Shmiracles

Fili is the careful older brother. i’ll translate that into more patient and loving. cuz this cup is definitely kind and gentle.
this tea smells really good. and i’m gonna say it’s the hazelnut. with this cup i’ve figured out that every single adagio blend that has hazelnut in it smells great to me. and so i like it. that’s all.

this weekend i went to the Bilbo Baggins Cafe. and in this picture is a Hobbit’s Lemonade cocktail.
http://instagram.com/p/ZLiOlsoc1G/
i also had beer with blueberry mead in it. i would totally drink that again.

Pippin: What’s that?
Merry: This, my friend, is a pint.
Pippin: It comes in pints? I’m getting one.

thank you very much Shadowfall for sharing all these blends with me. i’ve had a great time. cheers!

Kili is the reckless one. the younger one. definitely the flirty-er one.
this tea is all chai-ish with it’s cinnamon and it’s cloves and it’s cardamom. and it has a strange scent that i cant quite place and don’t quite like. perhaps it’s due to the way the SLIGHT vanilla mixes in?
i love ginger and i love vanilla too. but i don’t get much of them in this cup.
i don’t know. this tea is confusing. kind all over the place. but it does blend in the end i suppose. haha, just occurred to me, this is probably appropriate for ADHD Kili.
(i’m thinking about making a ginger-nilla lapsang blend via adagio? or maybe just lapsang vanilla.)

a powerful dwarvish head bonk to you Shadowfall!

“What are you captain of? The Innuendo Squad?”

idk what the descriptor is talking about, this tea is rooibos heavy (at least the sample i got is) so i don’t think it would keep me “up all night”. ..unless john barrowman served it to me personally i suppose??
har har
this IS a nice tea. i can taste the almond and the light chocolate hints.
thumbs-up!

in related news
someone made this.
and then i watched it.
oh internet.

Single Ladies – John Barrowman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEr0BPOfVw4

thanks Shadowfall!

“Bravery is by far the kindest word for stupidity, don’t you think?” – Mycroft Holmes

thank you Shadowfall for this taste of the Queen. haha tv joke.
anyways, i don’t really prefer chai’s but even though this smells very chai it tastes mellower. which makes me like it. (perhaps i should just short steep all my chais?) plus it’s a vanilla chai AND there is the chocolate chip tea too. so it’s good!
i LIKE it.

i’ve spent the past 24 hours reading a looooong post-Reichenbach fic which is kinda Mycroft heavy, in a lovely way, so i thought this was an appropriate tea for the evening. here’s to the CCTV warrior.

The Revolutionary! how can you NOT love the name.
“Crafted as an homage to those who change the world for good.”

it says it’s made with “loads of organic vanilla beans”. but sadly tastes more like it’s made with KINDA MAYBE SOME vanilla beans. but that’s fine.
truth is. i like these Java Tea Company teas because they are super low caffeine. i seriously am tired of rooibos but i never really thought about adding black or green tea to it to give it a little more meat. a little bite perhaps.
i even have some decaf and i should do that more often.
not a tea i love, but i will drink the entire sample that i have that’s for sure.
THANK YOU TastyBrew!

hmmm didn’t really get the chicory or barley notes in this very distinctly, but they are probably helping to mute the rooibos some. that and the little bit of tea added.
the caramel flavor is not very strong. but that is fine with me.
i guess i don’t have too much more to say about this mellow tea.
i will happily drink the whole sample.
thanks again TastyBrew!

OMG Tastybrew my mystery swap box arrived and it’s a smorgasbord of tea! like whoa!

i immediately picked two teas. and this was the first.
the scent is pretty damn decadent. heavy butter, or like a fresh cheese danish. bam!
the base is a pretty mild black so it would be nice when i don’t want a mega caffeine hit or a heavy mouth experience. a mellow dessert tea!

thanks so much TastyBrew, this whole box is gonna be a wild experience.

the mystery swap tea box i got from TastyBrew came with a note. it said the box contained “teas i don’t love as well as some of my favorites”. so The Game Is Afoot!!

actually, i realized that i have already cheated cuz i’m a big peek-er. and i looked up tastybrew’s opinion already. haha oh wellz

fact is, i love lapsang blends.
i really do. cuz lapsang seems like a tea that wouldn’t be blended with anything well and it’s always a surprise.
i also read a lot of sherlock fan-fic. and last night i stayed up till 4am in the morning getting half way through a really long story. and lapsang is always sherlock.
but i digress.

the vanilla and coco nibs are mild, but i can get a hint of the vanilla. i would have never thought of a vanilla added to lapsang but i now realize it’s OBVIOUSLY a great idea and i will hope to find a really good one someday.
i do think this tea itself is pretty mild. and i brewed it according to instructions. but next time i will probably try brewing it longer. (that is, when i brew my last cup. cuz i already drank 3 cups of this hah)

i’ve been loving these tulsi samples i’ve been finishing up. i seriously need to buy some loose leaf tulsi. i have a feeling it’ll benefit me in many ways.
if anyone has a brand they like let me know! :)

now i will go to sleep super early so i can wake up at 5am and run a half marathon in the woods and rain with my sister. i’m totally looking forward to it. i have my pre-run and post-run teas already picked out. and we will go to the twisted branch tea house for lunch. xo

Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton – Detective Daughter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kozLRQQiDQU
Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton – Doctor Blind
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8ixpuUpJAk

christmas in May!
orange yay, almond yay, vanilla yay, and spices…hmmm i’m skeptical of you “spices”.
tasting…
and it’s pretty mild.
i probably need to steep it longer.
i was worried there would be cinnamon with a capital C.
instead it’s just nothin to write home about.

so, i’ll have a real cup of this soon, cuz i kinda messed up the brewing. i just know that it steeped for way too long. and i didn’t even dare taste it in that state.
i poured my tea from my tumbler to let it start to cool and i added more hot water to help with the oversteep. and then i added a little agave to the first cup. and this is pretty nice!
i actually like the taste of the tea more than the smell. i don’t really like chai teas, but i do like ginger teas. lots. which is probably why i requested this tea in my swap with Shadowfall. and i’m glad!
apple and ginger, apple and ginger, apple and ginger.
i can taste the chai-ness. the cardamom and orange peel. but it’s part of a blend and sufficiently muted for my tastes.

well, i also requested this tea cuz i’m SHERLOCK obsessed. (half way through the Two Two One Bravo Baker fic now.)
i own a lot of apple teas actually, and this tea makes me think i should try maybe mixing them with a little of the Super Ginger tea. Experiment! blending teas experiments! — more tasty than keeping severed heads in the fridge.

nothing to do with anything.
Ask is by far one of my favorite Smiths songs. it should be played 5 times at every wedding so i can dance to it over and over.
Ask by The Smiths
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEpAtTe-oJY

oh ploppers. i wanted you to be tastier.
i mean, i guess since it said chocolate first it would be chocolaty-er.
it’s a good cup!! but maybe just not as tea dark and chocolate dark as i would have liked. maybe i’ll brew a second cup right now with a longer steep. that’s probably all it needs.

eh, i’m not really a rose tea person. but the good news is that my sister is.
this from the 5 tin sampler pack i bought in paris. and i mostly bought it for my sister cuz she loves the Kusmis a lot. (hahah right on cue! she just sent me an email and i quote "this green rose tea is beautiful. kusmi teas are lovely and subtle but hard to screw up, and really pretty tins. plus lots of flowers. and french/russian. all good things.) i love her.
tea #280 tasted!
wow!

once a goth, always a goth….
approx 1996
http://instagram.com/p/ZGA3JDoc3t/

#not an actual tea review

this tea smells really nice dry! a blend of floral and malty and nutty. i’m guessing the floral note is the vanilla oolong. as it cools the mellow vanilla note becomes a tad bolder. what an intriguing cup! i love adagio blends they are so fun!!

you can thank Shadowfall for the following crazy person rant! cuz she gave me this fun tea to try!

honestly, if you haven’t seen the film Hair by director Milos Forman, you should. he did One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Amadeus for heavens sake. also, i was a dancer and NEVER liked Twyla Tharp’s choreography, that is UNTIL i saw it in Hair. and the it all made sense. you don’t have to like musicals to like this movie. i swear.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9oq_IskRIg

i’m deep in fandom today. like too deep.
like, i just googled “fandom is unhealthy” deep.

let me list some famous Aquarius men for your entertainment and artspiration.
Tom Hiddleston i watch in Wallander. sure sure he’s Loki, but he is Magnus Martinsson first for me.
Simon Pegg is a brilliant man and one of the only celebs i follow on twitter. you MAY wanna look up the new The World’s End movie trailer that was just released. it’s gonna be so much fun. (and can’t wait to read the slash fic.)
David Lynch is awesome duh.
Seth Green is awesome duh.
Justin Hartley is only ever gonna be Smallville’s Green Arrow. but i love Green Arrow in every genre. cuz he is a rule breaker. and totally anti-authority. and loves spicy chili. and they quickly made it a point to have Justin take his shirt off in EVERY SINGLE EPISODE. quite frankly i’m shocked there isn’t a fandom youtube edit of them all.
James Spader is brilliant in so many things, cuz i was a teenager in the late 80’s, but he rose to the top in the movie Secretary. i only own 4 actual DVDs and this is one of them.
Henry Rollins, the person i’ve seen play or perform live more times than anyone else. the second time i went to see live music i was 15 and at the first Lolapalooza. the opening band was The Rollins Band. i can still sing every word to every song on Weight. don’t EVEN get me started on Black Flag. i always own two copies of Get In The Van, so i can give one copy away when the mood strikes me.
François Truffaut. start with The 400 Blows. it’s a movie that every other great film maker loves.
and lastly, Phil Collins is also an Aquarius. this song is one of my karaoke songs forever.
Genesis – Misunderstanding
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmFRvpwVSwo

PS i just got the david’s tea email about the t-shirt. i don’t wanna buy it, but i have to. i seriously have to.

i love apple teas. i love chocolate teas.
della terra is bold with the deserts. and you can smell this tea before you even pull the bag out of your purse!
it wasn’t as chocolaty as i was hoping for. but forming expectations is usually my problem anyways. after my first few sips i added a little agave, which is crazy cuz i rarely do that. especially on my first cup.
still, i love apple teas, and this apple tea is a warm apple flavor, as opposed to a fresh apple flavor.
oh wait i just had a crazy idea, what if i added just a tiny sprinkling of PB2?!? omg ! to be continued…

i had to look up who Queen Toothiana is.
and duh! “Toothiana is the Tooth Fairy.” “She is the Guardian of Memories.”!
now who can’t relate to the tooth fairy!?!

Shadowfall asked if i was interested in trying this tea, and when i looked it up my answer was a certain yes. i love the adagio fandom blends because, well sure cuz i’m a fan-girl, but also because i love the sometimes randomness and obviously endless variety that blending teas can offer!

this tea is a black & oolong & white blend, full of peachiness, apples, apricot, and tangerine. it’s nimble!
i think i over steeped it just a tad. but as it cools it’s found it’s balance. not even slightly dry. it’s very delicious! the spring into summer time is MADE for a tea like this! just beautiful.
so glad i got to try it.

http://instagram.com/p/YVr9GIIc1u/

this tea smells amazing! intensely orange and rich chocolate. oh sweet honey pow!
i brewed it at home and brought a new teacup to work to enjoy it in. :) my standard process is, i brew the tea in my timolino, and then pour a few ounces at a time into my desk teacup as i drink. keeps it hot!
i’ve been using a melamine teacup and saucer for months and months. this is because when i came to my current job 3 years ago, i had my favorite thrift store cup and saucer all ready to take with me to my new job, and dropped it on the kitchen floor moments before i stepped out the door. shattered into pieces. first day at a new job in a new city and i was all nerves and anxiety. i was so sad. it was MY CUP! there was nothing special about it and i loved it! so after that i used the blue melamine cup, cuz melamine doesn’t break. hah
(but melamine does tend to stain so if anyone has any advice for removing the stains i’d love to hear it!)(i did try the denture tablets 2 times already but it didn’t seem to make any improvement.)
so hello new cup!
welcome to my desk!
this is a nice smooth chocolatey tea. interestingly enough i still find the scent of the tea, both dry and steeped, to be much stronger than the actual flavor. if i was trying to be critical i might say i wish the orange was stronger i guess? but the orange is great to just add an edge and tone to the airy chocolateness and teaness. it’s not a deep broody chocolate tea, it’s a festive chocolate orangey tea!! great for a sunny morning!

thanks so much Shadowfall for letting me try this!! i’m glad to have more to brew too, cuz this MAY not have been the most accurate brewing i’ve ever done. in which case i will update my notes. whooten whooten!

thanks for this chocolate morning Shadowfall!

i’ll be honest, a part of me is such a cheerleader that i want to love every single swap tea i receive just because i’m so grateful for the gift and for the steepster community. now sure, i know that’s not practical or realistic, but it’s where my heart lies.

this tea was ‘meh’. when it was hot hot it was a subtle chocolate warming drink. but as it cooled, it just became watery kinda chocolate maybe tea. made me crave some of that intense della terra dubble chocolade. sorry chocolate chip. no hard feeling :(

Shadowfall! i recieved your swap box!

and i’m so excited to try them all, so many of them smell amazing!
but since it is late in the day my sister and i made a pot of the herbal tea :)

we just had to have this tea. it’s scent was a big peachy bomb the minute i opened the bag. perhaps it’s the fact that it’s a gift from a fellow steepster or that i’m sharing a pot with my sister, but it was not too tart and not too sweet and really warmly peachy. i thought i didn’t like the fruit teas too much, but now i finally realized it’s the fruits they choose. i’m all for something more subtle like peaches as opposed to something like the usual pineapple and cranberry heavy blends. if i happen to be near a teavana, i MIGHT even consider buying this.

i approve!

i went to the post office to mail of some swaps and then on my way back to the office walked through the big ritzy Jefferson hotel that is a block wide. so when i say ‘walked through’ i mean took a short cut through the hotel to the next block over haha.
then decided to get a cup of tea.
they have a small to-go shop on the lower lever and i looked at their tea list and the special blends include ‘richmond blend’ from rostov’s coffee & tea. …. the only cup of tea i’ve ever paid for and then dumped out.
(rostov’s is a local business here and the first place i bought loose leaf tea. and they sell their tea in plasic ziplock bags and as i drank more tea as a newbie i eventually threw them all away and didn’t finish a single bag of their tea once i learned better.)
this does not bode well for my chocolate high tea reservation at The Jefferson in a few weeks.

this green tea is NOT from rostov’s. but the notes and ratings on this tea from Mighty Leaf are not so great either. however, personally, i think this tea is fine.
i did understeep it, cuz i was walking with the paper to-go cup and understeeped is WAY less annoying than over-steeped. the green tea is fine and the fruit is just a nudge.

i don’t know. i drank 2 cups of this today trying to get to know this tea. but it just wouldn’t open up to me. i’ll try again in a few days. some teas just aren’t quick to trust.

omg!
Dinosara!
my first matcha!

i started timidly. 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk. 1 teaspoon matcha. 1 teaspoon agave syrup (cuz the milk is unsweetened). and a little hot water to mix with the matcha.

i loved it. and i know i could make it better too!
i loved it.