The Jabberwocky

I really enjoyed this one today. Honey oat bread comes to mind when I drink this tea. Stone fruit was also a fairly prominent note. I didn’t really get the salted caramel notes. The eucalyptus showed up for me more in the second and third steeps.

Resteeped at 5&8 minutes per the websites’ recommendations.

Why does it default to 1tsp when you enter in 1.5?

Fluent in gibberish from quite a young age (my mother read Lewis Carroll, among many other great authors and poets, to us as children), I was greatly anticipating sipping this tea. The charming poem for which this tea is named is delightful, whimsical gibberish. This tea however, is no nonsense! I’m convinced this concoction could soothe even the snarliest of beasts. The aroma comforts with the scent fresh baked Tuscan bread drizzled in raw wildflower honey and melted, malty chocolate (or perhaps Prince William’s groom’s cake, made with McVities Rich tea biscuits and chocolate ). The flavor further subdues with plums, toffee and a rich warm mouth feel. The cooling, lingering aftertaste of eucalyptus may just lull one into a trance . . . . .

Not a morning person? Try this tea! It will certainly assuage the morning beast in you.

We had this yesterday at a clean-out-my-freezer tea party. I had prepared tea treats all through October for 45 people for an Alice in Wonderland Halloween tea I was doing for this charity I am involved in. I was socking them away in the deep freeze so I didn’t have to do a lot all at the end. Then the party was cancelled due to the hometown team making it into the World Series. I scheduled a tea at work to use some of the leftovers that couldn’t freeze and that turned out to be the day of the celebration parade. Not that I wish we hadn’t made it, winning after 30 years certainly is nice, but I got really tired of sports messing with my tea!

Anyway, so I could free up some freezer space for the holiday season, we had a little tea yesterday with my mom’s friends. This was one of the teas I served.

One of the ladies was a friend of a friend and I had never met her before. She took a sip of this and said “Oh my goodness, this is amazing tea! I don’t even need sugar or milk!” Later I made a pot of Assam Signature Malt from Golden Tips and she didn’t add anything to it either. She was just stunned that she liked teas without additions or flavorings and she just kept raving about Jabberwocky. Makes me happy when that happens. :) Now, she did add cream to the Flowering Black Tea Cones from Yunnan Sourcing but to be fair, they had sat in their little glass pot for awhile before she tried them and I probably used a cone or two too many for the volume of water. But she said she still liked it a lot.

Then I got to whittle down my stash by giving the ladies a basket of assorted teas to shuffle through to take home. So that, along with excellent tea that was well enjoyed, tasty food and good company made for a good day. :)

But now I need to get more of this tea since I almost used it up!

This is, of course, one of White Rabbit’s favorite teas. After all, ’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!”

He took his vorpal sword in hand;
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree
And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
He chortled in his joy.

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
I think that says it all.

I had this tea this morning in anticipation of another whispering pines order and it was more fabulous than I remember. It was both sweet and savory, complex, and just plain delectable. Maybe I just had the perfect amount of leaf this time (5g). I dunno! All I know is that it was great!

No more mimsy cups of tea, indeed! I have been on the prowl lately for pure back teas that are strong enough for breakfast but interesting enough for me to enjoy at anytime of day – this is definitely one of those. In the first steeping, I’m getting that lovely french bread flavor with an underlying taste of plum. Plus, with a name like The Jabberwocky, what’s not to love here?

This tea is quite interesting. The first brewing had a nice woodsy taste to it and would be ideal to sip inside during the winter. The second brewing has that mild puckering taste that comes from the plum notes, which I picked up and my friend did not. This is one of the better black teas I have had thus far but there is still a desire to have a stronger aroma and taste to come out of steeping. I used about 5g of this tea and brewed it for about 5 minutes with water around 208-210 degrees. Overall it was an enjoyable tea to drink between steepings as the flavor changes but I still find myself with a somewhat of a dry taste after finishing cup even when the woodsy notes are gone which is an odd feeling.

This was one glorious week of tea: received my Republic of Tea order on Monday and my Whispering Pine Teas order today, right on time for breakfast. I was a little puzzled by the fact that most of their teas are constantly out of stock but I guess it’s a good sign? And they sell small quantities which is perfect for me considering I always have a hard time finishing all the teas I order…

I’m not really used to Chinese black teas so this is going to be interesting. The Jabberwocky has a very comforting smell. Muscatel and warm bread. I can see myself drinking this for breakfast with French baguette and jams :)

Thank you Blodeuyn for this!

Oh frabjous day, finally a blend I can brew Gong Fu! Once I heard of this blend I knew that I had to try it. I am a sucker for creativity, and I love it when companies come up with these amazing titles. I like to sit, sip, and escape in my mind to wonder about the inspiration. I believe it adds to the tea experience.

This truly is another well rounded blend by this company. I am very impressed. I enjoy most from this brew the fact that the flavor does not simply stay as one solid flavor. This flavor develops by each second. I can distinctly feel the complex tones change and progress. I am very excited to continue exploring this tea and others by this company.

My Whispering Pines order came!! First up for review is the Jabberwocky. It smells like plums and roses. It tastes like a toasted sourdough baguette covered in honey. The aftertaste is crisp and fresh. It seems to gain in sweetness as it cools. Overall, this tea is fabulous! I’m so excited to try the others!