Shmiracles

always in the mood for peppermint tea at a party <3

05/01/2013
giant tea tasting party!

first i ran 6 miles in the graveyard with Regina and then we drank:
Tardis Blend
Red Velvet Cake
Banana Dream Pie
Guy of Gisborn
Cookie Dough
Santa’s Secret
Buttered Rum

then Audrey came over and i gave her tea samples to take home and we tasted these:
Bilbo Brew
Troika
Bouquet of Flowers
Movie Night
Smaug
Kusmi Caramel
Kusmi Anastazia

and then as i waited for the pizza order to arrive my boything and i drank:
Jane Austen Mafia

oh my this one is a bit strange, in a good way. i almost smell a little alcohol on the nose?
it intrigues me!
and that means it’s going to keep me interested.
watching vintage sherlock.
getting into bed early for an early run tomorrow.
happy warm tea night.

too much ice cream
Oh my tummy
save me Wallander.

i know it’s weird but there is something about the dried fruit part of this tea that i don’t like. or maybe it’s just the whole tea that i don’t like.

but i think i DO like green rooibos because the three lemon green rooibos i have is one of my favorites. i guess i’d just rather eat my dried mango and papaya on the side.

oooooo i did this crazy thing where i basically used warm water and half as much water and then let it steep a real long time. and i like it. the scent it very rich and alluring. vanilla and lemongrass first, coconut second. and really, not much ginger at all.

i wanna take a bath in it.

HOBBITY GOODNESS!
the scent of this tea really let loose as i began to steep it. first it had a sweet tone that hadn’t been there before. then a cinnamon kick started to rise from the cup as the sweet tones slightly dissipated.
i only steeped this for 2.5 min, but i did steep it with water that was probably definitely too hot (because i am at work and distracted and only think of these details after the fact)
now don’t get me wrong, it is still DEFINITELY an irish breakfast tea first and foremost. i guess i look at several of the adagio fandom teas as just really good staple teas to have in my collection. nothing too fancy. but with a little something warm and special added. it’s that little flourish that brings each it’s own personality.
a tea for the hobbiTEAest of hobbits.

well i think i steeped this too long. i’ll need to shorten it below 4 min and see what happens.
it could just be a matter of perception and inflated expectations.
this tea is rated the highest of the fandom adagio blends, and i seriously love a few of the other blends i’ve ordered, so i figured this one must be delicious. i’m such a practical type of person that i forget how much others might be influenced by cross promotion. so maybe after this cup my expectations will be tempered.

this is another free sample i received from DavidsTea with order.
it’s okay.
i think i’m just not a white tea gal yet. i’m sure i’ll get there someday.
(like growing from liking only wheat beers, to eventually liking sour ales)

sample from one of my orders.

i’ve been staying up too late watching Wallander on netflix.
(and then i may or may not have read magnus/kurt fanfic and stayed up even later)

i think maybe 2 tea orders i placed recently are arriving today.
(adagio & della terra)

do any of you like to read memoirs?
i especially like to read memoirs about depressed or abused or mentally ill girls. is that wrong to admit? well, it’s true. Unbearable Lightness, The Glass Castle, Wasted, Anais Nin’s Unexpurgated Journals, and every single version of Sylvia Plath’s journals that have been released. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, but the point is i keep searching for more but i think i’ve read all the really good ones? i’ll keep looking and let you know what i find. i might have to broaden my focus to include men and drug addiction stories.
i do see these books as my equivalent to a trashy romance novel. sensationalized and dramatic and easy to read. but if i’m in a reading funk, one of these books always helps get my reading flow started again. or it works as a balance against the heavy and dense writing of the political non-fiction i’m usually chiseling away at.

this pekoe is boring.

i freakin love the smell of this tea dry.
i know a bunch of ppl don’t agree but i think i might really like cardamom in my tea.
but … i’m not sure i really like white teas.
interestingly without thinking, i brought 3 white teas and 1 black with me to work today.
the almond and vanilla and cardamom all come through in this cup. subtle, but they are definitely there.

i listened to the Tea Rage podcast as i rode my bike to work today. He talked about the Tea Cellar in DC which i will now plan to visit soon. he also shared this quote:

“I am so fond of tea that I could write a whole dissertation on its virtues. It comforts and enlivens without the risks attendant on spirituous liquors. Gentle herb! Let the florid grape yield to thee. Thy soft influence is a more safe inspirer of social joy.”
― James Boswell

bum bum bum …. the last cup of Chocolate Orange until my recently placed order arrives.
for the time being, this tea is in my top 10. easy.
i made a cup for My Boyfriend the Animator too. and previously he declared that he doesn’t like chocolate teas. but tonight he declared that he likes this one.
win!
i went to the gym tonight. i’ve run maybe 2 times over the past 5 weeks. no wonder i’m so depressed. hopefully tonight’s run will be the start of a solid and steady effort for the next 3 months.

(i’m forcing myself to drink the 52teas tea that i have left. please tell me if it’s my immature newbie palate that is making me dislike these teas. i’m grumpy today so i’m thinking things like ‘i can’t wait until i drink all of these teas and then don’t buy them again’. i’ve steeped them short, i’ve steeped them non-boiling, i’ve steeped them in small quantities, i’ve steeped them in bigger quantities. i just don’t get it.)

brewing two cups of tea at the same time.
3 day work week vs a wednesday that feels like a monday.
everything feels old and stiff and stuck.
looking forward to my gym time.
daydreaming about working at a library or a museum.

my Kusmi order arrived!
the russian tasting set and a large tin of caramel.
(my boyfriend is gonna love the russian ones i just know it)
so here i am drinking tea at 11pm!

today is the last day of my holiday vacation.
whimper.

last day of december.
last sip of this tea.

It’s actually earth.
They’re all ghosts.
He’s his own brother.
They’re all clones.

this tea smells very good.
I had a mega tea tasting with my sister yesterday. I hope to have another one soon.

Since this is almost the last day of the year there is a lot on my To Do list I’d like to get done.
Wish me luck!
Maybe I’ll just throw everything into the garbage and be done.
Do you ever wanna just move to a cabin?
Like leave everything behind and see what it’s like to start from scratch?
I’m not feeling destructive, it’s just what the beginning of a new year will do to my mind.

one of the christmas teas. i postponed drinking it for a long time because it really doesn’t seem like my thing. i don’t even really like cotton candy in it’s original form. but it was a cute tea. and fun. though it definitely doesn’t fit my winter mood.

we were drudging through historic Williamsburg. my sister and i had run out of things to say to my dad and his wife a few hours ago. we all had a beer to ease the tension. then my sis and i spotted this place! tired of looking at old buildings? go shopping for tea! the tea wasn’t super top notch or anything, but we could purchase small bags of a nice variety and it was super fun to smell all the tea.

this was a sweet little treat tea. thanks oddree for sharing as ALWAYS!

i have been drinking tea for days and not commenting or making notes.

old dear roommates visited from out of town and they got so excited when they smelled all of my teas!

i haven’t visited facebook for over a week, but within 2 min of clicking my friend notifications i registered for this http://www.7summitsrace.com
dangit.
DANGIT!
(i’m a race addict)

slightly toasty and smokey. just slightly though.
i bet my sister would appreciate this tea more than i do.
she’s a breakfast tea kind of gal.

seriously this tea smells amazing.
(i’ll write more later gotta run)

25/12/2012 gonna go see 3 movies today!

26/03/2013
popcorn balls. it smells like popcorn balls. and the scent is strong, because i had the teabag ready and just sitting here for most of the morning and even though i was drinking two other delicious teas THIS in the scent i most noticed over and over again.
once brewed, most of this tea is in the nose. over and over i smell the tea more than i taste it. though as it cools it tends to get an interesting buttery kind of flare or texture?
i don’t know about you but this tea has very little actual tea leaves in it. it’s mostly a fruit tea with a sprinkling of green tea added. which is nice when you wanna mellow out a bit. so i will try to keep that in mind. this tea is not just for the movies!
salty maple and buttery apple. nom nom nom. i should think of it more like a baked desert tea. i guess i’ve started to realize how much i like apple teas. cuz i seem to have a lot of them. and also i eat the real thing everyday.