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I harvested some E. sinica from Arches National park (I know I’m bad) one year ago. You don’t normally need to let the tea dry that long (in fact the fresh tips taste just fine) but I wanted to see if there was a difference. In fact it still had it’s same potency.
I ground up the tips in a coffee grinder and put in about a golf-balls size worth of it into a ceramic straining cup. After steeping I enjoyed my tea while reading stuff online.
In about 5 minutes I felt an intense rush (this isn’t going to sound like an erowid post, promise) of mind-numbing energy. Not the kind of energy where you want to do things but rather when you want to just relax and try and focus. In about 30 minutes my little high was over and I started being able to focus on the current article on my screen.
Oh, and the tea tasted pretty good.

Both the strawberry and the lemon tea used were from Whittard of Chelsea. Their strawberry tea is like my ideal strawberry tea. It’s JUST right. I’ve been toying with the idea of this combination for a while. The sweet of the strawberry and the tart of the lemon.
I used 1 part strawberry tea and 1 part lemon tea, and unfortunately the result wasn’t nearly as yummy as I had expected. Oh it was definitely still good and still drinkable, but it was like the two kinds of fruit equalled each other out instead of complementing each other. I haven’t given up though. I believe it’s a question of working out the right ratio. Next time I’ll try 2 parts strawberry to 1 part lemon and see how that works.

I still need to perfect the mixture, but it’s close.

This is also from China. I got 5+ steeps out of one batch.

I personally prefer a longer steeper time than what many ‘gurus’ advocate. Like most Oolongs this is a refreshing drink after being rinsed and steeped for a few minutes but a 10 minute steeping time brings out more of the tannins and polyphenols and I like the very slight bitter taste this produces.

The lemon grass dominated the mint and other ingredients, which was fine because it was bedtime. When I need to wake up tomorrow and get my tea fast, it’ll be nice to compare to a commercial blend with more mint kicker.

The citrus and cinnamon make first impressions, while the fresh bush tastes linger. Not very sweet, so I added agave nectar.

This was supposed to be calming but it tasted so bad I was not calm at all.

I am not fond of herbal teas on a whole and this one is no exception.

I am sick.

Correction: The husband got me sick.

I need mint.

This is mint.

I feel better. But I am still sick.

Today is going to be a long day. I set the thermostat on 70 because the heater in my office is way too powerful for the small room. And yet the heater is still going even though it is 74 in here. Someone just came to visit me and complained about how stuffy it is. I can’t help it! It won’t stop! I feel like I’m suffocating. On top of that, I don’t feel good – my stomach isn’t happy. Which made me bring this tea out of the recess of my pantry.

This is just a 50/50 mix of Adagio’s spearmint and cream. I only break this out when I don’t feel too hot, so today. It gives me tea but the mint adds a little gentleness that makes my stomach, if not happy then at least not mean(er) to me. This is my feel bad tea.

So now my stomach is still unhappy (though not worse – yay mint!) and I feel like someone is trying to smother me with a heavy duvet straight from the dryer. And that is making me very whiny. Meh.

In a fit of experimental inspiration I took a pot of generic Gunpowder and added a smidge of peppermint to it. The result is… interesting. Minty. It’s sufficiently drinkable that I’m not going to pour it out, but I wouldn’t really recommend the combination. Not as served hot anyway. I suspect it would work a lot better on ice.

About a tablespoon of honey combined with 1/4 cup lime juice and hot water to fill mug. Use this to stave off hunger, drink when bored, and especially useful when I have colds.