Calla

So tonight, I decided to try out a tea that I purchased to try out from the tea festival. This one was from my earl grey fun pack that I got for 9$, such a great deal:) . This earl grey- inspired tea is a blend of white and green tea.

Dry Leaf: mixed colours of green, purple-blue, and yellow. I like the smell, nice and flowery.

Steeped: More of a citrusy smell when boiled water interacts with the leaves. The water is light in colour, a nice green-yellow tinge. I enjoyed the taste of this, it was like having a light earl grey. I was thoroughly impressed with this, I could see myself buying more of this in the future.

So this is only the second-ever pu er that I have ever tried out. I bought it the week of Valentines, but didn`t try it till last weekend. It was date night and this was my hubby`s choice of tea to drink, and I was glad to try a new tea, I have so many still to try out! I enjoyed it, it was nice and earthy, with the berry tones. I would try this one again:)

So I brought this along on the trip as well, another faithful companion. Turns out, my dad LOVES this one. He decided one morning to give my teas a sniff teast and he passed this one. So I made a pot for him and he liked it. No complaints there, I am always glad to share my love of tea.

Dry Leaf: It is nice to see the berries, juniper and blueberries along with what looks to be kind of cranberry like, nestled among the black tea leaves. It also has such a fruity and inviting smell.

Steeped: It makes a nice dark colour. The smell is sweet and fruity, and makes me happy. This sweetness holds the black tea flavor at bay. Not any overly overpowering flavors at work here.

I had this tea accompany me for my classes today:)

So, always a classic with me, I brought it along with me on my family vacation. It was a good companion whilst I was being a ski bum, hiding in the chalet and reading all day. what an awesome day: tea and reading, it`s love!

So I decided that it was time to get this into my collection, so I got 50grams, yay!!! I got it on Valentines, as I thought it appropriate, seeing how it is ever so chocolatey a tea. I also packed this on my trip to vermont and enjoyed it with my breakfast one morning. I am so glad to be able to taste tea again. order had been restored !

So it was around Valentines and I realized that I needed some valentines-themed tea, to get my self into the spirit. So I went into DT on vday becuase they had a promo, spend 25$, get a sample of tea. So I went for it, this was one of my purchases. They were also sampling it that day, so I got to try it out before buying. I was intrigued. I had soem today also, with a morning snack.

So I had this when I went to Vermont. It was in a health food store at the cafe area. I was in the mood for a tea and have heard about this company. The cafe had many selections and I was deciding between this one and the earl greyer, I`ll try that one sometime in the future. It had a good taste and I was able to use the bag a second time. I would be tempted to buy a tin of this in the future.

I also picked up a bag of this and had it later on Monday Evening. Ps. I learned not to smell the tea before letting the tea cool a bit, I kind of burnt my nose smelling this tea.

Dry Leaf: smells kind of like clove, and hints of flower.

First Steep: Woodsy smells, as well as a smokey smell. The colour is very light. It is a lighter version of earl of lemo, it has lots of hints of taste that I just couldn’t name, which made it very mysterious and intriguing. The taste is delicate and pleasant.

Second Steep: The same colour as the first steep. Woodsy scent, very naturesque. Slight less smokey scent, it was more muted this time. The taste is still delicate and sort of fruity. It was stil a little confusing and intruiging. It was kind of a sultry feeling. There could have been kind of a orangey smell, but not too sure.

So I had the vanilla oolong from David’s tea in December, but it was replaced by the vanilla orchid, so I decided to try it out. And it is also part of my goal to expand my knowledge of wulong teas. So I stopped by DT yet again on Monday morning and got this tea.

First Steep: On the bus ride to campus this tea drove me nuts with it’s enchanting and creamy/ vaniilla-y smell. The scent of this tea is so rich and inviting. The taste is light and creamy, kind of ice cream-like. It has a rich dark green, almost light brown colour. The taste is smooth and not too overpowering. It is a very cheerful drink.

Second Steep: My friend was with me at this steeping. She said it smelt like apricots. To me it was very much the same as the first steep in terms of smell and taste.

On Sunday, after brewing the Countess of Seville, I decided to brew the Jasmine Pearls. The jasmine scent os prevalent and the water clour is a light green/white.

The flavour is light and delicate, yet strong and caressing taste. The taste is very pure.

So on Sunday, I decided to have this tea, and my hubby-to-be also chose this tea. I decided to have more practice with the gaiwan, so I steeped this tea in it.

Dry Leaf: Straight, long flat leaves, with orange peels and cornflowers.

Steep: The wet leaves have an orangey, almost lemony smell. It was nice to watch the leaves expand. The taste is citrusy and light, and it is also playful and light.

So I had this tea last Saturday ( the 26th), I went to DT again becuase I wanted to try another oolong. This is the one I passed up the other day. This one had a creamy/woodsy taste, so it was similar to the tung ting, but it was also different.

So I had this tea Friday ( the 25th) in the afternoon. I decided to steep this tea in my new gaiwan. The leaves have a grassy, almost hay-like smell.

First Steep: full body. Greenish colour, yet it is light. There is some sediment, which adds to the grassy flavour and aroma of the tea.

Second Steep: same as the first, except a little lighter.

Third Steep: light colour, almost no flavour.

I had this tea last Friday ( the 25th) alongside my breakfast.

Dry Leaf: Green and White tea with lemon peels and freeze-dried yoghurt. Usually there is a fragrant yoghurty taste, but it was light on friday morning. For breakfast I used my teal forlife tepot which makes about one and a half cups, depending on the size of the mug. It’s perfect for having a small amount of tea, but still wanting more than just one cup.

Steep: Greenish-white colour. Hints of fruit in the taste. Green tea influneces the colour of the tea, though it is a white tea. The flavours of the tea were very sublte that morning, perhaps I didn’t use enough leaves to get a stronger steep.

So I went to David’s Tea by myself after classes on thurs Jan, 24. I decided that I should try out some oolong tea. I’ve had two samples before, the skinny and the vanilla oolong, but I wanted to try a stragiht tea to get it’s flavour. So the nice DT person helping me let me smell this one, the milk oolong and another straight oolong that I cannot remember the name of.

This tea won for the evening and I decided to get it in my new bodum travel mug. I really love this mug becuase you can see the tea while it is steeping, which is very entertaining on a bus ride home, and while you are waiting for the water to cool. For all the the steeps, the leaves were left in the whole time, as it was in a travel mug. I was pretty impressed with this tea.

First Steep: Judging from the colour, I assumed that this was more of a green oolong, as it was light green and the leaves EXPLODED when touching hot water. What I mean is they went from these tiny ball-like shapes to fully open leaves, taking up a lot of space in the travel mug. It was a beautiful sight to see. The taste was almost sweet, with kind of a woodsy/earthy-like. There was also a warm, nutty felling and taste to it. The aroma of the tea was roasted, or toasty. There is a lingering flavour that holds onto you and leaves you wanting another sip. Leaving in the leaves did make the last bits of this steep a little bitter, so I didn’t drink it all. I still think that it is a good tea to drink on the go.

Second Steep: The leaves expanded even more with this steep. Its fun to see the bodum press compress the leaves. The colour is similar to the first steep, yet perhaps a little bit darker. There was some concentrated water from the first steep. The flavour is also very similar to the first steeping, only is it slightly changed. Fuller body, it is a very smooth tea. The flavour still lingers, but not as much as the first steep.

Third Steep: Fully flavoured, light taste. Losing body. lighter colour, and the scent of the tea is getting faint.

Fourth Steep: Almost all of the colour is gone so I judged this to be the final steep. The taste in this steep is very muted, due to multiple steepings, but I still quite liked it. The taste in this steep has become sweeter and more embracing. Thee taste of this final steep was also very light.

On Wednesday the 23, I decided to have some Genmaicha on the go. I like the kusmi version becuase the leaves look so fresh. The smell is also not as strong as other genmaichas I’ve had. The flavour is so fresh and light, which I find is characteristic of Kusmi teas.

So last Tuesday, on the 22, I had the last bag of this tea. Now I just have it in loose leaf form. This bag I’ve been saving for quite a while. I think it was exposed to too much air becuase usually the bag holds the smell of the tea quite nicely. This time I could barely smell the tea.

First Steep: SO the first steep, as I said above, the smell was very muted and so was the flavour. I only left the bag in for about five minutes, so that could have been a factor too.

Second Steep: I left the bag in this time. And it made a difference. The smell was still muted, but the flavour was much stronger than the first steep.

Last tuesday, during tutoring, I had this tea. Hooked from drinking it at DT, I decided to open up my sample that came with my boxing day tea order. I brewed it for the day and saved the other half for later in the evening. I was seduced by this lovely tasting and smelling tea. I really need to add this to my collection with a few other teas on my shopping list.

So, because I liked this tea so much from when I got it for my sister, I decided to go out and get some for myself. I made this tea monday january 21 for on the go for school. I don’t recommend doing this as I couldn’t throw away the leaves after steeping. It kind of got really strong. Even though it was strong, the nice light jasmine flavour came in, but it was almost completely overpowered by the bitterness of over-steeping white tea.

So this a new fave of mine. I think this is the chocolatey fix that I need to have once in a while. The flavour is so rich and smooth that every sip down to the last one is enjoyable. This was the tea of the day sample when I visited DT… I still don’t have it in my collection.

I had this tea for breakfast on Sun Jan 20. This is one of my fave breakfast teas to have. I love the citrusy and playful taste that this tea has to offer.

So this is a fave of mine and also a fave of my hubby-to-be. So I occasionally let him choose and mostly green and fruity wins his heart. We had this tea Sun Jan 20 to watch a movie at home. I love snacking on the little treats in this tea perhaps a bit too much. Oh, well, this tea is just a classic with me and him. Such happiness comes when this tea is brewed. From the smell to the taste, this tea is just amazing.

So this tea is from Friday January 18. I stopped by David’s Tea and was looking for something new to try. Just like the title suggests, it is a fantasy. The hint of berry and the kind of chocolatey taste was superb. I always love the amazing recommendations I get from the lovely DT staff.

So this is a tea note from Wednesday January 16. I am behind due to being so busy… but I am catching up. So I had this tea on Wednesday because I think it travels great. That day, we were in my film class wrapping up our first movie and discussing its themes and such. Anyways, three wishes always makes me relaxed and comfortable. So it made my class a good one.