teataku

teataku drank French Spice Quartet by Teavana

I bought this tea yesterday as part of a long-awaited tea splurge at my local Teavana. I decided to try it this morning as my morning tea. I surprised myself that I could actually tell the difference between this oolong/pu-erh blend and other flavored oolongs! It had that background warm bitterness that is the heart of pu-erh flavor, which worked sooooo well with all those spices.

I didn’t have long to spend brewing it (running late, again), but I drank it all through first block today… and I have been in a good mood all day, not because the students weren’t crazy… they were… but because of this awesome tea that got me off on the right foot.

The clove and the pepper interacting together are the predominant flavors. Behind them are the vanilla and the cinnamon. I didn’t get the mint at all, but I wasn’t looking for it—maybe next time it’ll be there. Overall, this was a great oolong, and a great contribution to a pretty awesome day. :)

2011-12-16 15:19:24 -0500

200 °F / 93 °C

3 min 30 sec

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I very clearly remember my first experience with tea. It was in a Target near my house, and my best friend handed me a cup of chai from the Starbucks inside the store and said, “Try this.” I believe I was about 12 at the time, and from then on, I was completely hooked.

Anyway, as my increasingly weirded out family will tell you, my obsession with tea has (almost) steadily escalated since then. I discovered the world of tea slowly, first with just chai, and then with bagged teas I could get from supermarkets and specialty stores, and then with loose leaf teas. I mostly shop for tea at Teavana, but I also patronize other local shops that I’ve discovered within the last couple of years. I’ve ordered a smattering of teas from a few online places, but I’m always leery of buying tea online, since most of how I select teas in person is by smell… unless I’m at The English Tea Room.

My favorite types of tea are blacks and flavored blacks. And oolongs. Right underneath that are rooiboses and whites, and then greens and herbals, and then mates. I’m always looking for a new favorite (I get on tea kicks, which are various lengths of time in which I’ll drink one or two teas religiously, and then I’ll switch), but I appreciate rediscovering old favorites. I like to blend teas, but I never store them that way, mostly because I like to leave myself options.

I prefer nutty/sweet/rich teas to fruity/light-flavored teas or bold/full-bodied teas, but I do try to drink some of everything to widen my palate. I’m always willing to try any tea at least once (except this one tea that Teavana mercifully discontinued… the loose leaf smelled like cheese, I swear). I do perhaps rate teas a little leniently… because I’m not very picky. I will try a tea at least three times before I pronounce that I hate it, and I will always focus on the good aspects of a tea rather than the bad. That’s just how I roll. :3