Lynne-tea

My 200th note! Woooooooo!!

I’ve been slowing down my tea drinking lately due to my busy schedule! Sadface. I have been sharing what tea I have been drinking with my boyfriend, who appears to be enjoying the tea adventures.
I decided to make this one as I knew it was delicious… absolutely delicious.. and he really liked the Laoshan black, which has a somewhat similar flavour profile (though still very different).
Success! Another tea he loves.
Delicious chocolatey malt with big red robe mineral notes that I adore. What a lovely tea.

Now I’m off to Thailand for 3 weeks! I’M SO EXCITED

Decided to brew up some tea tonight to hopefully calm and relax me. It’s been crazy around here lately and I need to center myself again.
After a rinse, first steeping was 5 seconds, 205F… result is sweet and earthy, with a thick mouthfeel reminiscent of cream or butter. Reminds me a little of sweet potato.
Second steeping, 7 seconds, tastes like a mix of sweet potato, green plantain, and custard. This steeping reminds me of the sweetness present in a roasted oolong, but without the roasted edge.
Third steeping is brothy and thick, but sweet. A sweetness that covers my entire tongue and down the back of my throat. Really really delicious.

I have been drinking this over the past two days.. three steeps last night, two tonight.
Really really delectable. It tastes like honey and stone fruits with a slight roasted edge, sandalwood and jasmine.
The fifth cup has a really lovely plum taste as a lingering flavour. I’m really really enjoying my sample of this!

On another note – I haven’t been able to access my notices for the past week. Whats going onnnnn???!!! Hmph.

It’s been really nice and sunny in Edmonton, and I’ve been riding my bike to the lab every day! So nice…
A few days ago, while riding my bike in the sunshine home, I was sooooo thirsty and had the biggest craving for this tea! So as soon as I got home I made a big batch of iced buds and I have been re-steeping them ever since.
So delicious – sweet pine dew with graham crackers and possibly some marshmallow, but not the typical kind – it reminds me of ones that I make that are gluten free and made with stevia. Anyways.. this is delicious as always and I am so thankful I got another oz of this from the TOTM club as I just drank down my initial 2 oz.

Such a long day.
A good day, but a long one… therefore I’m finally sitting down to a nice cuppa one of my favourite blacks.
Edmonton water is a little different from what I had on the island, but this tastes lovely and creamy.. like dark hot chocolate that has been made with big red robe instead of milk. Just delicious as always.

Yummo. I made some of this for my morning breakfast tea. I’m just getting a cold so I figured the smokey sweetness would be a good choice.
I also used this to make a pork tenderloin last night.
Oh My Word. So good. So So good.

Holy hannah this is good!
I got 4 oz and I’m now down to 2.. It’s been about a month. Nothin’ crazy but I love that I don’t have to hoard this stuff.
I think my favourite way to drink this is with my bombilla. I add just boiled water to half my desired water, let it steep for 30 seconds, then add in some room temperature water. That way I can drink it immediately, and it’s delicious.

salted caramel brownie…..
I’m in loooove

Hmm… It’s alright.
The peach gets very ..bright?.. in a way. Acidic almost? It’s not bad, but I find no whisky aspect to this.

I don’t care for whisky much anyways so I guess it works out :)

Oh holy deliciousness

Im drinking this with my bombilla and having it luke warm. This is when I really taste the caramel brownie flavour. So delicious!
Back into the hole of studies I go….

Thank you Teavivre for this sample!

Delicious sweet dark chocolate cherry notes. Very bright in the mouth with a slight cooling following a swallow. Slight malt at the end of the sip and a little astringency.

Extremely delicious.

Uh so good.

I’m not getting any brussel sprouts, but I am definitely getting the xingyang shu ’08 nuggets flavours coming through. AKA… tastes like angel food cake! How deliciously exciting is that?!

Yummeh yummeh.

Om nom nom!
I get salted caramel brownie every time I drink this.
I adore this tea

Steeping this up with a touch of stevia. I’m craving sweets and am wanting this to curb it!
It’s way better with a touch of sweetener! It tastes like flat dr.pepper almost. But then a burst of butteriness fills my mouth. I wish it was somehow cold and bubbly slightly.

Not too shabby

I’m having this for my mid-afternoon tea.

I just got home to the biggest bouquet of flowers I’ve ever gotten in my life! It was full of two dozen tulips and one red rose. It made me smile to no end.
Some days you get just what you need to make you smile and trudge on with the knowledge that things will get better in the end. (Sometimes it’s hard to see that when you spend weeks locked away studying..).

So here I am, sipping this tea that has a lovely creamy maple edge, supported by a nice strong black. I’m not sure what the blend is made of as it didn’t come with any information at the store, but it’s delicious. Not malty, but thick and supportive. Terrible description but I do my best.

Anyways, this is definitely a tea I really enjoy on the random occasion. I am slightly hoarding it away as it came from the interior of BC and I doubt I will be able to get any anytime soon if I run out (small scale business). For that reason – it’s a special occasion tea that I adore.

Happy tulip season everyone =)
http://www.flowerspictures.org/flowers/tulips/

Trying to get some energy and enthusiasm to do homework when it’s so lovely outside… So here I am trying this tea and gluing my bum to my chair.

After a rinse, the leaves smell so good! Like dark miso and bonito flakes – though the nice side of bonito, not uber fishy or any fishiness at all. Just sweet dark miso and the savouriness of bonito.
1st, 5s, 208F: very faint custard smell, the taste is mellow, but definitely has a sweetness and creaminess on the sides of the tongue, followed by an electric buzz or energy. Interesting.. I am having a hard time gathering initial flavours from the first steep.
2nd, 5s, 207F: Again, mild. I am getting a sweet cheesiness at the forefront, but it develops into a a sweetness at the center of my tongue that is similar to dates. Yum
3rd, 6s, 207F: Astringency is building in this steep, then fades slightly to give a milder sweetness than the previous steep.
4th, 13s, 208F:oooh bitterish. Dang. too long of a steep I guess. There is a linger of creaminess once the bitterness burns off. I do enjoy this steep now that i’ve diluted it with some water. Perhaps some comparison to an aged balsamic could be made, with the sweetness and thickness associated.

I’m not sure about this one. Nothing in it really stands out to me. I did get a good feeling from it, but.. it left lots to be desired.

I am trying this iced today..
I have to say though, I like it much much better hot. There seems to be an artificial perfume flavour that comes out when it’s cold steeped. I dont like it very much.

I did notice when it’s hot steeped that it tastes like pastries and berries with bergamot flavoured sugar. I only wish that would have transfered through when I cold steeped it. It would have been so delightful as a summer drink!

Win some and lose some I guess.

I’ve had this before, but had a hard time deciding if I liked it or not. So here I am doing another steeping :)

The dry leaves are beautiful – black and white..or silver? silver maybe…
It does smell musky.. like a musky forest with damp leaves.
After a rinse, the leaves smell like sweet potato pie.

10s, 200F; It definitely has a silky mouthfeel. Like taking a mouthful of whipping cream – coating, but smooth. The taste is interesting- all I keep thinking is mushrooms and musk. Though with a small edge of sweet potato (though not sweet really) and cream of wheat.
11s, 200F; Still musky woods, though maybe with a touch of dark agave? Something dark and sweet… I get a lingering finish of vanilla marshmallows on sweet potato pie. Interesting…
12s, 200F; This tastes like rice crispies with some white sugar, or possibly puffed wheat with brown sugar? Yes puffed wheat and rice crispies.. though with brown sugar. A lingering tingle/ feeling of sunshine remains on the tongue after I swallow (a brightness).. which then turns into a caramel flavour. This is by far my most favourite steep! I’m out of the musky woods!

Well, I have to admit – this has been one of the best days of my life and I’m not wanting it to end… though I must sleep. Or try.

Edit.. Day two steeps.. 4th is back to musky woods. Bah. that is my least favourite part and it seems to be the most consistent flavour. Maybe I will try doing two washes and steep it at lower temperatures. Who knows. EIther way, I’m lowering my rating due to the reappearance of the wood.

I don’t like drinking musky wood.

I am not the biggest fan of this tea… but iced is not bad.
There is a sweet bread flavour that comes out more when it’s iced I find. Nicely sweet with caramelly notes and possibly a licorice edge which is surprising.

I like it best this way, which is good because I still have about 75g of it to go!

Yum yum yum.
I got my stock back in this tea FINALLY!.. So excited. I have been gongfu brewing a couple times, but last night I did a Western brew on it. SO much better in my opinion.

It tastes much sweeter, and has a salted caramel chocolate brownie flavour. I adore it. I’m saddened by the fact I have to brew it in that method though. I love gongfu brewing.

Beautiful tea!
I put this iced in my mason jar with a bombilla straw which I got from DT… but the filter part fell off into my drink today. My attempts to secure it back on ended with me just about busting my teeth. So silly and dumb on my part. I won’t be doing that again. But le sigh.. I don’t live by a DT and therefore can’t replace it soon without ordering online! GAH Fail….

Anyways.. I really enjoyed this tea. When I run out, I’m not going to scramble to replace it, but I would add it to an order if I needed to reach $50 for free shipping. It is beautiful, and tasty.

Sipdown!!

This tea took me a while to drink, but I did it! And I loved it. You know when you get into the straight tea only periods? I was in one.. and happened to just get my sample prior to going into that stint.

Anyways, I really enjoyed it. Delightful raspberry and coconut cream. I had it iced in my mason jar and it was divine! I’d pick this one up again for sure.

I’ve been sipping this all day as I do chores and make tea packages for my prof and for a very good friend who is new to tea… or.. well.. new to good loose leaf tea (I’m proud to say he drinks bagged green tea at least!)

ANNNYYWAYS.

I’m in my third steep now, initial flavours tasted like currant and raspberry with a hint of milk oolong. There is a subtle tartness to this tea I find, this steep more so than others. Also a little bit of vanilla shows up.

I like it, but I need more time with it. I’m holding off my rating until that time.

PS.. It doesn’t snow much here really. Maybe 1-2 days per year. Now that it’s the first day of spring- it’s snowing. Or trying hard to. YAYYY! (I do love snow, but what random timing!)

PS.. It doesn’t snow much here really. Maybe 1-2 days per year. Now that it’s the first day of spring- it’s snowing. Or trying hard to. YAYYY! (I do love snow, but what random timing!)Edit: Interesting.. steep 5 has a creamy maple ice cream flavour. Ohhh yummy. Yummy yummy yummy! Its custard like too. Holy hannah this is delightful.

I’ve been steeping this over two days and haven’t made up my mind.
Tonights steep (number three..).. tastes like olives. I looooove olives… but these are bitter gross olives. How can any olive be gross?! I don’t know, I’ve been asking this tea.

What happened? Whats up taste buddies? I just want some chocolate. I havent gotten an inkling of chocolate for any of my steeps. sigh

So I tried steeping this in my yixing too, and again I had no flavour! What the heck is going on? The only one that’s tasted good in it has been Davids Tea organic TGY…. HMMM

Anyways, I poured a bunch in a pitcher and put it in the fridge. OH. MY.

Oh My Oh My… it tastes like sunshine. Almost like a milk oolong that’s been steeped at higher temps so the floral flavours come out, but still has the milk/butter aspect.
I always want to steep this that way now. I keep taking a glass and refilling the pitcher and sticking it back in the fridge. It’s like an endless supply of sunshine for this STUPID rainy season. Thank heavens I have TGY.

Thank you Teavivre for this sample.

OK.. so I’ve been cold steeping these leaves at least 3-4 times and they keep giving and giving and giving. This batch is just as flavourful as the first! I love it. I now have two more teas in the fridge to cold steep. Perfect timing as it was a beautiful, crisp sunny spring day, and now it’s snowing…. =)