JoonSusanna

Well, I’m kind of embarrassed that I’ve had this tea in my cupboard for so long without even trying it. Today I’ve been loving fruit flavors, whether actual or in tea, so this was a good choice.

It is a pretty tea once steeped – brown with lavender undertones. It’s possible I’m seeing purple because its in the name, but blueberry does tend to give anything its in a purple tinge.

This certainly smells like blueberry! It reminds me of blueberry pancakes, but I think that’s because both those and this tea are served hot and have blueberries in. The steeping parameters were right on, too – there’s no bitterness, though things haven’t cooled down enough for me to say whether that’s the case for the whole cup. Right now I get all aspects of a natural blueberry – sweet, tart, perfect.

I’ve never had a purple tea before so I can’t attest to its flavor in this. If you like blueberry then for sure give this a try, though – it doesn’t get more fabulous, and it doesn’t need any additives to make it that way!

SO GLAD I restocked this with my last 52teas order. I was nearly out and that would not have been a good thing!

This really is such a consistently good cup of tea. Today it was mapley buttered pancakes in that order. Perfect way for me to start the morning before I go play around on my piano! I love days off!

Some sugar in this made all the flavors pop. I mean, the flavors themselves were good the first time I had this – unsweetened dark chocolate with that toasted rice undertone – but there was kind of a burnt edge to it.

With the sugar, honeyed caramel and chocolate notes just overwhelmed any char flavor and made it unbelievably good. Chocolate rice krispy treats in my cup. WOW.

Pretty fabulous, if I do say so myself!

I have such awesome coworkers. I mean, I really could see myself staying at this job indefinitely because of them.

Case in point: last night, one of them came up to me and said “so I tried this tea – Earl Grey. Did you know it’s citrusy?” It’s like when little kids come home from school and tell you things they’ve learned that are completely obvious to us (e.g. shapes, counting etc) but they don’t realize we already know about it. Almost like an innocence? Anyway, it made me smile.

Guess I’ll be bringing her some EGC to blow her mind on Friday. Loose, no less, so she can really be amazed.

I had this one a few days ago and it’s really the only tea I’ve had in a while. I have the next few days off though so I’ll probably change that. I’m almost through one pouch of this and I’m glad I have another to gall back on…I really do reach for it quite a lot, especially considering the variety I have on hand to choose from.

I keep looking out for it when its reblended but I’ll probably just need to buy in bulk for myself. It’s so consistently yummy!

5 g. leaf, 500 ml. water, below parameters. No additives.

In a nutshell: smooth, malty unsweetened cocoa powder with a peppery bite at the end of the sip and a thick honeyed texture as it cools. The liquor is mahogany, with no sediment since the leaves themselves are so long and spindly. I got the boyfriend to give it a shot because it meets his criteria of not being a dessert tea.

He liked it. Well at least, after he took a sip and handed me back the cup he said “what is this?” in a tone that indicated he would like to recreate some for himself. The beauty of this is that it’s a breakfast tea I can have without milk or sugar – between this and East Frissy I’ve it covered I think!

Ugh. Got like 3 hours of sleep last night since I had to be up so early. I really really REALLY hate seeing 6:45 AM unless I’m about to head off to bed now. Oh well, I’m sure I will make up for that tonight.

So when we had a break at my Nurse Residency class today I found some of this near the coffee machine. It was a sad little box, all alone and neglected in favor of the coffee pot but I was super glad to see there was at least something there for me!

This steeped up pretty dark and pretty quickly too. I added some sugar and creamer and it was surprisingly flavorful. The bergamot was at the forefront like it should be in all earl greys, with a solid, if unmemorable, black base. Not the best Earl Grey I’ve had but not bad for a bagged option!

So, uh, this.

I probably overleafed this one. It was super dark and there was a bunch of sediment at the bottom. And it had this off smell – I actually don’t know that it’s off so much as woodsy – from the honeybush I guess?

Anyway, so I think strawberry+pineapple+marshmallow does not work for me. Strawberry+pineapple would have been fine, and strawberry + marshmallow, also fine, but these three together are not playing nice. Maybe if I go down on the leaf next time they won’t fight with each other so much?

Or maybe I should try it cold? Though I did let it cool and it was still a bit bleh.

Sigh – I’ll experiment and report back.

I just had to know if I was right about the circus peanuts smell, so I shoved it under my boyfriend’s nose this morning. He agreed! I don’t know why it makes me so happy when that happens, but there it is.

Judging by the massive banana chunk I just added to my leaf this is going to be a pretty strong banana-y cup. Adding milk and sugar again doesn’t give me the graham cracker note (boo), but it does taste like a combination of Coconut Cream Pie and Banana Bread. I liked both of those blends separately, and now I know I like them together too.

I’m pretty I’ll grab an extra pouch of this as an add on whenever a new tea of the week comes out that I like. In other words, probably this week. :)

Backlog from 2 days ago..

This smelled so familiar when I opened it…and it just came to me what it reminds me of! It’s like circus peanuts! Kind of a banana + marshmallow smell. There are huuuge flakes of coconut in this. One of my sad tea regrets is that I never tried Franks’ Coconut Banana hojicha blend that came out a few years ago, because I just knew those two flavors would go well together. Based on smell alone of this leaf I’m thinking I wasn’t wrong!

Maybe I’m highly suggestible but I do really get banana pudding in this. Even some wafer/graham cracker notes, like all banana good banana puddings have. I did add milk so I think that helps the creaminess but I’m still shocked at how right on this tea tastes.

Hmm.. there’s plenty left on the site. I’ll give this another go and if I get the same results I’m going to add some more to my one pouch. I’m hoping I do, because that first cup was pretty amazing!

I’m one of those people who logs a tea every time she has it. I do it to keep track of which ones I do drink over and over again, and how far apart between cups I go, etc. I’m a data nerd, and this is a fun way of collecting it!

All that is to say I’m sorry you’ve seen so many notes on this. But it is my work tea and so every once in awhile I’ll make it to get a nice few minutes of relaxation in before I go finish my shift. I’ve not yet figured out a way to make loose leaf conducive to a hospital so until I do you can pass these logs right on by.

I will say that if you like cinnamon this in sachets is about the most convienent tea for traveling anywhere, a little hot water and you’re good to go. I must really try and find some more teas like that, really…

Haven’t had this one in a while!

It really is a great rooibos. It leaves a film on my tongue, which I don’t really like, but it is naturally sweet and tastes like icing. And I love me some icing!

For whatever reason I’ve steered away from the caffeine free teas in my collection but I really do need to change that. This one is far too good to go 6 months (!?) in between cups!

I am KILLING it with the sipdowns lately! Down to… 71? At least for the next two days, until I get my new 52Teas order in, haha. Also, apparently my tastebuds are going to ignore the season and pretend that pumpkin is acceptable to drink year round. Which it is, I guess… but it’s 70 degrees outside. And I’m drinking this hot. For someone who primarly lives on iced tea come hot weather, I’m not sure I know who I am anymore.

I reread my old tasting note about this one before making it and it’s a good thing I did. My instinct was to drink it plain but apparently that did not go to plan before. So, I trusted myself and added milk and sugar.

Do you know, the pumpkin really came out this way? Last time was mostly spice, this time seems more like pumpkin filling. I get this idea of a cinnamon pastry crust but mostly in the aftertaste – it is pumpkin pie filling, front and center.

I liked this better with additives, but it still wouldn’t be my go to pumpkin tea. Glad I got to try it though!

SIPDOWN! Good thing too, because that Banana Pudding black tea really could not be passed up and I’m trying to hold strong with my “75 teas or less” rule. Although who am I kidding? I’m never going to be too far below 75… :)

This has always lended itself well to a latte and tonight is no exception. The strawberry is still reminiscent of pie filling, and though I’ve lost the pastry flavor over time, this is still pretty flavorful.

I liked this one while I had it, but I’m not sweating the fact it’s not in stock…. Frank has more than enough yummy tea in his inventory to keep my tastebuds occupied!

A co worker got this on sale and made a point to give me a bag, since she knows I’m really into tea. I’m not going to lie, part of me was elated to be known for my habit! :)

This wasn’t bad, really. The peppermint smell was evident the second the bag hit the hot water. The water began to darken immediately and I actually should have removed the teabag rather than let it stay in the cup because it got pretty darn strong….luckily mint is a pleasant flavor!

Not bad, but I wish it had actually had some tea leaves in it – could have used that caffeine yesterday…

I’m on standby tonight – meaning I have to be up until 2 AM when work will officially call me off. And since it’s been a while since I worked nights, I’ve transitioned back to days and am DRAGGING. Luckily I’m at home with my tea stash to help combat the sleepiness!

I got an ounce of this with my last Butiki order, since the sample I tried was so very amazing. I didn’t try it with sugar last time though, and everyone raves about it when it’s sweetened, so I decided to give it a go since sugar + caffeine work really well when staying awake is an issue. :)

The caramel and vanilla notes are the strongest here, in the scent and in the taste. The sugar does indeed make the flavors pop, but I feel like in the process I’ve lost a bit of the tamarind itself. I’m hoping that when it cools this will change.

Nope…still mostly caramel and vanilla. Still really good, though. I made 2 cups worth of tea in the Breville, so I’ve been adding the unsweetened part to what’s already in my cup and that seems to be bringing out the tamarind more. I really do seem to prefer this one less sweet, which is just really strange since usually that’s NOT my norm.

It’s a great companion for tonight, though, while I watch the minutes tick by until I can go get some sleep…

Backlog from Thursday morning.

I was in a rush to get out the door so I didn’t get to really focus on it as much as I would have liked. It’s a shame, too – every sip was absolutely fabulous. Buttery, syrupy pancakes in my mouth! This always gives me a good cup but yesterday’s was better than usual. And I’m almost out…and seriously banana pudding tea sounds yummy…so I’ll probably be placing an order soonish.

This is one I plan on always having around!

This is one of two EGC’s that I cuurently own. It can be inconsistent but today I got a really good cup out of it – the vanilla was buttery and the black tea was smooth, with the bergamot sandwiched just perfectly between the other two flavors. I wish it always tasted like this – it would be my go to EGC then!

Sample sipdown! I’ve imposed a moratorium on myself that 75 is the maximum number of teas I should have at any time. This brings me down to 73…a few more and I can go shopping, haha!

Steep notes: 12 oz. water, 2 tsp. leaf, below parameters, no additives.

I was worried I’d used too much leaf this time around, and that it would be bitter. The liquor was a dark chocolate brown, nearly opaque actually. It ended up absolutely perfect though: unsweetened, smooth dark chocolate, hazelnut at the end of the sip. The flavoring in this is amazingly well done, and just the right intensity.

I’m late on the bandwagon for this, it seems, but no less impressed. Perhaps my next tea order will be a Harney one then? :)

Note #500!!

This is actually a backlog from yesterday night. I went to the Dogwood Festival in ATL yesterday because the boyfriend was meeting up with friends from work. It was just one of those days where everything is an uphill battle and generally things don’t go as planned. We had a terrible experience in a restaurant, got sunburned in April, and spent an hour trying to find a parking spot. The reward? Huge crowds of people with no concept of personal space.

Yay, my favorite! – she says, sarcastically.

So my nerves were shot by the time we got home and I wanted something to calm me down. When I perused my cupboard and saw I hadn’t even opened this (?!) and it was a Dan Cong it was game on.

Dry leaf: Honeyed and sweet smelling. Dark, slightly malty and heavy, very much like a black tea. No trace of salt/ocean air, which I normally get in the scent of a dry Dan cong leaf. I don’t mind though – the smell is already starting to calm me down and I haven’t even steeped it up yet.

Steep notes: 5 g. in Midori (my 4 oz. gaiwan). Rinsed x2 as directed on the Verdant website.

1st steep: 10 seconds, the taste is honey/nectary with that definitive lingering peach aftertaste. This is astringent mostly when it’s hot – as it cools that seems to fade away and the sweet peachiness remains. The liquor is a pale peach color as well. Even though I did boiling water like Verdant recommends, the leaf now smells a bit burned…I really did love the smell of it dry and am sad it went away.

2nd steep: 15 seconds. This steep was lighter in color but more fruity than honeyed. Whereas in the first step the fruity character remained predominately in the aftertaste, it is apparent throughout the entire sip. I’m getting the saltwater tang in the scent of the liquor now. Makes me wish I was by a beach for sure.

3rd steep: 30 seconds. There’s a bit of pepper in this steep. Still very fruity and the liquor is not as intense in flavor in the previous iteration.

4th steep: 50 seconds. The astringency is stronger with this steep. Still a strong peach quality though it seems a bit more muted this go around.

5th, 6th, 7th steeps (1:30, 3:00, and 7:00 respectively) Each of these steeps tasted pretty samey to me…that is, nothing really stuck out that was different than the preceding steeps. Fruity, roasty goodness.

I’m so glad I found this last night. I’ll have to try this Western style and see how it compares (see if I get the salty/savory note a bit more) but having it gong fu style was just the perfect way to undo all the crazy of my day. Tea for the win, as always!

It’s Sunday! It’s Sunday and I don’t have to go to work tonight!

This is a biscuits and tea kind of morning, for sure. I beat the boyfriend’s wake up by an hour so I had plenty of time to get the biscuits together, throw them in the oven, put on a pot of tea and clean up after myself. I love when days start off productive!

Lately I’ve been shying away from dessert teas for some reason. I’ve been wanting the heavier unflavored blacks and oolongs. This morning screamed breakfast tea and I remembered I had this and it had been awhile. The Keemun in this made me leary, from what I remember. I think I was able to taste the smoke and this girl does not do smoke in tea.

Luckily though I don’t get any of that this morning. With milk and sugar this is just a strong, clean, get moving kind of drink. A fantastically rich mouthfeel just rounds out it perfectly. Glad I found this one in my cupboard today!

This was a free sample with my Butiki order – thanks Stacy!

The dry leaf smells very caramel/cream like. Vague nutty scent. Once steeped everything smells roasted. I get a slight vegetal quality that I think is the Mao Jian. I know I’ve had Mao Jian before from Tea Vivre, so let me pull up my notes on that and see..

Yep, spinachy and sweet was how I described that tea, which is true of the base here as well. There is an additional cream undertone with some caramel in the taste. The nutty flavor is blended perfectly with the Mao Jian – so much so that really I just feel like maybe Mao Jian always had pistachio in the flavor profile – it works together that seamlessly. The mouthfeel on this is creamy and I could see how sugar would make this a true ice cream tea, but I like this fine plain.

Not bad! I am glad I got the sample size, though, since usually I just can’t do flavored greens for more than a cup or two. I’ve liked almost everything I’ve tried from Butiki, though, and this is no exception!

SIPDOWN! This is the last of my sample from momo – it will be missed, but not for long as I definitely will be getting more of this one! Like last time, it is all strawberries and cream. I had a touch more leaf than I wanted to use for 12 oz., but there wasn’t any bitterness despite the extra tea… yay!

I’ve had both Strawberry Zabaglione by 52Teas, and Strawberry shortcake by DAVIDsTea, and both of those are similar in taste profile to this, but this edges both of those out on three points. One, it’s actually available for me to buy again. Two, it was consistently good both times I had it – both other teas seemed to be touch and go, sometimes when the parameters didn’t even change. Three, it has a good resteep where the others did not. Definite must buy!

And now for something only marginally related to tea:

There are so many things I’m happy about right now that I think I’ll list them:

1.) Payday
2.) 4 days off – all on a weekend, no less!
3.) It’s raining.
4.) My tea station has wheels!!!

That last one is especially awesome, and I really need to be extra nice to the boyfriend for it. I didn’t think I would particularly NEED the luxury of just moving my entire collection/set up into another room but it is REALLY awesome to just sit it near the couch and lazily reach over for refills.

Aside from a quick grocery store run and some laundry, this is probably what my day will look like: couch, books, Steepster, and bathroom. One more day until Taurus starts – I can’t think of a better way to welcome it!

It’s really looking like spring now. Like, the temperatures are staying nice rather than having trouble making up their minds. And it’s almost Taurus! I’m a Taurus rising and I have a slew of April/May birthdays in my family so this time of year feels like coming home. I always like any year better once May rolls around.

I had this the other night before going into work and it helped relax me, like it always does. I have it with milk and sugar but I tried a bit plain and can see how it might be a bit bitter or strong for those who typically don’t like to add anything to their teas. It really works best as a dessert tea, which are my favorite kind of teas anyway!

This is definitely one of my go to blends that I’m going to have to keep on hand. There’s a pound in my near future I’m sure…

This was a sample from my last Butiki order – thank you so much Stacy!

I took it to work with me for some reason – I don’t know why, exactly, because I don’t really have adequate brewing conditions at work. See: generic hot water heater, styrofoam cups. And a flavored green, no less? Clearly I’m ready for that 4 day vacation heading my way starting Thursday morning.

I have to say though, it wasn’t bad. I got the grassy green of a dragon well (besides sencha, that’s my favorite green) and then that acidic citrus note of the grapefruit. It was very light and fresh tasting, and above all, it tasted like what it was supposed to!

I liked this more as it cooled off, and was kind of bummed I didn’t get to try it iced. Even though generally I don’t drink iced greens, I think this would work that way. I can only imagine how tasty it will be when I can fully control every aspect of the steeping process!