gmathis

The level of this one is getting distressingly low. I have whined before about being the Black Hole of Flavors. As soon as I develop an I-want-a-pound-of-this affinity with something, it disappears off the face of the planet. (Same applies to Bath and Body Works and Yankee Candle scents.)

This is a lovely little melange of green tea, lemongrass, and lemon rind. Citrusy without being painfully tart. Inexpensive, too; everything you’d want in a humble little tea … except available, to the best of my knowledge. Sigh.

A sunny Sunday afternoon sipdown. A much needed dose of “yes, spring will come” both outside and inside.

You know how when you get to the dregs of a sample—enough for one cup, not enough for two—you just say, “aw, shucks” and dump the whole thing in. Wasn’t the wisest move in the world; turned the green tea base a little bitter on the back of the tongue. But the strawberry/vanilla was still sweet and pleasant at the front of each sip.

I fixed it, though…treat yourself to a big slab of cherry dump cake and you won’t notice the bitter at all :)

I’m overdue trying this one from Nicole, and I’ve been dreaming about being anywhere warm, sunny, and away for days, so why not?

Based on reviews I’ve read, I already had the preconception that Della Terra is a whiz at flavored teas. So I was expecting nothing but excellent…and got it.

Got the pineapple, got the coconut, got enough black tea that this would pass for a morning blend. An 8 oz. mug of micro-vacation. Pass the sunscreen.

Working on a sipdown of this one … it gets props for taking abuse. Dumped some water in my trusty Hot Shot, forgot that I had done so until it cooled, and tried a three minute steep in almost tepid water. It was still fresh and a touch fruity.

Phooey. Lost a whole rambly note on this one.

In short, it’s so light in color, even after 4-5 minutes, you wonder if there’s been mal-steep-function.

Conclusion: this is just supposed to be delicate. I don’t think I have a delicate or refined bone in my body; which may be why it puzzles me. (I expect black teas to wear ten-pound Doc Martens.)

Not much new or notable to say about this; it’s just such a happy little evening tea. Pick a dessert, any dessert, and it’s a lovely little go-with. Tonight we’re going with Pillsbury Apple Turnovers.

Wish I’d thought of it before the season was over; I should see if there’s any left at Food 4 Less.

Seems to me, and I’ve logged this before, that tulsi, with its lemony personality, is a perfect match for blueberry. (Though I did a quick search and haven’t found any commercial blenders who agree with me enough to package the combo.)

Tonight was no exception; I had a bitty-bit of aging Blueberry Cocktail from SpecialTeas, half-and-halved it with plain no-name tulsi from my local import grocery, and it was just lovely. A good nightcap for a brain that’s already flipped to TV test pattern listening to Lyle Lovett & Co. on Pandora. You couldn’t even get a blip if you hooked me up to a brain scan.

Uh-oh. We’re down to skimpy-ration level. This is definitely going on the wish list, underscored in red.

The package recommends a 2-3 minute steep. Followed that recommendation this morning, and while it’s still lovely good, I believe I prefer it my way: dark and rich, more toward the 4-5 minute mark.

This is a sweet and gentle little dragonwell; safe to drink in the evening.

(Just sniffled my way through Downton Abbey Season 3 Episode 4. I wonder what kind of tea Carson serves when…well, you know…happens.)

(Late to see it because weather messed up PBS reception last night and we got the dreaded NO SIGNAL signal. Put me in a vile mood all day until I could get my fix online. That’s just kind of pathetic, huh?)

…so I let the leaves dry overnight and did one more 2-minute-ish steep (the third one) this morning. Strange things happening…

First, this is getting darker with every steep. It’s almost ebony in color instead of letting up.

Second, I’m sitting peacefully in my happy chair enjoying a quiet house with the heater not running for a change and I hear this funny ringing sound coming from the end table. Specifically, from my tea mug. Warily, I pick it up. Yep, my cup is fizzing. High pitched snap, crackle, pop. Does pu-erh do that?

OK, even if it’s wrong, who doesn’t want to taste-test magical-colored ebony fizzing tea? Maybe it was the “bubbly” notion influencing my taste buds, but … yep … cola flavor.

This wins my prize for most humorously bizarre tea tasting experience. Honorable mention, anyway.

You experts would snicker at the clumsy and inelegant way I handle this tuocha; impatient with all the shaving and chipping it takes, today I just broke the confounded thing into manageable clumps and put them in my trusty Mason jar.

But the nice thing about this is it takes “clumsy and inelegant” without batting an elephant eyelash. Prime steeping time appears to be right at the 2 minute mark; results in a lovely, almost syrupy, medium-dark cuppa sweetness.

Turned off the alarm clock, sweet spouse let me sleep in, so I didn’t need open-yer-eyes-you-lazy-clod tea this morning for a change. This is pleasant, not too tart, but not artificially sweet. Tastes real.

If spring ever gets here, I would like to try this iced before my sample gets all sampled up.

Decaf Korakundah is a variety I picked up at Savoy last spring, hoping for a decent plain black decaf. Not so much…it isn’t unpleasant; it just isn’t much of anything. Tastes watered down, even at full strength.

So to finish out the sample, I topped it off with half a teaspoon of Blueberry Black tea Nicole sent from, uh, I think, Tropical Tea Co. Now we’ve got a little something going. Kept steep time light, so I don’t think it’ll buzz me too much to sleep tonight.

Not my favorite; the honey flavor is awfully strong and can turn on you, but I’ve learned the work-around for this one. Light touch on time, temp, and measurement.

Nearing the end of my bag; saving what’s left for stone-cold, wickedly grey, dreary evenings. (And the weather’s kind of yucky, too ;)

This is as close to coffee as I need to get. The chicory is just sweet enough to make additions unnecessary (though it’s tasty with milk and sugar). Roasty, toasty, and comfy.

Since the box is already open, I’m going to try to get this sipped up in near-future evenings; unless I transfer to a tin, I figure this might lose some steam by next Christmas.

But that doesn’t hurt my feelings. It’s such a nice little light cookie treat, especially with pineapple upside down cake. If they’d lose the “Sleigh Ride” moniker, I think this would be appropriate year-round.

I believe this one was in a little care package from Azzrian.

The pomegranate isn’t very strong; I’m thinking that may have been intentional on the part of the blender so it didn’t overpower the white tea. The leaves were long—really long—and a lovely green/white. Still enough flavor to stay in the mouth after you’ve swallowed.

A little bit of “c’mon spring!”

Have been hoarding the last 2-3 cups’ worth of leaves, but it’s time to let caution go. Boy, do I hope I’m this desirable when I’m over the hill!

Even oversteeped by a minute or so, this stuff is excellent. Today’s it’s burnt butterscotch instead of just plain sweet scotchie goodness. Green teas are just not friendly to the attention-deprived, are they?

The “just plain tea” binge continues. This is one that definitely fits the category. Not too much of an acidic bite, not bitter, takes a long steep without complaining. It just makes me smile.

Happy surprise: liked the sample so much I got a 4 ounce pouch when we were in NW Ark. at Christmas—room for great big blobs of dried pineapple and (I think) the cherries that weren’t in the teeny packet.

Gooooood stuff.

If I had to trim the pantry down to a dozen or so essentials (ha! put two tea packets in a basket and leave them unattended, they mate and multiply!) I think this one would be in it. Just a nice, clean, not-too-astringent Ceylon that needs no fussing, no additions.

Trying to re-start the digestive system after an evening of oh-no- I can’t-get-sick nausea, this was a good start. Basic. Sturdy.

My appreciation to Nicole for introducing this one to me!

Yep, the go-to for a tummy ache. I recommend buying in bulk. This is cheap, strong, effective, and a great blender and stretcher for second steeps and cheap teas that need a little boost.

Working from home today, which means time for a comfortable tea break in bona fide sunlight. Leisure tea and sunshine are going a long way to ease the gloomies that have plagued me (and, with apologies, the folks who have graciously read my grumpy and cantankerous tasting notes) all week.

My first note on this one had lots of floral references in it. Today, without monitoring temp very carefully—it was somewhere under boiling, how’s that? and a 2 minute steep, it is the color and flavor complexion of a Brach’s butterscotch candy, sans sugar.

There are several Belgian Chocolate options here; I clicked Metropolitan Tea because a friend sent this from a little tea house in Tennessee that I think private labels Metropolitan stuff.

This particular blend is nice—I am a calendula lover in blended tea and it adds a nice little kick to the cocoa-roo. Pairing it with some bittersweet dark chocolate highlighted the sweetness.

(Curious…anybody ever steep just plain calendula leaves? Just wondering how they do on their own.)