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Sipdown no. 4 of 2020 (no. 599 total).

It made a refreshing cold brew, as well as a nice take it to work tea for the couple of days before we were told to work from home because of the coronavirus. It pretty much held up to the original note I wrote about it. I still don’t totally get white tea, but flavored whites are easier to get.

Hope everyone is staying healthy. We are under a shelter in place order here.

Sipdown no. 3 of 2020 (no. 598 total).

My last note on this is pretty much where I ended up. Buying the huge bag was a mistake, and one I won’t make again. But a small tin for the occasional attempt to induce sleep might be ok.

I dunno. I really have tried to like chamomile but I’ve only had a couple that I thought were really enjoyable. The lavender in this cuts some of the less pleasant aspects of the chamomile, but it’s not that creamy fresh flavor that I’ve found in the very few that I really enjoyed.

Sipdown no. 2 of 2020 (no. 597 total).

This became my take it to work tea for a few days before it was gone. I steeped it western in the Breville for purposes of taking to work in the Timolino.

It was a nice work tea. It didn’t demand a lot of attention, in either a good or bad way. I didn’t notice the almond note so much as I did when I wrote my first note, but I did notice a sort of toasty woodiness that was enjoyable in cool weather.

Finally caught up! Sipdown no. 1 of 2020 (no. 596 total). And my original note is spot on. Nothing to add here.

Backlog. Let’s call this one Sipdown no. 2 of November 2019 (no. 107 of 2019 total, no. 595 grand total).

This was the last tea I sipped down before I fell off of tea for a while.

Three observations. One: I did ok in sipdowns for 2019, but I am a bit annoyed with myself for not making my goals each month. Also annoyed that I got all the way to November and then didn’t finish out the year. As it is already the third month of 2020, I’m not going to count sipdowns monthly this year, but I’ll count them as they occur (if any do — at this rate who knows).

Second, this tea didn’t age well at all. I usually don’t notice a lot of difference over time with teas. I have great storage capabilities and live in a climate that allows me to avoid humidity. But this one — no.

That sweetness that I remarked upon when I first tried this was totally gone, and all I could taste was a ricy flavor which, without the sweet green to offset it, was like drinking dissolved rice krispies and not wonderful. At least I have the memory of it when it was fresh recorded. I think the fact that this was not pleasant was what led me to an off tea period in the first place, which is surprising as I do love my Samovar teas.

Third, with this sipdown I am now at 17 cupboard pages. WOOT!

Backlog. Let’s call this Sipdown no. 1 of November 2019 (no. 106 of 2019 total, no. 594 grand total). Sample tin.

A nice, mild, green tea that has dry leaves enjoyable to look at. I shall miss it.

Backlog. Let’s call this one Sipdown no 6. of October 2019 (no. 105 of 2019 total, no. 593 grand total).

And honestly, I can’t improve on my original notes on this. I will say that with age, the honey wasn’t the first thing I noticed. But it was a quite enjoyable unflavored black tea.

Hi all! I have been offline for a bit as you may have noticed. Work became impossibly busy and there were a few dramatic incidents with the kids (who are now teenagers — I may not survive, it was hard enough when I went through it the first time) and then I got off the habit. My coffee consumption went up because of the work things. I needed mega-caffeine to get through the very long days. But now things may be getting back to normal. Plus, I like the idea of bringing my own drink to work in these days of communicable diseases. So I’m going to try to get myself back into the tea habit.

This is a backlog, as are the next three entries. I can no longer remember whether this sipdown occurred in October or November of last year, but it was either November or October of 2019 because by December I was off of tea.

So let’s call this Sipdown no. 5 of October 2019 (no. 104 of 2019 total, no. 592 grand total).

My original note on this will have to suffice as I have no notes. But it reflects my recollection of how I experienced this.

Sipdown no. 4 of October 2019 (no. 103 of 2019 total, no. 591 grand total). A sample.

What’s interesting to me is that I thought the cinnamon note was from a previous tea in the original tasting note, but I sort of taste cinnamon in this, even where there is not any trace of cinnamon in the Breville. Also a bit of smoke, which leaves a sort of freshness in the mouth.

Nothing else to add to the original note.

Sipdown no. 3 of October 2019 (no. 102 of 2019 total, no. 590 grand total).

It continued to be flavorful in a nutty, grassy sort of way through to the end of its tenure as my go to take it to work tea. The original note was spot on.