55
drank Earl Grey by Kusmi Tea
2036 tasting notes

Hiya folks. I’m baaaaackkk! I missed you. Please forgive me if I start where I left off and don’t go back to read two weeks worth of notes. It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just that time is still a little scarce and I’d rather spend the time with careful reading going forward than with skimming going backward.

We had lots of fun at Disneyland and No. 1 is now safely ensconced in his first grade routine. I must admit I have been drinking very little tea. It was blisteringly hot in D-land, and it’s been hitting over 100 degrees since we got back, which may have something to do with it. I have noticed, though, that when I do drink tea after not drinking it for a while, I enjoy it that much more. It’s almost as though I’d desensitized myself by drinking 20 or so cups a day, and until I stopped doing that I didn’t realize I had. Anyone else ever had that experience?

I took this tin with me to D-land and made some every morning in the little pot in the room before we went down to breakfast. I tried to use bottled water, but if I didn’t have enough I supplemented with tap water.

Anaheim water is weird. I thought the Pirates of the Caribbean ride smelled funny because the water was recycled, but then I noticed that the water coming out of the shower smelled similar, though hot instead of cold. It’s got a sort of marine/minerally smell to it, so the brewing conditions weren’t great. Since this wasn’t much of a favorite to begin with, I wasn’t too concerned about ruining it with bad water. And I’m glad I took it with me because I can now decupboard! Another to cross of the list and not to repeat, I’m afraid, but at least it contributes to the goal of getting the quantity of tea I have in the house under control. I will say that it grew on me a bit. I just got really used to it. But not enough to give it a point bump.

Hope everyone had a great end of summer!

teabird

Welcome back!

LENA

yay! glad you are back!

Ewa

Yay you’re back! Missed you too! I totally skipped everything I missed in Japan, too. :P Also, sounds like you need to cold brew up some iced tea!

Peggie Bennett

Anaheim water is weird indeed! What’s worse is San Diego water!

Rabs

So happy to have you back! I’m still on lurk mode, but hoping to change that after this upcoming Friday which is when I take the GRE ::dun-dun-dunnnn!::

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Comments

teabird

Welcome back!

LENA

yay! glad you are back!

Ewa

Yay you’re back! Missed you too! I totally skipped everything I missed in Japan, too. :P Also, sounds like you need to cold brew up some iced tea!

Peggie Bennett

Anaheim water is weird indeed! What’s worse is San Diego water!

Rabs

So happy to have you back! I’m still on lurk mode, but hoping to change that after this upcoming Friday which is when I take the GRE ::dun-dun-dunnnn!::

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Bio

I got obsessed with tea in 2010 for a while, then other things intruded, then I cycled back to it. I seem to be continuing that in for a while, out for a while cycle. I have a short attention span, but no shortage of tea.

I’m a mom, writer, gamer, lawyer, reader, runner, traveler, and enjoyer of life, literature, art, music, thought and kindness, in no particular order. I write fantasy and science fiction under the name J. J. Roth.

Personal biases: I drink tea without additives. If a tea needs milk or sugar to improve its flavor, its unlikely I’ll rate it high. The exception is chai, which I drink with milk/sugar or substitute. Rooibos and honeybush were my gateway drugs, but as my tastes developed they became less appealing — I still enjoy nicely done blends. I do not mix well with tulsi or yerba mate, and savory teas are more often a miss than a hit with me. I used to hate hibiscus, but I’ve turned that corner. Licorice, not so much.

Since I find others’ rating legends helpful, I added my own. But I don’t really find myself hating most things I try.

I try to rate teas in relation to others of the same type, for example, Earl Greys against other Earl Greys. But if a tea rates very high with me, it’s a stand out against all other teas I’ve tried.

95-100 A once in a lifetime experience; the best there is

90-94 Excellent; first rate; top notch; really terrific; will definitely buy more

80-89 Very good; will likely buy more

70-79 Good; would enjoy again, might buy again

60-69 Okay; wouldn’t pass up if offered, but likely won’t buy again

Below 60 Meh, so-so, iffy, or ick. The lower the number, the closer to ick.

I don’t swap. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I have way more tea than any one person needs and am not lacking for new things to try. Also, I have way too much going on already in daily life and the additional commitment to get packages to people adds to my already high stress level. (Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does.)

That said, I enjoy reading folks’ notes, talking about what I drink, and getting to “know” people virtually here on Steepster so I can get ideas of other things I might want to try if I can ever again justify buying more tea. I also like keeping track of what I drink and what I thought about it.

My current process for tea note generation is described in my note on this tea: https://steepster.com/teas/mariage-freres/6990-the-des-impressionnistes

Location

Bay Area, California

Website

http://www.jjroth.net

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