Loja do Chá

light and airy, but I feel that my steep is not as blended as it needed to be (probably scooped it wrong)
it has a clear pineapple something, and with the mixed-in green and white tea, it makes for a nice brew for a sunny day

goodbye, my dear friend, you were a great tea :)

this is probably going to be the last time i bring this tea to work, which is a shame, but there are more teas to be had :D

the next one will probably be the herbal I talked about, that way I can cut back on the amount of caffeine I drink throughout the day :)
(also OCD says I MUST drink the one closest to its expiration, and honestly I have bigger fish to fry in terms of energy, so….. I’ll let my OCD decide this time)

On a personal note, my country had elections and it seems that the new government does not care about science and research, which is great considering that my career in that field is about to start… :)
But as my mom’s godfather always says: what is ours will be ours (in English it sounds weird, but it’s something along the lines of “if something is meant to be for us, then it will happen, no matter what”; it’s just a saying, but it always gives me hope)

my stash of this tea is almost over, which is a shame :(
I’m getting to the point that my tin needs to be at an angle so I can get the tea with a spoon, which is super awkward
however, I’m excited to get another one in my weekly rotation! probably going to go for my Lady Grey, which I’ve been neglecting… or maybe go to whatever is closest to expiring?
On one hand, I like having caffeinated tea during the morning, however, my oldest tea is herbal, and I REALLY don’t want it to go bad….

choices are hard!

okay, I stand corrected, the 3min steep is the optimal time for this tea (yay scientific method!)
this tea is incredibly heavy on the cinnamon, has a smooth black tea base and there’s… something? that sort of clings to the tongue in a pleasant earthy-acid way — reminds me of the way hibiscus has a very specific taste!
it’s an overtly winter brew, and I wish they had more teas they made specifically for each season; alas, not all seasons have a ‘magical’ (consumerist) … vibe, I guess?

(on a personal note, my advisor FINALLY started reviewing my thesis, yay! enjoying this tea as I listen to the new Capitão Fausto album and continue trying to find stuff to cut to send my work to a conference as well)

Back on the 3min steep time, and I think this may actually be better than the 4 minutes.
Although the black tea itself is pretty disguised, the ingredient that apparently leaves a film on my tongue is gone as well.

My philosophy for this tea is basically: considering how the shop advertised the different bases of this tea as basically interchangeable, I don’t think I’m actually SUPPOSED to be tasting the black tea and all its subtleties

found the sweet spot between funky and earthy! four minutes seem to be the right steeping time for me :)

the five minutes make a huge difference!
It’s still heavy on the cinnamon, however, the black tea base is more noticeable, and there are other subtleties I lost in my first brew

I know, I’m drinking Christmas tea in February
In my defense, I bought this in early December, however, at the time I was drinking the Japanese cherry green tea I finished yesterday, and I sipdown one loose-leaf tea at a time (and the bag this was in might not be the best, so now I have it in my airtight tea container)
The bag did not have any brewing instructions, so this is very much a trial run! I did 3min with water at about 95C, as some black teas come out a bit too earthy at the 5min mark and this is the tea I brought to work, so I need it to be drinkable; it’s easier to drink understeeped tea than oversteeped, in my opinion

Preamble aside, the tea itself!
Honestly, it is really Christmas-y, heavy on the cinnamon, but I can see this as a infusion used year-round.
However, I think it could have done with the full 5min, it felt a bit underdeveloped
Still, this is a fun tea :D
(also really cute, I’ll add a pic once I get home, forgot to take it before I left)

I love limited editions, they give me an excuse to, at least for some time, deviate from the typical tea I drink — it’s an excuse to branch out from my “regular” choices :)

final brew from my stash, glad i got a full thermos to take to work :)
(and the shop is open again, meaning I can go get some more now! yay!)

sad that it’s almost over and the shop is closed for maintenance :(
happy because this means I’ll be trying their holiday blend soon :D

my stash of this tea is almost over, and the shop is closed :(
will definitely go on the wishlist once it’s over, and I’ll stalk the shop’s instagram so i can go and get more of this tea the MOMENT they re-open

the one green tea my sister enjoys! (she only drinks black tea…)
smells like candy but is not overtly sweet
I know, for sure, that this tea will enter my usual tea rotation
(bought this at an Aveiro location with this name, hope it’s not a duplicate!)