390 Tasting Notes

90

my second tea from whispering pines! and i had no idea that breaking into it tonight would come along with another celebration as i sipped…..

i hate waiting for grades; classes are done- I WANT MY MARKS! …..please. but profs get busy, sadly it isn’t a immediate thing. i was just starting into this chocolatey assam-esque tea when the message came that the final grade for the class that had me working my butt off all semester had been posted.

i could see the grades, but the student numbers had been scrambled! i was supposed to write for a code…… was i getting extra marks for this? gimmethecodegimmethecodegimmethecode.

there was a lone 87.3. highest in the class by 6%. mine. Mine. MINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! there were two others that were close, just a hair under 1% off. my team was 3……. this was us, i was sure. that 87.3 was MINE. i took a real beating this semester….it’s a long story. short story? that number was MINE.

gimmethecode.

-check email…. wasn’t there yet. sip tea.
-rinse
-sip tea
-repeat
-the code was in…..

second time with this prof…. highest mark in the class. he isn’t easy. he poked fun at me this semester about having no life! but he sent me a beautiful letter of congratulations….

this is an excellent celebratory tea. not malty to me, which suits me fine. a dark chocolate assam. lovely and rich…. i used some turbinado sugar and a bit of cream. i don’t miss dessert! very nice.

just waiting for one more grade =0)

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 14 OZ / 414 ML
__Morgana__

James, what wonderful news! Many congrats! So well deserved!

JustJames

=0))) thank you… you know when it’s over, but it doesn’t feel over? as the grades come in i’m starting to feel it. whew!

CK

Congratulations! and this sounds likes an awesome tea moment :)

JustJames

it was an excellent tea moment…. had it been coffee i’d have needed someone to peel me off the ceiling, lol.

boychik

Congrats!!! Im sure you are going to remember that guy.

caile

That’s wonderful – congratulations!

greenteafairy

Congratulations!

JustJames

i believe this prof is the one i’ll be mentoring with for my phd. i’ve asked and he’s already agreed. you know when you meet someone that you would genuinely like to be at the end of it all?

thank you for the congratulations! sorry i’ve been so absent lately!

Plunkybug

This is the one I selected for the contest.

JustJames

which contest?

Plunkybug

Whispering Pines Butiki combo contest…they were supposed to announce a winner on the 15th, but I have not seen anything about the winner yet.

JustJames

man…. i really need to come up for air when i’m studying.

Plunkybug

I would have missed this too, only I saw something in my FB feed, I think from Cavo about it…

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95

I am beginning to think i need to consider getting legal advice regarding a tea power of attorney….TPOA…. why? so that when i buy a ridiculous amount of an incredible tea (such as maybe .5 oz which equals 3 of my big tea cups) stacy can laugh at me, up the amount, charge me the extra and simply scrawl across the bottom of the invoice ‘because i knew better’.

dammit. 2 cups left.

lemon. madeleines. lemon curd, but with virtually no acidity. very smooth, naturally sweet. perfectly balanced.

as previously stated- dammit!

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 3 min, 15 sec 4 tsp 14 OZ / 414 ML
Butiki Teas

Hahaha :)

Plunkybug

Oh my god. I need to order some soon. It is on my planned order, but I might have to hurry it up. :P

JustJames

i would advise more than .5 of an ounce. also zero no scent of flowers before you wonder.

Plunkybug

Thanks James. I’m partly waiting to order because my last order with Nutmeg Cream and Champagne Cider has a sample of Hello Sweetie. And while I have no doubt I’ll love it, it means I may need to tweak my order to include some. But also, I may be going in with CrowKettle for a larger order to get free shipping.

CelebriTEA

This is such a lovely tea

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90

i do love this tea. this ATR blend was a game changer for me~ i had thought previously that i just wasn’t big on fruit teas? nope….. PEACH TEAS. apricot is a whole other story!

i love the depth in this one. i am persuaded that someone has brutalized an apricot on my behalf into my teacup =0)… and it makes me smile! (horrible, i know, but there it is).

so glad i finally have a full sample of this beauty!

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 4 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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90

this is from my first whispering pines tea order… first tea from my first order! i held out trying this blend until today for A REASON!!!!!

the semester is OVER! insert soaring freedom music of your choice….. but only for three weeks, lol.

must admit, it was quite awesome- i changed my status on FB re the exam and who should inquire about how it went down? Brenden… the owner of whispering pines, lol.

saving this as my celebratory tea was a good call. dry it smells like vanilla chocolate ice cream. malt, but not the bitey kind. the base is a very deep chocolate- not a cacao, certainly not a milk. very smooth. vanilla is the first taste and surprisingly honey is the last!

superb. a gorgeous tea. brenden says it resteeps brilliantly…. i’m off to do that now =0)

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 15 sec 2 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML
Courtney

Freedom! YES. I have two weeks of exams to survive, then a week off before spring term haha. :P

JustJames

you too? we must be connected. we shall commiserate! i just need to get it done before another distraction creeps up. spring compression classes= no fun, but it also means i’ve accomplished a pretty normal year even on a disabled student course load. yippee!

Courtney

Yay! Haha I overloaded my courses the last two terms, which was hellish, but it means I’m closer to this degree being complete. Yes! I will fully enjoy my few days off before spring for sure. :)

JustJames

we should be friends on FB…. we can whine to one another when exams roll around, lol.

ifjuly

yay! phew, congrats on the end of the semester.

this one sounds so amazing. one of these days i’m going to spring for some!

gmathis

Happy Independence Day! I keep an MP3 of the Hallelujah Chorus on my computer for hitting “SEND” on a writing assignment.

JustJames

gmathis…. you are Wonderful. =0)

ifjuly- it’s lovely… i can see you loving it. like a vanilla hued black lotus.

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90

right off the bat thanks need to go to david and jeff at american tea room~ this order was fraught with ghosts in machines and almost didn’t happen. they worked very hard, also very honourably to ensure a smooth result despite hiccups. i appreciate your efforts hugely- thank you both.

this tea. wow! it’s completely named for the smell… exotic, nutty, dark fruit, no flowers at all. i almost didn’t want to drink the tea… i just wanted to sniff it.

the next stage of the testing process: does the smell hold up once water is added? it did! a 4-5 minute steep…. i didn’t want to wait. i paced, which probably looked funny because i’m a clutz on my legs (in my chair i’m just a threat/menace, lol).

i gave a minute or two…. blisters on the tongue not so much fun aaaaaaaand. what’s this? it does not taste like how it smells. what does it, what do i…. um…. hmmm.

this was the smell: https://blackstonemonastery.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/a-red-tent-temple.jpg?w=240&h=300

this is the taste: http://www.organicauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/honeydew-melon-ccflcr-muffet.jpg

i was so confused! okay, i’ll admit- i stomped my foot a bit because i really wanted the tea to taste like that incredible smell!!!! and then i had to go to school for my last psych lab…. i couldn’t stop thinking about the tea i’d left behind. it was very smooth, not cloying or overpowering, really expertly balanced.

i’ve never had a tea remotely like it. the sesame is a perfect accompaniment… nutty but no bitterness like walnuts can sometimes lend.

very, very nice.

american tea room comes up with from remarkably unique blends- i find i don’t always like them, though i usually respect them. this one i both like and respect. i will buy again!

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 4 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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55

i had a chance to try this tonight thanks to MissB and i am going to give it a doorknob rating; it’s there and there’s nothing wrong with it, but there’s nothing special about it and there are lots of others.

i will say though, as with cherry anything it could have been cough syrupy and it wasn’t.

i get no cheesecake.

it’s a tea.

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 3 min, 30 sec 2 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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95

a number of years back there was a movie made called ‘being john malkovich’. i never watched it… i had no inclination. while i think he’s had the odd funny role i have no desire to imagine being him. in fact, the vast majority of famous people i would deliberately NOT MEET…. how could they meet up to the standard of their acting/singing/writing?

HOWEVER.

i would watch a movie about being stacy lim. what is it like to be her? i wonder. where some people have closets of hats and shoes, i imagine her wandering through a surrounding apothecary of teas….‘what shall i drink today?’ she wanders to the market in her neighborhood and sees a butterfly fluttering over a stand of fresh pineapples….. ‘i can capture that motion…’ she thinks and meanders away. a christmas gift of fudge, baked bananas and tapioca pudding…. scotch and a fine cigar….. everything is a challenge in the world of stacy lim. that’s a movie i would like to see =0)

i brought this tea to a coffee house for my team mates to try with me…. after giving away that amazing tea basket, they’d never tried butiki and this was a new one for me too. my africa calling team mates were wowed (to say the least) although the coffee house staff were underwhelmed that i’d brought my own anything, lol.

they gave me hot water and a criminal tea pot that spilled more tea than it poured…. but still, the tea….. oh the tea! a smooth green. no nuttiness, just a cool refreshing base. i would concur with the word buttery. the grapefruit astounds. the essence of peel, of fruit, even of pith— but with no bitterness.

at this point my imagination diverges; does stacy coax the flavour gently from pink grapefruit by whispering sweet nothings? or does she crush them and bludgeon them into doing her bidding without remorse? muahahahahaha?

stacy… remember i told you your teas turn me into a ham? yeah, well—

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 2 min, 30 sec 2 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML
__Morgana__

Being John Malkovich was actually a really funny movie, but then I love John Malkovich. I had a (male) friend who referred to him as “the thinking woman’s crumpet” which I find hysterical, but true.

Kaylee

I can envision this as the best Food Network show ever.

JustJames

me too kaylee!!!!

Butiki Teas

Hahaha. :D Trust me, I’m not that interesting. The vast majority of names and ideas for teas are accidents, randomly inspired, completely out of the blue, or hey what is the weirdest yet awesome tea I can come up with. The tea with the coolest story has to be With Open Eyes but other than that nothing terribly entertaining. Right now I’ve been contemplating a tea that has been plaguing me for years. One of these years it will be made. Being John Malkovich is an awesome movie. Definitely worth a watch.

JustJames

he’s just not my cup of…..tea =0D. unless you’d like to persuade me with a perfect blend? lol. i think you’re that interesting.

Butiki Teas

I totally understand him not being someone’s cup of tea. The movie is just completely bizarre though. It’s not so much about him being as it is about being him. I definitely need to see that again to see if it still holds up today.

Ysaurella

I loved this movie ! Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich.Malkovich ?
James you need to see the restaurant scene !:) Thanks for reminding that souvenir.

JustJames

lol….. and still i’m the stick-in-the-mud that doesn’t want to see it. =0D JM just isn’t my thing. restaurant scene, hmmmm? my wife is nodding. possibly. NO PROMISES, lol.

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7
drank Masala Chai by Rishi Tea
390 tasting notes

somehow steepster ate and buried this? grrr.

nope. wrong mix for me…. actually i thing chico chai might have ruined me for others, to be honest. i had high hopes….. but it was completely out of balance and so strong after a really moderate 5 minute steep that it went right down the sink.

damn.

the semester’s almost over. i spent the weekend working my butt off analyzing data on global theory that is outside my specialty only to have it ACTUALLY HAPPEN…..!!!!!!!!! and then i got marked down because i wasn’t focused enough. …. ……. ………… are you sure i wasn’t focused enough? because i’m pretty sure i was. do you feel like reading it again maybe?

however, at least i loved the project. and at least my ‘lower mark’ was an A-. and at least that was tying together SO many different disciplines that regardless of the mark i am very bloody proud.

this chai. hum. if you would like to have random patches of body hair forcibly burned off by spice via tea containing milk and agave…. then steep this for 5 and have at her. this will be going in the traveling tea box for my part. arrivederci!

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec
keychange

I’m so glad your pride in your work exists independently of someone else’s assessment. That’s so important and you’re awesome.

JustJames

=0) i really need that keychange~ thanks. sometimes good is good, regardless of a grade gained. and i’m pretty self critical and i still say: this was bloody good.

keychange~ you’re awesome too….. xoxo

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100
drank The Black Lotus by Butiki Teas
390 tasting notes

i will never be without this. or the lychee oolong…. not ever.

Terri HarpLady

I need to get some more of the lychee sometime

looseTman

JustJames, That’s quite a recommendation for both teas!

For those of us who have not yet had the pleasure, what specific characteristics about The Black Lotus made it so enjoyable? Thanks!

JustJames

looseTman! first i will give you this link: http://steepster.com/JustJames/posts/205447 which is my first review of this tea. =0)

candidly, this tea turns me into a ham… it is refined, it has depth and character unlike any other tea i have known (even the flavoured ones). a heavy dark base note, an almost playful green and a moderate malt note which persuades but does not kick. the malty tone that follows with bread dough while it is cooking; mild, warm, unobtrusive…. =0)

see? ham.

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drank Genmaicha by Zen Tea
390 tasting notes

hum. how could my three minute steep have been too long for this? it has a truly bitter twang =0(

tiny bit of my sample left, i’ll have to try again. as it stands right now though i have a harsh green kick with a side of nicely roasted rice. humph!

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’It’s chaos, be kind.’~ michelle macnamara

“I said: what about my eyes?
He said: Keep them on the road.

I said: What about my passion?
He said: Keep it burning.

I said: What about my heart?
He said: Tell me what you hold inside it?

I said: Pain and sorrow.
He said: Stay with it. The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” ~ Rumi

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