TradTradition/Good Youngition/Good Young

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Recent Tasting Notes

Things end (sigh). And since summer is—at least by the calendar, not by the thermometer—coming to a close, it was time to use the last three bags of my beloved Traditions strawberry tea. Last bags ever, as far as I can tell—the brand still exists, but not this pleasantly flavored, viably authentic strawberry variety. I cold-steeped my last Mason jarful and am giving it a proper and respectful sendoff from my rocking chair.

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According to Ecclesiastes, there is a season for everything under heaven; a time to keep, and a time to throw away. I am NOT throwing away my last hoarded half-box of these beloved strawberry tea bags, but I have decided that it is high time that I used them.

Especially since it is blinkin’ hot! From the coolest spring in several decades, BAM! we switched immediately to mid-90’s rainforest weather this week.

So I have kept a mason jar of this faithful, can’t-fail strawberry black tea in the fridge for several days now for cool-down purposes. But here’s the twist: thanks to some chit-chat here on Steepster about herb-laced water, and not having enough tea to fill my tumbler, I finished off the top half with some rosemary water. Fruity, brisk, a little piney…I think I am going to do this on purpose again!

ashmanra

Nice! I adore rosemary water!

Nattie

Yay for herb water! :D I think I will put some in my next cold brew.

gmathis

Today’s experiment, currently on “chill” in the fridge—basil and apple mint (our basil is going crazy).

tea-sipper

I’ve really been missing purple basil lately…

gmathis

I have a pot of that starting to burst out pretty nicely, as well! How do you use your purple basil?

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Gray and gloom, colds and flu lurking—so to stave off all of them, I started this morning with my favorite no-fail fruit tea. (You can’t ruin this, no matter how bumbly you are.) Tossed in a basket with about 1/2 teaspoon of elderberries for the colds and flu part. Hope there’s sunshine in your world today.

ashmanra

Partly sunny but cold! And I just put two of my girls on a plane for Toronto!

gmathis

Oooh, you need comfort tea! (And comfort blankies, and comfort books, and comfort TV…..I’ve had cats, bath, and yarn on my mind all day.)

K S

stay well.

ashmanra

I got excited, being home ALL ALONE, which almost never happens, especially when I realized that in a year and a half, that will be most of my day! I love love love my family, my kids, but do understand that after 24 years of homeschooling, one appreciates some truly quiet time with nothing to do!

gmathis

Even with just the three of us, I can’t tell you the last time I was able to be in the house alone.

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Garage thermometer peaked at 105, but officially it’s a cool and balmy 98 today. Summer has arrived about eight weeks late. So we’re in “anything-as-long-as-it-is-COLD” mode. As I am the owner of the last two boxes in local existence of these bags, I am budgeting them carefully, but this makes the best unsweetened, cold-steeped fridge tea in the world. Stuck a quart in the fridge to wet my whistle after a dusty drive to the farm. The weeds along the road to Dad’s house are white with a quarter-inch coating of road dust that looks like mocha frost.

Wish I’d tried the lemon and (hmm..was it?) black raspberry versions of this when the indie grocery was stocking it.

Nicole

Sounds tasty

gmathis

I hope you’re talking about the tea and not the mocha frost dust ;)

Nicole

:) No, I am familiar with that mocha frost dust and it isn’t anything nice. :)

K S

Is this company still in business? I’ve never seen it locally. I thought I would eventually find a box to torment you with… I mean to share with you, yeah, that’s the ticket. Sad when a favorite disappears.

gmathis

I’ve noodled around a little online without much success. (We don’t do a lot of e-commerce; I just want things to magically appear at the store!)

gmathis

(Slight amendment) Poked around a little more. It’s available on Amazon, just kind of pricey.

K S

Yeah at $0.40/bag it kind of loses its appeal.

gmathis

Cheap was one of its best selling points.

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The novelty of “Hey! Look what’s growing on my back porch!” will wear off, but if you can’t tell, we’re having a blast with mint alchemy. Combined my favorite-ever cheapie summer morning strawberry tea with an orange mint stem—-oh, so nice! I sense a big jug of it coming, iced, this weekend.

Christina / BooksandTea

It’s making me jealous, though. Does the mint overwinter well? Can you take the pots inside and have fresh mint throughout the winter?

caile

I think it only overwinters in the ground, although I am still waiting to see if the one I planted survives. I think you can take the pots inside…(but need to water them once in awhile…or they dry out like mine did). ;)

gmathis

This is a new endeavor for us; we tried some peppermint in a flowerbed that didn’t fare very well this spring, but our soil is not very friendly, period.

ashmanra

I am making spearmint tea for the chickens right now!

caile

Lucky chickens! :) Does giving them the tea do something specific or do they just like it?

TeaBrat

I didn’t know chickens liked spearmint tea, that is so cute. :)

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I snapped up the last boxes of this from the local store when it turned up in the discontinued section, primarily for sun tea if warm weather ever comes. Snow. Again. But warm and fruity, this provides a sweet afternoon cuppa. One of my really truly favorites ever, even if it is bagged and cheap.

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Ice and other natural disasters making simple tea a necessity right now. Power out 12 hours + on Saturday (on), branch bounced off roof, cutting a 3" chunk out of the roof as it went (patched). Internet still out; customer service people in Arizona who have no idea what an ice storm is (borrowing nursing home wifi).

Ready for a little peace in my patch of the earth. May there be great peace in yours.

JustJames

oh my friend…. if i can help let me know =0(. thinking of you. xoxo

K S

When it rains it pours and apparently turns to ice. So sorry your holiday is so full of stress. Hang on Easter morning is coming.

NofarS

I hope things will turn out to be brighter and warmer soon.

Sil

i hope everything gets better!

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We had just intended to go window shopping…wrong side of payday to do much more than that. But desperate times call for desperate measures, especially when your local shop is discontinuing your favorite bagged strawberry tea ever.

The upside, however, was that the 50-bag boxes were marked down to 99 cents. Two cents a cup. Take that, Cheapster Steepsters :) Dug around in the dregs of my purse for coins and small change and bought the last three boxes.

Worth it, even if I’m running on penny fumes. (Poverty builds character, right?)

Sil

haha awesome

Indigobloom

Nice!! penny for your thoughts? ;)

K S

The Cheapster Steepster bleachers are standing up and cheering – Woot!

gmathis

Ironically, this month’s sermon series at church: prudent money management. Today’s topic: being content with what you have :)
(Well, I guess I am. It is the last three boxes in town.)

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I woke up craving, not specifically strawberry tea, but anything that evokes the sensation of warm and gentle weather. I am done with winter. Can I get an amen?

I love this stuff. Truly, it’s better cold in the summer, but this morning, it’s lovely to feel the warm strawberry flavor on my tongue. Enough black tea base to tug you awake.

Artp

Sounds like a terrific winter morning tea. I’m with you on being done- we have a rain and wind storm today with miserable temperature.

gmathis

This is wonderfully cheap, too!

K S

Amen sister! This really was delicious tea. I have been looking for a local cheapster version.

OMGsrsly

Hmm. I’m going to have to see if I can find this locally. I’m looking for a strawberry black tea!

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I was beginning to worry when I didn’t see replacement boxes of this spring and summer staple appearing at the store. So I did a little happy whoop when we went in today and I saw a healthy stack of red-and-white stripey boxes smiling at me…and resisted the impulse to buy them all.

I haven’t tried it yet, but there were some happy purple-and-white striped boxes right next to them on the shelf, a blackberry version. Hmmm…could be tasty!

Sil

hmmm never heard of this brand but i do like a good strawberry black. I’ll have to see if i can spot them here

Azzrian

Strawberry black is one of my favorite tea flavors as well :)

Ysaurella

really Azz ? I should have sent you some Thé à l’opéra from MF !
Sil, I keep this information in mind :)

Sil

Ysaurella..yes please! Also, if you send a bit for Azzrian, I can always make sure she gets a cup to try :)

Azzrian

Oh thank you ladies!
Yes I am a sucker for strawberry teas then peach teas :)
Anything with either of those flavors and cream – OMG!

teabird

I might have to hunt this one down!

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Veni, vidi, ornati. I came, I saw, I decorated … I think. With the help of two of the most willing and cheerful teenage helpers on the planet, we have a mini Victoria Falls set for our first grade “aviators” to land at tomorrow. VBS week at church—Amazing Wonders Aviation—-and I’m pooped already.

Knowing I would be, I had a quart of my Most Best Beloved Summer Fruit Tea ever cold and waiting for me when I puddled home (it’s down to 95, but after a rain last night, the humidity is now a zillion and three percent). With a small handful of Birthday Cake Oreos, I am in sweet treat nirvana.
Nothing new to say about it other than I only saw a couple of boxes left on the shelf at Fox Farm Whole Foods and that’s making me nervous…

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My tasting notes on this one are all starting to sound alike. (This is great! This is cheap! This is cheaply great! This is greatly cheap!)

And I stand by all of them. This is a wonderful, forgiving, cold-brew friendly summer bagged tea and I can tell there’s another box in my future. They also had a raspberry version at the local emporium. I smell another trip to Fox Farm.

Bonnie

You forgot perky ; )

gmathis

And perky, too! I threw some of my fresh homegrown mint leaves in a glass of this last night. Had the potential to be good, but I’m not herbal (herby?) enough to know how to strengthen the bite of the mint.

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So I bumble into the kitchen, press the button on the Hot Shot and instantly fog out on what I really want to drink..“what’m I gonna have..what’m I gonna have..what’m I gonna have..what’m I gonna have..the water’s starting to cool…what’m I gonna have..” (Surely this has not happened to you.) First thing I laid sleepy eyes on was this happy little red-and-white striped box.

Straight up in my Tervis tumbler (12 oz I think), one bag still steeps to a nice morning-kicky strength with no milk added. The strawberry flavoring is wonderful. Really glad I stumbled onto this one—at the store and in my kitchen.

Azzrian

every day – not exclusively to mornings lol

gmathis

My standing joke is that I have never been a night person; I am no longer a morning person; about all I’m good for is about 30 minutes around 9:00 a.m. and that’s it for the day.

K S

9:00 a.m.? So early? For me its about 9:00 p.m. Oh, and I never hit the power button before the lengthy debate with myself. Reheated water is not acceptable even when I am asleep.

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This was good hot, but a notch better cold-brewed in the fridge. Subtly sweet and fruity. Wondering what it would taste like cold with some French vanilla creamer. (Off to experiment…)

gmathis

Experiment worked! Like lowfat Strawberry Quik!

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In deep need of a little pick-me-up (further adventures in elder care), I hit Fox Farm for a little treat. This caught my eye because it said “strawberry,” because it was cheap (50 bags for $3.99) and because it was in a happy little red-and-white box that said “cheer up, droopy drawers!”

This steeps up really strong. Can’t read a lick of the Taiwanese ingredient list, so I don’t know what base they’re using, but it’s dark ebony brown with a pretty accurate strawberry taste. Not as elegant and ethereal as the strawberry-ish twist in Marco Polo, but it tastes like fruit and not like ICEE syrup.

A couple of sips straight up were fine, but on a whim, I splashed in some half-and-half, and I have me a fine cup of berries and cream. Also have some bags cold brewing in the fridge even as we speak. I think this is going to be a great summer tea.

(WIll keep working at finding a picture to post—I did finally land on the company website, but can’t get the English version to work for me.)

ashmanra

Who in their right mind could resist a tea that had the words “droopy drawers” on the box? :)

gmathis

(It didn’t … it just spoke to me. Bazinga! :) Can I come to your beach vacation? I will be very very very quiet, just me and a stack of books.

ashmanra

Come on, G! It is beautiful!

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85

Cleaned my press. Got my water heating. Started digging through my home stash trying to figure out what I wanted to drink. The dinger went off saying the water was ready so I grabbed this one. Turns out it was a good choice. Nice evening cup of light strawberry goodness.

Sil

Sounds yummy!

gmathis

That was one of my road teas … strawberry was strong enough to drown out the styrofoam cup taste.

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85

My youngest works 3rd shift. He came in at 6:15 and woke us up. “Where’s the truck?”
“Your brother had a dead battery, he came and borrowed it so he could go to work”
I start to drift off. My oldest returns the truck at around 7:00. Of course he has to come in and announce the truck is back.
So knowing I have to be out the door by 8:30 to set up for the morning praise team, I give in and try to get up. Problem is I can’t wake up.
This is where bagged teas are a necessity. Thanks again gmathis for this one. It got me moving and out on time.

gmathis

Pleased I could help :)

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85

This one came in the mail as a surprise from gmathis. Thanks! I have never seen this brand in the local stores. I feel like I am going back to my roots today. This is a tea bag. Dry it looks kind of flat. It smells lightly of strawberry. I boiled up a mug of water and poured over the tea, steeping for 3 minutes.

I wish I had a clear glass mug for reviews to get a better idea of the brew color. This is moderately dark with an orange tint. Smells a bit like strawberry Quik. When I removed the bag it had really swollen nicely. Salada is another company with bags that make me wonder if there is enough tea in it but always swells big and produces a good solid cup.

This is my first ever strawberry tea. Seriously. I thought, I really don’t drink fruit teas, then I realized I like a lot of them – gojiberry, pomegranate, dragon fruit, peach, apricot, lemon, lime, orange, and especially bergamot. So why not strawberry?

I took my first sip and was pleasantly entertained. Immediately you taste strawberry but it is done in moderation. Yes, it does taste a lot like Nestle’s Strawberry Quik and yet it leans to a more natural flavor. The tea base is standard bag tea black. It isn’t bad. It gets the job done with just a touch of bite and astringency, but that is the way I like it. The best part is I can taste the base right along with the strawberry. That is of major importance to me.

Oh wait, this is interesting. As the cup is cooling I am starting to catch roasted notes in the lingering aftertaste. I hope it isn’t my imagination. It reminds me of a mild Yamamotoyama oolong. Hot dog! That is one of my favorite bagged teas. So kudos for the extra touch.

Gmathis says this is a really cheap tea so it gets extra points. This is a nice tea with some nice surprises. I could drink this one often. I am glad I got to try it.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec
gmathis

Same company does a raspberry and (oh, shoot, now I can’t remember but the box is amber and white) … something else. I bought the last box of strawberry they had just in case it doesn’t surface at Fox Farm again.

K S

What is the actual company name? There seems to be several variations in the database.

gmathis

Good question. As you can see, “Tradition” is on the tag, but when I hunted (and hunted and hunted and hunted) for it online, “Good Young” showed up as well. I guess I need to just ask outright at my local store.

ashmanra

K S: just found this on amazon but it says only four left.
http://www.amazon.com/WORLDs-SPECIALTY-SERIES-STRAWBERRY-BLACK/dp/B003U92O16/ref=sr_1_1?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1346434003&sr=1-1&keywords=Tradition+strawberry+tea

K S

Ah, cool. Thanks

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61

My honey and I raided the 99 Ranch Market while on our trip yesterday, finding a good selection of tea in this Asian market. I had to get something different than the Lipton swill that I have had for the last few weeks.

Peach Oolong tea is new to me. I have had peach before but never peach oolong. It says that you can add milk and sweetener to it. Tasted it raw (without any of these things) and it had no real taste to it other than “hot water”. Added a dollup of 2% milk and it still didnt have any taste for me. It wasnt til I added the sweetener (splenda) that I got a taste out of it.

Its an okay taste for me. I get the hint of peach but its nowhere near the “peachiness” that I would had I chosen a regular peach (non-oolong) tea. It looks like the sweetener had to bring out the sweetness of the tea itself.

Preparation
3 min, 0 sec

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