chrine

Skipping over a backlog of tasting notes numbering in the mid 30s. I had hoped doing that the first time was a one time thing; now I’m just hoping this doesn’t become a habit.

This tea had been pretty meh and generic to me. Nice, but not something I find myself reaching for. It isn’t very strong so I don’t find myself drinking it in the morning when I can’t decide what I want either.

So I have started to tinker with it. I’ve really only had a it few times so far. I increased the steeping time and the amount of leaf I used a little.

Now it seems like a more solid version of its former self, if that makes any sense, and I do like it more this way. I don’t know how much more I could increase the steeping time or leaf amount without it veering into too bitter or too strong tasting.

It paired well with a mango and some strawberries and made for a tasty breakfast.

Backlog. 19 days ago, last Monday night.

When I’m having a cup of tea quite late at night,
I find Date Nut Muffin is quite often just right. ;)

2nd steep: 14 mins.

Backlog. 20 days ago, early Sunday afternoon.

Even after the raspberry black tea, I still needed some more caffeine and I was still very much on my Boston kick of early on after trying it. I did not get the wonderful that I got off the possibly increased steeping time and increased amount of leaves by steeping it 5 minutes. But it was still every bit at lovely as it had been the first two times.

Resteeped after a 5 minutes first steep, the second steep comes out too watery to really be enjoyed. If I end up preferring it with a longer steeping time on the first steep, I think this will end up being a single steep tea. But I’m not sure I’ve going to notice much of a different between a 4 and a 5 minute steep.

2nd steep: 11 mins.

Backlog. 14 days ago – Sunday morning. (And yes, my backlog of jotted down tasting notes has grown. But it’s not that long.)

I was fishing a tea I was going to drink out of the tea annex the other day and I saw this and thought I really like that tea and I haven’t drank it in awhile.

2nd steep: 9 mins.

Backlog. 11 days ago – Saturday morning.

I remember that there was a special reason for having Jackee that morning, but I do not remember what. Quite probably my day was already off to a crappy start and I needed some very good tea. I’m rationing somewhat, but I will miss this one so much when it’s gone.

2nd steep: 8 mins.

Backlog. 12 days ago – Friday morning.

I like the Boston black tea so much I couldn’t wait to have it again. And it was every bit as enjoyable as the first time I had it. I think I maybe have used a bit more leaf and steeped it a bit longer. It tasted very good this way tho. I may increase the steeping time to the full five minutes next time to see if I prefer it that way.

The second steep was very weak. To the point of being undrinkable as tea. So I think if I end up going with a longer first steep, this is a single steep tea. Which kind of sucks because I’ve wanted a second cup immediately both times I’ve had it.

I am really regretting the small amount of this tea that I have.

Backlog. 9 days ago, Thursday afternoon after barbeque for lunch (chicken with death relish, collards, and red rice).

So I keep trying this tea from time to time, thinking okay that sounds like it could be nice now even though I don’t like this flavor combo but I have it and I need to drink it and it is pretty spot on, tasting like mint chocolate chip ice cream, you know the green kind. But I never really want to finish the cup. So I think it’s time to give up and say that this tea is free to a good home. I have a decent size sample of it left.

Backlog. 9 days ago – Tuesday night.

So I’m still finding that I tend to have a hard time finishing cups of this, even though I definitely like it. I think it’s something about the change in temperature changing the way it tastes.

2nd steep: 12 mins.

Backlog. 6 days ago – Tuesday afternoon.

After my success at making at extra yummy car tumbler of TOL yesterday, I wanted to try to replicate that again today. I measured the car tumbler’s capacity, used a cup of similar volume, and steeped a bit longer. The result was not the same.

Oh well, I have one tea sachet left to try on.

Backlog. 6 days ago – Tuesday morning.

I’ve had a sample of this that I borrowed from my mom, I just haven’t tried it yet. I wanted to try something new and flavored this morning and this caught my eye.

The tea looks like plain black tea leaves with nothing in them as far as pieces of stuff. On first smell, it was fruity. On further sniffing, I could detect nutty in the background. If I thought about could I smell cranberry and almonds as I sniffed, I found I could. But I don’t think I would have guessed that based on sniffing.

The steeped tea also has the same lovely aroma. I tasted it and loved it instantly. The taste was also a lovely fruity and nutty taste that matched the smell. It was cranberry and almond if I thought about it when I drank it. I drank my first cup down rather quickly and resteeped.

The second steep was on the weaker side, but drinkable. If I increase the steeping time of the first steep as I plan to try because I think I could like the flavors stronger, then the second steep could well end up too weak to drink enjoyably.

I’m rating this tea an 83 (great range 80-90) right off because I liked it so so much. I wish I had more then the small sample I stole from my mom’s house.

Yesterday I was meeting my grandparents for an early lunch near where they live (about 20 minutes away). I didn’t have any breakfast nor had I had any caffeine yet so I made TOL in a car tumbler and took it with me to drink on the drive.

And omg, something about making TOL this way really worked. I mean, I like TOL, don’t get me wrong, I’ve just never loved it – something about the black tea being too overpowering or the flavor of the flavors becoming overwhelming, maybe as it cooled.

But oh my did it come out good this way. I don’t know if it was the larger tumbler size or the extra 30 seconds I gave it because of the larger size, but it was good. I’m going to have to try making it in a larger cup next time and see if I can replicate this.

Also, I only have two more bagged of this left. =(

After groggily making the previous tea I’d decided on before I changed my mind and picked Jackee to have with breakfast the day before, I made up for my mistake by making Jackee with breakfast two days ago – an everything bagel and cream cheese. Ohmigod, Jackee is so good and goes lovely with the bagel. I haven’t had him in awhile because I’m low on him and semi-hoarding him which I think makes him taste extra good when I do have him.

Yesterday morning, I woke up and decided to have this tea with a garlic bagel for breakfast. Then I thought no, Jackee. But I’d already scooped this tea on autopilot into my steeping basket a few minutes later before I realized I had meant to have Jackee. Oh well, sometimes it is best to go with your first choice. This tea actually went really well with the garlic bagel. As I drank it, I realized it was growing on me. I had found this tea to be underwhelming a bit.

2nd steep: 10 mins.

After a late lunch of multi-grain cracker with deli chicken, aged cheddar, and grainy mustard and dill pickles on the side, I decided a cup of Oatmeal Raisin Cookie black tea would go good and that it was time to break into the pouch.

So when I got the tea of the week email from 52 Teas and saw this tea, I thought it would sell out plus I love oatmeal and oatmeal raisin cookies so I immediately headed over to the site and brought myself a pouch. I just hadn’t gotten around to trying it yet (because I have so much damn tea).

I opened the pouch today and all I could smell was grape candy. I sniffed again – the same. I keep sniffing more deeply and thought I could smell toasty oats and bake-y cookie scent but maybe it was my imagination hoping. The black tea leaves had rolled oats and raisins mixed in throughout. Steeped, all I could smell in this tea was grape candy scent.

I taste the tea quite hot – grape. I taste the tea as it cools – grape. All I can taste in the first steep is grape really, try as I might to find the oatmeal or the cookie. On the second steep, which still smells of grape, as it cools I find I can just find the oatmeal and the cookie a tiny bit.

I’m not rating this tea yet because I hated the Buttered Cinnamon Raisin Toast black tea the first two times I tried it. I did not think it tasted at all like buttered cinnamon raisin toast and kind of remember a similar grape-y flavor. But then I drank it again quite awhile later and wow it tasted like butter cinnamon raisin toast and I really liked it. So I’m hoping in time this tea will also mellow into tasting more like oatmeal raisin cookie. I’ll give it another try in a week or two.

2nd steep: 8 mins.

Yesterday afternoon, I thought a cup of black tea might perk me up so I steeped up some Milk & Cookies, knowing I thoroughly enjoy this one every time I have it. I ended up dozing off in the evening so didn’t get to resteep it. I must still be catching up on my sleep.

Backlog. Two days ago – Thursday afternoon. Clearly, I did not keep up with logging all my teas drank since the beginning of February.

I’d gotten home at after staying at my parents for four days while my cousin Brittany was down visiting from Michigan and I was dragging from too little sleep for several nights in a row. I didn’t really even think that tea would help but a cup sounded so good.

I had thought I’d have a plain black tea but as I was going through my list of teas in my head, I came to this one and knew that was what I wanted. So I made it and it was so good and it didn’t really wake me up at all but it was so good. So mission accomplished anyways with a delicious cup of tea.

I made the second steep to drink later that evening then I dozed off so I woke up and drank it cold before dinner and it was actually quite delicious that way too and refreshing in some ways.

2nd steep: 12 mins.

Woke up wanting Malted ChocoMate again yesterday morning after just having had it yesterday. Yes, I’m happy to have more of it! Today it was even more malty and delicious than yesterday. Don’t know what I did differently. But yum! I had the first cup with breakfast (buttered wheat cinnamon raisin toast and a berry Greek yogurt) and the second cup directly afterward.

2nd steep: 10 mins.

Well, there is no entry for this tisane yet so I’ve created one to be a place holder for my tealog then I’ll move it once there is one.

Last night I needed more chocolate tea and I have quite a bit of it now so I might as well indulge as I want to. It had gotten later before I made a cup so I chose this one as the sole honeybush blend in the box.

The smell was strongly raspberry with dark chocolate and there were dried raspberry arils and chocolate nibs mixed in with the honeybush chips. Steeped, the tisane smelled even more strongly of bright raspberry and less of chocolate. The taste at first was a bright candy-like raspberry with a bit of chocolate. As the cup cool, the raspberry turned into a rich syrupy or jammy raspberry and the dark chocolate came out more. It was ever better.

I drank the first cup while finishing up watching the documentary Love Etc. that I’d started that morning. I drank the second cup at my desk in the study after that. It was a lighter weaker version but still good.

I’m rating this tisane a 74 (right in the middle of my good range, 70-80) because it’s solidly good.

2nd steep: 10 mins.

Oh Malted ChocoMate, I’m so glad you’re back in my life again. You were one of my favorite teas from the 2010 Xmas sampler and now you’ve returned again in the Valentines Day sampler.

The mate leaves? chips? smell distinctly malted with a touch of chocolate scent. The mate pieces definitely aren’t leaves but they also aren’t chips in the way that rooibos or honeybush are. Whatever you’d call them, the mate pieces are a dark dark brown with chocolate nubs mixed in.

Steeped, the mate is a dark sable brown and smells mostly malty with only a touch of chocolate scent. The taste is a more even balance of chocolate and malt and oh so good. This is a tea that I sometimes wake up in the morning wanting and I’m glad to have it in my possession again.

I drank the first cup with breakfast (buttered wheat cinnamon raisin toast and a date fig greek yogurt) while watching the beginning of the documentary Love Etc which I’d DVRed off the Oprah channel. The second cup was lighter in flavor but still very tasty and I took that one into the study with me to drink at my desk.

I’m rating this mate a 83 (middle of my great range, 80-90).

2nd steep: 10 mins.

After finishing my mug of hojicha in the study last night, I really wanted another cup of tea right away. None of my non-caffeinated bagged teas were catching my interest so I chose this one. I steeped it a minute less than usual and still enjoyed a very nice cup. This tea isn’t a favorite but it’s always very pleasant to have. I resteeped the tisane earlier today when my throat was bothering me and added a bit of honey. I forgot to take the basket out so it steeped awhile but tasted just fine.

2nd steep: a long time.

Hello Steepsterians! Long time, no see.

(The explanation: Christmas 2010, I ended up with a lot of rough tasting “notes” jotted down on slips of paper that I hadn’t entered on to Steepster. This continued on and on with briefly writing down my thoughts in my moleskine or typing out an actual tealog posting in a wordpad file AND dating everything with the intention of backlogging it up on to Steepster and having a complete catalog of my tea drinking for the past year plus. However, I have slowly come to the realization that this isn’t likely to actually get done (anytime soon) and I miss posting my tasting notes so I’ve scrapped the idea of getting my tealog up-to-date and I’m starting posting again as of February with the teas I drink going forward. I hate to not post the completed tasting notes that I’ve written but I’m a bit of a completionist so I’d end up frantically trying to post everything if I did.)

And now, on to the tea. I picked this up on sale at Earth Fare awhile back not knowing what it was but thinking a roasted green tea sounded like it could be good. I decided to try it yesterday night with Korean leftovers because the regular girl at the Korean place asked me if I wanted a hot tea awhile back on a cold night and has since given me tea with Asian characters and sometimes some English on the tags (twice genmaicha, once oolong) and since the genmaicha, as a toasted rice tea, went well with the Korean, my thinking was that a roasted green tea would as well. And it did.

Just taking the plastic wrapping off of the box of tea, I could already smell the toasty roastiness of it. Steeping instructions recommended 2-5 minutes so I settled on 3:30 for my first try and was quite surprised to find the tea had come out so dark considering the genmaicha has come out a lighter brown and I had expected them to be similar. The toasty roast smell of the steeped tea was lighter than the smell of the bag had been. The taste was much stronger than I expected but still good and tasted pretty much like you’d expect something like this would. Next time I’ll either steep this for less time or use a bigger mug, possibly both, as I’m sure I’ll enjoy this tea more when it’s less strong.

I’m rating this tea a 52 to start – a nice bagged tea. I think it will creep up a few points once I get the steeping time and water quantity adjusted more to my tastes.

Backlogging.

For the fifth tea of Christmas, Frank gave to us Chocolate Mint Flavored Black Tea.

When I opened this sample packet, at first I got alcohol, followed quickly by mint – real strong mint ~cough, cough ~, then chocolate – dark chocolate. I do have to say that Frank nailed the smell on this blend. I’ll confess that I’m not a chocolate mint fan at all. The husband is and occasionally I’ll want a spoonful or two of his ice cream. The dark tea leaves have visible chocolate bits and bits of mint leaves.

Steeped, the tea still smells distinctively of chocolate mint and is a color that we’ll call standard tea color. I did a butt load of dishes while and after this tea had steeped so it was not piping hot when I first tried it. The taste is mint tea with dark chocolate. This is good, but definitely not a favorite of mine. I’ll have to see what the husband thinks when he tries it. As I finish drinking this tea, I decide a like it a bit more and raise my initial rating five points. I definitely get the Thin Mint comparison that others have made. I did not attempt a second steep because I did not want anymore chocolate mint at that time.

I’m rating this tea a 67, which is on the high end of my nice range (60-70).

Backlogging.

Mmm… Thomas…

2nd steep: 5 min, 30 sec.

Backlogging.

I made this stronger than usual per not checking Steepster for my usually steeping time and apparently having forgotten it. Well, I do have too many teas to remember everything. As usual, this is my go-to tea when my tummy hurts or I’m feeling vaguely under the weather and, as usual, I felt better after drinking it. =) Possible placebo effect, but who cares so long as it works.