Nicole Send Message

Hm. Not sure why I don’t have a review of this one already. Oh, well. This isn’t gonna be a great one. I drank it without really thinking about it. I wanted some tea that I knew was good after getting back from vacation without any real opportunities for good tea. I did have a little travel gaiwan session one night with some of BTTC’s Sun Moon Lake and for breakfast one morning I had some of Butiki’s Crimson Horizon. Oh, and a really nice white tea at a friend’s house one morning. Then some okay tea at a tea room with same friend. :)

But otherwise, we ate at such odd times and got back to the room so late almost every night that there just wasn’t any time. Seems that’s how it always goes when I pack tea and travel stuff for trips. I never end up with time to use them.

Anyway, this tea was good. I need to compare with Green Terrace soon and actually pay attention.

Not like I really had any doubt, but this is awful. I picked it up out of sheer curiosity while on vacation. Tasted like every single bottled tea I’ve ever had – like old tea that has begun to develop that somewhat moldy flavor from having sat for a month in the refrigerator. And “unsweetened”? It is to laugh. The first ingredient is tea, followed by honey, sugar and maple.

So… yeah. This is just bad. It is truly not worth choosing over bottled water (or anything thing else) when on the road.

Om nom nom. Time to stop hoarding the beloveds. I can’t in good cupboard conscience start the search for a replacement for this out of business gem while I still have quite a bit of it left.

Gawd, this is uh-maze-ing tea.

I wasn’t wow-ed the first time with this, but this time I must have done something right. I get the malt and the eucalyptus. Reminds me quite a lot of TWMB though there is a little bit of dryness at the end of the sip and not quite enough breadiness. Really excellent. I think last time I used bottled water since it was the first time and this time I used tap water. I always liked TWMB with tap water, too. Need to remember this.

Snicker-snack! This one is worth keeping around for sure.

Fairly average Assam. Not overly malty but not bitter or dry. An average good quality black tea. No need to replace it as I am loving the Assams from Golden Tips more these days, so into the swap box this goes. Followed this up with Tao’s Golden Monkey. I feel pretty much the same about that one as I did on my original tasting note. It’s good and it’s smooth, but lighter than some other GMs and there are those I prefer over that one.

Starting the day of sitting around after rushing around this morning getting the hubby ready to go to Zurich this evening. Yeah, last minute (found out on Friday) work trip so he has to have a suit. Which he never wears. So it was a morning of him trying on pants and figuring out what doesn’t fit him any more. Then figuring out what shirts and ties to go with. And what suitcases we had that would fit everything for a 4 day overseas trip. I really wish they would give him some more notice for stuff like this. I would have ditched my Florida trip on Thursday for a Switzerland trip but the airfare 2 days in advance is a little unreasonable without a corporate budget…

All the travel emergencies having been disposed of, truffles for the tea party being dipped and completed, laundry being pretty much done, we now settle into an aquatic horror themed day. Deep Rising because it was on, which set the tone for the day. We’ll have to follow up with Ghost Ship and Deep Blue Sea. Have to. Sometimes these things simply must be done. :) And I’m not gonna complain – that means more tea that will be downed today!

Ooo… tonight this is predominantly a slightly smoky cocoa. I still get a little bit of the sour note. Trying it gongfu with 2 cones. 1 minute first steep. Scent of the unfurled cones in the gaiwan is pure cocoa. Second steep 45 seconds, still slightly smoky cocoa. I find it fascinating how taste varies so much for me. I assume it happens to other people as well. And I assume it is due to other influencing factors like scent and health. I sometimes wonder if mood influences what I taste as well.

I am feeling pretty good tonight. Got a lot of stuff accomplished today for my two tea parties at the end of the month and also had my first tea speaking experience today. Public speaking is nothing new but talking about tea is. I feel like it went well and was well received. Wasn’t anything in-depth, just a brief bit about the history of afternoon tea and a fast overview of the types of tea and processing methods. Can always improve but overall it went okay. And I got a lovely bouquet of tiny pink roses and ginormous deep purple lilies from the event host (a florist/gift shop). Good enough payment in my mind for a 15 minute speech. :)

Nothing new to say. Still om nom nommy. After opening the box of malty, Yunnany awesome hoarding tea, I feel a need to have a deep, smooth weekend. This was the second of the evening. First was Downy Tips – also om nom nommy.

Mmm… thick and savory, sweet and malty with an unbelievable smoothness, even on the 2nd Western style steeping. Second steeping brought in some milder notes that I couldn’t identify but were still tasty.

Pulled this out of the box last night while making up a Yunnan type sample package for someone and realized there wasn’t much left. Figured I may as well take it in to work and kill it. I’ve been focusing more on Assams lately and neglecting these.

I totally forgot how UH-MAZING this tea is. There better be a lot of room in my suitcase I’m carrying when I crash on that deserted island. There need to be a lot of teas in it. :)

Oooo… The package smells divine. Molasses, malt, hay… Yum.

Steeped it turns into mostly exactly what it smells like. Molasses, malt and hay. Add a bit of astringency but not to an unpleasant level and this is quite a nice cup. Smells deep and rich. Add a dollop of cream and this becomes heavenly. One to add to the list for the next inevitable order.

Oh, hello, darling. I’ve missed you so much.

Steeped up a small travel thermos of this today. Heavenly. Malty & chocolatey doesn’t even begin to cover it. I so need to sit down and compare this with Signature Malt but for now, I feel so indulgent having both of them in my cupboard. :)