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Continuing to nick away at the work stash. This is one notch more drinkable than the plain ol’ yellow label stuff. Nothing to seek out especially, but not one to avoid, either. Just tea.

Spring break and a quieter pace at work made it possible for me to do some much-needed office cleaning, especially the tea bin, which had turned into “the dump for stuff I didn’t think was that great at home.” I did a little shameless thinning and pitching, and I may need to do more, as evidenced by this musty bag of Bigelow.

Had it been fresh and steeped with a little more care, I could’ve liked it. Bigelow is pretty good about not overdoing things—both berry flavors were primarily “just berry,” even though hibiscus was a primary ingredient. (Why, people, why?) Oh, well…another one bit the dust!

On a run to the store today, I spotted all kinds of flying stock out for a sail on this (finally) sunny afternoon—Canada geese on the farm pond and two turkey buzzards that had I wanted to get close, would have reached past my knees. So in their honor, duck stuff.

This is an amazingly sweet and floral oolong; looks like honey in the cup and has some honey heft to it as well. My original review tagged the scent as honeysuckle, which is probably most accurate, but today’s cup reminds me a little of lilacs as well. Far too fancy for an afternoon of de-skankifying floors and fixtures, but I’m enjoying it anyway!

Since there’s coconut in this green tea/walnut/almond blend, I’m endeavoring not to let it sit until next Nutcracker season. However, with a little mental imagery, this would do nicely retitled “Nutty Tea Party” or “Almond Macaron.” Very sweet and pastry-like.

A whole Saturday with sunshine, spring weather, everybody in the house healthy, first load of laundry dried out on the line and a clean(ish) kitchen floor…love the fresh starts and do-overs the day has provided.

And with that…I decided to not ruin a cup of The de l’Abbaye. (First try a while back didn’t go well.) With attention, a shorter steep, and water that didn’t scorch it, it was light and beautifully scented. I’m not sure I picked out either the plum or the caramel individually, but the fruitiness nicely complimented the (only slightly) bitter veggie-ness of the sencha.

Of late, I really don’t want cutesy tea in the morning—just give me something stout, dark, and unflavored. So when I grabbed this yesterday, it was almost too bourbony-cocoa for a morning brew. I remedied that today by topping the second steep with a teaspoon of plain Irish Breakfast. That toned it down appropriately for a.m. us.

That said, I still like the cocoa-bourbony sweetness for an afternoon or dessert option.

I think boxes and labels must be different in the U.S…my box from Walmart is blue and dubbed “Original Blend” and that’s what pops up when I search for orange pekoe on the Red Rose website. Minor detail.

Everybody needs at least one extremely cheap, bog standard (yep, there’s that wonderful descriptor again!) bagged black tea, 80 to a box, that you can can swig at will without much attention to time or temperature. I’m on my last few precious bags of Murphy’s Irish Breakfast, so I’m going to need an office replacement. This is in the running, although it is stronger on the sharp tenor notes instead of the malty bass that I prefer.

Decided to immerse myself in all things Eire today: shamrock green sweater, Irish Whiskey Tea (Teamaze) for breakfast, rereading an installment from “An Irish Country Doctor” series, listening to The Irish Rovers, and this for my work break because, well, green.

I don’t have a lot of matcha experience so this may just be ignorance talking, but it was a little too high on the bitter and vegetal scale for my preferences. I’m lily-livered and want my green teas gentle, sweet-ish, or flavored. No harm done, horizons expanded, and with that, I’ll leave you with this little Irish blessing I found: If God sends you down a stony path, may He give you strong shoes.

I decided to “rebrand” this for myself—had just enough to make a double-strength cup of this white tea with white chocolate flakes, added some milk, and ate a handful of jelly beans alongside…Voila! Cottontails. A timely sipdown for the last official days of winter (but how lovely it is to have the windows thrown open this evening and listen to the peeper frogs on Turkey Creek.)