Bonnie

Thank you Dhart 1214 for this sample tea

Earlier today I drank a delicate tea, the kind that reminds me of Spring and the first flowers in the garden, a soft warm breeze and iced tea. It was jasmine and peach.

This evening, I chose a blueberry black tea to drink while listening to the rain outside. Blueberry and black tea sounded good.
It was interesting to see big snowflakes falling higher up in the mountains so early while watching the News on TV. SNOW!
Then I remembered last year and the freaky snow storm in October that hit early before the trees had lost their leaves. We live in an age of unpredictability. Pretty soon…!

I enjoy making a pot of tea and fixing a tray in the evening.
I set the tray on my coffee table (which is really an extra long Pottery Barn bench the length of my sofa) and keep pouring cups of tea. My April Cornell tea cozy’s keep the tea hot. (You can get them online for $14 reversible and $7 on sale)

Wow this tea was strong. I’d almost swear this was a Scottish Breakfast tea with some blueberries. It was strong and a little smoky too. Not for the faint of heart to be sure.
Straight away milk was added and some sweetening which set things right. The blueberry flavor enhanced the black tea with a dark, ripe fruitiness without adding sweetness.

The briskness of my initial tasting was so strong that the additions were necessary in my opinion. They created a decent European style tea. (Going forward, I would choose this for my morning tea and not for the evening.)

I’m totally awake now and not likely to sleep for hours, so I’ll have to find a good English mystery on Netflix to finish the last cup with.

Good evening all!

Thank you Dhart1214 for this big tea sample!

Just opening the foil bag and inhaling the dry aroma of this tea was enough to tempt me this morning. Dry tea doesn’t impress me 90% of the time. I ‘LOVE’ the aroma of wet leaves! I can sit, letting my tea get cold while sniffing away at a bunch of stewed leaves, yes indeed.
Scents that do arouse interest are jasmine and osthmanthus. Add some peach and citrus…well…I’m all in, waiting for the steep to finish so that I can sip the heavenly ambrosiac nectar.

After I emerged from the scent cloud, I was ready to taste the soft peach colored tea.

The flavor was like a jasmine silver needle white tea with a blush of peach flavor and more predominate tangerine citrus taste just below the jasmine. I thought it was cleaver not to make the tea too peachy and predictable. The tangerine kept the tea bright.

I was going to serve some of this to granddaughter Schey but she won’t drink it. No peach for her ever.
She picked peaches for a week with her mom and sisters in Fresno one Summer as a part of Gleanings (where you pick fruit for Food Banks). She picked so many peaches in the hot sun that it makes her sick to look at peaches. (that and the bugs did it!)
My first job in High School was at a Dunkin Donut shop and I still don’t care for donuts so I understand!

I like this tea though. Pretty good and refreshing. Wish I had it earlier in the season though. It would make a good Spring/Summer tea. (I don’t see it listed on their site any longer.)

Thanks you Terri Harp Lady for this sample tea!

Rain, Rain finally Rain! I’m happy it’s here!

I just noticed that the condo entrance median outside has two apple trees filled with small apples that I hope have a chance of becoming something wonderful to eat before the snows this year!
I noticed the bushes have suddenly turned red and overnight,the big tree across the street turned bright yellow-gold.
Because I’m halfway up to the clouds here at 5000 feet, they seem grander and closer to the ground. Huge, billowy, purple blue monster clouds came rolling over the higher Rocky’s with Spielberg-like special effect movement, around 5PM. This has always been exciting to me. I knew what to expect when I saw the clouds forming in the distance earlier, so I rushed to the grocery store so that I wouldn’t have to leave home for a few days. (Milk for Chai was on the top of my list.)
For tonight, I made Peach Oolong for sipping before watching TV. (Revolution, (giving this series a look).

The scent and flavor of this tea were both mild even with a 3 minute steep. I thought sweetening might wake up the peach flavor, but even sweetening didn’t bring it out.
I tasted mild roasted leaf that wasn’t bitter, but it had an odd plywood taste.

Hum. What was the creator of the flavored tea trying to achieve? Possibly not the flavor of the peach but the peach skin. That would explain the mild, dry and woody taste. Could be. To me, there was hardly an oolong taste or peach flavor. Peach skin was the closest.

So, the rain is here. I’m ready with soup and tea in my cupboard! Cool weather is perfect for Chai and looking out the window at big clouds and watching a movie!

Better late than never…this blend is almost gone and I’ve been sitting on this first ounce of tea for a couple of weeks without tasting it. Then I saw the notice that only a pound was left so I ordered some more. It’s time to taste and review this Chai!

I’ve been tasting Chai’s lately from various sources, looking for different tastes and flavors, socking a few away for the Fall and Winter. I was sitting at my tea bar discussing this with Eric the other day. "Eric, every Chai I drink either has too much pepper or too much cardamon or the wrong kind of cinnamon that makes the Chai bitter. I think I need to make my own Chai, " I said. “That’s what I do,” he replied. And we both sighed.
Eric works at a tea shop! He’s tasted lots of Chai samples.

The only Chai’s I’ve liked so far are one from Butiki and the Verdant Chai blends.
(Some companies have Chai’s I can’t drink because they add Rooibos which I’m allergic to…so it’s not about not liking them, I can’t drink them!).

This brings me to the sadness of this tasting. An experience of a wonderful Chai that I should have ordered long ago but didn’t.
A Chai that is exactly what a Chai should taste like.
Wah! Sniffle! Stomp my Feet! Tantrum!

I threw the directions for brewing this Chai in smaller 8oz steepings out the window. I DISOBEYED VERDANT’S INSTRUCTIONS! Now I think I have to do a Verdant confession or something. Not sure.

So, what I did was make a whole pot of Chai…(yes I did indeed). I brewed 32 ounces of golden delight…honey spiced glee for me!

I poured 1 cup…warming my whole mouth with saffron and a mixture of cardamon, coriander, sweet vanilla and caramel. Luxurious!
I sipped for a bit…and could not wait.
This was not tea. I had to change how I was thinking about the whole experience!

Suddenly, I traveled to the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel in India, http://youtu.be/dDY89LYxK0w becoming one of the characters draped in bright flowers. With Hindi music throbbing in the background (which I like), I added cream to my next cup of tea and honey in large amounts. YES! This was the way to drink this CHAI! WOW! Taste EXPLOSION!

The next cup I just added some honey. NO WAY! Nah!

Milk and honey…that ‘IS’ the proper way to enjoy this fine Chai. I’m not kidding. I’m going to steep the leaves in milk…to make the flavors even more silky and creamy and warming and cocoa vanilla.

The cardamon wasn’t overpowering and the chocolate from the Mi Lan was like the ‘Chocolate XXOO Love’ Bar’s produced here in Colorado.
Thick and Rich!

So why sad…wah! It’s gone…when I’m done with my stash…GONE!
I’m requesting a repeat next season from Verdant! This was a treat!

Goodbye My Chai Love! http://youtu.be/RUCiGqAHx4g Monsoon Wedding

Woo Hoo thank you..this is the tea I won from Teave!

One of the things that I never expected when I began my adventures with the Steepster community are the ‘Free’ tea’s.
You know, the tea companies that have contests or sample giveaways and sample trading with other Steepster members. The bonus that makes so many of us able to try a huge variety of tea’s.
I for one would never be able to write so many reviews without the generosity of everyone, and I know you can relate too (I can hear a rumble of amen’s).

Thank you one and all!

The name of this tea matches the tea perfectly. You need to be aware of what you’re doing, pay attention and look at the dry tea. It’s so pretty! There is truly a confetti of colorful fruit and nuts, oranges from big chunks of mango, pineapple, cranberry, peach and flowers. No, this isn’t a dust or fine chop, it’s chunky with big pieces of bright fruit.
When the steeping is completed, the liquor a deep honey peach color with the aroma of cinnamon.
I had to dig around in the wet leaves for fruit…especially the big piece of mango and the cranberries. Chomp!

As much as I love the color and the generous amount of fruit, the cinnamon was all I could taste. If you want a nice cinnamon tea for the Fall and Winter, this is sweet without being bitter and the fruit is yummy.
I’d like to taste the fruit more and have the cinnamon toned down.
Where was the black tea? I searched the basket for black tea. Even in the bag there was little to be found which makes this more of a fruit tea and hardly a black tea.

Don’t get me wrong though, this tastes good. I think with all the high quality ingredients (and these are really good!) they are not shining but being covered up by the overpowering cinnamon. This could be in any companies top best seller list if the fruit came to the forefront.

My rating will be on current flavor.

Ingredient quality rating: 97

Thank you Dhart1214 for this tea sample!

The only Mate I’ve had thus far has been unflavored. When I saw the bag of Chocolate Mate in the samples from Dhart I was intrigued. It sounded like a good combination. Earthy Mate and Chocolate would be a natural.

I steeped the mix for 5 minutes and the resulting brew smelled more like prune or raisin and carob.
My first taste was interesting in the odd meaning of interesting.
If I was a hard liquor drinker, I could pick out a whiskey that this tasted like I’m sure of it.
I just stopped and went to the Georgia Tea Company Website to read the ingredients because of the odd taste (non-listed on the package).

UH OH…ROOIBOS!…I’M ALLERGIC TO ROOIBOS! (Good thing I only drank 1/3 of the cup so far! And the rest of the package will go elsewhere! I know Dhart had no idea!)

Anyway, the ingredients are: mate roasted, rooibos, cocoa bits, barley malt, coconut rasps, cinnamon, cloves, flavoring, cornflower blossoms.

Even with cream and sweetening this didn’t taste like chocolate. When you look at the ingredients is there any wonder?! It could have been good!

A heads up to all tea companies. If you call a tea ‘Chocolate’ and nothing else, it had better taste like ‘Chocolate’. Also, PUT THE INGREDIENTS ON THE LABEL! People like me have allergies!

So I didn’t write a story this morning with this tea, I soap boxed.

Happy weekend to all!

Hi everyone! I’ve been AWOL….Absent With Out Leaves yesterday and today (until now) doing TASKS mostly. I rarely disappear.

My daughter’s house is getting new carpeting. They’re house is 3500 sq. feet and even the bathrooms are being tiled so everyone had to get out!
DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT TO DO WITH 8 KIDS AND NO HOUSE?
I know, because yesterday, they came to GRANDMA’S!

And I went to a Greek (yummy food) dinner about schools being built in Northern Kenya (I talked about tea at dinner…obsessively!)

AND….I put together a hardwood desk with bookshelves on both sides and a keyboard shelf ALL BY MYSELF! (I put the shelf sliders on backwards the first time).
I now have a proper place to write instead of the dining table (which has caused me a fair bit of pain this year).

I was so exhausted by 5pm today that I stopped by Happy Lucky’s Tea House and asked Eric for a pot of this V98 Puerh that they have in big baseball size tuo cha’s.
There was a Friday evening concert in the Plaza a block away this last warm evening. People were wandering in and out of the shop ordering iced tea’s until concert time. Then things got quiet. I was dragging…a real mop at the bar. I needed CAFFEINE!

Eric steeped my pot of Puerh at 30 seconds and the first sip was smooth, sweet without bitterness or earthiness. I thought about a sweet mushroom flavor but couldn’t remember what kind, and at first there was a sense of furry redwood bark in the texture. I thought about bread but this is such a common taste comment in Puerh reviews that I stopped myself. Was this bread? No. A cracker like a saltine but without the salt…a water cracker. Yes.
Towards the end of the first pot, when the Puerh became almost buttery, I added a bit of raw sugar and loved the flavor of a just cracked Cream Brulee crust.

I asked for the leaves to be put in a Gaiwan to steep for 3-4 minutes. I wanted to taste a strong brew.
The liquor had a touch of purple around the edges and the aroma was
blackberry and a sweet wet mulch.
When I took a sip I was so amazed at the smoothness and lack of bitterness for such a long steep. Everyone tried some because they had never tried steeping it that long either.

Really good!

This is one of those everyday tea’s that (as the previous reviewer stated) would be a great beginner Puerh. It would be hard to mess up.

I certainly perked up and I’m back!

Thank you Stacy (Butiki) for this sample tea!

(I’m Whispering…
…..we all know how good Stacy is at creating tea’s that
are…
not nasty and artificially flavored…the really special tea’s that we love! Shhhhh, listen up!…..
…..This one is my favorite Butiki Tea Flavor of all!)

I want a pound of this tea already. I ONLY HAVE A SAMPLE! STACY!

The wet leaves had the softest aroma of green beans and sweet grapefruit as though the clock had been turned back and Spring was here once again.

I had just enough tea leaves for one precious mug full.

I took a sip of the pale yellow liquor and was amazed at the restrained taste of the grapefruit next to the more robust but smooth savory bean flavor. This was a juicy tea.

I added a little sweetening (as Stacy suggested) which brought more of the grapefruit flavor to the forefront, still perfectly complimenting the savory base flavor of the tea.

I used to make a grapefruit salad years ago with ruby grapefruit, carefully removing segments of ice cold fruit from it’s membrane, then mixing it with chopped avacado, salt, olive oil and lemon. The acid and sweetness of the grapefruit with the smooth creamy avacado were perfect compliments to each other. (It was an 1980’s popular California salad.)

This tea embraced that idea of combining crisp grapefruit and the creamy savory tea in a similar way. It worked really well!

There was that Umami thing happening in my mouth when I added some sugar (but without the bitterness, and the sour was just the normal grapefruit tang).

Yes, this was/is the best flavored tea in my Butiki book! It hits all the marks for me! Bravo Stacy!!!

Thank you Terri Harp Lady for this sample tea!!

First let me say for all you people on the East Coast…I hope you are dry and well…drink tea and hunker down! The wind and rain on the news looked fearsome! My prayers are with you all!

I live in that la la land called the ‘Mountain Time Zone’. (Hey, that makes me a Mountain Mama doesn’t it!)
There are probably few people who can name any States that reside in this Zone (and a lot of people don’t even know there IS a Time Zone other than Eastern, Central and Pacific (I know Hawaii and Alaska have there’s too!)). Up here in the Frontrange with the migrating birds (they’ve started to arrive), I’m waiting for the temperature to drop. 80’s are better than the high 90’s of Summer…but I want FALL!

I do Spring Cleaning and Fall Cleaning. Today, I took down anything that looked like Spring and Summer and began the transition. I changed my floral arrangements, pillows and throws first. I’m sure that will change the temperature outside in the same way that washing my car makes it rain.

My morning tea today was this Parisian Breakfast that Terri sent in a swap. It was an easy choice. It had the word “Breakfast” in it.

There were little bits of orange rind (without pith) in the dry tea
which was a pleasing aroma.

The liquor was dark and very strong. (Not the kind of tea that I would drink plain.)
My first sip, tasted of vanilla and orange but again, it was strong. I was sure this blend was meant for milk or cream.

I added sweetening and cream which brought the tea to where I believe it’s intended to be enjoyed alongside a fresh crossiant or buttered roll.

As the tea cooled there was some astringency and I didn’t taste any cocoa or chocolate during my tasting (curious). Vanilla, yes…lots of vanilla and some light orange.

A pleasing little tea, not spectacular but good with sweet buttery bread.

There have been a lot of Butiki Tea’s reviewed today.
Is there a Butiki full moon or something? Hey Stacy, what are you cooking up now?

I have to confess that tonight I watched the (awkward moment)
Finale of “So You Think You Can Dance!” Can I see a show of hands? Who else has watched the entire 9TH season with me? Fess up!

Right before the Finale began, I made a whole pot of Almond Indulgence and settled down with my tray of tea, a mug, cream and sweetening. I WAS READY!

I told Stacy that this tea reminds me of Apple Pie. I don’t know why since it’s an Almond tea but I think of Apple Pie when I taste it. In fact, this tea only needs a nudge of spice and it would make a great Chai. (Thinking about it and scheming I filed that thought under: Future Experiments with Tea.)

My favorite way to drink Almond Indulgence has been with cream and sweetened. I love it this way. I’d like it steeped in milk too. (Note to self…“Try milk steeping.”)

Feet up and mug in hand, I watched the results of the last show of the series. What creative choreography and gifted young dancers. They’ve inspired me. The Arts have always inspired me.

Does it matter that I can’t dance like those young, strong dancers.
No!
I dance with them in another way. I soar in my spirit with every lift, bending and spinning or rising up light as a leaf on the wind, my feet hardly touching the ground.

I fly!

The abandon that I still remember from earlier days, my younger years… playing a classical piece on the piano or putting my fingers on a canvas, creating thick, emotional strokes in the oil paint.

You never forget abandon. And you enjoy observing the joy of it in others your whole life.

What talent!

Maybe I’m the only person who has had a negative experience with a tea and then avoided all the tea’s like it from that point on. But, I don’t think that’s the case.
I’ll bet you that most of us have a tea or two that we go blech…and that’s it for us. It could have been a Pu-erh, or a Lapsang Souchong, or a Black Tea or Rooibos. Whatever it was we didn’t like that one tea and mercy be, just like a child with cough medicine, I AIN’T GONNA DRINK ANY MORE!
My ’ain’t gonna drink any more’ was Keemun. I had one from a great tea company that curled my hair and my toes and made me shiver in a bad way. BLECH! No thank you please!

Time passed. Tic Toc, Tic Toc, Sun Up and Sun Down.

A little over a week ago, I was looking at Butiki Tea’s and saw the Keemun’s (shiver). I trusted Stacy’s taste in tea. Hum. “I’m no whimp, afraid of a tea. I should give Keemun Tea one more try,” I said to myself. So I ordered this Congou Keemun.

Whatever possessed me? But OK, I could do this.

I made a whole POT of tea, careful NOT to over-steep (3 minutes).
The liquor was dark and savory but sweet smelling without a heavy maltiness.
I opened the lid on the teapot and really smelled the tea full force. Wow! Gravy! Steak and mushrooms! I couldn’t wait to taste the tea!
My first gulp was sweet! That was unexpected! Then tingling, slightly malty, floral flavors rose from the savory base playfully weaving around melding and separating at the finish.
There was smoothness and no astringency in every phase of tasting, and the body of this tea was higher than medium weight(which was best for additions).

I added a bit of sweetening and cream which was not only delightful but the additions didn’t HIDE the flavors in the tea.

As the tea cooled, the floral taste became an almost bergamot flavor.

This experience was nothing like my first Blech Keemun many months ago. This Keemun tasted great!

Stacy and Butiki changed my mind!

The point, try another brand or another type of tea to see if you like it a different way. All Lapsang Souchongs and Pu-erh’s and Keemun’s are not equal. Find someone who you trust or who knows about that type of tea and ask for advice. Try again and see what you think.

I liked this Keemun! It’s complex and has some of the characteristics that I remember loving in wine (yes WINE) when I worked for Fortino’s Winery back in 2003. Savory mushroom and floral notes with levels of flavor that are earthy and bright at the same time. Really nice!

Thank you Stacy for this tea sample!

Who says you can’t have dessert before dinner?

Are you nuts? I’m nuts! Actually, I’m CRAZY about this new tea!

My favorite nuts to bake with are PECAN’S and my favorite syrup is MAPLE and my favorite beverage is TEA and you roll them all together in one cup and I’m done for!

Oh, this is buttery too.

The flavor is very good and sweet enough without adding anything,but I know Stacy. These darker tea’s are best with some raw sugar rocks. Yes! Really the best!

I’m going to try adding a little Lapsang Souchong on a cold day to this tea (make it smoke).
Oh, and drink it alongside a grilled cheese sandwich, YUM! How about alongside chicken…yes, really good….almost like chicken maple pecan waffles but without the calories.
Speaking of calories…I won a Pecan Pie contest during Black History Month (for my kids) and the calories, ugh!
Pecan pie flavor without the calories, brilliant! The prize goes to you Stacy and did I mention there are REAL pecans in this tea?!

You did an awesome job again Stacy girl. I think we girls need a night out! (OK some guys can come too…)

Another naturally flavored, handcrafted with love tea!

Mrs. Li’s Shi Feng Dragonwell Green Tea has arrived!

It seems like this tea present (more than purchase) will be arriving today (and the rest of this week) in households across North America and then around the World. ANTICIPATION!

I didn’t hesitate and went to the Verdant website, transferred all the information about the tea to Steepster so that we could review our Dragonwell together as it arrives.

Next, I read ‘How to Brew’ which I highly, HIGHLY recommend!

I chose the tumbler brewing method with 5oz. tea leaves, and luckily I had a gallon of Spring water left in the frig.
The quality of the water is very important with this particular tea.

With the tumbler method there was no straining of leaves, no timing of steepings and no worry. The process was very relaxed.

The leaves were jade green, very flat and had a fine white powder on them.

Following the brewing instructions carefully, I filled my tumbler and began blowing the leaves out of the way… sipping what looked like clear water.
That was fun.
I had to take off my glasses…the steam blinded me!

The sight of swirling green leaves and steam was beautiful.
Like the humid mist in the rain forest, I began to sip and think about green winged dragonflies, pure peridot colored leaves,
leaves swirling around like a school of fish.

I kept my eye on the level of the water in my tumbler and pushed the leaves away from my mouth by blowing on the leaves.
As the water level reached the lower third of the glass, I would fill it up again with water.
Blow on the leaves, sip, blow on the leaves, sip, pour in more water, blow on the leaves and sip.
That was all.

At times my technique of blowing leaves away and sipping had all the finesse of a whale sifting plankton. Some got caught in my mouth.

The flavor of the tea was savory soybean. This was the clearest, purest of pure flavors. No astringency, heat or bite. The sweetness was so subtle you hardly noticed.
The taste was soft but still rich and the mineral quality was like laying under a cool waterfall with the smell of wet granite and calcified rock.

As I continued pouring, the water turned pale green, and there was a bit of peppercorn heat.

My forehead became ‘tight’. Hum, I was aware that the tea was letting me know it’s potency. A well adorned object of beauty with hidden powers.

The last time I went swimming in the deep sea was 5 years ago in Kauai. The spot was off some enormous, jutting mountains (you might remember in ‘Lost’ or ‘Jurassic Park’) that go straight up and then straight down as jagged points back into the sea.
There in Kauai, the light penetrated the crystal water so deep that I watched small, flat, silver fish coming close to me then dart away. There was coral, giant marbled green rock…fern-like plants waving softly as though a gentle breeze was moving past them.

That is what I was thinking when I was drinking my tea. About the rocks, fish, sun and water, and the slow gentle movement of living things. I thought about me in the middle of it all floating.

When I finished my tea, I went to the cupboard, took down my small bottle of toasted sesame oil and put just a few drops on the tea leaves with a few grains of salt. (I could have added these to a salad but wanted to taste them as they were.)

They were delicious! Really, really good!

I can’t wait to hear the tasting adventures everyone else has with this tea. What fun, and what a pleasure to have this rare Dragonwell available to us.

This tea was elegant, refined and pure.

Thank you Mrs. Li for sharing your treasure with us!

Thank you Terri Harp Lady for this lovely tea sample!

My morning tea’s are usually strong. Regular favorites are a Keemun or Assam (Butiki), Laoshan or Breakfast Blend (Verdant), Black (Teavivre). Many times mornings are when I choose a Puerh for multiple steepings. Ah yes, I love rich tea!

Summer is fading fast into Fall. Yesterday it was 85 and today 66.
The temperature hops up, then down again but I’m beginning to notice some of the tree leaves starting to turn golden. Soon, the full leaf display of red, maroon, bronze and gold will flicker in the trees everywhere I look when driving around town. The snow geese will arrive in force! Great flocks of geese passing through, many thousands who stay and meld into the landscape with the great eagles, cranes and occasionally pelicans.

I looked at the end of my kitchen counter with ‘Tea to be reviewed’.
There was a packet of Peach Oolong that seemed curious. I’d never heard of such a thing.
I’d tasted an essence of peach while drinking tea but I never had tasted a real “flavored” peach tea before. I decided to try it out.

I used a Finum filter and brewed the tea 3 minutes. I poured half the tea in a tasting cup to drink plain, and the other half was kept in the mug and I sweetened that half.

The wet leaves were filled with little pieces of minced peach and large unfurled green Oolong leaves. The aroma was mild peach and vegital.

The color surprised me. The liquor was mauve. There’s something in the tea mixture that made the tea a blush mauve. (a purple very small little stick hard to see, maybe roselle)

First I tasted the unsweetened tea. It was slightly floral orchid tasting and sweet. As the tea cooled the sweetness increased and the slightly acidic fruit flavor of peach with the floral Oolong tea blended very well together.
The sweetened tea version was my favorite.
Let’s face it, who wants a half ripe peach? If you can control the sweetness and have a fully ripe, floral peach flavor…well…do it! (which is what I did!)
The combination of the floral orchid Oolong (which I must say was smooth and gentle) and the luscious ripe and juicy peach was perfect.

Now that I’ve tasted my first Peach Oolong…I want more.
I think Peach and Oolong go well together!

Thank you Terri Harp Lady for this sample tea (But just wait, you won’t be thanking me in a minute!)

I read your review about how this Diamond Anniversary of the Queen, delicious tea is boyfriend ’Tony’s’ FAVORITE! But it’s not your favorite is it miss Terri?!

I must say this…

I am with TONY!

Your BF and I might just make some sweet oooh’s and ahhhh’s over this good tasting bergamot orange tea! I didn’t even think it was bitter or too strong tasting! It was delicious!

So watch out! (Hee Hee)

Tell ol’ Tony not to worry,…but I love this tea.
My pot of tea was smooth and rich. Really rich in a way that didn’t have any of the floral cream flavor that some bergamot tea’s have. This was black tea, bergamot, orange and smoothness.
Entirely lovely!

I haven’t reviewed Laoshan Black in some time. I love this tea!

I’ve always been a bit of an experimenter, (or eccentric some would say). If I have an idea, instead of chuckling to myself and dismissing it, I sometimes carry it out.
Usually what I dream up is harmless.
For instance: One time I drove down Skyway (Paradise,CA) blowing bubbles from the Moon Roof of my Volkswagen Super Beetle. (It looked cool!)
But there have been more dangerous occasions.
Another example:
One time I thought I’d be slick and get a cheap haircut by going to a barbershop. The shop smelled of Ultra Sheen and Vitalis (This was when I was a Vista Volunteer in Philadelphia in the 60’s)
The barbershop had two swivel chairs placed on a platform towards the back of the room. I was seated in one chair facing the front door. There were old men sitting in their regular chairs and young men coming in to look at the dumb California girl in her mini-skirt getting a haircut. Clip, clip, clip.
When all of a sudden an angry man busted in the door with a gun!
I froze in my chair but didn’t change my expression one bit (you can’t look scared). I was a neon sign blinking ‘shoot me’ sitting in that chair! However, the gunman was looking for someone who wasn’t in the shop…(but I think I surprised him too and he shot me a shocked glance and left)! That shook me up for a day!

Why am I telling you these stories? (I wanted to tell a story as I always do for one thing…ha) I also wanted to say something about taking chances, doing something on a whim. (When I was young I didn’t think about the chances I was taking like I do now.)

Today while I was getting ready for Church I thought, “Hey, why don’t I bring my tea things with me and make some tea during brunch after the service?!” (That sounded brilliant!)
I gathered some Laoshan Black, a teapot and everything needed for brewing ‘proper tea’.

After Liturgy, I hurried to the Community Hall and heated water, and set up my serving spot. Everything was ready.
I poured water on the tea leaves, sat at the end of a long table and invited several friends to come have some tea with a stupid smile on my face I’m sure!

No response! The best laid plans of mice and men as they say…
I got a couple of comments from my two old Brooklyn friends…
“Wha? We got coffee hea.” Later Peter did come over and had some tea with me…(God Bless Peter!)
I offered tea to the young lady next to me. She commented that the tea didn’t need sugar or anything (points for her) and that it was obviously a good tea (more points).
A man looked at me like I was crazy when I offered him tea. (The devils work! (He was from Greece and unless this was Chamomile and he was sick…no chance he was drinking tea!).
Finally a younger man in his 20’s came by with a light in his eyes.
“TEA?”, he asked.
“Yes!”, I said with a smile.
I let him smell the leaves.
“Um, rich!”, he said. He liked my tea!
Then I opened a bag of Oolong that I had with me and he swooned.
“Look for me next week if you’d like to try some of this”, I said.

So week one of my whim…my experiment didn’t go over very well. But, all I need is to ‘convert’ one person, then another and soon…I’ll have a little group of tea drinkers on Sunday mornings!

One thing for sure, everyone looked surprised at the scent of the leaves, the smell of the wet leaves and the smooth cocoa flavor of the tea. It was as though a new door opened and they didn’t know how to process the experience. I remember when that happened to me the first time.

This was a whim and things don’t always turn out the way you think they will. At first I was a little disappointed, but I’m not giving up. I’ve decided to keep bringing my tea things and see how it goes.

My ‘Brew’ before scooting out the door to Church on a beautiful Sunday cool morning!

When I went online a few weeks ago to order a few Kally Tea’s, I had trouble with ordering off the website so I made a call and ordered over the phone. I have to say that the 30 minutes or more chatting with the owner was a fun time. He lives in the ‘High Desert’ in California and is passionate about his tea. I hope to see Kally next year at the Boulder Tea Festival!

I notice when smaller companies attempt interesting blends using real fruits, flowers, nuts and natural flavoring. When I can afford to, I give them a try and support their effort.

This Earl Grey was a pick for me because of the flowers, caramel and apples. I don’t drink much EG…so this combination sounded interesting and delicious.
The package recommended a 3 minute steep, but after steeping my tea for that amount of time, I would hold back a bit to 2.5 minutes if you plan to add cream and sugar. A 2 minute steep would be enough for plain tea.

Wheee this was bold. In fact, I had to add cream and sugar because the tea was almost bitter it was so strong.
There was the Earl Grey bergamot flavor which you look for and a hint of caramel apple. Instead of those flavors taking over and hiding the Earl Grey, those flavors are enhancements in the background.
Why even buy an Earl Grey then cover it up!

This tea has a nice flavor but you need to cut down the steep time. When I have this again, I’ll make any adjustments to my steeping and the rating.

Off and away!

I want to sing “We Are The Champions…My Friends…” twang, twang…
(repeat)…

I survived 2 grandsons overnight and slept on my couch fully clothed and not that comfortable. I watched a kid movie and liked it and kept the condo from loading up with discarded cups, plates and boy clothes. We had a grand time.
Ian drew me a picture of the word TEA in big letters with the T filled with tea leaves, the E had a leaf adornment and the A (a) looked like a teapot. Very cute.

After dropping the boys off at home, I stopped at “Sprouts” (natural foods) and picked up this LARGE canned tea from Denver. I was hot and tired and it was cold, inviting and local.

When I got home,the tea was good and cold. I opened the can and poured it into a big glass, threw in a little more ice…drank some and oh what a good cherry tea!

When I was a little girl, the journey from San Jose over the mountain to Santa Cruz Beach with my parents was HOT. No cars had air conditioning unless you were rich. Even then you didn’t turn on the air going up a hill.
We would sit in traffic winding slowly up and over the hills all hot, sweaty, and cranky. It was horrible. When we got to the Summit…we hit a wall of cool ocean air that refreshed us as we descended down towards the beach. Right at the bottom in Scotts Valley there was a series of 10 cent, ‘All You Can Drink’ fruit juice stands with huge crocks of iced juice. Apple juice, Orange, Peach, Apricot, Ciders, Plum, Pear, Grape and Cherry. Yes…Cherry!
Iced and cold Cherry! None of the juices were artificial or sweetened. All were icey cold and all you could drink for a DIME!

Wow, that was good! (I just got carried away with the memory!)
This is my first memory of choosing food or drink and mixing flavors. A foreshadow of things to come.

It’s hard to find cherry anywhere these days and real authentic cherry flavor is rarely done right.

This cherry tea was good. It didn’t have an artificial taste, and no sourness.
Just a really nice Cherry Tea flavor.

Good Morning!

My grandsons, Ian (11) and Donovan (9) spent the night and this morning they asked for TEA before anything else! (Well trained boys!) (Mom is away with 15 year old daughter Kiah learning about sustainable living. The 6 other kids have been farmed out to friends because dad has to work weekends.)
When I picked the boys up from school yesterday,we went straight to Happy Lucky’s for tea. This is expected. Tea with Grandma!

This review will be a combined one. We are writing it together.

All the boys have their own gonfu tea sets, and a collection of tea’s at home. (They admit to drinking tea more in Winter than Summer)

The mood this morning was snowboarding competition (Red Bull Snow Scrapers) on a sports channel. (not a bad backdrop for drinking tea)

Both boys were in PJ’s on the couch with trays and mugs. I fixed a pot of this tea and poured some for each boy and myself. We smelled the wet leaves.
Ian said the leaves smelled like Chai.
Donovan agreed the leaves smelled like spice.

We all began drinking tea which was lightly sweetened, and then we added a little cream. (This was the request of the boys)

I thought the tea tasted a little perfumy. This might have been the honey flakes…not sure. I had noticed big flakes of pistachio nuts in the dry leaf. At first I thought the tea tasted odd but later, I began to like the taste. The flavors reminded me of Italian and Middle Eastern Pastries.

Ian and Donovan said they liked the tea. Ian said the tea tasted like coffee and Chai (flowery sweet). (Who’s coffee had he been dipping into at home?)
Donovan said the tea tasted like the Assam Strong Malt tea that I let him taste at Happy Lucky’s yesterday (good call).

True ‘drinkability’ test? The boys finished the pot of tea!

I’m not sure why, but this was a quirky tea. A different taste.
If you get a chance to try this tea, don’t judge too quickly.
Think about Baklava with pistachio’s and honey that you find in authentic Middle Eastern shops. This tea tastes more like those than Biscotti I think.

Gotta go watch TV with the boys!

I am surprised to be the first reviewer of this tea (and pleased at the same time since I have great respect for Stacy and Butiki Tea!)

I first noticed this Black Tea at the end of the list of on the Butiki Website and the notes describing floral,chocolate and pecan flavors were intriguing. I’d also learned that Stacy likes to steep her tea for a long time…really long. I sometimes do the same (although she wins) and I thought that if this tea tastes that good with a longer steep, I wanted to have some for my own cupboard.

The leaves were small, curly and a 50/50 mix of gold and black leaves from Yunnan, China.

The steep time was 5 minutes

The comments for this tea were correct when they said the tea is mildly malty. I wouldn’t have guessed that. Usually chocolaty tea’s have a hefty amount of malt as a supporting base but not here, and there was a definite cocoa taste.
Honey flavor was easy to pick up but the nutty and floral taste came in after the tea had cooled and lingered in my mouth.

This was a smooth and mild black tea but one that wasn’t flat. The flavors were rich and thick enough for adding milk and sweetening which I did for my morning cup.

This day marks a year since I traveled with my granddaughter Schey to Alaska, Canada and Washington State. Today was our last “Cruise” day before a week in Washington. We were heading to beautiful Victoria, B.C. (Wow did Victoria look beautiful at night!Lit up like Christmas in September!) and believe it or not, our two week trip was sunny!
What a wonderful time!
Every day there was a ‘tea’ on board ship. We went to a big Indonesian Tea one afternoon, and in Victoria we went to the Empress and bought more Tea. I bought some Canadian Maple Tea in another shop.
Now remember, I had never heard of Steepster. I had never tasted ‘loose leaf tea’. I was almost blind because I needed operations on both my eyes. EVERYTHING was different in my life a year ago!

This morning when I drink this Butiki Tea and discribe how it looks…I can SEE it! It’s beautiful. And I am writing a review on
Steepster with all my new friends! (Unbelievable!)
I am reviewing tea and enjoying it with a knowledge that makes me laugh…I mean…how can this be? It’s been less than a year since I’ve been on Steepster!

For me to say, “I think this is a grand Black Tea” with some knowledge about it is humbling. I’m fortunate that everyone on Steepster has taught me so much (including Stacy) and shared in swaps fine tea’s so that I know that this is indeed a fine tea.

Awesome!

Oh my? I’m the first to review this Mate!

Yesterday was the first real rain in 70+ days on the Frontrange. It’s about time! I can’t remember the last time the temperature dipped below 90 degrees.
The refreshing rain and dip to the high 60’s was similar to the feeling you get when you jump into a cool pool on a hot day.

Today the air was scrubbed clean and the sun was out, drying up the last little puddles of water. No forecast of heat to come (Amen to that!), but a real Fall cool-down in the 80’s then 70’s and next month 60’s and the big drop off to Winter and snow. Growing up in California there was no anticipation of Season’s. I enjoy my new life with the definition of time passing linked to weather like a seasonal quilt made by Currier and Ives.

I had one last Whispering Pines Tea from my order to review. One nice caffeinated Mate that I’d been waiting for the right morning to try. The tea matched the weather and my mood so I boiled the water and steeped the tea 5 minutes as directed.

I was impressed! I didn’t expect to enjoy this herbal tea as much
as I did!
The ginger wasn’t bitter, not too strong or too weak either. It tasted just right. The same with the lemon. Not overpowering or bitter.
There was a buttery creaminess that blended well with the lemony ginger flavor. It was very smooth and gentle. And of course (this being Whispering Pines Tea Company) there was the slightest hint of smoke.

When the Mate cooled, the ginger heat intensified which was nice. Other than that, I liked this blend and would drink it on many a chilly Fall or Winter morning!

A tasting note, wrapped in a story, wrapped in an event.
This may be my most difficult review to date. It will be off the cuff, unbridled and from my heart. If this is not to the liking of everyone, there are other reviews and no need to read mine. I’m not preaching my religion either, but it is who I am and I’m not ashamed.

How do I write a review when there has been another tragic death on a day when we are still mourning the losses of 9-11?
In my own lifetime the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Vietnam and Desert Storm, bombings and kidnappings of U.S. Citizens. I’ve learned that you can’t ever let the bad things that happen in life win by turning you into a hateful, bitter person.
Life goes on. There’s always good in the World even though good news doesn’t get much time in the Press.

This Tea and My Story

The Oolong tea leaves were so large (and almost black) that I held them in my hand, juggling an amount that was almost 1.5TB. That was just enough for the Finum tea basket and mug method of brewing.

The steepings are so short, 3-5 seconds and increasing 1 second each steep, making sure to control the timing.

I brought my electric kettle filled with spring water to the boil, rinsed the leaves once and began the first steep.
The aroma of the wet leaves were like roasted short ribs with caramelization on them and everything! (Now of course I wanted some ribs…they smelled so good!)

I put my nose down close to the liquor and inhaled.
The scent was like incense in an old Church when the wood has been permeated with candle soot and resinous incense.

Then I took a sip of tea, curious about how this incense scent would taste.
The flavor was sweet deep mango and floral incense (but not bitter), vibrating in my mouth with intensity. I was having a difficult time pinning down the floral notes because the complexity and power of the tea was distracting me. There was great robust flavor and smooth softness at the same time, then a cool camphor-like vapor, arriving after some time of contemplation.
The scent and flavor made me think of the All Night Vigil during Holy Week (Easter). I signed up to read a portion of the Psalms usually at 1 or 2AM.
I entered the Church which was completely dark other than 1 Vigil light on the Altar and 1 light on the Readers Stand. The whole Church was filled (even petals on the floor) with the scent of roses, gardenias, carnations, laurel and flowers from services held every day during Holy Week. And of course INCENSE! (All incense is natural such as the one this tea reminds me of, ancient Ethiopian Frankincense…which is in little light pinkish pellets.)

As I would stand reading the Psalms until the next person arrived, all was quiet and intensely fragrant. My mouth was reading out loud, but my heart was praying. It was tranquil and beautiful.

When I was drinking this tea through several additional steepings, and began to taste a little of the cinnamon flavor (not sweet cinnamon or bitter but the dry kind), fuzzy textured fruit and floral honey, I could not stop remembering standing in the church smelling the incense and flowers.

The Vigil wasn’t mournful. It was hopeful.
With every tragic event that has happened and will continue to happen in the world, the choice we each have is to be angry, seek revenge, be depressed or, be wise and love each other in the face of it all.

I pray that we are wise enough to love each other.

http://flic.kr/p/dadfAs (Here you can see some of the flowers and on the floor)
http://flic.kr/p/cqY2rG (the outside of the Church)
http://youtu.be/iCgIswP7jPY Music also

Thank you Dhart1214 for this sample tea!

Oh well now. I have tried all along to look for the good in every tea I drink.
Looking, Looking, Looking…

I won’t rate this tea. I can’t. For some reason the black tea makes my mouth feel like cat fur and the vanilla tastes strange.

I’m so sorry. I’ve failed to find anything good other than the temperature of the tea.

The last time I tasted a darjeeling at Happy Lucky’s it was the last picked darjeeling of Autumn, after the Monsoons. It was very rich and tasty.
While I was sitting at the bar tasting that tea, someone mentioned another one…this Monsoon Darjeeling that I hadn’t heard about, and I decided that it would be my next pot of tea on my next visit.

I hadn’t forgotten the name or season. I’d become aware through trial and error that the later darjeelings interest me more than the muscat, first flush ones that everyone else raves about.

I’m all for the gypsy darjeelings cloaked in wet leaves, saturated with a slight smokiness and dripping with the fruits of a golden Fall compote.

I call this gypsy for the brisk dryness that is not like linen but more like the top of your hand across velvet. The tea tastes almost peachy and nutty…then floral, changing to brown sugar toffee. No, this isn’t a darjeeling that is too sweet, but is pleasant.

I sat and cupped my hands looking at the honey liquor, bending over my cup and going back to the sweet fruity/floral aroma over and over again with great pleasure.
Surely, I thought, this tea would become astringent as it cools. It must. But, as I waited that prediction didn’t ring true, I was wrong and glad to be incorrect. No tannin or acid or turning into meh’ as we like to say here on Steepster.

I do like this Monsoon and the other late darjeeling tea’s. They appeal to me because of my love of darker tea’s with malt,smoke and rich complexity.

I remember that today is 9/11 and I will remember to serve others in memory of them and all those innocents who suffer in the World (I know I’m one of many who do the same)!