takgoti

Shhhh. I’m just going to sneak in here quietly and pretend that I haven’t gone AWOL for the past…you know what? That’s not important. While you’re cooperating, we’re also going to ignore how late it is and strike anything that might come out in Stupid instead of English, okay?

I’m not going to elaborate on how bananas [B-A-N-A-N-A-S] school has been, except to say that when this semester ends I am going to do nothing but smoke hookah, drink tea, sleep, sleep, sleep, and maybe play some HALO or something.

Three things have been helping me wade through life.

1. http://www.youtube.com/user/nervouscircus

2. 30 Rock.

3. The tea that Carolyn sent me.

In no specific order.

This smells like vanilla. It tastes of vanilla. And it does so in a sweet, sashaying kind of way. [As opposed to a lure you into an alley to knife you and steal your wallet kind of way, I suppose.] What’s particularly lovely about it, is that it doesn’t smell like artificial vanilla or even have that pungent edge that vanilla extract can take on. It’s more of a fresh, wafting variety. Those of you who have ever slit open a vanilla bean pod know what I’m talking about.

It’s not so strong that I can’t taste the rooibos, and that’s something that I appreciate about this tea. The only possible downside that I can see to it is that it’s slightly one-noted. It hasn’t ever been cloying to me, but I suspect that’s because I don’t drink it every night. Vanilla, as a general flavoring, not just with tea, is something that I don’t think I would be able to intake every day, and the same goes for this guy.

In moderation, however, it does quite nicely. Warm, comforting, and with just enough of a hint of an exotic, faraway place to keep it from being boring. I’ve found myself reaching for it at night, when I need something sans caffeine and I want to nudge my mood in a better direction.

This week has been killing me not-so-softly so I haven’t had time to get on here and do…anything. BUT, I just got a package from Carolyn today packed with tea and OF COURSE I had to make some straight away.

I let this sit for 4 minutes on the first steep, and even though it definitely didn’t make it strong enough for me, I know that I’m going to love this tea. Firstly, the coloring on this tea is absolutely gorgeous, but that’s definitely not all it has going for it. It smelled distinctly of honey, and what surprised me more was that it TASTED of honey. And beyond that I got caramel and a natural kind of sweetness. There’s a complexity to this tea, and it’s rich and smooth and positively, like the name implies, sinful. I drank this first cup pretty slowly, and I can say with some certainty that I like this a lot better on the hot/warm end of the spectrum than on the cooler side, but that’s par for the course for me with black teas.

I’ve got a resteep that I let go for 5 minutes that I’m waiting not-so-patiently to cool. I’m tremendously excited to continue playing around with this tea, and to see what else Carolyn decided to pack away for me. If this is any indication of what she decided to send, it’s probably not just my imagination that hears my bank account whimpering.

I have to get back to this pile of crap I have to finish, but either things are going to calm down soon and I can start catching up with reviews, or I am going to asplode. FUN! In the meantime, I’ve got some likely awesome teas to peruse. [Thanks Carolyn!!!] ACTUAL FUN!

I think I could like this tea quite a bit, but I need to spend more time with it.

The dry leaf smells like something between buttermilk and yeast to me, and there’s a lot of that flavor in the tea as well. At times I get a malty flavor and occasionally it sweetens into more of a caramel, but it’s not always present.

The description says that it contains pine notes, which to me would read as woody, sharp, and edging on bitter. I think I can taste it [how much of that is purely psychological I couldn’t tell you], but thankfully it’s muted. Too much of that would ruin this for me, easily.

If it weren’t for the occasional sweet flavors I get in this I don’t think that I would enjoy it overall. However, the melding notes and shifting flavors make it intriguing. This isn’t something that I’m going to drink all the time, but I like it and it warrants some extended experimentation.

Eep. I just glanced at my Harney & Sons post and hopefully Battle Part Deux will not be nearly as long as Battle Part 1.

Scent
There’s not much to say about this that I didn’t say in the H+S post. It smells so full and succulent that you want to be able to take a bite out of it. Just lovely. But H+S has a bit of a stronger scent and so I gave them the win.

Texture
Samovar’s jasmine was a little lighter in the mouth, but also smoother. Almost silky. If it just came down to those two components I’d call it a coin toss, but because Harney & Sons had that strange tingly/prickly thing going on the round goes to Samovar.

Things I Don’t Know Enough About
The leaves in Jasmine Pearl were more separated. Some of the leaves were attached in pairs at the stem, but many were singles. They were all completely unrolled and long by the time the 3:30 was up. Here are my Samovar pictures.
1 | http://twitpic.com/nfruc
2 | http://twitpic.com/nfrzg
3 | http://twitpic.com/nfs3t
leaf | http://twitpic.com/ng5um
cup | http://twitpic.com/ng61c
all | http://twitpic.com/photos/takgoti

Taste
This one was sweeter, like I mentioned in the H+S review, and a little more consistent over time [however, it did grow in flavor as it cooled]. It also had more of a vegetal quality to it, though subtle. I found that the liquid edged out the Dragon Pearl in terms of complexity, but both had very similar notes and tones. Samovar won the taste round.

Price
The price of Samovar’s 2 oz. can is $15, which is much higher price point per oz. than the next [and only] size up. For this tea to be “worth it” I’d get the 5.5 oz. tin, which runs at $28.

FINAL VERDICT
I am giving Samovar the championship belt in this battle, but it was really, really, REALLY close. If Samovar all of a sudden discontinued their jasmine tea and I would not be at all disappointed at the prospect of drinking Harney and Sons’ jasmine instead. Really, like I mentioned previously, I think that this decision should be based on who you buy more from [and how much you want to get, I suppose]. I buy more Samovar tea than anything else, so it makes more sense for me to get my jasmine from them.

So…I suppose that in the end this was all somewhat moot, but I got to play with my camera and two really great teas so it was a win for me. And really, isn’t that what matters? [Yes.]

I say go big or go home.

So, when I decided that I wanted to do a little Harney & Sons vs. Samovar match up of course it turned into a much bigger ordeal than heating up a couple of cups of tea. I pulled out some of my camera equipment and set up a makeshift lighting situation. Not the best, but I think they came out decently enough.

For the sake of comparison purposes, I’m going to try to do this list style. Both teas are relatively giving in terms of steep time and temperature, so I used the same for both of them. I should also point out at this time that even after direct comparison, these two are neck-and-neck. I’m really splitting hairs at this point and obviously, since I’m no expert, this should really be taken for what it’s worth [like maybe a small animal]. In the absence of oyster crackers [since I believe those are supposed to be good palate cleansers] I used original flavored goldfish. It seemed official enough for my purposes. And HERE WE GO.

Scent
Perfumed to perfection. It smells decadently of jasmine – both the dry pearls and the steaming drink. It could be cloying, but since I only participate in moderation it’s simply intoxicating. There are no major differences between the scent of this tea and Samovar’s, but H+S is SLIGHTLY stronger.

Round Scent goes to Harney & Sons.

Texture
At the start, Dragon Pearl echoes a tingly sensation. Not tingly in a ticklish, bubbly sort of way, tingly like somewhere between your foot falling asleep and when you intake air quickly and suddenly and the air is REALLY COLD and it does a number on your lungs for a second. As it cooled slightly, it evened out. It’s weightier than Samovar’s, and it was also a little more textured. I’d call it grittier, though it really isn’t a gritty tea.

Round Texture goes to Samovar.

Things I Don’t Know Enough About
I’m not going to bother attempting to comment on the leaves because I really know nothing. As for things I simply observed, H+S seemed to have more leaves attached at the stem. They were bigger, but they also didn’t seem to unfurl as completely as Samovar’s. See for yourself. [Disregard coloring as I took some liberties there, except for the final leaf shot. That’s pretty true to what I see in real life.]
1 | http://twitpic.com/nfmev
2 | http://twitpic.com/nfml7
3 | http://twitpic.com/nfmug
leaf | http://twitpic.com/ng5r2
cup | http://twitpic.com/ng61c
all | http://twitpic.com/photos/takgoti

Taste
The main event! Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! Dragon Pearl doesn’t exhibit that jasmine sweetness for me until it has cooled somewhat significantly. In the beginning, most of the taste is in the aftertaste. I get a taste of something relatively bland in the liquid when held in the mouth, but there’s a that delicate jasmine taste towards the back of the mouth that makes itself present when air sweeps in. It remains, pleasantly, for quite some time.

I prefer to drink jasmine tea when it’s between hot and warm, and because the taste in this doesn’t begin to really kick in for me until it’s rapidly approaching warm, it leaves me a smallish window in which to enjoy it. Perfectly fine if I’m concentrating on the tea like today and can pace myself accordingly. However, I can see myself getting it annoyed if I waited, got distracted, and then missed the window. Overall, it’s a very good tea. However…

Round Taste goes to Samovar.

Price
Not to be ignored. In the smaller quantity, the difference is negligible. If you like buying things in large quantities, however, H+S wins [Samovar also doesn’t go above 5.5 oz. for this particular tea]. I like to buy teas in small to medium quantities because I have a lot of them and I’d rather drink them while they’re awesome. For loose tea only at the time of this log, H+S’ pricing is…
$20 for 4 oz. | $5/oz.
$39 for 8 oz. | $4.88/oz.
$69 for 1 lb. | $4.31/oz.
And everything said and done, unless you’re buying Samovar’s small quantity [which runs much higher at $7.50/oz.] I’d base the overall decision on who typically supplies more tea for you.

I made a cup of this yesterday.

Samovar, you may have a contender entering the ring. This jasmine is pretty damn good.

In fact, I’m not even going to finish this note. I’m going to brew both of them RIGHT NOW.

LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!

Eight at the Fort, you win.

I dropped the temperature like it was hot [hahaha, I crack myself up] down to 180 and the difference was exponentially better. There’s still some bitterness to it that rides on the swallow, but it’s much weaker in this cup, and therefore more manageable for me. I get some astringency from it, but not as much as I have from some other teas.

There’s some maltiness at parts, but it’s very light and it comes and goes. On the whole, I’d almost call it yeasty. In fact, it kind of reminds me of bread. It’s got a savory quality to it, but also a fleeting sweetness. Kind of like challah.

Eight at the Fort is a nice, solid tea. It’s not plain, but in the way that it doesn’t rely on any additional flavoring or frills like other teas do, it stands firm. It’s your favorite cable-knit sweater. The kind of tea that you drink when you aren’t necessarily seeking anything specific, but want something you like.

Ok. Something must be addressed before I say anything else.

WAY TO ROCK HARD, STEEPSTER OVERLORDS.

I am FULLY digging the new update. It’s like opening a present, that is in a box, and inside the box is another box, and in that box is a key, which you use to open a chest… I’m sure I haven’t seen everything that has been tweaked yet, but MAN ALIVE, you guys have been working hard. It is MUCH APPRECIATED. And now that I can go back and adjustate and accuratize and other made up words all the stuff I’ve logged before you’ve given me quite a pile of stuff to keep me busy. AWESOME.

So yes. Eight at the Fort. I think I need to play around with the steeping time on this because it came out a bit bitter for me. It definitely is smooth, though.

The tin has that distinct dark, almost earthiness in the scent that I have come to associate with black teas, but with an almost fruity undertone. In the infusion, that sweetness is lost to me. Looking at the tea itself, it’s comprised mainly of the dark twisted leaves typical of black teas, but there are a few sprouts intermixed that are quite downy. There are also some lighter, near lighter brown, near golden leaves.

Eight at the Fort makes me wish I knew more about black tea, or tea in general really. I can’t even begin to pick out what the hell is in this because it’s very well blended and makes for a solid, singular taste. It’s certainly is going to have me jumping for a while trying to figure it out. I think that I’ve been drinking so much stuff that’s flavored lately that I’ve lost a semblance of what some teas taste like as a standalone. As it is right now, the tea doesn’t really taste like anything to me. Just…tea. It’s not an unpleasant taste by any means, I just don’t have anything to compare it to.

The aftertaste has an extremely pleasant, grounded sweetness to it that is reminiscent of some of the subtler dark chocolate I’ve had. It’s not obviously sweet like Hershey’s, you have to wait for it, and when it comes it’s not overwhelming. It’s just there, and it lingers in the recesses of your mouth before leaving as quietly as it arrived.

Right now, I like this tea. With some adjustment and attention, I think that I could REALLY like this tea. If anyone has any suggestions on steep times or temperature or whatnot, by all means send them my way. I didn’t steep it as long as the packaging suggests, but it’s already bitter for me at 4:30, so I’m thinking I don’t want to go much longer if any longer at all.

It rained yesterday, crescendo style. Drizzled all morning, and gradually became stronger until by the time 8 PM rolled around it was heartily Riverdancing on the rooftop. My sleep schedule is so screwy right now; I’d planned to go to bed early but there’s no way that was going to happen. So I went upstairs to catch up on some TV.

About 15 minutes into it I decided that I wanted some tea, but I was too lazy to go back and get some so I ransacked the cabinets instead. The findings were meager, since I don’t really keep a lot of stuff in the kitchen, but I found this and thought, eh, sure.

I was pleasantly surprised on two accounts. One, that I could taste it at all. [Seems I’m seriously on the mend, which is cause for my own Michael Flatley impression.] But two, that I found it enjoyable, because, being honest, I was approaching it with the mindset of wanting something hot and steaming more than expecting something good.

The steep time is SHORT. Like 30 to 60 seconds, which is something that I can’t recall coming across before. For someone with my kind of limitations on patience, however, this is a nice bonus. I let it go for the full 60. I also don’t have the means to gauge any temperature besides boiling in the kitchen, so I approximated as best I could and shut the stove off when I saw steam.

The ones I had came in a little round sachet, but didn’t have a string attached with which to pull it out. It was a minor nuisance, but maybe that’s common-ish practice with bagged tea and I just don’t drink enough of it. It’s also a rather flat package. Tea Forte is really the only bagged variety I drink on the semi-regular, and I know that a number of other brands are starting to offer the pyramidal bags now. I can’t imagine that the tea has a lot of room to expand in there, but I didn’t examine it too closely because I wanted to get back to my stories.

And so I found myself sitting on the floor, watching Castle [which is awesome and I highly recommend it], with a blanket and the rain calling a war meeting overhead and a cup of tea in hand. It made for a lovely experience. [Especially since the show open of this particular episode – the Halloween one – made me whoop out loud.]

The tea was light and warm, which suited my mood quite well. It was also sweet in an almost granulated kind of way, but there was some fruitiness to it as well. It wasn’t pear that I was picking out of it. It was something that bore resemblance to fruit, though. The tea on the whole didn’t have a whole lot of depth. The taste was pleasant, however, and I wasn’t looking for complexity. Apparently there are actual pear bits in it, too, so I might need to give it some extra attention on a later date.

It is so very hard to concentrate on anything else when Nathan Fillion’s on the screen, being all funny and Nathan Fillion-y.

After finishing the writing of this log, I feel that I should scroll to the top and warn you that there is very little actual content in this post. There is, however, a ridiculous link at the end of it. Caveat lector. And uhm…caveat clicker, too, I guess.

I have officially managed to complete absolutely nothing that I intended to get done today.

I did take a pretty long nap, though.

And I drank a lot of tea.

And I played Fat Princess, which is this hilariously awesome downloadable game on the PS3 that bursts with cuteness and gore.

None of those were on the agenda, but I’m going to add them anyway in an attempt to see if I feel like I’ve accomplished something worthwhile.

Nope, didn’t work, so it looks like I’ll be buckling down for the next couple of hours, but in OTHER NEWS, my sinuses appear to be clearing up! It could just be the late® hour, or the tea, or any number of things, but I’m going to hope that this just means I’m getting better. If that’s the case, it also means that I should hopefully be logging some of the new stuff I’ve gotten in recently-ish on here. [Nothing like having the ability to do something taken away indefinitely than to spur you into a frenzy once it’s over.]

In a test of sorts, and because I need some prodding, I decided to make a cup of Old Man Sampson to gauge where I’m at, taste wise. [I don’t know why I called him Old Man Sampson, because he doesn’t look elderly in the picture, but it’s fun to tag “Old Man” on to someone’s last name every once in a while. Even if they’re female. Old Man Sampson works pretty well.]

Ugh, does the content of this post give you reference for where my mind is at right now? I’m still not fully awake.

Back to the tea, I brewed a teaspoon or so for 4:30. I know from reference that this should be relatively strong for me, but I’m still feeling a little dulled from the cold. Getting a hint of that maltiness, but not enough to feel completely back on my feet…tongue? The tea is still good, however, and the mouth-feel still luxurious. Plus, the caffeine should start kicking in momentarily and that’s always something to look forward to.

When I tell stories that I think might be going somewhere but then end up being either really boring, pointless, aimless, or all of the above, I like to end it with, “And then I found twenty dollars.” Instead of doing that here, I am going to link you to something that I let loop for an amount of time that I’m not going to divulge because it’s embarrassing. It’s a little naughty and possibly gross, and also probably NSFW, but I think it’s funny. And catchy. Enjoy.

http://www.getonmyhorse.com/

I am interrupting what is shaping up to be today’s all out attack on your update feed for reasons that I was going to list, but really are too boring to list, so I’m not going to list them and here we are.

Apparently, the things that can keep me away from the internets are to include midterms, head colds, and crazy weekends. What I think started out as seasonal allergies have segued into a full blown virus. And while you may very well be thinking that this is going to turn into an entire post about me whining, there is a point.

The point is that I got this tea in…yesterday? No. Yesterday was Sunday. […Right? Right. I had to check the computer. This is how off my sense of time is.] I got this tea in Saturday, along with some others from, when my ability to smell things had already pretty much abandoned me and I was wallowing in a pool of my misery. The tea helped perk me up a bit, but I was tired and cranky and sick and I didn’t want to try it because I figured I wouldn’t really be able to enjoy it – what with the cold and all.

But I couldn’t resist cracking open the tin and oh, but with what wondrous scents were my nostrils graced. If I, whose m’s are melting into b’s and n’s are gradually hardening into d’s, can still smell this you know it’s strong.

It’s also, joyously, delicious.

So naturally, I brewed a cup.

I have experimented with a few other teas, but I simply can’t enjoy them when I’m in this state. I also suspect that this tea is also not going to taste the same once I am again able to be going to the movies, instead of go-eeg to the boo-vies. Since this is one of the few relaxing things that I can turn to at the moment, though, I am clinging to it like Golem.

The main flavor that I get from it is cranberries. And if I’m being honest, that’s really all I can get from it at the moment. It’s tart, and reminds me of hibiscus. Which I guess it could be flavored with, but whether it is or not it works in this situation. There’s also a nice sweetness to the aftertaste that I find refreshing.

And the tin is pretty.

So yay, Cranberry Autumn, for being my sick buddy. Hopefully I’ll get well soon and then I can try you again. You know, for realz. Yes, with a z.

At the suggestion of many, I dialed the temperature WAY down. Like to the top of the first white zone, which I’m thinking is somewhere around 160 degrees. [1. I really need to get a thermometer. 2. If you’re just tuning in and have no clue what I am referring to, I use a utiliTEA.] I put in more tea – like 1.5, maybe even 2 tsp – and I let it sit for 2:15-2:30 minutes.

MUCH improved. Of course, this is a completely different company, so I’m not sure how much that played into it [I’ll have to try Adagio’s again], but this was much more aligned to what I was expecting.

There is a distinct smokiness to the scent as it rises off the cup, which I don’t enjoy but don’t hate either. It’s almost gunpowder-y? Kind of like that smell you get from a log-burning fire, but with more of a peppery tone to it.

There is still some of that saltiness to it, but it’s not too pronounced. This is definitely a tea with some subtleness to it, but this cup had that chlorophyll-sweet taste to it that I enjoy. The sweetness becomes more obvious as it cools, and the aftertaste towards the end is somewhere between roasty and smoky.

It’s an interesting tea, and I want to continue playing around with it a bit, but I think that I’d enjoy it more if I were eating something with it. Something with complex flavors and a medium kind of intensity to it. Balducci’s makes this smoked ham, pear, and gorgonzola sandwich that would likely pair masterfully with this. I think I know what I’m doing tomorrow.

Sorry Adagio, not impressed.

I haven’t been drinking a lot of Adagio lately for whatever reason, When I read @Cynthia Carter’s log yesterday I thought to myself, “Self, this might be a good time to try this one.”

I also have a UtiliTEA and Adagio recommends 180 degrees, so I set the dial near the top of the green region and brewed a cup. The first couple of sips were overwhelmingly salty. Then it was like what @CC said – bath water. And then I wasn’t getting enough flavor, so about halfway through the cup I tossed it and moved the dial back.

The second try was a bit more mellow, though more flavorful. However, it still isn’t doing anything for me. The taste becomes a little bit more obvious as it cools, but…

Okay, here’s the thing. There are moments when I think that this could be a tea that I would really like. The scent has this nice roasted quality to it, and the finish is enjoyable, but getting to that point is not at all fun for me. The beginning part of this for me has a hint of bitterness [which I’ve gotten accustomed to from some of the greens] but it’s accompanied by this distinct blechy taste that’s almost sour. It reminded me of this time when I drank water out of a glass I hadn’t rinsed very well and still had some dishwashing liquid on it. So I resteeped the leaves in a new cup, just to be safe. Still there.

The tricky thing is that the aftertaste on this makes me think that I drank something good. It’s got that nice grassy sweetness that is in many of the greens I enjoy, especially when I breathe air in over my tongue. So I keep picking it up and sipping it. Even as I’m writing about how I’m not a huge fan of it. And there’s the dishwashing liquid.

I think I’m going to have to shelve this and try it again sometime when this experience has faded and I’m feeling up to it again. [If anyone has any suggestions I was at 1 tsp leaves, 8 oz. water at 170-175 degrees. Ish.]

Ironically, though, this has my curiosity piqued, so I think I’m going to try Tavalon’s dragonwell and see what happens.

It is harder for green teas to stand out to me, because I have a lot of them and within their subtypes their flavor profiles tend to be pretty similar. But not with this one.

What can I say? I just really freaking like this tea.

The sweetness from it is, for me, just perfect. Almost…juicy? When you add that it’s well-balanced with the other flavors that are floating around in the cup, it makes it memorable.

Sometimes you need to drink something that’s just…GOOD, you know?

I’ve been surfing on a crest of mucus for the past couple of days. [I know. Lovely.] A sore throat and that dull full body ache have also invaded, so when I read a tasting note the other day from @Britt Wight mentioned that honeybush is an expectorant so it’s been ALL ROOIBOS ALL THE TIME here. With the exception of the masala chai I had the other day, all the tea I’ve been drinking has either been this or Samovar’s Ocean of Wisdom.

Great for the mucus.

Not great for my energy levels.

If you ever want to make someone tired, deprive them of caffeine and make them try to read physics. Instanap!

The tea is good. Still makes me feel like a giant blueberry, but I find the taste pleasant. [Then again, I also like rooibos.] It’s sweet but with a tartness. It could be that my tongue is playing tricks on me because of this cold, but it’s a tartness that doesn’t remind me of hibiscus. [While I don’t mind hibiscus, I am beginning to tire of it being used in everything under the sun.]

A few hours on the deck, with a steaming cup of this, and the BLESSED, BLESSED SUN had me feeling better than I have in days. Now I just need to get some caffeine in me. Shouldn’t be a problem. The physics, on the other hand…

Our fair state has looked like this for the past week.

http://twitpic.com/lr240

Which, yes, is pretty. And I usually like the rain. But it’s gotten dreary and I’ve been feeling lethargic. So when I woke up the the other day and was greeted by sunlight, it made sense that the glorious event be coupled with a metaphorical awakening as to just how exceptional this tea is.

I’m really glad that I decided to pull this one out of my tea stash before the cold I am coming down with decided to rear its ugly self, because I can already feel my taste buds starting to dull.

I’ve been drinking an increasing number of black teas lately [for which I must credit to the fine people at Andrews & Dunham], and I think that that has added new layers of wonder to the appreciation that I have for this tea.

So. Many. Flavors! I mean, I was floored. It reminds me, bizarrely perhaps, of the best parts of movies and TV shows for me – where they do something and it’s funny or whatever and I’m mildly amused, but then they take it past the slightly mundane and all of a sudden kick it into overdrive.

I know that I really think TV shows or movies are good when I am watching them alone and I catch myself laughing out loud, or holding my breath, or becoming seriously annoyed when the commercial break hits. What have you. I know that I really think that this tea is good because three mouthfuls in, I let fly a, “Holy shit.”

If you are going to fully enjoy this tea you need to let it hit all the sections of your tongue, and you need to let it move around a bit. It’s smooth, deep, and reminiscent of wet autumn leaves. The predominant flavors I get are a caramel maltiness and yams or sweet potatoes. Maybe yams because it has more of that sweetness to it. I get hints of a buttery flavor, spices that I can’t place, and raisins. This is a tea that I am definitely going to be drinking a lot more once this cold goes away, because there is a LOT going on in it.

I like it better warm, but it changes as it’s cooling. When it’s actually cool I don’t find it nearly as enjoyable, but the journey that it makes on its way there is somewhat fascinating, so its a bit of a Catch 22.

Plus, it’s one of the prettiest teas I’ve ever seen.

http://twitpic.com/m6s6k

My reward for a lot of work and well under 8 hours of sleep for the past 5 or so days was a big saucepan of this.

It smells so spicy, yet sweet. It’s homey, yet exotic. It warms you up but tickles your taste buds ever so slightly. When it’s simmering in the pot, the aroma rises, sweeps out, and perfumes the entire room.

I’ve found that, once the milk has begun to froth and you shut the stove off, it gets better the longer you let it sit, but I often can’t wait longer than 10 minutes. The milk adds an almost malty quality to the scent. The tea itself is rich and creamy, with a hint of sweetness [I use two tablespoons of sugar] and a puff of heat from the spices. Unequivocally delicious. If teas were blankets, this one would be a chenille throw.

Usually, I make enough of this to stick some in the fridge and drink later, because this is equally good chilled. But today, I needed to consume every last drop. So I did.

Best reward ever.

I’m going to cop to not giving this tea enough attention previously. It’s actually quite tasty.

I think I might have already mentioned that up until maybe two years ago tea was not something I cared about. When I did drink it, whatever I consumed wasn’t savored [it probably wasn’t very good, either]. I would drink it like you do water. And so I’ve been a little slow on the learning curve, but a few burnt tongues later I know now that to get the full flavor of a tea you need to let it sit around in your mouth for a spell.

After reading what some other people had said about this tea, I decided to let it steep for 4:30 as opposed to the recommended 4 minutes. Other people had let it go for 5 minutes, but I fear the oversteep greatly [since I’ve done it for this one and PBPPPBPTHHPWEH!!! – that’s the sound I made]. Maybe I’ll go to 5 minutes next time, though, because at 4:30 it was REALLY good.

Thomas Sampson is more reminiscent of Jackee Muntz than I gave it credit before. It has that same, caramel-like flavor to it, but it’s not as honeyed. [The difference is somewhat subtle.] I’d call it more malty. It also has some bitterness swirling in the background, and a lightly charred flavor at the finish.

It brews into this gorgeous, coppery color. On the first half of the cup, it almost felt…gritty in the mouth. Although that may not be the right word. Papery sounds more accurate. Kind of dry and with texture. Later on it smoothed out and became more satiny.

Black teas are probably the ones that I drink the least on the whole, but this series totally has me hooked. I see quite a bit more black tea in my future. Going in for cup numero deux.

Not that this tea has ever been bad for me, because it hasn’t, but tonight the stars aligned, the fat lady sang, and cows across the land mooed as though they’d never moo again.

I brought the water to a full boil and let this steep for JUST under four minutes in the neighborhood of 3:45. I’m not sure if that made any difference, but all I can tell you is that this cup I am savoring right now? It’s not tea – it’s elation.

At the risk of you thinking me gross, I’m going to say this regardless because I don’t know how else to convey the depth to which I am enjoying this. I don’t want to swallow this tea. I just wanted to swish it around in my mouth FOREVER.

It’s leaking caramel. It’s like I’m sucking on a Werther’s Original. It’s as if I took a bucket of sugar and a stick of butter and melted it all down, let it simmer and bubble for 15 minutes, and am now sitting here drinking it. I mean, if I close my eyes, I can very nearly fool myself that I have a mouthful of caramel.

The feel of this tea is silky and thick. It FEELS like I’m sipping on syrup.

I might as well admit it. I am just fully, completely, and utterly enamored with Jackee Muntz.

Before I say anything else, I want to say that my first experience with Jade Cloud was a thoroughly enjoyable one.

That being said, here’s the thing. The more tea that I accumulate, the harder it can be to distinguish them from one another – especially if I don’t drink them back to back [and I don’t drink teas of the same type right after one another, really].

The more tea that I try, the more the flavors start to blend together until certain ones become indistinguishable until only a select few stand out – either because someone did something noticeably different or the taste is just THAT much better. As I’m typing this out, I’m realizing that perhaps that’s the point of drinking a lot of tea, but I also feel like it’s probably more my fault than the tea.

I guess that this is why they have tea tastings in shops, right? Usually, I don’t brew pots – I brew cups, and I re-steep if I feel like drinking more of it and/or the tea can take a re-steep. Maybe I need to get some shot glasses or some of those tasting teacups and spend a day or two comparing the similar ones. Part of me feels like if the differences aren’t ones that I notice between cups then what do I care, but part of me wants to see if I can notice a difference. [Curiosity will likely win out, because it almost always does.]

This is also a long-winded way of saying that the flavors I got out of this tea are going to sound mighty similar to other teas that I have previously logged. It is nutty, but with a grassy sweetness to it – warming and comforting, and I really liked it. It was certainly welcomed into my day since we’ve been having some rather dreary weather, but I see this as being something I’d revisit regardless of what the hell’s going on outside.

TEA BAD.

It’s our third day of rain and I think I’m coming down with something, so I needed a quiet start to this morning.

I don’t know what it is that I love about white tea so much. It could be that it brews into this beautiful champagne color. Or because the flavors are so light and fragile that they feel as though they might break or melt away if you try and keep them in your consciousness for too long.

For me, white tea lends itself for two occasions. 1. Airy spring days before the sun starts beating people senseless and warm breezes dictate the temperature of the day. 2. Days of light precipitation when the only sense of sunlight you get is what reflects itself off of nature’s shinier surfaces.

If I were to add something more personal to the list, it would be: 3. Days you want to approach slowly and gently, so that you do not startle them into roaring back at you with the ferocity that they have been exhibiting during the previous part of the week.

The first thing that you would probably notice about Downy Sprout when opening the tin is the leaves. They’re this light green color and COVERED in those little white hairs. They look like little snippets of silk or satin cord. It’s one of the prettiest teas I’ve ever seen.

It would be a crying shame if such a beautiful tea fell flat on flavor, and luckily this one does not. It’s got a distinctly nutty taste to it, though light, and the sweet notes of it seem to touch on parts of your tongue and then flit away. The description says there’s a honeysuckle component to this, but I get more of the peachy apricot-y aspect of it. That doesn’t make it any less enjoyable, though.

When you start the day off with a tea like this, how can the rest of it not go smoothly? Did you hear that, Today? I SAID: WHEN YOU START THE DAY OFF WITH A TEA LIKE THIS, HOW CAN THE REST OF IT NOT GO SMOOTHLY??

All right. I’m off to test the effects of Downy Sprout on Calculus.

Well, LENA F. just called me out on my Samovar love, but their online store is back up and in trying to figure out what I want to order/re-order, I’ve been drinking their stuff all day.

When I was first introduced to honeysuckle as a kid, it was a joyous discovery. I was astounded that you could get this lovely sweetness from chewing on the end of a blossom. Of course, as any of you who have done this know, you don’t get much. The taste is wonderful, but it’s fleeting, as was my initial experience with honeysuckle, because my friend’s mom told us that they sprayed pesticides where we were and so we couldn’t have any more.

Ever since then, part of me has wished that you could get honeysuckle nectar in an 8 oz bottle. So far as I’m aware, you’re not able to, but this tea is pretty damn close.

When I started drinking this, I don’t think that I was steeping it for long enough because I wasn’t getting nearly as much flavor out of it as I have recently. It has the delicate, almost tangy sweetness of honeysuckle in it, with hints of acidic pineapple and honey. In the aftertaste, I sometimes get the flavor of apricot jam.

The aroma of the leaves is sweet as well, but the kind of sweetness you get from chlorophyll and not necessarily fruit. The scent of the tea has a roasted tone to it but is still somewhat sweet.

This silver needle is, overall, very light and refreshing. It’s a tea that, once I start drinking it, I want to keep on drinking [and sometimes do]. I might even go so far as to say it’s my favorite white tea.

Actually, no. I will definitely say it. This is my favorite white tea.

Two of my good friends are shacking up together. It’s a weird feeling, but I’m happy for them [truly]. One of them, I’ve known since kindergarten. The other I’ve known for a few years now.

About a year ago, when my kindergarten BFF was coming to visit from Fargo, ND where she currently resides, a light went off in my head. She was feeling a little bummed about being single, and I had this friend who was single, and I had this gut feeling that some magic would happen if I introduced them.

My BFF is back in town this week for a couple of days. Tomorrow, she’s taking my friend to Penn State with her family to go to the football game and then they are embarking on the 20 hour drive to the land of ice and snow. [It has already snowed in Fargo.]

They’re both sports freaks [she works in sports journalism and he’s…well, he’s a guy] so last night we all went to the World Cup Qualifier game between the U.S. and Costa Rica. [The U.S. had already qualified, but that didn’t keep 20-odd thousand people from attending]. Me, I’m not that much of a sports fan, but soccer [football, futbal, whatever] is one of the ones I can stand. And soccer players are hot. Not to mention soccer fans, as a general rule, are cuter than fans of other sports in my limited experience. Plus, I don’t get to see her often and he’s leaving shortly, so…you know.

It was cold and raining, and we were playing pretty badly during the first half of the game, so spirits were down. I had on three layers, and then BOTH of my friends gave me their jackets because I was dancing around trying to keep warm. All I could think about was how much I wanted a hot cup of tea. And how the guy a couple rows ahead of us looked freakishly like Jon Gosselin. [I wish I’d snapped a picture. I couldn’t stop staring, the resemblance was so striking.]

Luckily, it stopped raining, and the second half of the game picked up. We tied it up at the VERY end and the stadium erupted. It was all slightly exhilarating, but I still wanted tea.

We ended up picking up some Korean BBQ on the way back, sitting in front of the fireplace in my friend’s parents’ kitchen, and drinking hot chocolate. All in all, it was a good night and a nice way to remember one of the last nights my buddy’s gonna be in Virginia.

The first thing I did when I went home was to make a cup of tea, though. I was tired, exhausted even [too exhausted to log this last night], and in the mood for something specific while I mentally unpacked the day.

I’ve had this tea for a while, but I like to save it when I want something subtle and I know I’m not really going to be doing anything else. It’s different from most other oolongs I’ve had because the leaves are loosely twisted instead of tightly furled. Opening the tin, I smell raisins mixed with dried autumn leaves.

The flavors of the tea are a bit different from oolong’s I’ve had as well. They are definitely complex, but delicate. You want to make sure of two things when drinking this tea: one, that you’ll have time to appreciate it, and two that it’s cool enough to let it sit in your mouth a bit because if you gulp it down you’ll miss all the nuances.

It’s not a heavy tea, by any means, but it’s got a thickness to it. The flavors are what I consider to be darker ones. There are kind of a sweet, grassy, vegetal tones, and a taste that’s almost woodsy. At times I taste honey, among other things that I can’t place.

It’s a tea for thinking, and one that I enjoy at the end of the day – be they good, bad, happy, sad, or all of the above.