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Today is the first time I ever went to the coffee shop in the library at my school. I was fully prepared to drink coffee because I just want to be warm, but then I saw the display of about 12 types of two leaves and a bud pyramid sachets.

This just feels like Assam weather. I got a 16 oz cup and took 2 bags. I feel like the cashier was judging me but yeah, 1 sachet in 2 cups of water? No thanks, man.

After steeping, I added some milk and waited for it to cool.

YUM. While plain assam was pretty good, I could only stand it when it was way cooled. With milk,I am loving it hot. It’s rich and hearty and just so comfy right now.

Good to know for two bucks I can pick up a decent cup on campus, though I have to say some of the specialty coffee drinks sound amazing. But this is nearly $2 cheaper and awesome for when I either drink all the tea I bring, or run out of time to make some.

In fact I am almost out now and I want more and it’s going to take a lot of willpower to go straight home and make loose tea, hahaha.

Thanks, CupofTree!

Made this before heading to meet up for a group project this morning.

It doesn’t really taste like much of anything than herbal tea mixed with mate…maybe a tad sweet. Not bad but there are plenty of other mates I like better. There’s nothing really remarkable about it for me.

It did its job though, I’ve got 2 hours on campus left and I’m not even sure when I last yawned!

So this is the first time I am having a yellow tea. It was the far cheaper of the two options Mahamosa has, though at nearly $7 for half an ounce it was just because I was really, really curious.

First and foremost the leaves are very interesting. There is not really a way to measure a teaspoon because they are MASSIVE twisty bits. Pretty neat though! Obviously it’s not super high quality because it’s some of the biggest leaves I’ve ever seen for a tea.

Then the liquor is actually quite yellowy…like white tea but with far more color to it.

The taste? It has an intriguing consistency. Kind of like it has a texture, but it still is light. It tastes a lot like hay and papaya. I totally get the way it’s like a halfway point between a white and a green. It has the sweetness of a white, with some of the nice subtleties of green…and none of the grassiness.

One day I am getting myself a Jun Shan Yin Zhen, I am already going to mark down that when I get a real job next year that it is my present to myself.

I was a little apprehensive about this one, because it sounds a lot like Swampwater. So I just got it in a try me pack with a couple other things I wanted to try before buying an ounce maybe.

This seemed like the perfect time to try it! Also, although he is a white cat, I finally saw the friendly cat I named Cat (he responds to it, I can’t not call him Cat) today and he required a lot of pets and scratches. He’ll wander off for a second then come back over to me, and just headbutt my leg before he rubs up against it. He also had to rub his head on my purse. He once tried it to my keys also, but his favorite remains my shoes.

This does taste a lot like Swampwater…but it’s actually drinkable, very drinkable at that. It’s a thinner tea, so the color isn’t as bold, but I think that makes it actually taste good and not like oatmeal or anything weird. Perhaps though it is just the magic listed in the ingredients.

It’s just a nice, mango-pineapple rooibos. I’m surprised how much I like it given it looks to be a red rooibos blend. But definitely, if the fruit flavors of Swampwater are what drove you to try it, and it was disappointing, this one is worth trying.

My teapot came yesterday! Out of nowhere on Friday it started being tracked on USPS…in inland Massachusetts. I’m just glad it avoided this whole weather mess. It is SO cold here. I think it was windy earlier this week because of Sandy when it was near FL, and now it’s even windier because of this cold front…and it is so so so so cold.

I picked this at random from my bag of flowering teas. I’ve noticed that there are so many people who make their opinion known about how they’re just for show. Pfffttt. I would eat flowers all day long so you better believe I’ll make it and drink it, and also admire it.

This one has some fruity notes to it but obviously the strongest notes are jasmine. It’s very sweet, and the floral notes are actually quite mild. I’m not sure how to explain, it’s like it’s clearly jasmine you’re tasting but it’s not in your face, like you’re drinking perfume. The marigold lends just a bit of a different note, giving the floral taste a bit of complexity.

I love flowering teas. I also love that you can brew them so many times. And then after that’s done, I think I’ll just put room temp water in there and stare at it. And I’ve got 9 more to go!

In less than 4 hours, it’s dropped 10 degrees! Yay fall! I’ve got chicken noodle soup in the crockpot, and it’s almost done, so a cup of tea until then sounds great.

First important thing of the day is my zombie makeup. I don’t think anyone understood I was a Bond girl let alone which specific one. So whatever.
And we left after like 90 minutes because I didn’t feel good so there’s also that but I don’t think more people would have made it better.

First here I am failing at being scary: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thethrillstheyyield/8128971885/
not much better here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thethrillstheyyield/8128997734/in/photostream/
And before I took it off I tried it and I think I did better but I just look grumpy hahaha: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thethrillstheyyield/8128998386/in/photostream/

So there you go, my inability to be all mean zombie is why I’m glad I wasn’t available first time around with Walking Dead extras to get an “lol no” response. Funny, I was sarcastically given the “spirit award” for my failure at smiling all the time during rehearsals for a musical.

This is the second in my pumpkin beverage trifecta for the day. I had pumpkin spice coffee earlier, and later I have this pumpkin beer: http://www.stbcbeer.com/seasonals/seasonal-imperial/pumking-beer-page/ apparently it’s amazing and hard to find so double yay.

I really need to drink this when I have agave around, just to see how much more amazing it gets, though it’s already amazing with no additions. It just tastes so much like pumpkin puree poured right into a black tea, minus the weird texture that might have.

I definitely will drink this when I’m at my own apartment, since there is a carton of coconut milk creamer…I bet a touch in there will put this one right over the top.

This really is my favorite pumpkin tea. Granted I have only had like 4, but I don’t feel the need to go on with any search like that when this one tastes so much like a real pumpkin. I think it tastes a lot like pumpkin pie with no additions, so I assume it’s even more like creme brulee with a touch of cream. I don’t think it’s a problem that it tastes like pumpkin pie, because I think such a rich and creamy textured pie like that is pretty similar to a creme brulee, minus the crunchy shell.

Yay fall again! I would drink this ALL the time though, let’s be real here.

Made this last night before going to a Halloween party, I’ve got a couple pictures of how AWESOME my makeup was but it’s also apparently really terrifying. I did my own eyes and lips and the makeup artist complimented me on that makeup so many times…it was like the highest praise to me. But then of course I felt sick where the party was because there was no ventilation, it was full of smoke, and the a/c was on full blast. Blah.

So this is/was my first Assam. I steeped it for 4 minutes with water that was just starting to boil a little, and I did not like it at all while it was hot. It reminded me of a really dry red wine. So I let it cool, which eventually became room temperature.

And that was okay because it was so good at room temperature. It still has that full bodied maltiness but it loses that flavor that just seems like an overload of tannins. It was just a rich, slightly sweet cup of black tea.

So it is of course necessary next to cold steep it.

I am easily excited by the ability to sort of make my own blend without doing the real work. I thought it’d be funny to name it for Bruno, I figure bears must love elderberries, I love cinnamon, and the one panda bear here in Atlanta is a serious mint fan (the other loves Tabasco sauce, like rolling around in it and everything). So, here it is! After it went missing. But I found it.

I think Bruno hid it.

It’s a very autumn/winter blend, I’m leaning more towards winter. It actually does taste kind of Christmasy, it reminds me of a spiced cranberry candle but with elderberries instead and well, edible…errr drinkable.

Everything is in a great ratio of ingredients, there is not a single thing that stands out more than the rest, which could be a problem with mint…as I learned with a custom Adagio blend. Brenden wrote the ratio on the order sheet but I of course already have no idea what I did with it. I just remember the mate is 60%.

I just really love the combination of elderberry and cinnamon. It’s just the right amount of spice to go with the cool mint.

Also, you can pick this one out on the blend your own mate page, yeah!

Actual Keemun!

I made 3 steeps in my gaiwan for the same times as the not really Keemun: 15, 20, 25 seconds. All into a mug! This is like so complex.

It’s sweet, it’s smoky, it’s sweet, it’s chocolate. That is an accurate summary of each sip.

I’ve just sat here with this open, despite drinking all of this first cup…more? I think so.

And 3 more tastes just the same. I bet this could be steeped like 12 more times and still taste amazing! But it’s getting too late for that. Next time I order from Teavivre, I’m getting more of this. Except I think my last order is lost at sea.

Thanks TeaEqualsBliss!

I’ve had a pretty full day, going to the allergist, mailing stuff, picking up a prescription, eating a $10 lunch (!!! never again), buying a couple dresses for my Halloween costume to only find I might have an even better dress at home already, and then learning that if you walk around Goodwill with a hockey stick, people get the hell out of your way! That’s for my boyfriend’s costume, not me, don’t think it works with a dress. I’m gonna be a Bond girl gone zombie.

And then best of all someone bought SIX lip balms from me, someone I don’t even know!!! YAY the ads work! So that was thrilling.

Now it is tea time. I should have probably got out a regular keemun since I’ve been wanting one for days, and the other day I had one that was more like lapsang because it wasn’t made properly (not by me!). This looks a lot like a Taiwanese oolong instead.

I steeped it in my gaiwan, 3 steeps of 15 seconds, 20 seconds, and 25 seconds and put all those steeps in one mug.

This is…weird.

It doesn’t taste like Keemun at all, it tastes like a roasted oolong. And when it comes to Taiwanese oolongs, I’m just not a fan of those types. Baked wood chips. That’s all I get. I think I’m going to add honey to it.

It’s such a pretty color though. I wish I could paint with it.

Well, honey makes it better but it’s still not my type of flavor underneath it all. I wish I could get into it but I just can’t.