Ultimate Citrus Spice Flavored Black

I’m sitting here in Philadelphia enjoying a little bit of Florence, Italy. Two lovely, nostalgic, delicious steeps. I’m surprised more people don’t like this one! I am always the oddball :) I’m so glad this one is part of 52teas permanent collection because I’ve never tasted anything like it, and want to keep it in my cupboard continuously!

I feel like I am really starting to get in my groove as far as the teas I absolutely adore. I’ve done a lot of experimenting over the last 6 months, and have come to a few realizations:

-I love unadorned Chinese black teas!!!!!
-I continue to love Assam teas.
-I will always have a weakness for flavored teas with milk and sugar, but they are no longer my main focus. Give me a good Chinese tea that I can take plain, or a flavored tea that I can take without additions, such as this tea or Kusmi’s St. Petersburg, and I’m as happy as a clam!
-Earl Grey = ♥ Jasmine = ♥ Earl Grey, jasmine and rose together?? ♥ times 100!!!!!
-I love oolongs, both darker and greener!
-I have not fallen in love with green tea, no matter how I try. I adore the French greens that are flavored as a once in awhile afternoon treat, but if I never had another plain green tea I have to be honest – I really wouldn’t be all that put out!!! I will continue to try them hoping for some magic, but…
-I think 52teas Black Currant Bai Mu Dan is the only white tea I have flipped for.
-I am so surprised how much I am loving the herbals and the rooibos and honeybush tisanes. About 10 years ago I declared that if I couldn’t have a caffeine tea, I would not drink tea!!! My husband starting to not be able to sleep because of the teas this year (ah! Aging!) changed my mind real quick. I am delighted by so many of the flavors I’ve been experiencing. The key for me is NOT to compare them to TEAS and just think of them as their own flavored beverage things.

I was in the mood for “something different” this morning and chose this one. Taken with a half teaspoon of sugar. Really nice on a hot day. The spice is subtle, and the citrusy flavors, especially the lemon verbena, are really refreshing. It finally hit me why I like this so much – I just got a memory of when I was in Florence and went to the Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella.

http://www.italian.it/santamarianovella/smnuk.htm

http://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/26/travel/shopper-s-world-florentine-potions-for-sale.html

There I bought the most amazing lemon verbena perfumes and soaps, made from centuries-old recipes and herbs gathered from the Tuscan countryside. The perfume is long gone, and the soaps were given out to friends as souvenirs, but I have loved lemon verbena from that day forward.

This tea has the most lemon verbena taste I have experienced yet!!!! It may have gotten its inspiration from a market in Seattle, but to me it will always evoke Florence and the olde recipies of Santa Maria Novella.

It is so dreadfully humid in our area today! When I was on the train, all I could think about (as my glasses were fogging up from the change in temperature) was coming in, and having some of this tea.

The lemony flavors blended in are so refreshing, especially my beloved lemon verbena! I am sipping my second steep right now, and it couldn’t be more perfect. A great help in waking up (had a little too much Pouilly-Fuissé for my birthday last night!) and feeling some relief from this humidity!

Tea related birthday aside: my coworkers gave me a gift certificate to TBar!

http://steepster.com/places/1188-tbar-philadelphia-pennsylvania

Boy, is this a delightful summer tea! Even though I’m drinking it hot, and even though it has spice in it, it is so refreshing. It’s that magic lemon verbena!! ♥

Also, have I mentioned how much I love my FORLIFE cup recently!!?!?!? It is so much more convenient to use at work it’s not even funny. I love a convoluted tea ritual as much as the next person, but not at work. Now all I have to do is figure out which is the best travel mug for me, and I will be totally in the 21st century in my outward world doings. Home is totally another story ;)

I drastically oversteeped this because I was attempting to courteously answer a very rude email from a student (!!! ever notice the ruder the person, the more in the wrong they usually are? but I digress!) but I am pleased to note that while the tea is stronger than usual, it’s still absolutely delicious…and this is with nary an addition! I love the lemon verbena. Give me a strange old fashioned floral and/or herbaceous tea blend, and I’m all over it :)

It’s horribly hot in our office (happens every Fall – old building with inflexible heating schedule! Once they turn on the heat, that’s it despite the fact that we always have warm days in October and November!). I pulled out one of my summer favorites to help cope!

Love that olde fashioned lemon verbena :) and bit of spice. The tea base is nice and medium bodied to let the additions shine. I put a half teaspoon of rock sugar in it to round out the flavors, and it’s delicious and refreshing. I don’t like this hot weather, but I do like this little impromptu visit from one of my summer tea friends!

Backlog: This is another that I’ve been reaching for over the past couple of days. A warming, comforting cuppa when I’m feeling down and out.

This makes a flavorful iced tea. I thought it was a bit bitter the first glass, but it has really grown on me. I’m going to be sad when this tea runs out, but happy that they still have some in stock!!! Great summer tea.

Backlog — Still not exactly what I wanted, but I think I found the best way of brewing this. Pretty nice at a four minute steep, but I don’t think I’m going to be getting more of this.

Had two infusions of this first thing this morning. Defintely a nice wake up, I just wished it had a better spicy citrus flavor.

I made a large batch for iced tea and didn’t add sugar, because I never do, but that was wrong in this case. I think it would be very delicious if I had remembered sugar. Will try this one more time, because when iced, it smells almost like Juicy Fruit gum.

This was a bit bitter this morning. I tried 2 tsps of tea with a little extra water in a bid to try to bring out the citrus flavor, but it just made it more bitter. Not completely unpleasant, but it just still isn’t the what I want in an orange spiced tea.