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Good morning! It’s just before 7a here and I’m about to start a volunteer shift before work. I’m fairly tired, but this tea to the rescue!

The scent of this tea is just a nice calming wake-up. :) Also, it’s always so quiet at this hour and I love it.

This one is a fairly even mix of hazelnut and cocoa for me. It has a scent to the dry leaf that doesn’t appeal to me, but once I steep it up and actually start drinking it, I enjoy it.

I wouldn’t necessarily say I get roasted chestnuts from this tea, but the nuttiness helps. The oolong base is smooth and pairs well with the flavours. Maybe I can play with the steeping parameters a bit to try to coax more chestnut-specific flavours out.

I steeped this one up this evening after a bit of a disaster last time (where I couldn’t even bring myself to create a note).

After Cameron mentioning the orange blossom, it made this tea so much better. I actually really enjoy orange blossom and going in with that in mind made all the difference. I’m still sad there isn’t more of a maple hint, but I enjoyed it fully this evening for the flavours it did have.

I cleaned my infusers today with baking soda and they look brand new!

It’s grey and rainy here, which I love because it reminds me of home! It also calls for a super cozy tea. I wasn’t sure which one to make so I thought maybe this one as a latte would be perfect.

I only added frothed almond milk and a tiny bit of simple (coconut) syrup, because this one has a pretty sweet scent all of its own. Thus far the only latte I’ve had has been with Earl Grey, which went well.

This one is also tasty. Perhaps the bergamot just does well as a latte? It does tone it down so it’s manageable for me, which is delightful! The other flavours of this tea, I really enjoy so finding a way to also enjoy the bergamot is a win.

Ivan seemed to agree, because he hopped up on my lap and tried to go right in for a sip! Very out of character for him! XD

Enjoyed a peanut butter bagel and now enjoying this tea!

I’ll never get over the deliciousness of this one. It’s always so amazing how much depth and flavour can be in a straight tea.

Last cuppa this evening. I enjoyed this while we watched a new show we love – Trickster. I find both the scent and taste of lavender in this quite soothing. I can’t decide if it helps me sleep, but I’m sure it doesn’t hurt!

Just hanging out with our bunnies a little bit now before turning in for the night. :)

Enjoying this one just as I finish off dinner. I really enjoy this one. A lot! I almost want to have some in my cupboard, but I don’t want it all the time like I do Bailin or TTC Yuchi Wild Mountain, so I can’t decide if I should add it into my cart. I wish I could pick up a smaller amount…I may check the website to see what sizes this one comes in.

On an exciting note, I am dropping teas off to a friend’s house this evening (no contact, leaving them on her front step with the rapidly rising covid numbers here). She said it may help her re-join the Steepster community – yay! We became friends because of Steepster many years ago, and she is one of my closest friends today. :) Plus, it’s nice to have a tea friend in the same city!

I couldn’t decide on what to make, and saw this hiding in the back of my cupboard. I go through phases of the teas and coffees from this amazing company and thought “why not today?”.

This one is just a creamy delight and it hits the spot when I’m in the mood for it. Today I mixed it 2/3 matcha and 1/3 their double shot coffee.

Drinking this cup of comfort this morning, and we all know why. Also added comfort with a brownie for breakfast. This is such a delightful malty, bread tea.

I am sadly down to maybe 3 cups of this left :|. To that note, I’ve made a cart on TeaVivre to place next week when I get paid:

Bailin Gongfu
Fengqing Dragon Black Pearl
Samples of:
Yun Nan Dian Hong Full-Leaf
Lapsang Souchong Wild Black
Yun Nan Dian Hong Golden Tip
Yunnan Dian Hong Ancient Tree
Keemun Aromatic Snail Black Tree

Brownies are out of the oven and delicious! I made this tea for both of us to enjoy with the brownies (if anyone is interested, the recipe is here: https://www.thecuriouschickpea.com/vegan-mexican-chocolate-brownies/).

This is a lavender chamomile blend, so it’s nice and light to cut through the richness of the brownies, but also so nice to relax before heading off for sleep (which is a ways away, but still). The lavender is definitely stronger here, but I quite like lavender in tea.

I really enjoy the blend of these two flowers and used to drink this far more regularly, but the price point is a little expensive for just how much I was going through, so I’ve scaled back a touch and mostly go through phases now. :P