Assam

A two minute conversation I had with a stranger the other day about coffee turned into a conversation about tea. Well duh. When I mentioned how obsessed I am with loose tea, he mentioned a cafe that I’d never heard of which was not too far from me. How did I not hear about it before?! He said they have all kinds of loose tea and is also a chill place to hang out. I immediately looked the place up and the front page of their website has a pretty painting of a tree on it which made me even more excited. www.yourbigpicturecafe.com

After a visit to the everglades today where I had some VERY close encounters with some very large alligators, me and my friend went to the cafe.
Its definitely a nice place to be. It’s comfy and quiet and has a great selection of herbs and lattes but the tea selection was unfortunately disappointing. As was this tea, which was even more disappointing. I picked it thinking it’d be strong, as I needed a bold tea after biking 15 miles at the everglades preserve and was dying from tiredness.

The tea was so boring and lacking and didn’t have any flavor at all. It also tasted like it was three years old. The only good thing about this cup of tea was the awesome mug it came in. It was the steeper mug by Tea Spot http://theteaspot.com/tea-steeping-mug-steepware.html?catid=251 and it was so nifty that I wanted one but I have enough teaware right now.

I had this earlier today…seems like so long ago. Another swap from Terriharplady that was quite delicious! While not my favourite assam, it’s certainly one i wouldn’t turn down! I’m just not in love with it like i am with steven…er i mean #49 :)

I got this awhile back from the bulk aisle. As far as Assams go, it is robust & malty with a bit of a bite. Not anything like my beloved Tiger or #49, but definitely helped to revive me after an afternoon in the garden.

Speaking of which, it’s starting to look more like the garden I know & love & less like the wildlife grasslands (actually weedlands) that it was turning into. Today my son Drew & I did some terracing, which I’ve been planning on doing for years since my yard is a bit of a slope. We made the first terraced bed, which I promptly planted with lots & lots of carrots & a few other things. In the last couple of days I’ve planted turnips, radishes, lettuces, brussels, more peas, parnips, beets, leeks, more onions, etc. We’re eating asparagus daily, & today I picked some carrots, beets, & collards that over-wintered. I love my life!

My local Herb store has a bunch of new Bulk loose leaf teas from Frontier Co-Op so I bought just a few. Thought I would try a little bit before sending to LiberTEAs.

This is pretty straight forward Assam…a good go-to…or stand-by. Brew dark and bold. Great for mornings!

Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me some of this tea.

A bold, hefty Assam – pretty basic but nonetheless it’s also very good. A good wake me up and get me going kind of tea. Nice background note of sweetness and a nice amount of malt. Tasty!

Another inexpensive bulk buy from favorite health food hangout. “Robust” and “astringent” in Frontier’s product description about gets it. It’s dry enough to make me lick my lips after each sip. A little milk may be in order.

Heated to boil on the stove with organic cane sugar and ground cardamom. Strained, and added almond milk – delicious!

We enjoyed this Assam enough to purchase at least 4 lbs of it. Probably Frontier’s best black tea.

Exotic curling texture.