chrine

Backlogging. Two nights ago.

Woke up in the middle of the night. Couldn’t get back to sleep. Drank a mug of this and read. I always forget this tea is more minty than chamomile. There is a distinctive spearmint but the chamomile and other herbs bring it back from being overwhelmingly spearmint.

Backlogging. A couple of days ago.

My first cold brewed tea! I made mention a few tealogs back that I had set it up and put it in the fridge. It was a success, especially given that I wasn’t very fond of the tea I used in the first place.

1st steep: approx. 24 hours.
Light! Lemony! Green! Refreshing! In that order. Way better than I’d been expecting.

2nd steep: over 2 days.
This steep never really colored up so I left the leaves in until I drank it. It was cool water with a hint of lemon sencha. Had I more of this tea to cold brew again, I would only do one steep with it.

I am planning on cold brewing tropical sencha or cherry sencha or earl grey next. How well this cold brew went has lead me to wanting to cold brew again more.

And lastly, I am decupboarding this tea. I was thinking about bumping the rating from 35 (right in the middle of the meh range, 30-40) to 40 (on the low end of the drinkable range, 40-50) since I liked the cold brew. But overall, I just wasn’t fond of this tea hot. I didn’t like the way it tasted (roasted lemon) and rarely found myself reaching to drink it. Thankfully, it was a 1oz sample bag from the farmer’s market so there was not much of it to get through.

Backlogging. A couple of days ago.

I had an itch, scratchy, swollen throat that day from allergies and the heat. So I made an afternoon cup of Ceylon with honey. Tea with honey always sounds good to me when feeling any allergy-head-type symptoms.

1st steep: 4 min.
I used less honey when the Ceylon this time. A much better match. Still more honeyed tasting but the tea strong up nicely in the background.

2nd steep: 5 min 30 sec. Some fresh leaf.
I have another cup almost immediately after I finish the first one. It’s just as enjoyable.

Early evening, my husband wakes up before he goes on night shift. He asks me to make him some of what I’ve been having. He drinks one steep. So…

3rd steep: 6 min.
I add my husband’s leaf and just a bit of fresh leaf, thinking I’ll get a weak but drinkable cup from it. I don’t add honey this time. Wow, is it strong. There is a strength/roughness on the end of each sip that I’m not sure that I like but think I do. It adds character to this tea. I might try more leaf and/or time next time with the tea and see if I can find this deliberately.

4th steep: 6 min.
Based on the strength of the last steep, I know I can get another steep out of these leaves. I add no new tea. I get a cup of normal strength. I can still taste a bit of the end taste if I look for it.

The results of the steeps after leaving the tea leaves in the fridge overnight. I’m not sure I liked doing that. Although, I wouldn’t rule out doing it again completely if the need arose again. It did not come out as good as resteeping the leaves straight through. But this set of steeps over the course of two days didn’t come out as good as the first set I had. So I think it is not having left the tea leaves in the fridge over night for sure. I think it is not the tea either. I think it’s likely me, possibly my tired, sometimes allergy head. But I still liked this tea this time.

3rd steep: 3 min 30 sec.
Light. Not too much flavor. Result of coming out of the fridge? I did let them come to room temperature first before steeping.

4th steep: 3 min 45 sec.
Young pale yellow sweet hay again. Good.

5th steep: 4 min.
Tasted watery when first sipped right after steeping. Put aside to cool a bit and see if the flavor came out. (This tea seems to have more taste when cooled just a bit after steeping but still hot.) Ended up absentmindedly drinking the cup and not noticing if it still tasted like tea or had gone to watery. Think it’s likely it still tasted like tea or it would have jumped out at me that it was watery. Will try a fifth steep again, possibly more time if not strong enough. The cup did have color.

Overtired and feeling a bit yucky last night, I decided to heck with being able to concentrate and enjoy this tea the second time I made it (as I didn’t get to resteep it as much as it might have been last time). I wanted a green tea and this one edged ahead in this wanting. Very yum. I enjoyed it and I glad I decided on it and went with it. I did only steep two times and since it was late at night, I did something I’ve never done before and put the infuser basket in the fridge to resteep the next day. I feel those steeps should be a separate tealog though.

1st steep: 3 min.
A bit light. New green hay.

2nd steep: 3 min 15 sec.
Tea-flavored. Like a light black tea.

(And I almost forgot) Backlogging — 2 of 2 matchas from this past week.

I decide to have an alcoholic drink while taking a cool bath. I think light rum and lemonade. I think light rum and Strawberry Matcha lemonade. Could it work? Will it work? It works! It tasted like Strawberry Matcha lemonade with just a hint of rum. Ever so drinkable.

(And I almost forgot) Backlogging — 1 of 2 matchas from this past week.

Having a so-so OJ drinking experience one afternoon. Will Strawberry Matcha make it better? Not so much. Could not taste the strawberry, could barely taste the matcha. A waste of good Strawberry Matcha.

At 7pm yesterday, it was too late in the day to be having a black tea. But I needed one so I had one anyways. It’s been a tired week so I thought the boldness of the Tiger might stand up well to some local honey and it sounded comforting. The honey came through nicely but it totally muted the essential Tigerness of the tea. Hence, I think this is not the best combination. Though, I did enjoy drinking it. I gave my husband the second steep when he woke up before going on night shift.

In other exciting tea news in my world, I am cold brewing for the first time! I’ve been thinking about doing it for awhile now, but have been unsure what teas would make a good cold brew. I’m also not a huge iced tea fan. I decided on a Lemon Sencha that I only had two servings left of.

I think flavored greens might cold brew nicely. I think flavored blacks would too, but I don’t have many of those. I have mostly plain blacks and I think the nuances of nice black loose leaf teas would be lost in cold brewing them. Ditto for plain oolongs and whites. I don’t know, for some reason, it just seems like flavored teas/tisanes would be better for cold brewing than plain ones.

Anyways, the Lemon Sencha. I only had a small bit left and it is not a tea I like a whole lot so if it doesn’t turn out well, I won’t feel like I wasted a yummy tea. If it does, I’ll be more inclined to try cold brewing teas I like more.

It went in the fridge at 7pm. I’ll check it when I wake up in the morning and see when it needs to be tried again. I’m curious if one resteeps the same leaves when cold brewing? It seems like it would be a one-time thing and I should try to get the most flavor out of the leaves without it going bitter.

Backlogging — the day after the previous tealog early this past week.

Super icky throat, painful ears. I’m sure I’m getting a cold. I sooth myself by using the last of the Tupelo honey in a cup of Napal. I think I am not able to enjoy the taste of this combo as much as I usually do. No resteep.

Since there will be no more tealogs until yesterday, I should mention that I never got a cold. I woke up the next morning feeling completely fine. It was super odd.

Backlogging — sometime early this past week.

Woke up in the morning with stuffy, icky allergy and/or starting-to-get-a-cold head. Wants something nice and plain. No resteep.

It has been A-While since I’ve had Jackee. I woke up this morning and didn’t want the Tiger or Caravan. I went through my teas in my head and decided on Jackee. I refreshed myself with my tea notes on Steepster to get the delicious caramel.

I sip. Whaaa?! There’s a little caramel but more briskness than I remember. I keep sipping as it cools. Midway down the cup, the caramel comes out. There is relief. I will have to remember to let this one cool a bit before drinking. The second steep was light but caramelly good.

2nd steep: 5 min 30 sec.

The breakfast mug of tea backlog. Today.

I wanted teh smokiness. In my large pale blue drippy-glazed pottery mug. Good!

This one I did a second steep of, but I realized once I had it at my desk that I’d need to get ready to meet a friend before I could finish the mug so I stuck in the fridge. Drinkable and good, I did not like it cold as much as I like it hot. The flavors aren’t as strong and the mouth feel is totally different. I could taste teh smokiness but it wasn’t quite the same. I would not ice this one on purpose.

2nd steep: 6 min 30 sec.

The breakfast mug of tea backlog. Yesterday.

It’s the Tiger. It’s just that good. One needs no reason to pick the Tiger. No resteep, but I wanted one.

The breakfast mug of tea backlog. Three days ago.

Yum Yum! I’ve started using slightly more leaf than I used to for my standard sized mugs. It makes for a stronger and more flavorful mug of tea. I don’t think I’m going back to less. Again, no resteep.

The breakfast mug of tea backlog. Four days ago.

I did a heaping 1/2 tsp of EG with a level 1/2 tsp of the Tiger. This made for a yummy mug. This is also the start of no resteeps for the breakfast mug of tea. It just feels to hot here to drink tea really, yet I wish to drink more tea, until I actually drink some tea, that is.

Earl Grey and the Tiger, take three. Yesterday morning, I tried 1 tsp EG to 1/4 tsp Tiger. The first steep blended very very well. It tasted like the EG with more black tea to it. I could not pick out that the black tea was the Tiger. The second steep tasted like just the EG. Honestly, I think I might prefer the slightly Tiger heavy first steep and delicious combo second steep of take two.

The question is will I try a repeat of take two next or move on to trying a different black tea with this EG? I think I definitely like this EG with a black tea better than on it’s own. Certainly the quest for a good combo and amounts is making me want to drink EG in the mornings.

2nd steep: 5 min 30 sec.

I was planning on 52 Tea’s Black Current Bai Mu Dan as my mid-day tea today. I’ve been wanting it for a few days but it and I keep missing each other.

I ended up having a late lunch of Indian leftovers from last night and wanted something that could stand up to their spiciness and be tasty with them. I’m finding the Tiger to be a great all purpose tea. Good with food, good without. Good in the morning, good at in the middle of the day. It’s pretty much all Tiger all the time, sometimes. =)

2nd steep: 5 min.

Take two of the Earl Grey and Tiger blending. This morning I steeped a heaping 1/2 tsp of EG with a shallow 1/2 tsp of Tiger. I also used my steeping time for the Tiger instead of a steeping time in between the two. The first steep was still mostly Tiger with more EG than last time. The second steep was once again a great blend of the two. Either I need mostly EG with just a bit of the Tiger, which will be take three, or the Tiger is not a good first steep match for EG.

2nd steep: 5 min.

I could swear I had this tisane a second time already. I remember picking the apple pieces out to eat off the top of the tea before I removed the filter the second time I had it. The first time I had it, I ate them out of the filter after I removed it from the tisane. This time I did not eat them at all.

I do think the rating’s going up several points, to a 70 at least (middle of my good range, 60-80). But I’m still not sure exactly where I want it so I’m going to drink it a few more times to decide before bumping it up.

A bit more chippies were used this time for a cup with a nice full taste. While I like it, I don’t think I’d drink it several evenings in a row. I should mention that I like apples quite a bit, but they prolly aren’t one of my favorite fruits and I only want to eat them by themselves sometimes. So I think that’s why. I also enjoy this tisane best before it hits the lukewarm temperature.

So I’ve been saying more bergamot than black tea for the past few tealogs on this one. The night before last I decided to do something about it. I’d add some plain black tea to it. Out of my plain black teas, I thought the Tiger, Thomas, and A&D’s Ceylon might pair the best. I decided to start with the Tiger.

So yesterday morning, I steeped a 1/2 Tiger:1/2 EG ratio. The first steep was mostly Tiger with a hint of EG. The second steep was a wonderful and delicious blend of the two. This seems to be a successful idea. I’ll just need to tweak the black tea:EG ratio. I think I’ll definitely be more interested in drinking up this EG this way.

PS This is only the second time I’ve blended two teas. I’m happy it went reasonable well since the previous attempt was only so-so. I now have a bit more confidence to keep trying.

2nd steep: 5 min 30 sec.

I had Earl Grey again this morning. This EG definitely is better by itself rather than as a London Fog. It’s likely it’s also better without any milk as well. This EG is more bergamot and less tea and that’s okay. It’s yummy but it’s prolly not my ideal EG. I think I’d prefer an EG that had more balance between the two, or one with a tasty strong black tea where the bergamot was noticeable. While I definitely like this tea, I think it may end up being my least favorite of all the A&D teas release thus far. I’m also noting that the second steep today was nearly as strong and flavorful as the first.

2nd steep: 7 min 30 sec.

I used up the last of the lemonade making a Strawberry Matcha lemonade yesterday. I used even more lemonade than the last time and again I could taste the matcha and the strawberry more than when I’d used less. Why that is, I don’t know. I need to buy more lemonade now as I’m addicted to the Strawberry Match and I’m not sure I could drink it made with the water and milk combo I like for it hot in this heat. I’m also quite happy that upon further inspection of the interior of the pouch I’ve found that I still have at least 3 servings left.

After the Strawberry Matcha lemonade, I still wanted more green tea. I wasn’t feeling any of my usual green teas so I pulled this one out of the back of the cupboard. I think I could have used more leaf or longer steeping times as it was weaker than I remember. It tasted more of cherries than green tea. I think I just had a odd set of steeps tonight.

2nd steep: 1 min.

Oh no! I only have 2-3 more portions of Strawberry Matcha left. I don’t know what I’ll do then. (Frank, you HAVE to reblend! Or do more matcha blends!)

Made a Strawberry Matcha lemonade after dinner. I use more lemonade than usual and oddly I could taste the matcha and the strawberry more than before. The best one I’ve made yet.