K S

7:00 PM and this is my first cup of the day! I have been outside enjoying the sun all afternoon. It was around 70 and gorgeous, even built a fire in the pit and roasted hot dogs.

Kind of stuck on this tea lately. Moving on will be a little easier since a new box of Teavivre samples just arrived today. It only took 9 days to get here from China! Amazing.

If I were to try this loose leaf version for the very first time today I would probably give it an 83 or so but it is my comfort tea so the high rating stands.

Today I poured it into my new double walled ceramic travel cup from Starbucks. It did not suck the flavor out of the cup like our plastic lined cups. It smelled like tea. It tasted like tea, and the ceramic felt good on the lips. The near boiling water made the rim very hot at first. Once it was cool enough to the touch, the tea was also cooled enough to drink comfortably. It fit securely in the cup holder of my car. I think I will like this cup. It did justice to my comfort tea.

Two days ago we had highs in the low 80’s. This morning it is 31. Spring come back. Oh well, the sun is shining and my head ache is gone.

I noticed I have not recorded a lot of tea drinking in the last week. I’ve had a lot of fast food tea and some Starbucks frappechino, but in general I’ve just been too busy.

My intent this morning was to have this make-shift gong fu style. That only works if you are awake and you only put a little water over the leaf. I poured my usual 12oz. Oops. So looks like mug style for me. No additives which is rare for me, and I don’t miss ’em, which is even more rare. This is a really nice Bai MuDan.

A front passed through over night. By the looks of it on radar it probably hit most of you in the US from the plains to the east coast. The temperatures dropped back to early March levels along with a lot of rain. My head is about to explode today. Aaaack!

I needed something comforting with enough heft behind it to overcome the pounding. Excellent choice. Grain and malt, honey and cocoa, throw in some molasses for good measure, and you have this tea. This is an amazing black tea that is staple worthy.

This herbal certainly smells peachy. I am not usually a hibiscus hater, but this would be greatly improved by removing it. Maybe if I mix it with some basic black tea I could learn to like it. Or maybe not.

Those of you who worry about expiration dates and such, do yourself a favor and move along. The leaf for this cup was first steeped 3 days ago. I left the lid off the press and this has been sitting quietly waiting until now. Time and air has definitely tamed the hefty malty and cocoa notes. My first thought was liquid milk chocolate. Not as amazing as when fresh but still very drinkable.

This is the tea I last had in a plastic travel mug. I went looking for a ceramic one yesterday but our local Starbucks was out of them. The price is so good ($10) that I can wait until they get them back in.

I had this for my morning cup. I did not have time to sit at home and sip. So I brewed a cup, poured it in a travel mug, grabbed my guitar and went out the door. This smells so cocoa and malt when it is brewing. I was so looking forward to it as I normally really enjoy this one. I was majorly disappointed to see how bad a travel mug sucks the life out of a cup of joy. I mean its not as bad as having it in a paper or styrofoam cup but sure isn’t the same as my ceramic mug. I did not realize what an important part of the flavor came from the sipping vessel used. I know a lot of you use travel mugs. Do you not notice the same thing? Maybe I am oversensitive, or maybe the convenience is just more important?

I know most of you want a tea with ‘Grrrr!’ first thing in the morning. Not me. I like to ease into the day. I have been craving this one for a few days and I finally get to set down with it.

The scent of the wet leaf this morning reminds me of lazy summer afternoons breaking beans with mom and dad under the shade tree. I hated breaking beans back then, but somehow recapturing that moment in time brings me great pleasure as I sip today. I am also getting light cucumber notes. Not as intense as silver needle but still a beautiful white.

Something else I am noticing that I never paid attention to before – you know how shu often has that wonderful horse tack flavor? In this I can sense inklings or the beginnings of how such a flavor develops. It is buried under the hay, the grass, and the broken beans.

White tea may be subtle but it is deep.

I love coconut. The dry leaf scent is coconut. The brew smells of pineapple. I hate pineapple. Going to be interesting seeing how this turns out. For as intense as the aroma is, the sip is much more refined and extremely tasty. Why did I doubt? I am pretty sure this is not what Nina’s was shooting for but this makes me think cotton candy at the fair. I love cotton candy at the fair, so that is high praise I think. I guess we all sense refined differently.

This is an Earl Grey with a white tea base. Looks like this is 11 months old. Ah oh. It comes in a waxy coated paper sack. Hmmm. I open the bag and Mmmmm. Brewed it up and it still tastes very good. Better than I remember. It starts out peppery followed by orange rind mixed with bergamot. White tea being so subtle to start with, I find I have to be patient with the cup and wait for it. Late in the sip it shows up and its worth the wait. This is about $2.30/oz ($8/bag). Empire Tea Services blends their own teas and they are quite good.

Cup of the morning while grocery shopping. Had it skinny with no whipped cream. I really like this better than what I rated it but leaving it.

My wife had a hazelnut frappe. I tasted it. The hazelnut was really tasty. This was followed by a swell of roasted coffee. I liked it until the coffee aftertaste kicked in. It lingers and won’t go away. Reminded me of why I don’t drink coffee. If I had something to snack on to counter the aftertaste I could probably learn to like this one – fortunately as long as they have the green tea frappe, I don’t have to.

Two nights of not sleeping because of the humidity in the house. Got the A/C fixed yesterday, so I was so looking forward to a good nights rest. Taking no chances I had a cup of this at 11:00 PM. I was awake for a couple minutes in the night by the thunder. Next thing I knew the room was bright and the clock said 8:30 AM. Hooray for A/C and Valerian.

The house is 72. The humidity is low. The storms for now are far to the North. And I have an awesome cup of tea.

This is my favorite from The Persimmon Tree. Everything about this appeals to me. The base is a really solid green. The lotus is not floral. It is more spice like. I have needed this all day!

Not even close to what I wanted but it was cold. My home is 80 degrees today as it was yesterday. The cooling guy just left – a tripped relay and low on coolant. Kinda figures, it is 20 years old. Not having a job, I was holding my breath and praying it would not be the compressor. I am on oxygen and can’t tolerate humidity. I have to have A/C. So doing my happy dance and saying some praises. Once again an example that sometimes the blessing is in the sustaining through the drought. When it gets back down to 72 in here I am having real tea, and then wait for the storms to roll through tonight.

Arrrrrggggghhhhh! I forgot to copy text before hitting post!

More irritating is I have a weak cup of this awesome tea. I had more leaf than needed for one cup but not quite enough for two. I tried to stretch it… You know, I could have just used less water. sigh.

It’s going to be 82 today. I’ll adjust. Go Spring!

Glad I remembered to copy text before trying to post :)

I have found all the Nina’s teas I’ve tried to be subtle cups. They don’t shout flavor. They quietly reveal themselves, if you are willing to take the time with the cup. This one is no different. It starts lightly of orange that is followed and supported by peach. The soft flavors are natural. The cup seems a bit creamy to me. As it cools the strawberry reveals itself. Later the cherry can be detected but I find it the lightest of the flavors. The base is smooth with no astringency. If you like big and bold – forget it. If you like a quiet relaxing cup, you might like this one.

I have an open pop. I drank half. It is just not doing it for me. I want tea. My wife has some project going in the kitchen and I can’t get to the compost bowl to empty my old leaves. sigh. Oh wait, I have a couple sachets of genmaicha left. Yeah!

This is my only experience with this type tea. I don’t know if it is a good example – except LiberTEAS rated it well and that is good enough for me.

First time I tried this I had no idea what it was. It was so weird I liked it just for that reason. Later cups I learned to like it because it tastes good.

Today I left the sachet in the cup the whole time, like an amateur, just to see what happens – it wasn’t because I forgot my cozy and didn’t want to get up and get it – ok maybe it was. I won’t be able to get a second steep now but this cup had heft with its roasty nutty flavor. Yum.

Used my tiny 6oz cup for this last night so it would be stronger tasting. Went straight to sleep and slept 7 hours. Yeah, definitely keeping this one.

My avatar at the moment is me and my wife in 1991. She looks like Stevie Nicks. Me, kinda Waylon Jennings. Today, her hair is short and mine is down the sink :(

I was just scrolling through my tasting notes – what an eclectic stash. From super cheap to more than a lot of people make an hour and I like most of it, including this one.

Starting my day with this using yesterday’s leaf. I think I steeped it correctly this time. The description says this tastes pastry. I am not sure what that means. It is almost malty but not, almost cocoa, but not. It’s not really yeasty. It does kind of taste like the crust of bread – kind of. Maybe bread dipped in Darjeeling, without the Muscatel. Wow, I’m at a loss. One thing I can tell you is the problem with this tea – it keeps disappearing out of my cup.

I won this from Cuppa Crew – yeah me! I am not ready to review this yet because I don’t think I steeped it correctly. Even so this is very different than any oolong I have had before. It reminds me of Darjeeling. It is almost a black tea with no smoke or roasted notes. Dry it smells of hay and bark. I can kind of agree to peach notes because I read it. I am not sure I would come up with that description on my own. I am getting light and fruity with wood notes. Well apparently I am reviewing this. This is not a bold black flavor. it is smooth Darjeeling with no astringency or bite. Two thumbs up!

Ok, the guy that used to do Double Dare hosts a show on the Food Channel called Unwrapped. They did a segment on Celestial Seasonings. That inspired me to try this one. Some reviewed this as medicinal smelling. I did not get that. It smells mainly of spearmint. You may recall I hate spearmint tea. That said, it works in this one. The mint is not overdone and is followed by and surrounded by lemongrass. I can’t believe they go together but I like it. I added splenda and I cannot single out the appley chamomile or the lightly bitter valerian.

It did not knock me out. I could feel it. It did relax my brain so I feel asleep easily and awoke 8 hours later feeling refreshed. I like the taste of Two Leaves Better Rest more but Sleepytime Extra is half the price and available at Wally World. Looks like this may take up residence in my stash.

Oh wow! Judging by the dry leaf smell – sour, medicinal – I was prepared to not like this. I did not read the ingredients before hand and was not sure what was in this. Steeped 3 minutes.

Ok, it’s rose and something else. Sipped – apples! I would never think to mix the two. They really play off each other and you do not have to concentrate to know its apple. Slightly tart but not really. slightly sweet but not overly.

The rose is what I taste first but it is well behaved, never going over the top in a perfume sort of way. The Ceylon they say has strongness. I beg to differ. It is quite smooth, gentle even. This is a very fine and balanced cup.

I am glad I used my delicate cup for this because it only seems fitting. I’m also kind of glad I wasn’t sipping this with a bunch of guys. It is hard for a lot of guys to admit they like pretty things occasionally.

I received an envelope with 4 different samples from Laurent at Nina’s Teas USA. This was very much unexpected and much appreciated. Thank You!

Short version of what I am preparing for a future review on my blog. I am a barbarian when it comes to Earl Grey, but I know what I like. Don’t mess with it unless there is a good reason.

Nina’s version is simply tea and bergamot. Yeah! This is a very smooth Keemun base. No smoke. No bitterness. The bergamot has an wonderful aroma. It is a lighter touch than my normal heathen cup but tastes very nice.

If you find most Earl Grey blends to be a harsh overpowering cup of ‘ick’ (well you would be wrong but) this might well be the more sophisticated cup your palette has been waiting for. Very nicely done

First, what was I thinking? This is my first cup of the day and it is decaf?

Second, Terri is absolutely right – double up on the leaf. It is a delicious vanilla cup with caramel notes that feels so creamy as I sip. The base is slightly malty and absolutely smooth. This is a delicious cup!