Featured & New Tasting Notes
The roofers started at 6 am, and the cleaning lady is here. She’s really loud – one of those people who only has one volume. I think by the time they both leave today we will all be ready for bed.
I wasn’t willing to gamble this morning and needed something reliable and strong. This was my choice. Save me snails!
Rainy and soooo cold today!
Perfect chai day…which brings a question: Is there such a thing as a perfect chai?
If there is, I never found it. Always a little too this or a little too that…
Cause what makes a perfect chai I ask you? One question, but probably a thousand answers, I know. For me, it’s all in one word: balance. Yes, the perfect balance. But what does that mean?
I think it means that I don’t have to say “oh, it’s good, but there’s too much of this and not enough of that”. It also means I won’t have to add anything to it, unless I feel like it.
So far, I have tried El Dorado three different ways:
1) brewed according to WP’s instructions…it’s just perfect.
2) cold brewed…again, just perfect.
3) brewed in hot almond milk with a tad of maple syrup…Ghawwww. PERFECT!
The “Snaily Yums” base is brilliant, it’s sweet and mellow. Paired with “magic” vanilla bean, it prevents for any bitterness to develop from the spices.
I personally don’t like my chai too pungent, but I do want a little kick in the tushie. This classic spice blend makes the cut. It’s gingery, clovy, cinnaNOMMY, cardaNOMMY in the perfect amount…I like that it’s peppery without the addition of any actual pepper. That’s probably form the ginger.
This is everything I want a chai to be and so much more…If the perfect chai exists, i have found it in El Dorado!
Another sample from the nice Cameron B. It smells so much like malted chocolate. There is a bit of yam and maybe honey, but mostly cocoa. That comes out very in the flavour as well. Most delicious and smooth.
Flavors: Chocolate, Cocoa, Honey, Malt
Yum, just had a cup of this this morning, with maple sugar! :P
Every time I read about this one, I go fix myself a cup!
You’re welcome. Where do you get maple sugar?
Lol, this question makes me laugh cause I live in the land of maple, so for me it’s pretty much everywhere and anywhere…Curious about cameron’s answer. Is it 100% maple sugar? I know they make a lot a maple stuff that has only a small quantity of actual maple…
i use only 100% maple syrup.
It’s hard to find true maple products in California. Though I did try some really candies when I was in British Columbia.
Boychik have you ever had grade B syrup? I have a place I order it from semi local (the do ship countrywide) and it is wonderful. The maple flavor is more concentrated and it is much darker. The grading system is just about translucency. Anyway, I need to get more of this tea. So good.
I’m in California and have gotten it at trader joes before.
Stephanie, I’m so glad you noticed that…my grand father had a sugar shack and we could not wait to get our hands on the darker stuff. Here, most people prefer the medium grade. Clear grade is more “commercial” and looks more golden and appealing I guess. But medium or dark are so much more flavourful!!
Lariel and TeaFairy, I don’t know if it was 100% maple sugar, I used the last piece and threw away the packaging! As for the where, I got it at the Chicago airport. :P
People don’t know what they’re missing, for reals :)
I want a sugar shack. Dang that sounds awesome.
Haven’t seen maple sugar at my Trader Joe’s, will look again.
Stephanie, grade B is my fav. its dark and more flavorful.
YAY high fives boychik :D
Delicious. I’m pseudo gongfuing this one at work. It’s definitely been a Monday. Good tea really helps with that, but only to a point.
The weekend was long and I was barely on here. Friday night was summer beer fest, Saturday was Soundgarden/NIN, and Sunday I wound up going to a funeral in central IN. I had to drive my mom’s awful to drive car home through some storms. It was not fun.
I’m just about out of clean laundry. I was supposed to do that on Sunday but it obviously didn’t happen. Hopefully I will be able to get at least some done tonight or I’ll be coming to work naked in a couple of days.
Friday and Saturday sound awesome. I’m sorry for your loss, and I’m glad you made it through the storms. It rained for hours here. I would have hated to be driving!
I hope things work out with the laundry. They get really mad at my workplace when people show up naked. I’m assuming yours is the same way.
Thank you for the laugh at the idea of knowing that they get mad at your workplace about naked employees. I don’t think that it will come to that. I might just skip the gym so I have time to run a few loads of laundry before bed.
Oh man…soundgarden and NIN on the same night…awesome!
So sorry for your loss though…hope you can recuperate a little next week end :-)
And sars…you Are fooney!!!
TTF it was an amazing show. If it comes to your area, I highly recommend it.
YOU’RE LUCKY OH MY GOD, YOU GOT TO SEE ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER AND NINE INCH NAILS
too bad you didn’t get to see Death Grips though, their live show is the stuff of legends apparently.
I saw NIN back in the day. Like way, way back in the day. :p
nice!!! pretty hate machine is the only album by them that I truly enjoy. though I used to be a huge KMFDM and Skinny Puppy fan.
How does one pseudo gongfu? lol
I saw KMFDM back in the day. Like way, way back in the day. 3 times. Never saw SP, but they are touring now!
thats v cool! they were great from like 88-95 but then they fell off. im not really into industrial anymore though.
hippiechick: don’t even bother, just buy a gaiwan.
My “pseudo gongfu” is my lazy way of doing it. I use a small glass with an infusion basket, so I’m not trying to pour anything more than into the cup at my desk. I’m notoriously clumsy. Last time I used a gaiwan, I spilled everywhere. I also don’t really have room at my desk for a full set or anything. This works for me and keeps me in tea the way I like it while I’m working, which keeps me happier. It’s a win-win for me. Yes, a gaiwan would be more authentic, but this suits my needs.
It’s the first time I’ve seen NIN, surprisingly, but the one show I thought I was going to get to go to, my friend’s father’s funeral was that day. I opted to spend the day with her instead, which in the end was definitely the better choice. Then I wasn’t really into NIN so much anymore. My husband surprised me with these tickets and we had a blast.
good on you for spending time with your friend, that’s a great thing for you to do. glad to hear you got to go to the NIN show as well. did you see Oneohtrix Point Never play as well?
I told my BF that I want the SP tix for our already passed anniversary. I think he’s in.
I didn’t know who Oneohtrix Point Never was, but yeah, I saw that part, although we were actually sitting out on the lawn with friends during his set. It was quite nice. I have added the newest album to my queue to listen to at work tomorrow.
OPN is easily one of my favorite artists. R Plus Seven is a bit strange at first, though all of his work is. Maybe you should jump in with Replica first and then listen to R Plus Seven. R Plus Seven took me a while to like.
And Sarsonator, that’s awesome! Hope you get to see them!
I’ve added both OPN albums to the queue for tomorrow. Thanks!
Thanks for the sample Marzipan!
Everyone is right, this is very good stuff! Rich, sweet malty and full of cocoa goodness. I feel a Whispering Pines order in the future…my husband is in love with Golden Orchid :)
Good plan, get the hubby hooked.
I keep offering mine teas I think he would like while I’m drinking them, or sniffs of teas that I think he’ll like when I get them. Every once in a while now he’ll ask me for some tea.
Mine’s dedicated to his coffee, but enjoys tea on occasion too :)
I’m glad you have an SO who also likes tea. I enjoy morning tea time with my boyfriend, even if he doesn’t like my pu’erhs. :)
Origin: Wen Shan District, Taiwain
Dry Leaf: Scent is nutty, buttery and leaves are deep forest/spinach green color. They are thick, twisted threads.
Method: 4 oz porcelain gaiwan 200F 45" then 55" steep
Wet Leaf: Floral, buttery, tangerine scent. Medium to large size leaves that had been twisted. All the leaves have carefully had the large part of the stem removed. Very precise and uniform leaves.
Liquor: Light, clear, golden pineapple color. Smells fruity and sweet. Subtly floral.
Flavor: (45") Creamy mouthfeel, subtly floral, buttery. Absolutely no astringency or bitterness. Very high quality Oolong.
(55") Still buttery and very good. Even after the leaves have opened up fully there is no astringency or bitterness. Very smooth Oolong.
Pouchong=
baozhong (Bao1 Zhong3) = very lightly oxidized tea (formerly?) wrapped in paper during drying, literally the Wrapped Kind (包种 or 包種) – in Taiwan this word is often applied to any oolong
Flavors: Butter, Cream, Flowers, Nutty
Preparation
Ooohhh I love pouchong!
This one is delicious!
i had an aged baozhong last night
i also have babelcarp bookmarked :P
Cool :)
I wish-listed this one :)
Oh good, you will like :)
I’m wish-listing this as well. And I need to wait as I just got a Yezi order recently.
:) :) :) So good!! :) :) :)
Yezi has some good stuff. I’m in total love with the Yu Fu Chun – that is some addicting stuff, so I’m putting this one on the list for next order.
Yi Fu Chun is one of my absolute favorites,,,it stays in my cupboard
I got it as a sample. I went to Yezi to try the Jin Jun Mei, because I wanted to try one and everyone said that was the best one. And Yezi had the three samples thing and the Yu Fu was one of the ones I got and OMG it was so good. Jin Jun Mei was fine, but the Yu Fu was AWESOME! I hoard-ordered some of it.
Queued post, written May 25th 2014
Here’s another ancient thing that Fleurdelily shared with me. I’ve kept it for so long, partly because I was scared of it but mostly because I didn’t have the faintest clue what to do with it. It just had ‘yak butter’ written on it. I didn’t even know if it was actually freeze dried butter that I was supposed to use as an additive or if it was some kind of instant tea deal.
Luckily KittyLovesTea posted about this one recently, and looking at the picture I can see the pouches are identical to mine, so that’s what I’ve decided it must be. I asked her what I was supposed to do with it, and her reply has been sitting in my email for a while while I’ve been gathering courage and waiting for a good time to try it. I’m home alone this weekend, so here goes.
I’m still scared of it though, but it has to be tried. Otherwise I can’t empty the box. And if I can’t empty the box, I can’t get new stuff. Ever. This is the rule. New orders/swaps/whathaveyou require an empty box.
So I’ve made it up with Kitty’s instructions and am now staring sceptically at the cup.
It smells like puerh with butter in it. Which, I suppose, is what it is. The butter smells a bit… different from cow butter. A bit sort of wild. I can’t tell if that’s because of the puerh and its farm animal smell or if it’s something to do with yaks. Perhaps a combination? I find it quite off-putting to be honest. Cloying.
Okay, I’m doing it. I’m taking a sip (fully expecting something vile).
Oh! It’s salty! And buttery. LOTS of butter. FAR TOO MUCH butter! Oh ack! All I can taste is salt and butter. Flipping heck, but this is foul. I had to spit it out. At least I’m rid of it now.
The sweet version isn’t too bad, pretty good even, like an instant sweet milk tea :)
Ew that sounds totally nasty!
I don’t want any of this.
I really want to try this one, sounds interesting to me
I want zero yak butter tea.
Now I know what to get you for your birthday :p
Yes, you do: almost anything that isn’t yak butter tea
I’m effectively cured off yak butter tea for the rest of my life. spitty
This is my #1 favorite tea, hands down. I’ve already had it many times Western style, but I thought I needed to experience it gongfu style too. Let me tell you, that experience deserves its own review too! Here’s how I brewed: 3g at 205F H2O for 15/15/30/40/60 sec
steep 1: This steep is all bread and chocolate with a honey sweet finish. Chocolate croissant, anyone?
steep 2: The chocolate hides for this steep, but caramel comes out to play and brings its friend butter, all over the bready base. Mmmm so buttery and smooth!
steep 3: This was a repeat of steep 2. I’m not mad about that at all.
steep 4: This steep is where it’s at. OMG. Dying. Caramel + dark chocolate + honey. So sweet and so smooth
steep 5: And we finish up with buttery, scrumptious bread. Steep four was my favorite, but this is actually a really nice way to finish the session!
Everyone, do yourself a favor and get your hands on some Ailaoshan Black. You’ll be in total tea love too :)
Great Tea!!!
We are morning tea twins today :)
Yay tea twins! Too bad we couldn’t have a Sunday morning tea party
We can, in the future :)
I got a sample of this finally! dances around can’t wait to try!
We can totally have a Sunday morning tea party. I may have to insist on chocolate croissants though * dies Sarsy’s eyes *
Mmmmm croissants.
I’m down for a sunday morning tea party with chocolate croissants! Oh, twist my arm :-P
HIDES. dang! There is just no reason NOT to have a Sunday morning tea party.
Sooo….Haven’t had much of an appetite lately…been skipping meals and what ends up happening sometimes is I get certain weird cravings late in the night. Like my smoked salmon at 1am the other night.
Another thing that you may or may not know about me is that I don’t eat junk food. I am a bit of a health freak. But….I have my weaknesses… And one of them hit hard last night. My last encounter with it was about six months ago and I did report it in a pu’erh review. I even found out then that there were fellow steepsterites suffering from the same addiction. Somehow, I feel like I need to confess whenever I succumb to it.
Forgive me Steepster for I have sinned…
Last night, 12:30am, I was just sitting pretty on the couch, doing a little bit of reading, a little bit of Steepstering. The tv was on in the background. Then it happened.
I saw someone eating mac & cheese!!!
Damn it…
Some of you might remember that I keep a small emergency supply of…KD mac & cheese. Yes. Guilty as charged. Now…I make a mean REAL healthy mac and cheese from scratch with tofu, avocados, red bell peppers, an yes, some cheese. But…KD has a sentimental value…I just need to eat it occasionally. And when I do…I eat the whole god damn thing!
So I got my but off the couch and I made some….I gulped it down as if there was no tomorrow.
And again, I had some pu’erh to avoid major bloating situation.
This was one of the first pu’erh I ever drank…I really like Butiki’s mini tuochas. I ordered a bunch of them a long time ago, love how handy they are and that you can keep them forever.
This mini tuocha is different from others I’ve had. You must steep it a very long time. Like 7-8 minutes after a quick rinse.
It gives a very interesting mouthfeel, it feels «chewy», you know that feeling you get in your mouth when eating raw mushrooms? Hard to explain.
It’s also sweet and smooth, rather on the light side for shou.
It’s very forest-like, damp soil, wet autumn leaves. It has a wintergreen fresh finish, just lovely.
And…it most certainly took care of my bloated tummy!
Thank you pupu for the rescue!
i know what the chewy feels like :P
Oh you know what is funny, the “KD” thing isn’t used in the US, I remember seeing on a show that it is marketed that way other places. Just trivia!
I love the from-the-box mac and cheese too! I haven’t had it in FOREVER
I ate some last night too.
Oh I remember, I first heard it called KD on Top Chef Canada.
I think I got one of these in the sale, just to try. Glad it made you feel better!
+1 for the smoked salmon! Now if they just had a lower-sodium version!
Oh, but is this is supposed to be about smoked salmon, mac & cheese, or a tea tasting … ;-)
+1 “love how handy they are and that you can keep them forever.” Excellent point!
“…interesting mouthfeel, it feels «chewy»” “…also sweet and smooth”
Sounding very good!
However, “…rather on the light side for shou.” You almost had me …
rich ppl dont eat fancy mac n cheese they just eat twice as much kraft
(I went to buy some real food people…no more boxed mac & cheese…and yes…I got some cherries!!)
Kirkoneill, glad you understand what I mean by chewy ;-)
Thanks for the fun fact marzi, did not know that!
mj, it’s time to have some!!
Sars, I really like it, but let it steep a loooog time!
LooseTman….so sorry I lost you there :-(
But I know I’ll get you back with some other stuff :-)
There’s probably some truth in that apt!
OH MAN I miss KD. It’s so dirty and so wrong and a massive rip-off here when you can find it (upwards of £4.50 a box? Forget it!) but sometimes it’s the only thing that does it, man.
I actually have no idea what KD is, but I don’t eat cheese, so I’m just playing along. :)
Sami, that’s expensive, wow! They are only $2 here…
Haha! Sars, it’s Kraft Dinner boxed mac & cheese!!!! You play along just fine :-)
No cheese???? Preposterous!!!
Oh kraft. That’s a classic here. Grew up on it.
Nope, no cheese. It’s one thing I miss in my vegan life. And also bacon.
I eat Kraft Mac & Cheese everyone in awhile, but it never ever has the same taste I remember from childhood – that tart cheesyness. I don’t know if they changed it or if my tastebuds changed from childhood.
Oh, did not even know you were vegan! I’ve got nothing but respect for you…
Skulleigh, I think you’re right, maybe that’s why I like to add a little lemon juice in mine :-)
Lemon Juice to KD?
Yep. So good. And so much pu’erh, lol, I ended up drinking 3 cups from the other one i told you yesterday, and 3 cups of butiki. I was so pu’erh’d up! But no tummy ache :-)
You are Foxy Roxy, Queen of the Midnight Pu’erh. You henceforth shall be known as: FRQOTMP
I feel like there are quite a few vegan/vegetarians on here..lol:)
Christeana1-mwahaha, we are everywhere. : D
I can’t hear you guys from behind my big juicy burger.
I was a vegetarian for the second 8 years if my life (from when I was 8 till I was 16, being a kid vegetarian was hard 10 years ago man), and then only ate chicken and sea food until I was 18, when I discovered that beef can actually taste good if it’s not massively over done (love my mom but she can’t cook meat to save her life and so I always thought all meat was gross). Still don’t like pork, hate bacon with a burning passion, but give me a good bloody steak and I’m yours.
This is all so interesting to me…
Was vegan until expecting my son and I started craving hamburgers, he was over 11 lbs when born. He took a look at a bean as a baby and wouldn’t eat it. He’s 23 now and still won’t eat a bean. He needs meat. My vegan days were pretty much over though I don’t eat much red meat myself, it is very rich to digest for me.
Good morning, my little tea lovelies!!!
I am drinking this beautiful tea with my breakfast this morning! I was asleep by 10:30pm or so last night and the dogs and Chairman Meow let me sleep til 7:45! Wooo! I am ready to face the day!
Brian and I are going for a hike to pick wineberries which I will use to make wineberry wine, an amazing treat. It turns a beautiful dark fuchsia when done. We are down to only one bottle from last year’s batch. Time to make more!
I love the gentle jolt this tea provides, and it tastes really lovely with toast and butter. Or pancakes. Or french toast. You get the idea…
Have a wonderful day!!!! <3
(Or cherries…just saying)
Have fun berry picking :-)
:p
I should make a cherry wine…
Oh ya!!!! Booze and cherries, now you’re talking. That would be amaaaazing. I drink very little, but wine is my thing.
Maybe I will make a Foxy Roxy cherry tea wine in your honor. Oh yeah, I absolutely do make wine out of teas!!!!
the YS one is supposed to be good
apt: YS has a what?
ailaoshan black. they call it ai lao mountain black which is the same thing
Thanks, apt! I am going to get some pu’erh from them soon. I’ll add a bit of their ai Lao to try!
You’re going to get some what sarsy???
I usually make some Cherry Bounce before all the cherries are done for the season. It’s ready by Christmas!
I’m not buying any tea, if that’s what you’re implying, TTF. :p
What’s a Cherry Bounce?!?!?! HoneyBelle! Sounds fun!!!
Drinking this “Laoshan style”… I used to drink only my Dragonwell this way, but a certain Tea Whiz of the Woods mentioned that method worked with pretty much all teas.
For those who are unfamiliar with the method, this is how I do it. I use a tall glass preferably, and poor low temp water on the leaves. When they sink at the bottom, I start to drink. When the glass gets 2/3 empty, I refill. If you are using good quality tea, it NEVER gets bitter.
I like using a crystal beer glass cause I don’t burn my fingers this way. Here’s a few pics:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/laafeevertee/14565779587/lightbox/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/laafeevertee/14751914512/lightbox/
Now the tea. It’s such a lovely pretty tea. (Aren’t WP teas all pretty? What’s up with that?)
The taste is so friendly, it’s smooth, not overly vegetal nor grassy. It’s got sweet tender buttery green beans notes.
It’s got that marine breeze saltiness I like so much, I’m eating macadamia nuts and it just goes so perfectly with that taste.
If you shy away from green teas because of their ususal grassiness, this tea is for you. Oh, and please don’t throw out the brewed leaves. They are so good and tender. Add them to green smoothies, stir fries or salads. They are delicious, not bitter at all!
Now, a long Story…skip if uninterested.
My dog Dexter has been a little nervous at night lately. We’ve had a possible beak in attempt a few nights ago…while I was in the house. The alarm company sent the police over, big commotion, could not determine what really happened.
My dog is a big baby, but he can be such a bad ass mofo (this word is a courtesy of MzPriss)
The police told me he does a better job than any alarm system will ever do. They say if a doberman lets you in…it won’t ever let you out.
So the next night, when I heard him growling at the same door from which the supposedly break in attempt happened, I got scared.
So I did what any bad fake blonde actress in a lame B horror movie would do. I did it people. I opened the door and got out on the deck. (Fake dumb blond reenactment) «Hello? Hello? Someone there?» Silence. Pitch dark, I don’t have city lights in my neck of the woods…but then I heard alien noises…hmmmm…was I about to have an encounter with the third kind? Flashlight time, pointed it towards the noise source. This is what I found:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/laafeevertee/14748863064/
Awwww…. Little baby raccoons feeding off my bird feeder!!! They froze and stayed there. I had time to go grab the camera, put it on night mode and get this amazing shot.
Now, was this dynamic duo responsible for the break in attempt? They would not tell me. But I’d like to think they were…and I’d say that’s a guilty look if I ever saw one!
Eww, raccoons. Not a fan after seeing coons larger than dogs in the city boosted by human food growth hormones. Nice post about the tea, however^^
Lol, but racoons are so cute!!
Aaaaww they are so cute! Remind me to tell you about Mr. Peepers sometime.
I had a break in once, while I was in the house. Now I have 3 dogs and I’m armed. I used to have an alarm, but that just went off for no reason. If anyone so much as breathes outside this house, the dogs let me know.
Oh how horrible Sars… Good thing you are well protected now. And yes, I’d love to hear about Mr. Peepers :-)
I’m glad you have Dexter, even if he’s a big baby, as you say. He still undoubtedly has impressive hearing and the fact that he probably LOOKS scary goes a long way!!!!
How adorable!
(I really need to change my screen name…..)
LOL Dex :p
Hahaha! So sorry about that dexter…don’t change your name please, maybe i should just call him DeDe around here like I do at home ;-)
Sars he his a big baby, but don’t underestimate him: he can flip into serial killer in no time! Two years ago, he came back with a peeping tom’s piece of ass in his mouth…good boy :-)
So adorable! That’s great they stayed while you ran for the camera – such a good photo!
Caile, It was so funny, they were like frozen in time, caught in the act!
ROTFL!!! Omg, I guess that’s why some people don’t like them…But they are just hungry little fury balls, poor things.
Soo cute! But I would piss in my pants. I’m scared of wild animals except squirrels haha
Wow.. So glad it was mischievous raccoons & not someone tryi to get in. What a scary adventure.
We had one that visited the well where we keep the garden hose in the front porch. One day I lifted off the cover only to be greeted by a furry face. The poor thing was only looking for water. It had been very hot, but it made me jump back a little.
Yikes! I hope it turns out the little robber raccoon were responsible for the whole thing, how terrifying!
Lol, boychik, How do you survive the whole summer over there??? Now you must have critters all over the place no?
Suziqzer, dunno if they are guilty, but it reassures me to think they are, that’s for sure :-)
Yyz, I guess they can be surprising, no matter how cute they are!
Amanda, yep, I sure hope so….
I saw coyote last week. He was running to my neighbors drive way. Needless to say I run to the house. I think he got scared as well;)
Omg, they’re sooooooo cute!! I love raccoons :) I hope they were the guilty party for the attempted break-in. They’re easily distracted by shiny things :)
Oooh, coyote…they can be dangerous though when they are hungry…but you’re right, most critters are more afraid of of then we are of them!
mj, they were just the cutest thing ever!! i do hope they were the ones playing with my door nob, haha!
They probably smelled you brewing tea and wanted to come in for a tea party… They figured they could jiggle the doorknobs and get your attention. It’s a little known fact that racoons can’t knock on doors.
Well sars…then tea would be the culprit???
And your sparkling personality. I’d totally crash your tea parties. I’d just knock first. :)
I don’t know about you, but I love waking up with the Jabberwocky. Once you get to know the Jabberwocky, you discover he is no fearsome beast, not at all ;-). In fact, the Jabberwocky smells like chocolate and anything that smells like chocolate is welcome at my breakfast table.
The first sip though. Big sigh So much better than the lovely aroma or the Steepster hype led me to believe! There’s a rush of salted caramel blended with a river of dark chocolate. There’s a gorgeous bready element that reminds me of short bread. In fact, the whole initial flavor combination resembles these homemade twix bars sprinkled with sea salt that I make sometimes. After that first sip, I started to notice this luxurious creamy element that adds a big dollop of crème fraîche on top of that twix bar. Despite all these heavy, rich flavors, this tea leaves you with a refreshing and cool sensation. The Jabberwocky is positively sinful but requires no “Hail Marys” or extra cardio afterwards :)
Flavors: Bread, Caramel, Chocolate, Cream, Salt
Preparation
Oh, so happy you like it as much as i do!!! “…a river of dark chocolate”…Mmmmmmm, I may have to borrow that someday. :-)
Now I want some! Shame on y’all! lol
Haha! Hippiechick, I’ve been drinking loose lead tea all my life and WP is my biggest addiction to date…Once you start, you can’t stop!!
I just got up. Was wondering what to drink this afternoon…now I know. Thanks! XD
You haven’t steered me wrong yet, Tea Fairy! Speaking of which, when you have time, would you mind sending me some darjeeling recommendations? And feel free to borrow away :)
Ost, I hope you like it too!
Ooooh, you have sold me on this!
Thanks for reminding me sweet girl…I have sent you the list :-)
Thanks for the list TeaFairy! (Does it annoy you when I leave out the “The” at the beginning? If so, I will take the time to type it)
Cavocorax, I hope you like it! So much pressure! But I have faith in Brenden’s mad but completely awesome concoctions :)
Lol, mj, you can drop the “the” with no problem, you can even write TTF for all I care but thanks for asking :-) I’m thinking of dropping the “the” myself, but then that would just make me “a” tea fairy, not “the” tea fairy, haha!
You are definitely the tea fairy! Not just any old tea fairy :)
i tried this one as a cold brew last night and it was a little disappointing. somewhere between hot and cold is where this one should be – so maybe i’ll try hot brewing and cooling next heh. It’s not BAD, but it’s just quite as strawberry as i want it to be. heh oh well, still a good tea for summer!
Final Count yesterday: 126
Tea of the morning. Nom nom nom. We are off to a Ticket to Ride tournament because we are geeks. Have a good Saturday!
WHOOHOO!! sounds fun!
Are you just watching or participating? Have fun!!
Have fun!
I came in 3rd place
Woot! Nicely done :)
What is a ticket to ride tourney?
It’s a board game :)
Ahhh:) fun!
Hey I played that one for the first time just a couple of weeks ago! Nice!
Queued post, written May 25th 2014. This was supposed to have been posted yesterday but I kept getting the kettle page when trying to pull up the tea. Seems like I’ve chosen a good time to take a little step back from Steepster, kettle pages having been rampant lately. Reading Steepster is something I would like to do regularly, but started to feel rather like a chore that I must do combined with a general feeling of detachment. So I’ve stopped. I’m still posting and still writing and still drinking. I’m just not going to be reading much for a while.
Another one from the EU TTB 2. The problem with these French names is I have to look them up to see what they are. To a French speaking person it may be blindingly obvious from the name, but not to me. Therefore I must have looked this up when I had the box and decided it was interesting. Afterwards, however, it often takes me a fairly long time to get around to them because by then I’ve forgotten what they are. (In general, I don’t actually much like those blend names where it doesn’t say anything about what’s in it regardless of language. I don’t even like it in Danish. I’m sure it’s all fanciful and poetic and what not, but I still don’t know what’s in it.)
Following the raspberry hibiscus mint fiasco, however, I figured any was as good as another, so I just pulled something out of the box. This is what I ‘won’.
Unlike the other, this smells lovely. It’s all sweet and caramel-y, perhaps even a bit nutty. After steeping it smells quite nutty and a bit honeyed as well. When I look at the blend, there’s something in it that looks like rooibos, only not red. People always say that green rooibos tastes vastly different, so that might be it.
I’m going to look up what this is.
It is indeed a green rooibos! With mango and citrus. …what? Knowing that it’s there, I can find both. A touch of lemon in the flavour and a smidge of mango in the aftertaste. But before I knew it I wasn’t even anywhere close to identifying either of those two things. It’s quite subtle to begin with. As the cup cools, though, both become more clear.
This is oodles better than the raspberry mint concoction.
I’ve been getting the kettle page a lot too. It’s a bit frustrating, and probably just as well that I do not have a lot to post lately.
Yeah, it was part of what led me to ask myself ‘is this really worth it?’ So I went elsewhere. Have actually done some useful things in the garden today. I’m not a mad keen gardener and I get bored fairly quickly, but I’ve discovered to my vast surprise that there are some small things that I can do.
This is really refreshing iced! Even my non-tea drinking husband likes it that way. ;)
I read that as Sausage at first lol
LOL! I will always think of it as sausage tea now. :D
Sausage Garden tea, mmmm … :)
I now have a deep wish to own a sausage tree! :9 I can just see it in my head now. It would grow right next to my money tree.
Yes, I need both of those. I could plant them next to my bacon tree and my ham bush.
Oooh, a bacon tree! How exotic. :)
mmmmmmmmmmmmm
This has always been my favourite oolong from butuki… I just can’t get enough of it. Strangely, I don’t drink it that often, it’s like one of those “special ones”.
I get so many notes from it, I get confused sometimes.
It’s charred and roasted to perfection. I get chocolate, coffee, apple cider, deep caramel (now this is what I call caramel)…liquid crème brûlée.
It re-steeps forever, I loose count. You’ll get tired of this tea before it gets tired of you.
You do what you want, I’m no tea police, but it would be a shame NOT to have it gongfu style.
It’s one of those that morphs to something else from one steep to the next.
If you’ve never had an aged oolong before, I would definitely start with this one, the best in my humble opinion :-)
Woop Woop Woop! This is the tea police. Put down the gaiwan and come out with your hands up.
Lol, maybe that’s what we need around here, a real tea patrol!!
Maybe I’ start the Stacy birthday party with this one. I have some and I haven’t tried it yet
Missy do try it please…not many people have tried this one, want to have your opinion, am I crazy to like it so much?
My name is Kristie, and I’m a sheng addict.
It started innocently enough. I just tried a few, because my friends were doing it. I wanted to fit in. To be cool. It just escalated so quickly.
I was even scared of the tightly packed cakes at first. But now… I can’t keep from busting them all open. I say things like: “Come here, you little cake of yum yums! I am going to poke you with a pointy stick and make drinks from your tasty flesh!”
Some days it’s hard for me to concentrate on other things. I think about sheng in the morning, all through the day, and then again when I go to bed at night. Sometimes I sheng 4-5 times per day. I’ve already shenged twice today and I don’t show any signs of stopping.
The other day, I looked into my boyfriend’s eyes and said: “I love you, Sheng. I just love you so much.” My boyfriend replied, “my name is Brian, you crazy tea fiend!” Then he called Teahab and asked if he could have me committed.
The End. Or is it….
Also, this tea tastes like smoked apricots. Is smoked fruit a thing? Because it totally should be!
Preparation
I smell it when I am at work. From nowhere.
I’ve tried smoking fruit, but it just wouldn’t stay lit!
Cwyn: Maybe we should start a support group. :p
G: Maybe you need a totally different kind of support group. Just sayin’ :)
little chunks of tightly compressed puerh can look like weed
All I can think about is teeeeeeaaaaaa!!!!
Hey, we do nothing wrong here…it’s all legal. For now.
Ans sarsy…that was hilarious. Really.
Thanks, my little croissant!
Tea had better stay legal! I need my sheng. Precioussssss….
I am going to end up living alone in a cave, with 8000 cakes of sheng, a kettle, and a pu pick, aren’t I?
It’s a possibility sarsy. i might be around in a cave near you. We’ll both have our durable mandala picks to carve some pupu cakes on the cave’s walls….and in a million years from now they’’ll know we were there…and they will wonder about those flying saucers carved on the walls…only us will know they were pupu cakes… The end. (I am totally tea drunk)
Hahahahaaaa!!!! That actually sounds like a pretty decent life to me.
I am just afraid of kicking the bucket and someone stealing my stash. Or my son throwing it out. I will haunt him from the grave if he does.
Oh my. Well I hope you have many years to come, but you could always bequeath your tea to Steepsterites, just in case!!!
I think we should all be allowed to live as long as we have teas in our cupboards!
In this case we gonna live forever, we keep buying tea almost everyday or swap
Exactly!!! :p
I am the official bail you out of puerh jail man. I will only as for a small portion of your tea to do this for you. I will let chairman meow decide which ones.
LOL. Worth it! Chairman Meow is real, BTW. He’s my boyfriend’s cat. :)
I am still in the intimidated by pu phase :(
Oh Marz… Jump on in. Join us !!!
Chairman Meow, AKA The Most Interesting Cat in the World says: Pu’erh yumz!!!
Grabbed a bag of this while at the Lupicia store in SF, and I’m so glad I did. Very much coffee-like, with notes of burnt sugar in there. I don’t get honey, but I’m cool with that!
Flavors: Burnt Sugar, Coffee, Roasted
Preparation
plush down comforter
sugar cookies and warm milk
melting into dreams
This one is just so perfect :-)
Yes, this is one of the only decafs I really like
Lol, I meant the haiku :-) never had this tea but lots of people seem to like it a lot.
Oh yeah – the haikus are ALWAYS great. You know, I expected to not love this tea, and I don’t LOVE it – but I like it a lot and find it nice for bedrime tea.
This is a great haiku :)
Lovely poem!
Thank you, my friends! This little text definitely sums up my relationship with Vanilla Comoro! Two more sachets, then I’ll be restocking with looseleaf…
This is how I felt when I was drinking Nutmeg Cream with vanilla soy milk this morning. Mmmmm snickerdoodle cookies… <3
Please pass the snickerdoodle cookies, Cameron B! ;-)
Pass de snicker-dutchie on de left hand side!!
Now I want to make snickerdoodles! Lol too bad I’m going on a trip tomorrow.
take em with ya!! ;)
My first Verdant tea. When I opened the package, I got a scent of honeysuckle. It comes out more brewed. The flavour is nicely sweet and floral. There is a bit more of a vanilla or cream flavour as it cools.
Flavors: Honeysuckle
GA! GA! OH LA LA!
…sorry. I was really excited for this blend, and I love Sarsonator forever for sending me a sample! I had to add this tea to the database, so I guess no one else on here has tried it yet? Hooray pressure! ;)
So, this is a genmaicha with some unconventional ingredients. I’ve had the base tea on its own and enjoyed it, I remember it being a smooth and creamy light green tea. This tea has two types of toasted rice – jasmine and Minnesota wild. There are also lovely golden flower petals for color, and juniper berries (I assume they’re dried, but they still have their plump fresh appearance). I didn’t see any vanilla bean pieces in mine, but supposedly they’re in there. The dry scent is toasted grains with a very light vegetal note in the background.
Brewed, the aroma is a basic genmaicha – green tea (albeit a mild green tea) and lovely toasted rice. Have I mentioned I love genmaicha? Sipping this tea, I get the impression of a traditional genmaicha done very well. The base tea is exceptionally smooth and creamy, its main vegetal note would be butternut squash. As I near the end of the sip, it becomes creamy vanilla almond or soy milk. Mmm… The toasted rice adds that lovely nutty flavor, and goes perfectly with the creamy soy and light oat notes of the base tea. I would have enjoyed a tad bit more vanilla, as I only really find it near the end of the sip. But I digress! I honestly am unsure what juniper berries taste like, but I would assume similar to pine? Either way, I don’t get any of that here. Same with the saffron.
Overall, I actually really like this tea. I would consider it more of a traditional genmaicha, but exceptionally smooth and creamy. Delicious! :)
Edit: I forgot to mention that this blend was created for Lady Gaga, in case anyone was confused by the beginning of the note… Lol.
Flavors: Butter, Butternut Squash, Creamy, Nutty, Oats, Smooth, Toasted Rice, Vanilla, Vegetal
Preparation
I think you may end up with more of this since you like it so much. LOL. It just wasn’t my jam. I will try again, though! I’m really excited that you liked it!!!!
It wasn’t necessarily what I expected, which was a more contemporary genmaicha. But I love it for what it is. :)
That’s awesome. I do sometimes like a genmaicha, but this one tasted less toasty and more green. I am trying the Paris again. Wish me luck! :)
Good luck! I had a frustrating time when I first got that tea… :P
You were right! I think I’m in the tea twilight zone….
So happy you finally got to try it cameron :-)
First time I was the first person to add something to my wishlist, haha!
Seeing as how I am from MN and I love genmaicha too… I shall have to try it haha
My oregano bush is in bloom, and like every year, it hosts a bumble bee party. So cute to watch them working their little butts off.
Thank you bees for all your hard work…because of you, my oregano looks like a micro forest!!
I had Sleeping Bear in the middle of the afternoon. I usually have it at night. But it was raining and this tea reminds me how rain tastes in my forest, so it was the perfect companion.
I’m on a “monthly subscription” for this tea…meaning, I buy it once a month cause it’s that good and I get to have the newest harvest every time.
Out of the three different harvests I have tried so far, this one is the best. It’s a little more piney than the others, and the jasmine is just perfect. The scent is therapeutic, it elevates me…I feel like I’m resting on a little cloud made of jasmine blossoms and soft pine needles.
So good that I re-steep it. Yes, cause Whispering Pines has made a re-steeper out of me!
Teehee bumble bee party! http://tinyurl.com/n95df9w
We had two big fat fuzzy bumble bees wrestling inside an okra flower at my house yesterday, too funny!
I would imagine bumble bee wrestling to be similar to sumo… Lol!
Lol, most of them are actually regular working bees, but I like saying Bumble Bee, makes me happy :-)
Lol, Cameron, that pic is cute!
Stephanie, i think Cameron is right, two big fat bumble bees fighting together = sumo bee wrestling :-)
I usually think of the small “regular” bees as honey bees, and the extra large extra fuzzy variety as bumblebees!
They were totally sumo wrestling, LOL
Awwwwwww I love bumblebees! I got stung by one when I was two because I tried to pet it. Surprisingly not traumatized xD
Yeah, re-steepage!!!
Also, sumo wrestling bumbly bees is the cutest image ever.
I’m totally crashing that bumblebee party!!!!!
Haha! KiwiDelight, kudos for petting a bee, so cute!
Sami, except when I do gongfu sessions, I was never much of a re-steeper…now, with those WP teas, it just breaks my heart to throw them out so I can’t help re-steep most of them!
Sars, I was hoping you’d crash ;-)
Bees are so awesome! I went to an insect behavior lecture a couple of months ago (just for fun) and learned some about them. Did you know that all the bees you see outside the hive are female? They are the workers and soldiers. The males stay in the hive and care for the larvae. Fun facts :)
YOU GUYS if you like bees, you need to read this novel.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/25/books/review/the-bees-by-laline-paull.html?_r=0
TTF: You know I can’t resist a party!!!!!
Suddenly The Tea Hobbit has turned us into re-steepers LTF
I’ve learned here on Steepster that resistance is futile Sars…
MzPriss…let’s face it. We are total re-steepers. But only with tea hobbit’s teas… I still dump my other used tea leaves with no guilt after one steep!
The two I actually res-steep are GO and this one. I wih I had some right now. But it’s not long until the 1st. The Tea Hobbit is also lightning shipper
The firsssst…. it nearsssss…. Need teasssssss :p
Where do you get your “subscription” for this tea?
Lol, it’s a joke hippiechick, I said that cause I buy it every month, just can’t live without it, and I easily go through my 2oz within 30 days :-)
Oh ok I was going to order some, due to your amazing review, but it is out of stock. :(
This tea is available in small quantities starting on the first day of each month :-)
Usually sells out pretty quickly, so keep an eye out for it!
Thanks I will!
So, I really really love RLT’s flavoured matcha – and of all the different kinds I own this is probably the most versatile: I’ve successfully used it cold shaken in water, whisked into cold milk, in smoothies and milkshakes, and as a matcha soda. No matter how I use it the flavour remains distinctly juicy pineapple. Tonight, I went with matcha soda.
Here’s my recipe:
1.5 tsp. of matcha disolved into about 2 oz. of hot water
1 tsp. of sugar
1 can of club soda
Interestingly, as a matcha soda I find that the pineapple, while retaining some of the natural taste it has, becomes a little bit more like candied pineapple, and in the case of this particular batch it tasted just a little bit like bubble gum – but I enjoyed how different that was, and the added element/dimension it brought to the flavour. It is also possible the added sweetness was more from the added sugar; typically I do not ad d any sweetner to any of my tea, the matcha soda being the exception because I find the sweetner is needed to combat the taste of the club soda.
Just a friendly reminder if you’re gonna go the match soda route; remember to occasionally stir it a little bit because otherwise any matcha that didn’t properly dissolve will end up sitting on the bottom and your last few sips will be really, really concentrated!
And that, folks, is the last of my epic, long as fuck queue – so I can finally go to sleep now, and start fresh tomorrow without any backlog! Hooray! I feel like I’ve accomplished so much.
Flavors: Pineapple
That sounds intriguing….
I love this idea and am slightly scared of it at the same time.
i love this matcha…pineapple lifesaver goodness
I’ve had weired matcha sodas, Kaylee! Cheesecake and Pumpkin Pie are the first odd ones that come to mind, and I guess Eggnog. I liked all of them – but this is probably the best one (or maybe Bananas & Cream). And yes Sil! In fact, it’s because of you I fell in love with this one ;)
Not that I’m off my matcha kick a little…this is the one I most miss….
Er not = now
Holy Crap. This tea is BLACK. Like my soul. :p
Method: I followed MzPriss’s instructions. But I did just do 1/2 a batch to start because I wasn’t sure I could handle the dark side. So it was about 1.5 tsp Special dark, a small pinch? of Black Beauty, 8 oz water, 208 degrees.
Aroma: This smells like a cave of mystery
Flavor: Well. It turns out that I am not quite ready for the dark side. This tastes a little burny. Not like the burninator or anything, but a wee bit smoky perhaps?
Luckily, I know I’m kind of a weenie when it comes to the ultra darks, so I brought along the bottle of maple syrup. 1 tsp later and this is like a dark heaven. This has an amazing mouthfeel, heavy and thick. It’s surprisingly not overly bitter.
I know this flavor. My Nana used to make these sugar cookies for Xmas every year, and they were super thin. Ribbon cookies? Anyway, she would always burn them because they were so thin that it was impossible to get the temp and timing just right in an old oven. That’s what this reminds me of! Nana’s cookies!
I never say “No” to anything that reminds me of my Nana. Except wooden paddles!
Edit: I did a 2nd steep of this. At this point, the teas are already mixed together in the strainer. I steeped for 5 minutes and wow, I like the 2nd steep even better. I still did the maple, but the 2nd steep is much milder. What was already just a light burn/smoke is now a whisper. I can taste a little cocoa and more bakery notes. Less like Nana burned cookies, and more cakey?
BTW: Nana’s burny cookies were famous and everyone was actually excited to get them. They were only every lightly burned around the edges, and the contrast of dark and sweet was always kind of pleasant. So it’s not a negative thing AT ALL!
Preparation
Whenever something has a smoky or burny flavor, I want to sign the Trogdor song. BURNINATING THE COUNTRYSIDE, BURNINATING ALL THE PEOPLE. Even though, this one was very mild in that area, I can’t help myself
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gz1DIIxmEE
And the trogdor comes in the niiiiiiiiiiight!!!!
Lol, “this smells like a cave of mystery.” So win! And don’t forget about the beefy arm! :P
Coming out of the back of his neck… :p
Cave of Mystery! Dang… now I gotta come up with another pu’er blend just so I can give it that name :) Puerfect!
Only with your permission, of course, Sarsonator. If it happens, I’ll credit you with the name!
Now you really have to name something “Cave of Mystery” because if you don’t, I will be super sad. :)
Since you being sad is not an option, then it shall me made manifest! I just gotta get the right leaves together. With a name like that, I really think it has to be a ripe style pu’er, don’t you think? Heck, I’ve already got a poem going for it in my head. Oh boy, that tea will have to live up to its name!!
Yes, ripe for sure.
This is so exciting!
I like black, smoky and caves, can’t wait for the cave of mystery! I’m still waiting for the day I can place an order to try the special dark, looks like I’ll have to add black beauty to the wish list!
biz: Please do. I had purchased the Special Dark, but when MzP started talking about this, I knew I would want to try it. So I bought the black beauty the next time around. I really think she came up with a heck of a mix here.
I’m glad it reminded you of your Nana. It is pretty strong, but I love the dark side :) and your should is not black – you are one of my rays of sunshine <3
I’m making a big fat cup of Jabber and pondering dinner…
Oh, thanks. I like being sun shiney! :)
I had muesli for dinner because sometimes I eat breakfast for dinner.
I had scrambled eggs and toast and bacon last night for dinner
What a lovely review sars…and I too vote for a “cave of mystery” mandala tea!
Thanks, Pookie pie! I’m glad my unintentional pu’erh name is gaining a following. :p
It is a challenge sometimes to say the flavor, often a story or memory comes instead. Nice read…
How much longer are the roofers going to be?
I remember many years ago when we had a very snowy early December, and then things warmed up, but not really. By the last week of December, the snow melt had iced in the gutters and we had really, really bad ice dams in them. Really bad. And then it warmed back up some, and the roof and insulation at the apartment we were living in was pretty…well, it was an apartment, so they didn’t care about my heating bills. And as the snow melted, it flooded the dammed up gutters and we had water POURING into our apartment. We were on the second floor and it was bad, but the woman living below us literally had a waterfall for a doorwall. So they hired someone to take the gutters off the buildings. Good idea. Except that they showed up at 7am on a Sunday and used sledge hammers to remove them. And they started in the corner of the building right over my bedroom. That was miserable.
I wish I had a cleaning lady! I don’t mind cleaning floors and most of the bathroom…my pet peeve is scrubbing the grout in the shower stall. Absolutely HATE doing that for some reason.
It’s something I had to do, since I work from home I really need to be off in my house instead of always working in the house, or ON the house. She’s not too expensive either. She comes every other week and does the heavy stuff, floors, bathrooms, etc. $70.
That’s not as bad as I thought it would be price wise. I guess I’d rather have a gardener though. Weedeating and mowing in this heat is the absolute worst. Maybe when I pay off my car :)
Well, we have that too.
:) living the dream :)
My house isn’t yet ready for someone to come in and clean, if that makes sense. I need to actually have things put away, I think, to get someone to come and clean.
I can’t wait to get more of this tea. I just love it!
The Snails are soo yummy, we love this one, we just ran out of it and I just ordered some more :)
LOL send up the snail signal :)
Hahaha!!! Too cute, mj