Incendiare

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Back on the Island! I wanted to stop in at a DT today but I think I’ll leave that for tomorrow. Most of my teas are packed away at the back of the closet so I’ll need to fish those out. I feel so disoriented here! The last of this was tucked away in the lazy susan so that made things easier, at least.

Blah blah blah. Reading the description, either my taste buds have completely lost focus or… I don’t know, but this doesn’t come off as honey-ish or even floral. I get burnt toast. Verrrrry toasty. Maybe a little bit of brown sugar but mostly dry toast.

I’m also experiencing a mineral note in subsequent steeps. I’m going to call it quits at steep number three.

You know how I was whining about residence kicking students out during the winter break? Someone finally got back to me and said that grad students are allowed to stay after all! So perhaps I should accept, but I only have three days left, so let’s hope they could get the contract and money in three days. Got to make up my mind soon!

So this tea, if we should call it that. I’ve had a tall boy of this in my mom’s cupboard since last year. No Frill’s had them on sale for like 50 cents a piece so why not. Had it chilling in the fridge, just cracked it open, and it reminds me of my childhood. Well, more accurately, when I was 10- to 13-years-old. That’s when I got into Lipton Brisk iced tea. Used to crave it, even after basketball practice.

But yeah, it’s super sweet, but not bad.

This may be unfair to rate since someone from a perfume forum sent this to me a few years ago and I just found it in my mom’s cupboard. It’s old so of course you can’t expect much.

Sure enough it tastes like watery cinnamon water with some weird, almost astringent clove. I’m sure it would have been much better had I enjoyed it when I got it.

A while ago, my mom said, “I don’t want it that way” so now I have the Backstreet Boys in my head.

Tell me why
Bagged tea makes my taste buds weep
Holiday Chai
It’s not worth more than one steep
Tell me why
Stale tea is so passé
Get off my tea tray

Crazy me tried this cold steeped. It turned out better than expected! It tastes more like chocolate espresso than a malt ball, and although that may seem like a weird flavour to experience cold, it reminds me of iced coffee. I wonder what it would be like if I added milk? I think I’ll do that when I have about 1/3 of the pint left. Maybe. I don’t know, we just may have a wimp out on our hands.

More cold brew for me. This batch definitely tastes better that way. Not as sweet and more toasty rice for the win. I’d like to finish a bit more tea before going back to the Island so there would be less to take back! Cold brewing takes care of that.

Ok, off topic, but what should I make of this? I got accepted into university residence for the fall. Sounds great, right? Especially with one year to go, it would sooner make sense to do that then to have to buy all new furniture (since my previous roommate provided the furniture in the current place I’m in). I read the contract, and lo and behold, they kick you out for three weeks around Christmas/Winter break. Whaaaat? Where does a person go if you are supposed to stay and do your research? Or have a job? Or if you’re an international student and can’t go home? Apparently if you’re caught on the premises they can evict you or something. So this may be a deal breaker. I mean, has anyone ever heard of such a thing before?

End slightly perplexed rant.

Another hearty sipdown. I’ve been sick over the past couple days. Picked up the “stomach flu” from someone at the community garage sale, so I’ve been restricted to water up until now.

Even though I’m still super dehydrated, I finished this up à la cold brew. I prefer DT’s and hope one of the stores still has some, but this is pretty good too.

Ugggggh, what a day. The community garage sale is this weekend, so when I was rushing to get to my grandma’s, since my mom and I are teaming up with her, I backed into the garage door. The sad part is my mom did it a couple times before, and I THOUGHT I learned from that second-hand, but just the series of events led up to it. There goes all the garage sale money to fix it. :(

It’s been rainy on and off today, tons of mosquitoes, so Anxi Fo Shou seems appropriate. I think I actually prefer the first infusion. It’s the most cocoa-y, and I’m not crazy over the mineral notes that strengthen with every subsequent infusion.

What a stupid day.

Had this for breakfast yesterday and today. I know I know, sorry my notes have been supremely boring. I only brought an x amount of tea to my mom’s with me.

I normally prefer it cold but I’ve been drinking it hot with soy over the past couple days and it’s wonderful. Vanilla is such a perfect flavour. Now I want more vanilla teas (well, that’s not new).

And now I’ve moved onto this one for dessert pt. II. Added a little bit of Silk soy. Hmm, I’m tasting that artificial sweetness more than before. Perhaps because I just finished a cup of S’mores which doesn’t have that, so the contrast is there.

Should I feel bad for not steeping multiple times? I’m not going to, and to be honest, I rarely do with these kinds of teas. I’m impatient and want to move onto something else but don’t want to store the steeped leaves anywhere either!

Had this for dessert. The graham cracker is stronger this time around. I don’t know why, but this is the only chocolatey tea from DTT that I actually like. It doesn’t have that artificial taste that the others have. Go figure!

Coming home meant sipping this down! Acquired Taste kindly sent a sample last year. It’s pretty good, but not sure if I’d actually buy it The peppercorns are there giving off a little heat and the chocolate isn’t overly artificial. It just seems a little 2D to me though?

Oh well, more room in my virtual cupboard.

Wanted to finish up the rest of my Den’s Tea genmaicha so I mixed some with 52teas’ Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha, resulting in a refreshing cold brew. Den’s cut down on the sweetness of the Marshmallow Treat. It was a great balance. Very summery.

Mega sip down. I’ve had better EGC’s, and am now waiting to try Zen’s that I left back at home, so I polished this off by cold steeping a few jugs. The base lends a weird note to this blend, and the bergamot and cream aren’t strong enough for my liking. One more down!

300th tasting note! I’ve enjoyed this precious gem a few times before but haven’t bothered writing about it until now.

Of course, this note will be old news to a lot of Steepsterites already, but I still need to rave about this velvety, malty chocolate wonder. It’s utterly amazing how this doesn’t have any additional flavours, because I’d swear that this was infused with cacao.

Currently on my second steep but there will be more to come, as everyone who’s tried this knows how Laoshan Black is a killer multiple steeper. Both the malt and chocolate are going strong. There’s a natural sweetness swirling around in here too. Brown sugar perhaps?

I got my mom to taste it this time around and while she doesn’t get the malt, she tastes the sugariness. The only thing I have left to do is keep steeping and sipping away whilst I wait for Purolator to deliver a parcel.

I normally enjoy this cold as a smoothie or latte but I thought I’d enjoy a hot cup of this beauty this early afternoon.

My mom has a cute mini teaspoon hanging around in the drawer so I measured with that. Nothing to sift with but it turned out great anyway.

Grassy with a light French vanilla accent. Probably still my favourite flavoured matcha.

Not a surprise, but did you know that this makes a faaaabulous iced tea? I had it cold steeping in the fridge for three days since I haven’t been home to enjoy it, so I was a little scared to try it. But it’s coconut heaven! I like it even more cold than hot. And the base didn’t go weird at all. Just remained fresh and ever so gently floral.

I still prefer DT’s hot. Or at least I think I do. I really hope one of the stores still has it because I won’t be able to make it to a store for another 2-3 weeks. But for now, this is satisfying my coconut oolong craving.

Yay, genmaicha! I’m trying this using one of the filters they provided in my sample kit, which is très convenient because the matcha isn’t settling to the bottom of my mug.

The bright green colour of the dry leaf is lovely. Looks and smells fresh.

The addition of matcha here makes this a little more vegetal, and maybe a touch sweeter too. The rice is as toasty as ever, which balances out that extra green vegetal vibe.

Very well done, Den’s Tea. Although I’ll admit that I’m old-fashioned and still prefer my genmaicha on the toastier side.

Oh, Grandma. I’ve had this at her house quite a few times and every time, it is so freakishly bitter. To be fair, she plops the bag into the teapot of just-boiled water AND leaves it in there. I don’t even know what to say.

I had a double-double (two creams, two sugars) very early at the hospital this morning and it’s really not that bad. I do find though that it can sometimes taste like cardboard. I always thought it was the paper cup but you never know.

Maybe it was because I was super tired or fighting with an uncomfortably dry contact lens, but this time it was considerably less cardboard-y. Actually, none to be had.

It’s a standard mass-produced Red Rose-like black tea. Maybe I like it because of the cream? I never ask for cream anywhere else nor do I ever have it at home, and come to think of it, I enjoy TH’s coffee as a double-double.

I’ll be a little kinder with the rating.

My mom had her eye surgery, and it seems like it’ll be successful. I say “will” because she won’t be able to see out of it for weeks, and it takes three months to heal. But it looks like all will go well.

I tried this the other day but thought it wasn’t tasting note-worthy because I didn’t add enough leaf. The first cup was a little watery, barely malty. Just that faint classic DTT chocolate taste. Adding 2% milk drowned everything out and I was left with hot watered down milk.

Now, it’s much better. By the way, the dry leaf, to me, is more chocolatey than malty, again, that classic chocolate flavouring in DTT.

This second cup is maltier and more chocolatey. But the good part is that the maltiness puts a damper on the overwhelming sweetness that I personally experience when drinking a DTT dessert tea. I kind of wish it were maltier though. I was expecting MALT. This is a whisper of it. Ok, maybe louder than a whisper. But it doesn’t taste like a Whopper to me, sorry.

But it’s good. Wouldn’t buy it again, but finishing this will be relatively easy.

I’m finally getting down to this. I have some cold brewing in the fridge, but for now, I’ve only experienced this hot.

The dry leaf smells like milky, creamy coconut. Toasted coconut. My mom commented that it smells good enough to eat, like baked goods. Macaroons maybe?

The taste is quite pleasant. A little more floral than expected, but the coconut is there. I wouldn’t be surprised if the coconut comes out even more in the cold brew. I think I may prefer DT’s version though. It’s more coconutty. I’m a coconut fiend so I always appreciate more. I see it’s not on their site anymore but I wonder if some stores still carry it.

I’m watching International Househunters right now, and they’re showing Kongsberg, Norway! Love this show. It’s a wonderful way to see the world. Paired with this tea, it’s a relaxing morning.

Bittersweet sip down. While this means I can go on and try something new (I don’t like having everything opened at once), I really enjoyed this iced. Coconut + green tea = Refreshment City. And the price is super decent too.

Mmm, topped off today’s supper (spinach salad with almonds, blueberry goat cheese, and strawberries) with 1/2 a pint of strawberry matcha smoothie:

1 tsp French Vanilla matcha
200ml Silky organic soy milk
5 strawberries
1/2 tsp chia seeds

I only had one problem. I wanted more!