the package were little tuo cha’s that I can’t read the names of (written in Chinese) so I won’t be reviewing them, but they look like pieces of candy. Colored wrappers full of mystery.
I’m having so much fun with them!

This morning, I picked one of the chunky samples in a labeled zip bag. It looked like dark, hard and gnarly Shu Pu-erh bark. Excellent!

A quick wash first, and I was set for several infusions in my purple clay Gaiwan.

Only the first infusion had a lighter brown color. The rest was deep red-brown. The wet leaf scent was mild, more on the vanilla bread side than leather.

Taste:

My first impression was, this is a good Pu-erh.

I could tell right away with the first light steeping, that there was something different about the taste. It was slightly sweet, very juicy with a spice to it that I couldn’t sort out and pin down.

The feeling of the tea in my mouth was light and smooth…with the flavor of banana skin way off in the background. At first I wasn’t convinced of that, and I walked around the room to make sure I wasn’t picking up a scent from somewhere else. Banana skin, yes.

Steeping again, a much thicker brew this time, and quite red-brown. The flavor was still not earthy or woody and no flavor of cedar either.(This was another surprise because I would have expected woodiness with such vibrant color.)
What I tasted was vanilla cream, some salt and a hint of caramel.
There was something else. Spice or herb, a savory something that I could not identify. The Pu-erh was playing with me gently.

Pouring a third time, the thick and rich broth tasted more like cedar wood with a tang that lasted just a moment…then melted away into a smooth, sweet velvety finish.

I am always tempted to add a few (very few) grains of sugar when a Pu-erh comes to the caramel, cedar, salty stage. I know what will happen next! The same flavor that you taste with quality caramels is what this Pu-erh tastes like with just a little sweetness added to it. (a little cream is nice too). I love salted creamy caramel!

Don’t misunderstand, I like my Pu-erh straight, but sometimes…it becomes dessert towards the last of the steepings.

This is a very good Pu-erh!

I wrote a story for my blog and here’s an intro if you want to read more, it’s about a time long ago when I was working at the Children’s Shelter School, Christmas (1979). www.teaandincense.com

Shelter School Christmas

Our facility was a room in an abandoned Psychiatric Hospital from the 1930’s. A big, drafty, wood and plaster building that creaked and groaned. It looked like a set from an old Hollywood movie!

Two social workers sat in the hallway at all times, while the teacher and I were alone with 10-15 students in a classroom lined with floor to ceiling bookshelves and tall windows, (a scene right out of a Harry Potter movie set). If you peeked in, you’d agree it was a strange looking scene, old radiators and wood planking.

During the Christmas Holidays I decided to plan a party. Without a kitchen, I was still able to teach the kids to make snacks. Then, we decorated by cutting colored paper rings and streamed them across the room. We made strings of popcorn and glittery stars. Each student made a soft, stuffed ornament that was theirs to keep and take to whichever group home or foster home they would be sent to.

It was important to show how to create something from little or nothing, how to celebrate when life is frightening and uncertain. It’s a great lesson in life.

We were going to finish with a party!

I taught some of the tougher hard to reach boys how to properly serve tea and snacks. We even used serving trays for our party.
These boys took their job seriously, practicing over and over again.

(the story continues)

Oh, by the way…Happy St. Nicholas Day! Dec. 6th this is celebrated in many places around the World. 4th Century Nicholas of Myra gave to the poor and defended children and women. He paid the dowery for poor women to marry (something important back then).

Last night I set up a tea tray for watching a 3 hr 25 min. long Indian movie called Jodhaa Akbar, that my daughter had recommended.

I required a large pot of tea naturally, but also the right type of tea for setting the mood.

The movie was a historical epic. Palaces, battles, silk, incense, beautiful women and handsome men of course…with music and romance (just what I want in an Indian Movie!).

I didn’t have the right Chai for this movie. I needed something exotic, a little different twist, so I created my own.

I began with a large teapot (24oz) and created a blend:
2TB Ginger Sage Winter Spa Blend
1 teaspoon of Laoshan Black
Yanxin Reserve ’04 Shu Nuggets…1 small 3/4 inch piece broken up.

I knew this was going to make a hearty brew, able to stand up to the addition of honey and cream…the same way a Chai would.

I used a glass pot so I was able to eyeball the strength I wanted, but I think about 3 minutes was the steep time. (Maybe more)

This was so good! Sweet, savory from the sage, spicy from ginger and the added tea’s and comforting. The Shu and Black tea’s gave great body creating the wonderful full, warm broth that you want in a tea mug while watching a long movie.

I filled my pot for 3 steepings without any loss of flavor. What a
great companion!

Standing on the Rim

When I ordered my brick of Pu’er, I made sure to buy a .7 oz packet for sampling right away.
I’m so new at storing larger cakes and bricks of PU that I never would have had patience to wait before diving in with my Pu’er knife like an impatient tea Zorro.

Having purchased a large brick is a leap of faith. Is this tea going to be one of those special Pu’er’s that will grow richer in time and dazzle me with exceptional flavor?

I’ve waited to read the notes from Verdant on taste until after I had tried my sample.

I used my fat, white 4oz Gaiwan and 4 grams leaf. I always use Spring Water.

The liquor was an intensely rich Auburn Brown color through all 5 infusions.

The infusions were quirky (like me).
I began with 20 seconds on the first infusion which was fine (the first infusion is usually light), but the second steeping was very strong.
I cut back the time to 10 seconds on the 3rd infusion (which is the same as an ‘instant’ steep for me since I’m a bit slow) and that was most successful!
Keep the infusions at 5-10 seconds, not longer, for best results.

Even though I went from light to heavy and back to light strength, the flavor never went weird. (No hidden boxing glove came out on that second strong steeping and popped me in the nose with a bitter left hook.)

Had I drained the energy and flavor from the tea? The oversteeping could have diluted the Pu’er.

Thankfully, the third infusion was very good, and from that point on the shorter 10 second steep times produced smooth, juicy and flavorful tastings.

All along I tasted soft, sweet ginger with a bite on the front of my tongue that lingered long after drinking the tea.
Some might say there’s a cedar wood flavor but I tasted redwood. That redwood taste is warm and sunny with a tang to it and has more body than cedar.

There was a creamy, light saltiness on the last steeping.

When I drink tea I stand on the rim of the memories in my mind. It’s like looking over the edge of a canyon at pictures far below… with signs such as these:
The Grand Canyon, Santorini, Golden Gate Bridge, Rome, Peru, Alaska, Redwood Forests, Monterey Bay.

Under these signs and pictures are sub headings such as:
Golden Gate Park, The Aurora Borialis and Hiking in the Andes. Places I’ve been and things I’ve done…like my own mental NETFLIX.

When I begin to drink a tea, I stand on that rim waiting for the tea to take me to the place it wants to go and the tea always takes me to a good memory, never a bad one.

Today, I thought about the Redwoods. Inside the Redwoods main heading was a subtitle: Santa’s Village (Scotts Valley, CA.)

This place doesn’t exist anymore, but when I was young it was a magical place tucked into the forest with real Raindeer and a Santa House with Santa Claus. The sweet smell of the enormous redwood trees and the fresh baked Gingerbread scent coming from Mrs. Claus’s pastry shoppe sounds like a strange thought to pair up with a fine Pu’er.
But wait… Redwood, ginger, earthy forest…it wasn’t that far removed from the taste of the tea!

You don’t get to choose what the journey will be. The tea does the picking.

Over the rim I gooooo and I look forward to more leaps!

If you take time with tea, you can learn to listen to what it wants to say.

If you’re new to the world of tea this may seem like an odd statement. How can tea speak?

If I said that eating Turkey on Thanksgiving reminded me of my childhood home in California you would understand. And if I told you that hot chocolate with mini marshmallows on a snowy day made me think of being a kid again…picking up ice skates and going out with friends for a game of hockey…the picture would form in your mind. The Turkey and cocoa didn’t speak to me but eating and drinking them brought memories to mind.

Tea can speak to our memory also, taking us to places long forgotten but stored like jewels ready for discovery.

Pu’er tea is like an interesting memory key. The right tea opens up complex chambers often with earthy flavors that flash and turn like wood sprites.

My brewing method today was a fat 4oz white Gaiwan.
There were 7 steepings.
I played with the time beginning (after a wash) at 10 seconds then 15, 15, 20, 45, 20, 1 minute and lastly 30 seconds.
The color was light golden caramel brown changing to deep amber and back to lighter golden with the shorter steep time.

About the color: The tea glitters like the famous Amber Room of Catherine the Great!

Flavor:
The leaves smelled creamy and sweet. I wasn’t expecting the flavor to be as lightly sweet and smooth as it was for a first pour with a hint of vanilla honey.

I was tempted to drink quickly…in a hurry to jump into the pool of richer steepings. So impatient…forgetting the polite behavior required with my tea.

Someone far away had worked very hard for me to have this cup.

Slowly, I moved on to more steepings, remembering to look at the color, smell the leaves and enjoy each inhaled slurp tossed to the back of my throat. Ah yes, smooth and juicy…full of light brown sugar.

Halfway through the tasting, there were some memories of water …coastlines and trees, fields of flowers and mountains. Hum. I dismissed the thoughts.

I drank more tea, which was becoming more like clover honey mixed with light brown sugar. The flavor never became bitter even with the longest steep time and never became dry.

I looked for spice and there was a vapor…and poof, gone. I could not put my finger (or nose or mouth) on it. Some other time maybe.

At the bottom of the 5th steeping I noticed a chewiness and a golden raisin taste. “So,” I chuckled, “it couldn’t be that.” I decided to stick to my opinion though, and later when I read the notes on the Verdent Website and saw the flavor profile mention ‘Raisin’, I smiled.

Again, I was having those wandering thoughts about the Sea and Mountains but stopped this time to consider my tea and what it was saying.

The thoughts floating in and out…the pictures in my memory were of visits to family in Washington State.
It’s so GREEN there with lush forests and farms! The fields of flowers in the Skagit Valley go on forever, and there is WATER everywhere!

Why was I thinking about the seashore, green fields and the trees of Washington? Remembering sitting on a bench in Anacortes looking out to Orca’s Island with the sun glittering on the water? Sailing through the San Juan Islands? A drive up to the snowline of Mt. Baker?

It’s calming, restful and beautiful! http://flic.kr/p/dyqRX9

Was it the juiciness of the tea and the smooth slightly sweet flavor that brought me there? Was this my jewel and a gift from the tea?

I think so. I became rested and calm. Happy with my memories.

One thing that I’ve been known to do with Pu’er that has a hint of salt (there is just a hint here) and slight caramel (I think this is more buttery than caramel) is add a few grains of sugar.
Stand back and see what happens…few grains in…and..CARAMEL!
Very delicious!

I bought 1 cake and it’s fabulous! (This tasting is from a 7oz. sample I bought to go with it.)

Follow-up Review:
2nd Brew Style:
A little Western Style Brew this afternoon tasted more like stepping into a heavenly bakery than a candy shoppe (see previous review).

I shared my pot of tea with granddaughter Schey, who thought this was malty without being chocolaty and sweet with a yukon potato flavor dipped in whipped cinnamon honey.

I think this is more like the Jin Jun Mei even though I think it’s totally unfair to compare this tea to any other Verdant Black Tea.

This is unique and I hope this is a tea that will join the list of regular Verdant selections!

December 1, 2012 Yu Lu Yan Cha Tea arrived as a present to me.
I should be considering others, but couldn’t resist the temptation!

My main concentration was on taste and scent (which is what I will discuss). All measurements were as suggested by Verdant.

Method: Gaiwan: http://youtu.be/bp31QnuVPd4 (Wang Yanxin Brewing Yu Lu Yan Cha Black Tea)
There was 1 quick wash, followed by multiple steepings of 5-10 seconds (longer steeps with each pour). The liquor was medium gold then deeper gold, clear and vibrant.

Taste and Scent:
There was nothing predictable about this tea.
No taste or scent that I could compare it to. This isn’t Laoshan Black or Zhu Rong. Not a cleaver morphing of Golden Fleece either.
To compare one to another would be a type of Tea Blasphemy.

I took one small sip of the golden liquor and thought ‘butter’….
Off in a trailing thought…‘butter’…‘butter’….smooth and sweet and then… ‘potato’…and nothing after that.

I sat.

“What is this tea?” I wondered. There’s no chocolate flavor like the others (comparing the incomparable Verdant Black Tea’s), it’s malty, but not with a maltiness that I’ve ever tasted before.

Again I calmed myself, remembering not to rush even though I was excited. This was like opening a gift I’d been waiting for!

I poured the second steep and drank again, noticing the fragrance.

Sweet Vietnamese Cinnamon with a hint of honeysuckle floral that began to wrap around my head like the ‘Dance of the Sugerplum Fairies’. Oh yes…sweet…pastry and candies like a plate of Snickerdoodles in the Copoco Honey Shop.

There I was, sitting on my sofa but not there at all.
All I was thinking about was the Sweet Shop in Old Town.
The zillions of white twinkley lights in the trees up and down College Avenue that turn on magically at dusk every evening from October to March. Kilwins Candy Shop with handmade candies begging me to enter with the scent of fresh caramel popcorn and chocolates.
It was the buttery caramel, the spun sugar so light that a breath could crack it that drew me in past the doorway.

The tea tasted and smelled like that thinnest sweet, buttery spun sugar with a hint of honey. Somehow, the feeling is like the candy commercial on TV where the lady is looking in the window of the store and what you see is the reflection of her as a young girl.

I don’t understand how the sweetness, potato, butter, malty, honey, caramel and cinnamon flavors all dance together with such abandon on the lightest of tea toes without a mishap. What a show!

This is another exquisite tea!

Happy Tea To You! Happy Tea To Me! My Holiday’s Are in Full Swing!

http://youtu.be/eQemvyyJ—g Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy on the Glass Armonica

http://flic.kr/p/dtcfQA The Lights.

Scotland!
http://flic.kr/p/dxCxWC
Wah? It’s St. Andrews Day, (Patron Saint of Scotland) and if you’re a Scot like me you’re supposed to be wearing plaid all day (which I’ve been doing!).

Last night was a Japanese Green Tea class at Happy Lucky’s taught by capable Joe. It was great! However….the amount of Green Tea I drank at 8PM kept me up until 1AM!
One of the tea’s we drank was a method of brewing Gyokuro called Shinobi-cha. (Putting the tea leaves over ice to extract the pure amino acids and flavor) Delicious and potent! http://youtu.be/4UEZcq1qVtw

So, I was up late and had to wake up early for the Blessing of the Tartan’s (Plaids) at St. Spyridon’s.
Of course, I was decked out in my Johnstone plaid and had my mothers Cameron plaid for my granddaughter to wear. I also had Earl Grey shortbread, oatmeal cookies and all my tea fixings for after the service to celebrate!

When you step into a Greek Orthodox Church, it’s supposed to say to you ‘Heaven and Earth are not separated’.
Look around…there are pictures of hero’s like Elijah, John the Baptist and Angels like Gabriel.

After the Blessing was over, I made Black Pearl Tea for all that wanted to have some.
It seemed right to have real, brewed tea today. I’ve been purchasing these pearls from Happy Luckys since the discovery that they taste just like the favorite brand I used to buy directly from China.

One lady sat down for some tea and told me how she was served tea in England at the British Embassy by Mr. Twinings himself!
Then, Fr. Evan came over and had some tea straight up before heading off to a meeting.
(I’m out to convert my Church to real deal tea one person at a time!)
My granddaughter and I had ours with cream and Butiki’s raw sugar crystals.

This was a luscious, rich and malty, cocoa tea without astringency.
Such a perfect tea with scones, shortbread and pasties.
Yes, someone made pasties (small pies) with potato, peas and mushroom broth.
Sipping tea, I was able to share some of the old family stories from Scotland, which is what a Grandmother is supposed to do.

You may think this is all a bit corny. I make no apologies because I am corny and becoming more so!

Good tea though with good company on a grand occasion!

http://youtu.be/PSH0eRKq1lE Scotland The Brave!

Yesterday, I had to run by Happy Lucky’s in the afternoon to sign up for two tea classes. One, for that evening (Gonfu Tea Ceremony with Eric) and tonight will be a Japanese Green Tea class with Joe.

I don’t step over the doorway without having a cuppa myself…so I ordered a pot of Irish Breakfast Tea and some dry leaf to take home.

Irish Breakfast gets you going when you have errands to run. I had to go to Whole Foods and read labels, traversing through the isles under fluorescent lights that make me woozy. Give Me Strong Tea!

Granddaughter Schey came to the class last night which was fun for me. Everyone had a chance to use a Yixing and Gaiwan to pour both Oolong and Pu’er for the small group. Eric is a Scientist and teacher which makes him interesting.

This morning, I took the Irish Breakfast Tea that I had purchased and made a pot to linger over while watching the morning news.

This is one of the best things about being retired.

If it’s too cold outside, I’m warm and comfy inside with my fresh pot of tea on a tray. I have a lovely, large quilted-dome tea cozy from April Cornell that keeps my pot of tea hot between pourings.
(I always have cream and sweetening on the tray just in case I want to add some.)

Ahhh. Dark, strong….strong….Irish tea!

This isn’t one of those wimpy Irish wanna-be tea’s. Without being astringent or dry, this delivers a warming cup that’s what you’d want in a thermos out on the peat fields when the wind has kicked up and a drizzle is beginning to threaten with a damp shiver.

I like my tea with milk.

Drinking one mug, two…then three was easy.
The whole pot gone in no time.

Sometimes I wonder what has happened to the tea in my pot. It seems to disappear without me drinking it.

No matter. It’s delicious!

I set a plan with my new tea energy to put up my Christmas Tree today.
Tonight is another Tea Class and Tomorrow is St. Andrews Day,
the Patron Saint of Scotland. All Scots are supposed to wear Plaid
tomorrow!

Here’s another bit of news I found out…

Looks like my daughter and son-in-law are going to adopt BOTH of the 2 year old Foster boys they have. The boys are 6 days apart in age.
I couldn’t be more pleased!!! One has special needs (Williams syndrome) so I’m happy he’ll be in such a loving family of 5 boys and 3 girls!

In another Universe a long time ago, this was to me, one of the finest tea’s ever. Really.
I was new to loose leaf tea and waited impatiently for my packages of flavored tea’s from Canada to arrive. Oh, they were so yummy good!
Oh Canada, Chocolate Orange Puerh, and Read My Lips! Slurp!

As the months passed, I tasted tea’s from Teavivre, then Butiki and Verdant, and so many other tea companies that opened my mind to the realization that the Tea ‘World’ wasn’t FLAT like a tea bag, but FULL of FLAVOR without being chemically ‘flavored’. My ‘World’ was set free, expanded and became ROUND!

I had a little bit of Read My Lips left in a tin and went back to taste it. What would I think?

Remembering my first love of the peppermint scent, I smiled. It was still as I remembered…almost like candy canes in the snow. Cool, with a chocolaty smell that is a vision of peppermint bark frosted with dark chocolate. Oh I hope my daughter makes some of this candy this year!

I took a sip of tea and the memory was ‘Oh yes, I am back at the beginning of my tea journey’, but the taste was…‘Oh dear, I don’t think I can finish this sour, over-flavored artificially spiked tea!"

Where was the tea? “Yoo Hoo, tea? Where are you?”, I wanted to yell into my cup.

Memories are often like this.

My first trip to Disneyland in 1955 at age 7, and later in High School were completely different experiences. Had Disneyland SHRUNK?
Of course not. I had changed.

Looking back, I had a great time with this tea.

I can’t say BLECH…I have to say…HUM.

I went to the IRS today. (That should have made even the most cheerful among you shudder!)

There were taxes from my divorce that I didn’t know would be coming and I’ve been trying to figure out what to do. One thing I’ve learned over the past few months is that I need someone to help me organize parts of my life. I don’t understand paperwork so I’ve got myself into a little (or big) tax mess.

Imagine being very competent mentally but waking up one day unable to understand what you’re reading. Like dyslexia. Information is scrambled and makes no sense. This is what’s been happening to me. I can understand if you show me how to do things, but not paperwork and sometimes I go blank on questions. (I don’t have dymentia, thankfully (I was tested for that).)

Anyway, I went to the IRS in the middle of a brain fog with some papers they asked me for. I was handed papers and asked questions and I just couldn’t understand anything. I told the person, “I have no idea what this means, it could be in a foreign language, I can’t explain anything, I don’t know what to say.”
I got a look and comment…“You need someone to help you.” “I’m not supposed to do this but go to the Senior Center and find help.”

Brother!!!

I left and made a ‘B’ line for Happy Lucky’s Tea House.
I looked 3 shades of pale puke…feeling sick and hurting all over from fybromyalgia (which has been a bear the past month!).

Andy (TEA GURU!) took one look at me and said…“Whatcha drinking Ms. Bonnie?”…then he said…“How about a Chocolate Matcha?!”

“Oh YES please!”

I sat at the bar watching the foaming and frothing, stirring in the specialty cocoa…A-n-t-i-c-p-a-t-i-o-n!

Finally a big mug of fluff was set in front of me with a tall tumbler of ice water next to it (thoughtful). Fireworks!

This was thick, thick, thick cocoa Matcha, so creamy and warm with an interesting, almost savory then sweet complex flavor. The foam was playful and wonderful like a puffy sigh of relief.

It didn’t take long for the caffeine and green tea L-theanine to work on my pain and foggy brain.
I’ve noticed for some time that tea helps me feel better. I don’t know how, and it’s not a tea high or anything…but my pain isn’t as bad when I drink certain tea’s, especially Pu-erh and Matcha. This is good! It might not be this way for everyone, but it works for me.

While tea doesn’t cure all my problems, it has given me a way to help with my physical discomfort without resorting to narcotics for pain.

By the time I finished my fine mug of chocolate Matcha, I was feeling so much better and the taste was fantastic!

Why would I post all this here on Steepster. Seems kind of private and personal and inappropriate doesn’t it.
It is personal. And real.
I want you to know that this part of Elder life is joyful, funny, and has challenges just like being young.

“Stand at the brink of despair, and when you see that you cannot bear it anymore, draw back a little, and have a cup of tea.”
― Elder Sophrony of Essex (A Monastery in England)

Tea makes everything better.

I’m not a Cyber-toothed -tiger! (Cyber Monday in the U.S.A.!)

I’ve been in my pink polka-dot jammies ‘ALL DAY’ because I don’t feel well. Over these jammies, I’ve wrapped myself in a red plaid shawl …and I have red fuzzy socks on my feet. When My body aches I drink tea, go to sleep…drink tea…come here and ’I’m Thankful’ that ya’ll can’t see me!

I can’t afford all the sales that are out there today, sorry to say. Maybe next year I’ll be ready for them. We’ll see. I still have lots of tea to drink in my cupboard and some samples from sTEAp Shoppe to review!

This little tea had a curious combo of ingredients. I couldn’t imagine the tea taste. Sometimes, I have an idea of what I’m about to taste. The ones I can’t imagine can be a disaster if the ingredients are weird.
None of the ingredients in this tea were unknown to me, just never imagined together in a tea. Especially curious to me was the Lingonberry which is sweet/tarte little seed-like berries mixed with Black Tea.

Brew Time:
I set the brew time as suggested (2 minutes). My later comment to Janet at sTEAp Shoppe was that I liked a little longer steep (2.5 to 3 minutes) and a 3 minute second steep worked well also.

Taste:
I didn’t expect this tea to taste fantastic. Lack of respect on my part. I should know better!

At first, before the fruit flavors developed in the black tea, it tasted like yummy Black Tea with Vanilla.
Then, with a little longer steeping…the Honey flavor developed and a little Lingonberry, which was so light, popped up in the background.

Goodness…this tea was so full of rich, layered flavors that it caught me off guard.

Even though there are Maple Sugar Crystals in the tea, you don’t taste Maple. What you taste is Vanilla Honey woven with a Caramel Trio of Black Tea’s and a subtle hint of Lingonberry (like Jam).

This was like having a European layered pastry. A waffle!

So, good. FYI, BTW …(I sweetened my dessert waffle tea!)

I’ve really overdone the eating. BINGE! So good though. The last thing I ate last night was two pieces of cake that I made…

I baked a yellow layer cake in a springform pan and let it cool. Then I made a simple syrup, and infused some Earl of Anxi tea (with the frankincense in it but use any tea you want) in the syrup. I poked holes in the top of the cake and spooned the syrup on letting it soak in. (Put cake in freezer) Later, split the cake in layers and frost with whipped cream on the layers and top. Good!

This morning, I don’t want to eat anything at all!!! No rich food, no bread, cake, pie…nothing! I’m DONE! FULL!

The choice of tea was easy. Janet (the owner of sTEAp Shoppe) and I had chatted about the tasting we had all participated in some weeks ago, and continued tea discussions back and forth. She sent a sample of her Updated Orange Spice Cake tea for me to try.

This sounded like the right tea for this morning.

I have to be honest. The initial tea’s that I tasted from sTEAp Shoppe were too bland for me. I was not expecting this tea to be leaps and bounds, over-the-top better.

But…

THIS IS REALLY GOOD TEA! It’s not bland or weak tasting at all! It’s spicy, has a cake taste and ‘drumroll’, no bitterness even when it gets cold!!! You suprised me Janet!

When I saw the bits of tangerine and orange peel I was wary. Usually this means the tea is going to be sour or bitter at some point. I’ve been so conditioned by tea companies getting it wrong that I do a little dance inside when someone gets it right.

I didn’t put any milk in my tea because of the citrus and even though I sweetened my cup(yum), it was tasty unsweetened.

If you tried the first batch of Orange Spice Cake and went…eh
try it again. This is really good.

500th Review…Woo Hoo! Tooting My Own Horn!

In less than a year I’ve consumed a great deal of fantastic tea! There was a little barfy tea in the mix now and then, especially in the beginning when I didn’t really know what I was doing.
Even now I screw up.
Oh go on…don’t tell me that you never make tea and forget about it?
“OH NO”…you shriek…“It’s the good stuff!” Proceeding to add water or sugar and milk to dilute your tea enough to still drink it. You WILL drink the tea if it KILLS you.

Selection of a tea for ‘Review 500’ has been difficult.
What tea would I pick? My favorite? A tea I’ve been saving for a special occasion?
Sigh…and more sigh’s.

I had just received a reblend sample of the Chocolate Chai from sTEApShoppe to try this week.
You may remember that many of us on Steepster participated in taste tests for sTEApShoppe on two Sunday afternoons, the last of which was in October.
Janet (the owner) kindly sent out samples of several tea’s and then we reviewed them at a set time here on Steepster letting her know what we thought of the tea.

But what happened after that?

Janet has been busy. She listened to what everyone had to say and has made some changes. This Chocolate Chai is one of the tea’s that I wasn’t too excited about originally. I think it’s way better
now though!

The new formulation has been warmed with fennel and the licorice has been removed. There’s lots of cocoa nib, some maple sugar and a mix of spices that gives a good bite to the Chai.
I’m not a person who would drink a Chai without adding milk because Chai is a strong brew. Milk was wonderful in this tea as expected, but the best thing was adding a little honey. OH YUM! Now that was the bomb!

Today being Thanksgiving Eve…my home is filled with the scent of yams and apples that I’ve been roasting…brown sugar and Vietnamese cinnamon. My house smells good!
Chocolate Chai with Milk and Honey…what more could I want?!

If you tasted the previous version of Chocolate Chai and said meh…give the new one a try. It’s not for the faint of heart though. This is real deal spicy Chai!
Ginger, Clove, Black Pepper, Cardamon, Cocoa nibs, Fennel, Nutmeg,
Two types of tea, Maple Sugar…oh…and all ORGANIC. (Well you know how Janet is about ORGANIC!)

I picked Janet’s tea because she’s the ‘Little Engine That Could’
and get’s that award from me. It’s not easy to kickstart a tea company by yourself.

Thank you to everyone for helping me get to review 500, for following me for selecting the like heart and making comments
that have made me feel as though I matter. You’ve kept me from true loneliness many times!

Here’s another teaser intro to a quick Holiday Pumpkin Chai Soup recipe on my blog that’s so easy www.teaandincense.com enjoy!

The best treats are sometimes the ones we create by accident when we’re craving a certain flavor but there’s nothing in the cupboard or frig to satisfy the urge.

A few weeks ago, on the only snowy Saturday morning we’ve had this warm Autumn, I was craving Pumpkin Chai.
I didn’t have any on hand. I had some boxed Organic Pumpkin Squash Soup in the cupboard and a bottle of Third Street Chai in the frig.

Take a look!

This is a snippet from a recipe on my blog www.teaandincense.com where you can see the photo also of the pudding infused with this tea!

My grandsons like to have little treats when they come to visit. Since I have three official grandsons, one in the adoption process and a foster toddler, my five loud and rambunctious young fellows enjoy sitting at my round table to eat pudding tea shots. (Tea always follows)

I began collecting plastic shot glasses from my local Safeway over a year ago. The bakery was making small bite sized desserts, then filling the shot cups with them. Every time I shopped at Safeway, I bought a treat for myself, washed out the cup and put it away until I had enough cups for all 8 Grand-kids.
I make mini jello jigglers, mini parfaits, mini trail mix cups and so on.

One day I had an idea to flavor regular pudding with tea. Why not?

As you can see in my picture, I had lemon pudding mix which was easy to infuse with tea by heating milk then using any kind of tea I wanted. In this case, I strained the tea leaves and let the milk chill…then made the pudding, pouring it in my little shot glasses to set.

You can use tea’s like Cream of Earl Grey (which I used here) or Bergamot Rose, Chai (nice in Vanilla or Chocolate Pudding)
or whatever you can dream up. Toppings make it look more attractive when I have some on hand (which I didn’t this day).

Love my bundle of boys!….read the rest on my blog…

When I walked in the door of my favorite tea pub today, the first person I saw was Andy, all tan and refreshed looking…back from Cambodia and a long honeymoon!
He was wrapped with Christmas lights, tasked with decorating the shop for the Holiday’s. All the other servers were bustling about with an influx of tea patrons that had just about used up all the available teapots and tables.
I sat on my usual bar stool, waiting and watching. They all know that I don’t mind waiting when it’s busy.
Besides, I enjoy the show.

Today I came to see George (the H.L. owner). I was there to drop off two tea and spice rubs that I created with tea from Happy Lucky’s and some seasonings from Savory Spice Shop.

Eventually, the crowd in the shop thinned out and I was able to order a tea that I wanted to take to my daughter’s house for Thanksgiving Day. I already knew that Vanilla Black was pretty popular with flavored tea drinkers at Happy Lucky’s, so I gave it a try.

Joe had blended the tea with natural vanilla. This makes a big difference in the taste, and I remembered how we had discussed how even natural flavors are tricky. You have to add just the right amount of vanilla especially and not overdo it.

The base Black Tea wasn’t malty, but was a straightforward Black Tea. (I wish it was malty. This is a matter of my own taste though.) It had a full vanilla flavor. The vanilla wasn’t bitter and softened the stiffness of the Black Tea.

Without milk but sweetened, the tea was a bit brisk but good enough.
When I added some cream, I liked the tea better, creamier.

I’m sure my daughter and granddaughters will enjoy this tea on
Thanksgiving with the other tea’s I bring to share. Vanilla is, after all, comforting and enjoyed by most people.

Like so many of my fellow Steepsters in the USA, this Monday will be spent scampering off to the grocery store for Thanksgiving Dinner ingredients.
My daughter called this morning to inform me that the body count for dinner at her home will be 20 people, 10 children and 10 over the age of 15. Oh my! I’m so glad she has a big house and an acre out back for the 6 non-infant boys to run around and play on a beautiful warm Autumn day. It will be warm here!

As the only Elder, I am required to bring the food memories my daughter can’t live without. Fortunately, that’s easy. She makes my mom’s turkey stuffing and has the antique gravy boat. I create her favorite yam, apple and pecan casserole layered like a lasagna with butter, maple, brown sugar and spice.
This year I’m making the kids ice cream pies. Pumpkin and candy cane peppermint pies for fun. And tea of course.
(I’ll save my prize winning Apple Pie for Christmas when we’re just family and have RIBS!)

Off shopping I must go! But first, TEA! Dessert tea puts me in a good mood. (All tea puts me in a good mood most of the time!)

I made a small pot of Chocolate Covered Strawberry tea, looking forward to several sweet cups.
Right off, this isn’t a tea that I would drink without adding sugar or sweetener. Some dessert tea’s you can omit sweetening, but not this one. The strawberry flavor is released when sweetened and is the dominant flavor in the tea.
I found the taste sour from the artificial flavoring so I added some cream to soften the tea and make it creamy. This helped.

Another thing that I have trouble with is the chocolate. The strawberry flavor is strong and the chocolate is hardly there at all. (I’ve had trouble tasting the chocolate flavor in all the Della Terra Chocolate Tea’s though, maybe the artificial flavoring and my taste buds are at odds with each other)

This isn’t an awful tea, don’t get me wrong. It’s more of a strawberry tea in my opinion.

I think some of the other tea’s I’ve tried have been more successful.

Off to shop!

Thank you mrmopar for this mini Pu-erh Tuo cha!

There was an old woman who made a China Lapsang Souchong, smoked pepper, Urfa Chili meat rub (one plain and one with brown sugar)…

then made a Earl of Anxi infused simple syrup which was ladled over a warm golden yellow cake…

followed by lemon pudding infused with cream of Earl Grey, poured and set in shot glasses… chilled…

ending with a viewing of Pixar’s, ‘BRAVE’ while sipping infusions of
sweet, smooth ripe cassia Pu-erh. (I’m like ‘The Old Woman Who Lived In The Shoe’ however, instead of too many children… I have too much tea I don’t know what to do!)

Layers of tea to cook and bake with, then a relaxing Shu Pu-erh to watch the animated Scot’s Princess fly through the forest as the brave heroic figure in my movie.

Who says you can’t enjoy such things at my age. Ach!

The little tuo cha was delicious. A small cake-like dessert Pu-erh, not earthy at all. Mild, smooth and easy. Slightly sweet.
I steeped 2 quick 30 second steeps in my Gaiwan and took a taste then in the mug they both went. A full mug of Pu-erh (which I soon repeated)! kicking back.

A good ending to a lovely day with no creative mishaps!

Oh my. In all fairness I can’t bring myself to say who sent this to me. They are too kind in every way and the other tea’s were fine.

This one, is haunted with the taste of raspberry beets. Not good and sweet beets but canned vegetable soup tasting beets.

I must protest…my tastebuds yelled at me. One cursed.

Dear, oh dear.

This tea is fired!

I slept in this morning. I climbed out of my super comfy big bed…put on one of those robes that feels like you’ve been wrapped in a babies cuddly stuffed animal and made a pot of ‘Favored Tea’.

My tea journey began with ‘Flavored Tea’, and gradually wandered down other avenues that at first were mysterious.
Green, Black, Oolong and then…Pu-erh. Each tea variety grabbed my attention and taught me about what was the tea base under all the flavored tea’s that I had loved so much.

I discovered that there is a point where you either have to pull away and choose to only drink unflavored tea or keep in the loop and taste and enjoy what everyone else is raving about without discrimination.

Tea can be very serious, or it can be loads of fun. I saw the same sort of cerebral decision working at the Winery. People got so serious that they no longer fully enjoyed wine. Some refused to try a wine that they assumed they wouldn’t like. “I don’t drink Rieslings”. Well, that’s borish!

I don’t want to be borish! I love my earthy Shu Pu-erh’s, adore my dangerously chocolate Black Tea’s and swoon over dark Autumnal Oolongs.

However, give me some flavored tea’s too! They are FUN!

What was brilliant with this S’mores tea was the use of real chocolate bits and real mini marshmallows and real crushed graham crackers. Just using chocolate, marshmallow and graham flavor would have sunk the tea into a horrid artificial flavor hole.
The natural ingredients seemed to cancel any taste of artificial flavoring. (I was relieved!)

When I first tasted the tea plain I wasn’t impressed at all. It was too bland. I added Splenda and cream which made the tea delicious.
I haven’t had success tasting the chocolate in any of the Della Terra Tea’s. No idea why. A little cocoa but nothing I’d call real chocolate.

What stood out was the marshmallow flavor and graham cracker taste.
Those flavors were rich and creamy, strong enough to make you feel like you were having a satisfying dessert. I had two mugs of this yummy tea!

So far, this and the Chocolate Pumpkin Chai have been delicious and worth having on hand!

Before heading out to the IRS today…shudder…to discuss a tax issue…shudder again…I treated myself to Chocolate Pumpkin Pie Tea!
It smelled just like an Autumn Pumpkin Spice Yankee Candle. You know what I’m talking about. The candle that makes your home smell like you can bake even if you never turn on the oven!

I had a very nice experience sipping a small pot of this tea.

It wasn’t too pumpkiny (great new word) or too spicy…it was just right.
Except for the part about the chocolate, which was so light that I could hardly taste it, I enjoyed the pumpkin pie and added some cream and sweetened my tea to make it really tasty.

I was all ready to write a positive review on Steepster when BAM!
Steepster Crashed! Not a good omen right before going to the IRS!

FAST FORWARD
Catching up to the review after the IRS visit which went as well as it could (I had 1 person in front of me and that’s all, so hooray for small towns!).

Steepster is finally running again and all is well with the world.

It’s a beautiful morning! I just looked outside and it’s really bright! When you live at a higher altitude, the Winter sunshine warms everything up even though the temperature might read 55 degrees. People wear shorts and a light sweater. The heater stays off in the house during the day because the house is heated by the sun.

When I first moved to Fort Collins, I was so surprised at how warm it was in this dry climate in the Fall and Winter. The jackets come out at night, and the boots when it snows (which isn’t often and melts quickly).

From the beginning of Fall through Winter, Old Town is transformed into a Fairyland of glittering lights, street performers (I love the tuba bands), and free carriage rides. There’s a small ice rink for the wee skaters. http://flic.kr/p/dtcfsy http://flic.kr/p/dtcfQA

‘Tis the Season’ for Thanksgiving in the U.S. next week and the day after is ‘Black Friday’ (a mega huge, shopping frenzy day). I don’t know about the rest of the World, but this is fun in many communities. Some cities, if you wear black you get discounts or goodies from merchants.

In Fort Collins we don’t have "Black Friday’, we have ‘PLAID’ Friday. If you wear plaid you get free tea, cookies, prizes and discounts all around Old Town.
With the glittering lights, street performers, free tea at my Pub and Waffle Hut sandwiches, it sounds like I’ll have fun and I’m going to be there! Wish you could all join me!

Tea:
I brewed a small pot of Chocolate Chai Pu-Erh this morning hoping that this tea sample would be a redemption after the sour chocolate sample I reviewed last evening.
I do love chocolate but I don’t like too much artificial flavoring.
Thankfully This tea has no artificial flavoring listed on the package! Phew!

My steep time was 4 minutes and the scent of the wet leaves with cinnamon and mini chocolate pieces was amazing. The wafting aroma was like warm chocolate, cinnamon streusel straight from the oven.

I poured a cup of tea and was relieved that the flavor was yummy cocoa with a good amount of cinnamon pop and a bite that must have come from the clove (which you can’t taste, just feel).
The list of ingredients mentioned cardamom but I didn’t taste that spice, and the orange was very light but delicious. I don’t prefer overly orange flavored tea.
If you want Pu-erh flavor, you won’t find it in this tea. The only thing it contributes is a richness. The health benefit is important though. Too many people have a horrible fear of Pu-erh and could easily drink this and never know the Pu-erh is there at all.

My first Pu-erh tea was Davids Tea Chocolate Orange which now tastes a bit off to me because of the artificial flavoring. This Della Terra Chocolate Chai Pu-erh is a step up and away from that sour artificial taste.

This is one of the best flavored Pu-erh’s blends for people who don’t want to taste the actual Pu-erh tea.

BTW Is Black Friday just something here in the U.S. or are there versions of the same thing in Canada and Paris and the UK and Denmark and Ecuador and so on?