Des

This tea is what it is. It’s bagged and it’s cheap. But, it holds a special place in my heart. We bought this tea in Bali, Indonesia on our honeymoon in 2010. (So add, old to that list of what it is.) While shopping in the grocery store there, something we always do when we’re in a new country, go to their grocery stores to get a feel for the culture. We saw this tea at almost every hostel, restaurant and resort. It was like their Lipton, so naturally I snagged it. And you know what? It’s a good solid cheap black tea. I like to put a little honey and soy milk in it. It wakes me right up and reminds me of the Lipton tea I used to drink in my early days of tea drinking. It’s a comfort tea for me with a special story attached to it.

I enjoy this oolong a lot. It’s light, and grassy and green. I can steep a yixing pot of a teaspoon or 2 for several times over, while still keeping a flavorful cup. For the first cup, I tend to steep for 45sec-1:00, sometimes going shorter in the first few cups. Then, once the leaves have fully opened and I’ve gotten some peak cups out of it, I’ll start brewing for longer. Sometimes up to 3:00. It’s a very strong oolong, keeping it’s smoothness without ever getting offensively strong. Having this around in my tea cupboard makes me very happy as it’s a rare treat!

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Been drinking this tea for lack of a better black tea in my tea cupboard. I’ve really been needing the extra caffeine boost, plus, I’m trying to drink all my old ugly teas so make room for some newer fresher yummier teas. This black bagged tea has been floating around my cupboard for years now. It’s old. It tastes old and weak. But it’s still drinkable. I usually like to make an iced tea out of this. Brewing a hand full of bags in a large carafe, and then putting it in the fridge makes for a nice lift midday. I’d love to make a sun brew with this, as the subtle fruity notes would make a great tropical natural drink. Not enough sun where I’m at tho. All in all, it’s okay. I don’t mind the fruity taste, but I can definitely find a better tea.

Ack! No good tea at work! I forgot to bring in some teas. This has been sitting at work for sometime, forgotten. And for good reasons. It’s gross. I feel like I need to put some spiced rum in it to kill the spicy metallic taste of bad green tea. That’s not a good sign if I feel like I need to add something to my tea in order to make it taste better. Big thumbs down to this. But I need some tea this morning, and this is all I got. Thinking of running out to grab a Tea’s Tea.

Not entirely sure if this is the exact Dragonwell I’m drinking. I do know it is from Red Blossom.

I went to @VegaatLangton and asked for this tea without the water. The Batista looked at me funny then laughed. “You just want the tea bag? Do you want a cup?” She laughed again. The reason I asked for just the tea is because they sell this very tasty loose leaf tea from Red Blossom, but they only have one hot water source and it comes from the coffee machine. The hot water it produces is scorching hot, even above boiling temp. It would burn the delicate green tea and destroy it’s flavors. I gave her 2 bucks and took the handmade tea bag and went back to work.

I emptied the leaves from the bag into my infuser. It’s the perfect amount. I thought about keeping it in the tea bag, but there wasn’t much room for the leaves to take flight in. I’m on my second steep this morning and the flavors are much more than I would ever get if I had just ordered a cup of tea from this hole in the wall coffee shop.

The brews are lightly colored, but strongly grassy. Definitely has remembrance to a warm humid summer day, looking out on corn fields, while watching grasshoppers and gnats take over the golden sky as the sun sets in middle America.

I think this is what I’m drinking… Not sure. I was falling asleep at my desk at work, so I decided to hit up the new coffee shop that opened up in a garage around the corner. I had my mind set on a soy latte, assuming they wouldn’t have any tea that met my standard. Well, behold they have loose leaf tea’s from Red Blossom in Chinatown! Far superior tea any coffee house usually carries. So I grabbed the Oolong, but I forgot to catch what kind of Oolong it was. From the look and taste of it I THINK this was it. It’s super tasty! And now I am more awake then I have been all day. I am so glad I didn’t get a coffee. Long live tea!

I don’t normally enjoy jasmine teas… but this seems to be hitting the spot right now. It’s the only kind of tea I have at work, so it’ll have to do. I do like the taste much better than the smell. Way too floral, which is a turn off for me.

It’s hot here. I’m wearing shorts to work, kind of hot. Hot tea is not really what I have in mind of for the ideal beverage today. But, I haven’t been consuming that much caffeine lately and have been making up for those cravings with sugar. I think it’s time to cut down on the sugar and consume more tea! Looking forward to tea shopping this weekend because we are in dire need for more tea and some new teas would be nice for a change!

I do enjoy this rusty Oolong. I brew it in a gaiwan and transfer it into a mug. Less than 20 second steeps on the first two infusions. Light piss color, soft light green color on the leaves as they are first exposed to the hot water. This should keep me going for most of the day without the sugar crash.

When I was first getting into green tea (and teas in general) I was also overly tunnel visioned on intaking only organically. So this organic Hojicha was one of the first teas I drank religiously. I drank so much of this tea in the beginning. I remember thinking it was the best green tea I’d ever had, and at the time it probably was. But then I started opening up my palette and bringing in teas that weren’t organic but were actually higher in quality. And when I went back to the Hojicha, I thought it tasted awful and I stopped drinking it.

Well, I need to clear out my tea cupboard and make room for newer, fresher teas, so I brought this in to work. I steeped it in an infuser with 140 degree water for only about 10 seconds. It has the same qualities as the Ma Zha Oolong I’d been drinking. This is probably due to the fact that both teas are roasted. Both have a similar nose and color. Dark with hues of red and yellow. It’s not as bad as I remember it. It has a tinny taste (that can be due to the metal infuser I used and the tin I kept the tea in). For as dark as it brews, the flavor is pretty light. I could probably brew this for a little longer before the tannins take over the taste. Hints of sweetness and notes of saltwater. It’s not a bad choice if you’re not used to other Japanese greens like Sencha.

My tummy was upset because I ate way too much for lunch today. Okay, I wouldn’t exactly say it was upset, but it was damn full. I had a lentil-beet veggie burger/sandwich AND a almond/banana/blueberry protein smoothie AS WELL as potatoes and a salad on the side. Hence why my tummy aches so much. And this was 5 hours ago!

So I called in this supreme Pu-erh tea. A few chunks into the yixing and 30 seconds later I have me a cup of dark dark super smooth, bottom layer earth tea. Hope to starting feeling better soon.

I steeped this pot PERFECTLY. I used below boiling water and let sit before rinsing these delicate looking leaves. Steeped for 15-20 seconds. Nice light piss greenish/yellow color. Extremely smooth taste. Nice warm fuzzy feeling. No noticeable tannin taste. Exactly the green tea I was looking to enjoy right now.

Iced Tea Vanilla Soy Latte made from the @steepster survey prize.

http://dessireegreen.tumblr.com/post/169241023/iced-tea-vanilla-soy-latte

Roasty and Toasty.. I enjoyed this today.

In fact, it was my deciding factor on where to go to lunch.

You see, I brought frozen Trader Joes burritos with me to work… but I’ve been eating those same damn burritos at work for awhile now. I decided to treat myself and eat out today. I was torn between a fresh cheap sandwich (a 10min. walk to the left) or a nice refreshing Teas’ Tea from the health food store (10min. walk to the right).

The Tea won. Which is really the only good thing about that grocery store. You have to check the expiration dates there. Too many times has an Odwalla or fresh fruit medley been bought, then returned promptly for having a really really nasty taste or smell from being past it’s date. So I decided to go safe, and went for a small caesar with a hummus wrap.

Harvest Market on 8th Street. Always check the expiration dates! That market should be fined. But they have every kind of Teas’ Tea, so I keep shopping there.

one cup before my ride into work.

-just received the art of tea prize from the steepster survey. excited to try a new brand of tea.

I don’t think this is the same tea I’ve been drinking. I think I have the more recent pick, the supreme pick. It’s extremely floral on the nose. And is a tea that enjoys extremely hot water. Takes several steeps to open the leaves. But once open, you know it’s time to make another fresh batch. On my 4th or 5th steep left over from yesterday.

made a quick cup and savored it before hopping on my bike into work today. 2nd steep left over from yesterday morning in the yixing. I could’ve steeped it for longer, but as I mentioned, it was a quick cup.

toasty roasty and refreshy. brewed in a gaiwan. nice big leaves opening up.

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a little on the weak side today, as i continued my brews from yesterday. I think the limit is about 8 gaiwan steeps.

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Grabbed on the way out the door to brunch.