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Gong Xi Fa Cai everyone! The Year of the Wood Horse has started and there is a nice dusting of snow on the ground with the weather predicting more. I have been jealous all winter of my mother on the East Coast getting lots of snow while we have only received a small amount. Snow really is the only redeeming quality of winter!

Today’s tea on this final day of Design a Tea week has nothing to do with New Years, but it does evoke winter. When I was but a wee thing my favorite ice cream and candy treat was Chocolate Mint, the cooling quality always reminds me of winter time, so it was my Southern way of simulating snow in my mouth. Chocolate Mint with a base of Black Tea has a rich aroma, quite a lot of chocolate and a hint of mint. The aroma is very evocative of candy! Luckily the mint is balanced, a frequent problem with minty things is being overpowered by the mint, so kudos to this blend for taming its mint.

Once the leaves take a dip in their sauna you can start to detect the aroma of the base tea and not just the sweet chocolate and cool mint. The black tea has the aroma of earthiness and oak wood which blends quite well with the chocolate’s richness. The liquid sans plant matter is quite sweet blending mint, chocolate, and rich malt.

Tasting time! The taste is smooth with balanced mint and chocolate. There is an underlying hint of earthiness that lurks beneath the chocolate and mint. The tea is fairly sweet and leaves the mouth feeling cool and refreshed. The tea does not really need sugar and cream, but if you want a really dessert like treat, it will turn your cup of tea into a bowl of melted ice cream. The final verdict: Design a Tea makes good blends! I strongly suggest ordering loose tea if you give them a try since there was a significant difference between loose and teabag (as to be expected).

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/01/design-tea-chocolate-mint-black-tea.html

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I am a nerdy, obsessive, crafty, tea blogging, gaming nut. Yeah, that about sums me up! Ok, you want something more informative….

I am a Geek, hardcore fan-girl Geek. It shapes my life. I spend a large chunk of my life painting miniatures and contemplating my various army layouts. I hoard dice, get obsessed with games, and will talk about whatever fandom, game, etc that I am obsessed over until I am blue in the face. I am not just a gamer girl type Geek, I also fit in the collecting knowledge and spending way too much time reading and researching category of Geek.

But there is more to me than just being a giant nerd. I love tea, always have and have just gotten more and more obsessed as I get older. I love trying new teas and then writing lengthy descriptions about them on my blog, I love reading and researching the history and culture of tea, I love collecting tea pots and fancy tea tools.

When the weather allows it, I love to go mushroom hunting. I don’t eat them, instead I use them for photography and spore prints. I love nature and worked as a Naturalist in the Northwoods one summer, it might have been the best job ever.

I have Fibromyalgia, it sucks, but I feel people who are going to interact with me should know since I tend to vanish because of it so fair warning! I do tend to not vanish very long though. Also I have some ‘social disorders’ which basically translates to I am really awkward and bad at socializing, so forgive any lack of social graces.

I also have cats, love the ocean and all aquatic life, have teal hair, love cheese, and collect hats.

My favorite tea is definitely Oolong, but I also love Japanese greens and…ok I just love tea actually :P I am not a huge fan of lemony black teas or tart fruit teas. I also loathe hibiscus (usually)

This is my actual tea wishlist, you know that I actually update and keep track of…I tend to forget Steepster’s https://www.facebook.com/notes/amanda-wilson/tea-wishlishtshopping-list-perpetually-in-progress/10152336515414411 I use my steepster WL to keep track of teas I have had and really want more of :P

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Kansas City, MO

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http://ramblingbutterflythoug...

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