Ewa

Trying to give this another go, hopefully without the weird chalky taste this time.

The chalky taste has definitely receded but, while tasty enough, this tea just doesn’t do much for me. Now, I’ve only been to Paris once in my life and most of that time I was afflicted with jetlag induced nausea, so I can’t say it was all that fun. I HAVE, however, seen the movie French Kiss a bunch of times and I enjoyed THAT although now that I think about it neither Meg Ryan nor Kevin Kline exhibited any sign of jetlag whatsoever. The bastards. In any case, nothing about this tea really screams Paris to me, but I have no idea what would so let’s set that issue aside.

I guess all I can really say is that this tea just doesn’t “click” with me. It happens!

Finished off my sample of this for my morning tea . Of course, I say morning but since it was the weekend it was more like eleven or so. Mmmm, weekend. It was pretty much down to this and the blue flower for what I wanted more of and, while this is good and interesting and nice, I think I like the blue flower bette for tasting how I want an Earl Grey to taste.

Nice morning tea though!

Welp, here it is, the long-awaited DoMatcha-tini trial!

Went through two iterations of this and I am just going to have to pronounce it meh. I mean, maybe it’s my not particularly rad drink mixing skills (it probably is that), and maybe I’m just not that big of a fan of vodka-base drinks (also quite possible, I’m more of a gin person) but I didn’t really feel that the ingredients fit together particularly well (ok, mostly it was the cognac) I assume that what is going on here with the creme de cacao and cognac is an attempt to create a smooth alcohol combination with a vodka base in order to complement the smooth creaminess of the matcha but…I’m just not feeling it. I think if I were to make continued attempts at this (and I might, because I kind of like the idea), I’d probably skip the cognac altogether.

I also tried this with preblending the matcha in water and with just dumping the matcha straight in, but neither attempt really seemed to result in the matcha really settling in with the other ingredients. There wasn’t that magical alchemy that goes one when I mix matcha with latte mix and let it sit for a while, or the nice melding that occurred with the juice. Also, clearly I didn’t buy enough alcohol for this because this note is waaaaay too coherent, and that’s Just Wrong.

After all that, I guess I should end with a caveat that I’m not exactly the most trusted source when it comes to mixed drinks since my drink of choice (as implied above) is the venerable gin and tonic. According to…most people that I meet this makes my tastes pretty suspect.

Why, yes, I AM trying to catch up on tasting notes that I’ve skived off on over the past day or so, why do you ask?

This was today’s mid-morning/lunch tea. Still fantastic! I just love the complexity of the taste and the fun of teasing out which parts correspond to what word in the tea’s name. I used too much water on the second steeping and got a kind of washed out flavor, though :(

It has become harder and harder of late to pick which dessert-like tea I want to drink! I went with this last night, but only after debating really hard about how much I want more Florence/Coconut Cream Pie.

Mmm, almondy baked goods goodness.

Backlogging from yesterday.

Took an iced matcha latte with me to a lecture. VERY effective at keeping me awake (not to rag on the lecturer but it was kind of..disjointed) and focused on figuring out how exactly idolatry, orientalism, and the debate between monotheism and polytheism fit together. (I figured it out eventually, but only at the very end).

Edit: Oh yah, I have bought the necessary booze for a matcha-tini, so I should have my (hopefully coherent :P) impressions of that up tonight!

Morning tea time! I think I’m once again leaning back toward the Scottish Breakfast now, this one’s just too “nice.” (I need a rude tea in the morning)

Immediately on opening the sample bag I was assaulted by the fragrance of…vanilla? Well, I thought it was vanilla, I guess it must have been the caramel. I only remembered that this tea was supposed to have sesame in it, and had forgotten about the caramel, so I was a little weirded out.

After pouring the water in, the vegetal smell of green tea became much stronger – it actually combined with the smell of the caramel and kind of came off matchalatte-ish. Interesting. The taste is very caramel-y with the toasted sesame coming through in the taste of the green tea itself. That is, to make an attempt at being more coherent: I taste two layers, the first is the caramel and the second is sesame-green, with the sesame coming out more and the caramel retreating as the tea cools.

It’s a very pleasant combination, resulting in a fairly subtle sweet tea that doesn’t give me the cognitive dissonance that Golden Moon’s Sugar Caramel Oolong imparted. I DO feel a little as if the identity of the green tea base is somewhat lacking, but on the other hand maybe it IS there, supporting the other two flavors in its own diffident way.

I could definitely see instating this as a staple green tea – although maybe after I destroy the Adagio spiced green tin that I already have.

Was more generous with the leaves this morning to try and get some more character out of this tea. It worked, the earl greyness was much more dominant and the rosebuds were much more present in this very light kind of weird tangy fruity form around the edges. This earns it a rating move up to the smiley face, but it’s still a little subtle for me, I am thinking.

I mean, I know it’s supposed to be a secret, but if it’s very nearly a secret from the person drinking as well…I’m just not seeing the point.

So, basically ever since I figured out how to make this to my liking in latte form, I can’t get enough of it. It just works with the latte mix soooo well! I’m on my second cup tonight and have to keep reminding myself that I shouldn’t feel guilty because it’s fat free…

slowly, but surely, the rating inches up….

So, on the second steep, I realized that the texture of this tea sort of reminds me of that powdered fiber stuff that you dissolve in hot water. I am not sure what to make of this.

So I have no idea how this blend works. It’s a really fine powder that smells very strongly of cinnamon and just a little of plum and I guess that’s all that’s in it? What exactly is this powder made of? I have no clue!

Anyway, the fineness of the powder means that I have to use a sieve to pour this since the insert in my teapot is not really up to catching it. Not a huge deal, but it also means that I have substantially less control over how long it brews since taking out the insert does nuffing. Hopefully it is as forgiving as other posts have said.

At first I found this tea unremarkable. Easily sipped while doing something else, but – on thinking about it, this is quite a nice trait for a tea to have. Sometimes it’s nice to just have a tea you don’t have to concentrate on. (Damning with faint praise, I know) The actual tea is quite heavily cinnamony, but when you take the time to think about it, there is an underlying fruity sweetness that must be the plum. I have to say I quite like it and, despite the fact that it smelled quite strong in the bag, it is not overwhelming. In fact, I was kind of worried that this would be too celestial seasonings-y most of which teas I find to be overwhelming (not to mention their tendency to stick hibiscus in everything).

I’ll have to think some more about whether I want more of this, but the fact that, while thinking, I am steadily sipping this down is probably a good sign for it. I DO think this would be great for winter – visions of sugarplums and all that. Not that I know what a sugarplum is. When I think about them, I envision plums dipped in chocolate, which is a very popular Polish candy (that I’m not all that fond of, but that’s another story).

Second steeping – unfortunately, the weird chalky taste is still around and, with the fruit coming to the fore, I am definitely starting to see why someone would get cherry cough syrup out of this.

Things don’t look too good for this tea!

Moar experimentation with Matcha!

I tried “Master Handa’s Juicy Matcha Recipe,” which is the first one on the DoMatcha page here: http://domatcha.com/recipes/
Now, the recipe states that you pour the matcha on top of a thick juice (I used Odwalla’s Mango Tango) in order to achieve a lovely two-layered effect maybe with a little path running down the middle (a path! a path!) Wait sorry, wandered into a Monty Python and the Holy Grail sketch there. Just a two-layered effect with no path. Now the whole “achieving layers” thing is actually a bartending skill that takes some practice (or so I’m told) and therefore I failed at it miserably, achieving more of an “impressionist painting complete lack of” layer effect. So…I ended up just mixing them together.

The result: A fruity, puddingy, really fresh tasting concoction that I wholeheartedly approve of. The matcha has really smoothed out the tanginess of the Odwalla, while bringing a cool, refreshing taste that I am really tempted to use the word “verdant” to describe. It would go really well with strawberries I am thinking and now I am bummed because I totally could have gotten the strawberry Odwalla instead. Next time, definitely!

This is also really filling. I was kind of wanting a snack before, but not anymore! Man, if I could afford the Odwalla juice on a regular basis I would totally have this for breakfast everyday. But alas, no.

Next up: DoMatcha-tini! (well not RIGHT next, but I’ve gotta admit I’ve been really curious about it :D )

Yeah, so I didn’t set my alarm and slept right through class. Whoops! I’m pretty sure it’s my subconscious’s way of telling me not to go to bed so late, so it’s early bedtime for me tonight!

On the plus side this meant that I had time to properly brew something, so I picked this. The leaves smell fascinating a mixture of fruity and creamy – such a weird contrast to the not even there smell of Sally’s Secret. I’m not really getting anything in the way of cough syrup Stephanie but then those cough syrups tend to smell overridingly of chemicals to me.

What I AM getting is this weird chalky quality in the actual drink. Not a huge fan of chalk – especially in my drinks. I mean, it’s useful for writing on a blackboard, but I don’t want to be ingesting it. I wonder if that’s the creamyness? I can’t really sense the bergamot either, besides a general fruityness, but I guess it’s just blending in with all the other flavors so I am not really that bummed. The quality of the smell also changed when I infused it – now I DO get more cherry out of it – or at least a strong sour fruity smell.

This is quite tasty other than the chalky thing, and I’ll probably get more if subsequent attempts prove it to be an aberration.

Edit: Oh yeah, forgot to mention the weird underlying spicy note – considering that I also had this with Sally’s Secret, I’m going to assume that is part of the Bergamot-ness?

I am not gonna lie, I was full to the brim with admiration for the tastiness and awesomeness of this tea. It smells DIVINE, it tastes amazing and it is lovely and awesome, although I’m gonna have to find some Toppo and eat it before I can confirm the resemblance. It is a sacrifice, but one I am willing to make.

Anyway, I was gonna wax poetic about every aspect of this tea and how its subtlety was a lovely change form other dessert teas I have tried and how I have to buy a whole thing of it right NAO. But…I got into a particularly bad pug and not even the amazingness of Florence can counter the frustration and general put-upon-ness I am feeling right now. AND the worst part is that I am blowing it way out of proportion because a stupid offhand remark from one of the worst offenders happened to evoke an…unpleasant memory.

I sulk now. But Florence is delicious!

(Note: you will never see me give out a 100 because I will always be all like “but what if some even MORE awesome tea comes up later? what will I give THAT?” Yeah, it’ll probably never happen, but WHAT IF IT DOES?)

Yay! Harney and Sons samples came in today! I think at this point I have hyped Florence up so much in my head that there is no way that it can ever live up to it, so I’m putting off trying it for now. (maybe later on today, although I have to admit, ever since figuring out how to properly make 52 teas’ coconut cream pie, I’ve been kind of craving it)

The idea of adding rosebuds to Earl Gray appeals to me a great deal, it seems that, like with Earl Grey Blue Flower, it would add another dimension to the Earl Gray that would allow me to indulge in my favorite tea but with some variation. Now I associate rose with a pretty strong scent and flavor, but this tea seems to be lacking both. Perhaps it’s just that I’m eating curry and this tea is too delicate for it, but I am not really getting ANYTHING out of it except an odd spiciness.

As it cools, I start to get both aroma and flavor, so perhaps I was just being too impatient. At the moment, it is being a pretty standard earl grey – although the spiciness is making me suspicious that there is secretly lavender inside. There IS something else there, but I can’t quite pin it down. Is it fruity? Is it floral? Is it both? Is it neither? Dunno!

The tea grows on me as I drink it, but the flavor continues to be a coy little bugger. My mum wanted to know if it was any good since she’s also been looking for some variations on the theme of Earl Gray, but right now I don’t know what to tell her. I’m glad the sample has enough for several cups!

Next time hopefully I’ll remember to try and make this stronger.

Ahh, I think with all the flavored tea that I’ve drunk recently, I have lost sight of the attractiveness of black tea and Assam Melody is a great tea to remind me of it. Smooth and sweet, this is tea unornamented. And sometimes, that’s really what you want.

Also, it’s very forgiving – I think I left the teabag in for, like, 20 minutes.

So Tuesdays are pretty much the worst day of the week for me. I start class at 9 and basically have it in some form until 6 (with an hour long break here and there) and the last class is the one where we talk about Foucault ad infinitum. So, rather than go for a strong pick me up tea today, I wanted something tasty and flavored to give me a bit of comfort as I thought about the rest of the day. As an added bonus I was able to finish off my sample of this in anticipation of the arrival of my Harney and Son order!

The more I drink it the more I like this Earl Grey. It seems to have just the right ratio of aroma to tea, and it the floral addition gives it a nice twist on the Earl Grey theme. Think it needs to go on my shopping list!

$&^%$&%$^ Mondays.

I was honestly in such a haze this morning that I have no idea if I actually grabbed this or if it was some other tea. I think it was this. Clearly the tea itself didn’t make an impression on me, I just downed it and hoped that it would keep me conscious through class. Unfortunately, it did too good of a job and I was unable to indulge in a post class nap ;_;

Warmed up the latte mixture for this this morning and increased the amount of Matcha that I used. At first I thought I’d STILL gotten the proportions wrong because the flavors just weren’t blending properly, but then, I set it aside for a while (so I could concentrate on other people’s tea notes) and now it’s perfect! The tea and the latte mix have blended together really well and created this absolutely amazing undertone of I don’t even know what but I like it.

It’s lovely and warming, too (having one of those chilly, foggy Santa Barbara days).

Risked this in the evening. Decided to try less leaf (I usually do a heaping teaspoon, but went with a flat one) and to be more exact about the 8 oz water recommended per teaspoon on the sachet. I then added about 2 oz (this I eyeballed at about 1/4 of what was currently in the cup) of the latte mixture.

Success! Once again, actually paying attention to things produces results! It’s amazing how often that works.

I am also somewhat weirded out because this is basically a tea that I don’t want to drink without milk or milk like thing (fear my double negative!), where usually I am against milk in my tea at all!

Had this this morning with chocolate chip pancakes and bacon in order to scientifically test the following question:
Will delicious breakfast tea detract/distract from delicious breakfast (or vice versa)?

Answer: No. Everything is just delicious together and it is awesome.

Added some of the latte mix to this for a late night treat. Very nice! It got all pudding-y :D