It’s taken me several times to find the sweet spot for this one - it’s a “no kidding I mean don’t put boiling water on the leaves” green. But at just a couple minutes with gently heated water, this actually does turn into a nice, sweet Assam lite.
1257 Tasting Notes
I’m tired of winter already and needed something with a springy lilt to it. This did the trick. I wasn’t careful with water temp; let it get to a boil, so that may have killed off a little bit of the delicacy. Got lots of mango and not much peach. But still a well-done blend for a grocery store brand.
This one’s due for full review at itsallabouttheleaf.com, but a good quality morning tea that will merit full descriptive paragraphs. (Some companies, I think, dump in a blend of meh black tea and call it English Breakfast for window dressing.)
No notes yet.
Another treat from laurenpressley. This is capital Y Yummy—the almonds and vanilla give the green tea a really nice sweetness. None of these flavors I particularly associate with “holiday,” but all the better for me. It’s going to be enjoyable long after I get the Christmas tree needles vacuumed up this afternoon.
Tossed in a spoonful of lavender, which tones down the lemon-mint tang, but makes this downright pleasant and aromatherapeutic.
A nice surprise … left the bag in longer than usual while schlepping around getting ready for work, and the resulting brew was dark and fruity tasting—a little currant-y even. Which made me wonder first if I’d actually remembered to wash out my tumbler and I was getting previous-cup residue. Nope.
So the resulting taste treat made up for the “meh” quote on the bag tag this time: Read books. They’re good for us.
Most of my white tea reviews lean heavily to the complaint side. Thanks to laurenpressley, I finally found one to love. The apple-peppercorn thing gives this delicate tea some flavor, and even though it’s nowhere near the ingredient list, I could swear there’s a white chocolate thing happening in the background.
Nice, nice, nice!
Very light as usual, but today it’s so cold, it’s all about the HOT leaf juice, not its flavor.
My thoughtful and creative gift-giving husband saw to it I had about 3 bulk ounces each of German chamomile, Oregon peppermint, and lavender for experimenting and blending.
So I tried a teaspoonful of the lavender with my old standby Monk’s Blend. May have to work with the proportions a little, but it tones down the grenadine sweetness a little and — well, tastes a little like a purple Crayola. (Not that I ever actually ate one during my formative years.)
But then again, if you’re a sucker for blank paper and a brand new box of pointy crayons….
Anyway, it’s pleasant and purple and I’m feeling decidedly relaxed and Christmas pudding-y.
How times have changed … used to be it was the child that was awake at 4 a.m. on Christmas morning due to the excitement; now it’s the parents awake at 4 a.m. on Christmas morning due to insomnia. So we decided on a lark to leave the teenager in bed and go out to breakfast wherever we could find an open door. I toted my own bag, not knowing where we’d land, and good ol’ Irish Breakfast is a can’t-miss morning guarantee. Cranberry orange pancakes at Denny’s.
One thing that hasn’t changed…the down-on-my-knees sense of awe and blessing that always hits me on Christmas morning, no matter who’s up first: after all, “the Word became flesh and took up residence among us.” May He be in residence with you and your families today.
Just seems like the day to hit all the holiday favorites. With a little sugar and milk, eminds me of cinnamon spread (which I don’t know actually exists, but sounds reasonable) on a graham cracker. I think I still prefer my Ginger Snappish with the little extra kick of lemon.
I also ginger-snapped up some of this on our Christmas run to the city. I now feel quite well-stocked for the winter!
I found some! I found some! Had to drive clear across the state to do it, but I snagged some in time for Christmas! Sweet and nutmeggy, better with milk. Thank you, Dierberg’s!
It’s cold and lead-balloon cloudy, I’m working on a writing assignment that’s about to wring me dry , and I needed a little internal sunshine. This is cheerful and fruity without being too tart—-now where’s a sun lamp?
Finally had the opportunity to sit down and write a thoughtful and positive review on this one for www.itsallabouttheleaf.com. Then as hubby wandered by, I stuck the cup under his nose and asked, “What do you smell?”
“Bug spray.”
Rest assured…it’s better than that!
No notes yet.
In the pouch, this smelled great (fruitcake in a cup) and I succumbed to temptation and picked out some dried fruit bits to chew on in great anticipation while I prepped this. I mean, fruit and peppercorns? Cool!
Steeped…maybe not so much, maybe I should’ve let it go a little longer. Spice hints with no fruit. I don’t sweeten often, but tossed in a sugar cube and that helped a bit. I may have been better off eating it raw :)
Still, I believe I owe thanks to Doulton for the opportunity to try this one…I’m pulling out some winter-ier samples that I tucked away for lower temps.
Just a comfy old favorite to match my Saturday morning-at-the-writing-desk ratty jeans and baggy Mizzou sweatshirt. The grenadine scent this morning makes me think of fruitcake…which makes me hungry for fruitcake…which makes me shake my head because if I’m that ADD this early in the morning, it’s going to be a LONG way to 1200 words….
This is really nice. Leads with the sweet blueberry and ends with a little green tang.
As I was slurping this out of my Tervis Tumbler (best travel mug in the world; you can taste what’s in it instead of just the lid) I was thinking this is far too fine a tea to waste on a gloomy, cloudy Thursday morning.
It smells great, both dry and in the cup. I could just stick my nose in the pouch and leave it there. It steeps up golden and malty and honey-ish…no flavoring or additives, just great tea.
Then again, maybe this is just what I needed on a gloomy, cloudy Thursday morning.
I think I’ve finally mastered this one: make sure water is nowhere near close to boiling and barely let the bag get wet. No bitterness this time around and the pomegranate is nice and fragrant.
No notes yet.
Made a pot of this yesterday for consideration and review for itsallabouttheleaf.com. I guess the sign of a really quality tea is that even when you leave the leaves overnight, make a second steep rapidly and distractedly on a Monday morning, and drink it with cherry Pop-Tarts, it’s still noticeably excellent.
Darjeeling and pop-tarts. There you go, breakfast connoisseurs.
