teabird

I have a sore throat, so last night I had the brilliant idea of steeping a pitcher of this to have iced today. This worked wonderfully, especially since I remembered to add a couple spoonfuls of honey while it was still hot.

This is cheating, really, as far as assessing the tea is concerned – I oversteeped it by far, and added enough honey to compensate. That said – it’s really really good! Fruity and flowery and sweet, and I haven’t gotten tired of it after drinking all day (I made about 24 oz). I definitely prefer this iced to hot. I can taste the green and black tea both, I think, but it’s pretty heavy on the guava/strawberry flavor too.

1 heaping tsp for the first 8oz, added 1/4 tsp for each subsequent 8oz, freshly boiled water, irregular steeping times

2011-09-08 16:29:12 -0400

205 °F / 96 °C

8 min or more

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Some notes on ratings:

I’d have separate rating scales for tea types if that were possible (probably Black, Flavored Black, Darjeeling/Dark Oolong, White/Green/Light Oolong, and Herbal) because the flavors and quality markers are just too different. A flavored black rated 100 isn’t better than every oolong I’ve ever drunk, just delicious for a flavored black.

Ratings are a combination of my enjoyment and the perceived quality – I do often demote teas a few points for artificial flavorings, small quantity of steeps supported, or weakness of flavor (requiring extra leaf).

I pay less attention to the number than the order of my ratings; I don’t necessarily keep a stock of everything rated 80+, but if two breakfast blends are rated 82 and 84 I consistently enjoy the 84 more.

And in case it’s not obvious? I am not an expert. I don’t even know what I like until I taste it sometimes, but I’m ok with that :) I like learning to like new teas, as well as enjoying the comfort of familiar ones.