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I left myself 2tsp for a hot cup once I decide to make it…hopefully this weekend. I cold brewed this overnight since I had the thought, “If I have to work a 12-hour day, then I might as well make the best of it with teas upon teas!” I’m dreading tonight and Monday (Memorial Day) since I’m on “mandatory” coverage. Whomp whomp

Anyway, here we are with Blueberry Pancakes. I think, once upon a time, I noted that the hot cup of this reminded me of blueberry and maple syrup but lacking all pancake. Cold brewed, the blueberries are predominantly present while the syrup is taking a step back. I can faintly taste the syrupy sweetness, but not very much.

PS. I’ll return for a sip down rating and if anything changes with the hot cup.

Sip Down

I find it interesting that I’m finally drinking through these matcha teas from Advent. They all found themselves in the far depths of the sip down pile/shelf, so I dug them out. Today’s motivation for this tea was that it 1. An office day; 2. I’m tired; 3. Going back to work after 4 days off is a sad reality one must face—therefore, it’s matcha time!

I pushed a lot of the notes on these matcha teas out of my head during the holidays due to either not being my cuppa or I forgot to make any note whatsoever. Upon opening the bebe tin, I noticed that the matcha is “greyer” than I remembered. I’ve been too spoiled with the good stuff, I guess…or the ginger is the reason for the greyish color. Anywho, I whipped up some 168F water and frothed a little oat milk for flavor & presentation.

Behold! An actual good brew. The oat milk enhances the biscuit component of the tea, and the ginger is light enough to support the biscuit (or cookie, I’m assuming). There’s a bit of a molasses cookie aspect to the taste, reminding me of the holidays.

PS. I sipped it down quickly, so it must show that I’m enjoying it or waiting for the sweet, sweet rush of caffeine to flow through my veins, giving me the motivation and energy to mentally prepare for the long 11-12 hours ahead.

Sip down if it counts. I found an 8g sample packet that was in the sip down pile. It’s odd since W2T samples are usually in 25g sample sizes, unless this was from a club or randomly obtained during a free sample with a purchase.

This will be the last tea for the weekend. The time went too quickly, as it always does. It doesn’t seem to matter if I get the normal 2 days or 4 days off; it’ll move too fast, anyway. Big sigh. This isn’t the most extravagant shou I’ve had in all my life, but it’s “old reliable” for a reason. It hits in such a way that a shou ought to. It has a light earthiness which reminds me of a lightly roasted coffee or an unwashed (why anyone would eat it) mushroom. There’re the flavors one expects to enjoy in shou and learn to appreciate. The cup offers a smooth and relaxing experience. And it’s not a warming cup (thankfully, for I didn’t want to regret spending time with a tea which makes me sweat. It could help that I have the a/c on 65F, too). Either way, it’s a solid brew and I’m happy to have this 8g sipped and enjoyed for the final brew over the weekend.

Backlog (17 May 2024) & Sip Down
This was the first tea sipped over the long weekend. I meant to drink more and have more time with tea, but the weekend was overly busy. Which is fine. I had the time off, so I was more than happy to fill it! Anyway, I drank this western style during breakfast. I wish I remembered the meal, but we’re not here to discuss the food. :)

I jotted on the packet, “Nutty, sweet, bitter, and smooth. Not too much of an experience than it being a decent cup of green tea.” I really ought to take the time to really think about these sessions, but I enjoy going with the flow of the day and cup sometimes.

I had won a giveaway a few weeks ago on IG. I never try to enter giveaways on the account I hardly win anything. One reason the lottery goes out of my mind…I lose more than I give. Ha-ha. However, in this case, I did win a few of Teavivre’s 2024 Green Tea samples. This was the first I tried of the bunch. I meant to record and edit a video for my YT channel, but I wasn’t in the mood. I sat at a baseball game for 4 hours yesterday and have developed a bright red (burnt) face and arms.

I brewed this at 185F for 2 minutes as the packet noted. I noted, “bitter greens, astringent, spinach, nutty (walnuts?), and savory.” I attempted a second (4 minute) infusion, but the leaf hardly tasted of anything. This isn’t the most expensive Dragon Well, but it’s not cheap. If I paid for the leaf, I’d’ve been slightly disappointed in the longevity.

Backlog: 14 May 2024

This was from either March’s or April’s monthly tea club. I didn’t make many notes on the packet nor audio recorded the session. This may have been an impromptu session before heading into the office, so it’s likely I never really put much thought into it. I get into the zone on office days.

I only noted the following: Bitter florals and cotton mouthfeel.

Backlog & Sip down

Hot and unsweetened is boring. It’s mildly tart and uneventful with the exception it has hibiscus, but okay.

Iced with monk fruit sugar is dandy. It’s like drinking cherry kool-aid as a child (or fruit punch? Been ages since I’ve partook kool-aid).

71/100

I really wish I added more tasting notes to the sticky note on the back. Ha-ha.

It seems that I’ve reviewed this before…2 years ago (when I returned to the land of Steepster, only to drop off again…well, not this time!). I obviously favored this tea in the past, and still do today. This may be the 4th bag I had sipped down. It seems that this is no longer available on DT’s website. sad

Alas! This will be the last time I dip into this tea, unless DT returns this to their webpage (or whenever I venture up to Toronto in January 2025 and this is at the shop (with a group of tea newbs which may have been swayed by me on the local front to drink tea). At which time will result in me spending a large sum of money at their shop).

I love this tea, ya’ll. I mean it. Love, love, love it.

For an EG + chocolate lover, this is the dream cuppa. It makes me think of a Hershey kisses with EG. Plus—a big note that my friend made—it tastes lovely when it starts to lose heat (e.g. room temperature). I shall miss it; however, if it returns, I will buy 10 bags this time! Not 4. Ha-ha.

On Saturday, we hosted board game night at the house with a few friends. Naturally, I offered to make tea…and many teas we had! I was asked to brew something ‘unique and iced,’ so to the sip down pile I went, knowing that this was something interesting. I had 4 tsp remaining in the pouch, so I tossed it into 8 oz of water for 6 minutes (one minute longer than the recommendation). Before tossing it over ice, I was asked to add a touch of honey to sweeten. Let’s just note that this tea CLEARED my sinuses. It was as if I opened a jar of Vick’s and took a deep breath in. I took a small swig of the drops of tea too little to fit into the glass of ice, and it was truly a strong eucalyptus and minty tea. I may have to buy this one in bulk—I’m an oddball and enjoy ‘sick’ teas while feeling 100% a-ok—and keep it around for both the days of sickness and for the summer. I imagine this would be wonderful as a sun tea, too!

A few months ago, we celebrated our new home by placing a massive order from B&B since it was a bucket listed tea vendor (especially for the lady love). Upon the very large quantity of teas purchased, I snagged a few that seemed interesting to me. Sticky Chai seemed intriguing due to addition of honey to the mix of tea and spices. The aroma is lovely, but muted. I love a strong spicy/bold chai with the most minimal sweetener added; however, milk is necessary.

Anyway, I made the attempt around the time of receiving this to stove top it. I noted that it was “ok” and put it in the sip down pile. And there it sat until today. I brewed it Western style at 200F for 5 minutes and frothed oat milk as the topper. I’ll note that this is the brewing method of choice since the tea, I believe, isn’t meant to be anything extreme. It’s supposed to give you the essence of chai, without the punch in the face. Which is unfortunate for me, but this will be a solid session for a local friend who advised that they like a chai, but not a bold chai. So, into the “drink at work” pile it’ll go!