Hi Steepsterites! I dropped-off Steepster yet again, but this time around I didn’t stop drinking tea too. The circumstances of my tea drinking, however, weren’t too groovy: after three rounds of strep about a month-apart each, I was hit with a very rough case of mono. I was close to going to the hospital-type mono. As my doctor kept telling me that I needed to really push liquids and that my white blood cells were outta whack (and my immune system would be not-so-good for about 6 months) — I realized that I had a great tea to help with all of that: This Tea!!!
And then I checked my tea cupboard and there was no Cancer Fighting Tea! I’d forgotten that I had been trying to sip-down the size of my cupboard and had decided not to purchase more tea until it was under control. Well, I promptly broke that self-imposed rule and bought 2 bags of this. I just wish that I would have done it sooner during my illness!
My throat was so sore that I added honey to this and it was just so soothing. I couldn’t even tell you how many cups-a-day I had of this — but I probably had a 16oz cup every hour of the day. Between trips to the kitchen and then trips to the restroom, well, I think this tea helped start building up my strength — it was the most walking (well, more like shuffling) I’d done for weeks.
When I went back to the doctor a little over a week later — my throat was better, my lymph nodes were finally shrinking more significantly, and my white blood counts were back to where they should be (the doctor was impressed). I have to admit that at night I was drinking Celestial Seasonings’ Echinacea Complete Care (I’d read that echinacea is supposed to help the lymphatic system) so maybe that combo was what really worked.
One other note: I had a small problem with my order and I contacted the company (Daniel) via the website and almost immediately received a very thoughtful and considerate response. I cannot fully express what wonderful customer service The Georgia Tea Company provides. I’ve placed a subsequent order and it was perfect (and a bit generous on their part). I will be happily placing another order in the next month or so (since I’m drinking this tea like it’s going outta style).
Decided to mix it up a bit and bring this to work (considering how sick everyone seems to be I thought it might be a nice boost to my system). Several coworkers asked to smell the bag and both said that they liked it. This surprised me since I do find it quite a medicinal fragrance — who knew? I’m thoroughly enjoying this without honey today. NE
Well whaddaya know? I’m actually drinking something besides Jasmine #9, Weight Loss, or Rosy Earl Grey and I’m writing a note! It’s gonna be a short one since I’m now T-minus 6 days to the GRE. My mind is swimming with Analogies, Antonyms, and other Quantitative crap (i.e. math stuffs) and I really needed some zen-like tea. I haven’t had this in awhile since the last time I steeped some, one of my brothers was visiting and he compared the smell to a certain type of liquid medicine. I needed some time to not associate it with that — it’s still hovering in the back of my mind, but I’m still enjoying it. ::sigh:: NE
I just placed yet another 16oz order of this tea — yes, I’m going through it like crazy. I made a few discoveries re: this tea this past month that I thought I’d share here:
1. You can oversteep this. I hadn’t thought you could, but the other day at work I forgot that it was steeping (either 1st or 2nd steep) and it came out astringent. Still drinkable, but it was the first time that I wrinkled my nose at it. Subsequent steeps were fine.
2. I’ve been using the Finum Permanent Filter to steep my tea — it’s great. Anyhow, I was noticing that all the green/white tea would float to the top. The easiest/least messy way to deal with that is that I really swirl my spoon around in the water to mix in the honey, and while it swirls I lower the filter in at an angle. This submerges the tea beautifully, and by the 3rd steep it’s a good blend. I also shake the filter over the cup after steeping to blend the teas more and get excess water out.
That’s all — exciting, I know ;)
Am yet again thoroughly enjoying this tea! I think that I should bump up the rating a bit from 81 :)
But here’s the photos of the tea sets that I received yesterday. All I know about them is that my grandpa brought them back from Japan in around 1945. Sorry for the poor quality of some of the images (my dad wanted his tripod back). I’ll only post three links to my photostream, but feel free to look at all of them — especially take a look at the “geisha cups.”
Set One: https://secure.flickr.com/photos/rabstea/7624243696/in/photostream
I grew up hearing about my grandpa’s “geisha cups.” I never realized they were tea cups until yesterday. I was absolutely stunned when I held one up to the light (I thought the geisha name came from the raised portion of the image which you can see in another pic in the photostream): https://secure.flickr.com/photos/rabstea/7624251968/in/photostream/
And the second set: https://secure.flickr.com/photos/rabstea/7624276946/in/photostream
If y’all have any sort of information on any of the sets (any aspect: the stories depicted, the techniques for how they were made, their name, etc) I’d truly truly appreciate it!
What can I say? I love this tea. Depending on how I scoop it, I get a slightly different tea every time. I also love how honey gives it another layer of nom. I was going to write a note on a Celestial Seasonings antioxidant tea that I’ve been adding to this tea’s steeping once this tea starts to lose flavor — I’ve kinda stopped doing that, at least for now. But this particular CS tea isn’t on Steepster yet and I just didn’t have the energy to add it — I blame my mono energy-drain.
On a side-note: I spent most of the day with my parents. They showed me a few items that they’re putting in their upcoming estate sale that I’d never seen before: two amazing tea sets. They wanted to know if I’d like them. Ummm…YES please :) So tonight or tomorrow I hope to take some nice pics of them and share them with y’all. I hope that I can capture the most amazing feature on some of the tea cups — it’s a decorative element that I’ve never seen on a tea cup. I’m hoping that maybe someone here knows something about them/their style. How’s that for a teaser? ;)
I’m still drinking this almost non-stop in my 18oz mugs along with my echinacea tea — and so far (knock on wood) I’ve remained healthy despite my weakened immune system (and working with the public)! I had another blood test today, so if there’s anything worth mentioning when I get the results, then I’ll share them here. NE
So, it’s my second day-in-a-row to return to this tea, and I think that I figured out why I keep returning for more: it’s like a different cup of tea every time! I mean, the basic “profile” is the same, but depending on what I scoop out it tastes a little different. So today it’s more jasmine, whereas yesterday it was more red bush. I like this aspect a lot. NE
I finished off my sample tonight ::cry:: and confirmed that when I order from Georgia Tea Company that this is the Cancer Fighting Tea that I’ll purchase. When I poured the last of my sample packet into the teapot I was a bit concerned by the large amount of rooibos that was in it compared to my first pot. The smell of the wafting steam as I poured in the hot water seemed more mediciney than I remembered. Ruh-roh.
But hot-diggity-darn! It’s still good :D I continue to consider this to be more “sweet floral” than the original Cancer Fighter, but I think a lot of it is the fruit. It’s like you took the vegetative aspects of a late spring meadow (blueberries included) and blended them up into a tea. The second steep didn’t morph as beautifully as the first time I had this, but I’m thinkin’ that it’s because this was so rooibos-heavy. Healthy yummers. NE
Happy Halloween Steepsterites!!!
I just received my most recent order of this tea — prompt shipping and amazing service as always. I don’t know if I can give all the credit to this tea, but so far I’ve remained the healthiest I’ve been all year ::knocks on wood:: It most likely is the combo of this tea, good vitamins, and my Adrian Monk-level of germaphobia.
Last night I discovered a whole stash of tea that I’d forgotten about post-move. My new place has three kitchen cabinets dedicated to being my “tea cupboard.” I LOVE having space for my tea!!!!! Two of the cabinets are for tea alone and the third is for all the utensils/pots that aren’t on my counter :)
So I about fell over when I discovered two decorative boxes filled with teas pushed back to the back of my pantry. One contained nothing but my last Georgia Tea Company order still in their original bags — so I was very nervous about how well they’ve held up over time. Turns out this one handled it quite well!
I grabbed this one because I’m still trying to get over this nasty head cold and hey, it’s full of good stuff for me. I also did something that I hardly ever do, and I added honey to my tea (trying to help with the throat). Turns out it’s a very beneficial addition! It sort of brings out all the more fruity tastes within this very medicinal blend – so me likey. I may continue adding honey to this even post feeling-pookie. NE
