2816 Tasting Notes
Good morning Steepster!
This is a sipdown, I’m all out of this tea but will certainly get more at some point. It’s one of my favorite black teas at the moment. I’m not really looking forward to the work day today… it’s not very much fun trying to type when your hands are in pain. I might just stay at home today.
Tisane of the afternoon here from Spicely, this was one I bought last week after my acupuncture appointment.
Although this says it’s a rooibos chai, it is lacking in flavors you would normally associate with a chai, such as ginger, cloves and black pepper, etc. Instead it has cinnamon, vanilla, cacao nibs and cardamom. This makes for a very mellow concoction that’s a decent dessert tea. I guess I was hoping for something slightly spicier and could definitely add my own ingredients if I wanted to to sort of perk it up a bit. This isn’t a bad rooibos blend it just doesn’t seem that much like a chai to me. It’s fairly tasty though, I like this one with soymilk and it doesn’t really need sugar.
Preparation
Thanks to Carol Who for this one, I haven’t always been a big fan of Teavana blends in the past, but it’s always fun to try something new. :)
I liked this a little bit better when the tisane was hot because then I got more of the cinnamom/chocolate-y notes, actually I was thinking carob. Now that it’s cooled off a bit I get a lot of the orange coming up very strongly. Overall I think this is okay but probably not something I would keep around on a regular basis…
now I’m off to do my physical therapy exercises!
Preparation
i see, so this one is tisane…I just bought a herbal blend from DAVIDsTea, not yet to try…hope your physical therapy is going well.
thank you :)
I keep on going back and forth on whether I like this tea or not. I always remember it being good then I make a cup and maybe yes, maybe no on the results. I think I need to really try different brewing parameters and see if I can figure it out. I have had some really good cups and then some that are… meh.
I may be joining you in physical therapy (in spirit if not body). I’ve been dieting and exercising. I’ve been walking 3-5 miles daily. :) Then I wrenched my knee the other day :( and of course I just kept going and going and going when I should have rested. Well I didn’t and now I have a very sore leg, I can’t find a comfortable position and sleep at night. I won’t be able to do my walking and I’m afraid that I will start gaining weight sitting around on my butt. Ahhh, but at least I can still drink tea!
Hi Carol, sorry to hear about your leg, I hope you get better soon :)
Good afternoon/early afternoon Steepster!
I haven’t had much time to write tea tasting notes recently, but I thought I’d brew up some of this blend I haven’t had in a while. I think I put this at a ‘65’ the first time I drank it, the licorice is very strong but maybe licorice teas are growing on me a bit because I raised the rating on this one today. Work was a bit better today, at least not as stressful, but there hasn’t been much down time for tea drinking.
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Good morning Steepster!
I am so happy to be at home today, I can’t even tell you. My workplace is incredibly hostile to someone with a disability which is sad for me but maybe they’ll fire me soon and I can look for a nicer place to work. :(
This is one of the teas from the Steepster select box that came in while I was gone. Normally I’m not a big fan of keemuns as they can seem a bit harsh but I really like the cacao and pine notes of this, it reminds me a bit of an Imperial Bohea that I already have from Upton Tea. This is a nice one to sip on plain, it also is good with soymilk but doesn’t really need any additions.
All I want to do is stay at home all day and drink tea :)
Preparation
Seconded. Throw in a book.
I’m so sorry to hear about your place of work – I’m sure you’ve already considered your options, but isn’t there someone to turn to for help in order to make it a more positive environment?
Anna, unfortunately the people who have been supportive are in a distant remote office and my boss is turning into a complete witch so she isn’t a very good resource.
Bummer!
Good morning Steepster,
I had a few cups of this yesterday at the office. It’s good as an iced tea and pretty good as a hot tea, though I’ve noticed it tastes better if you add about a tsp. of sugar to it. The base tea looks like a dragonwell or something similar. This is growing on me a bit but is one of those teas I’ll be glad when the sipdown day approaches so I can get rid of it. Working is not as much fun at typing tea notes on Steepster all day – lolol
Preparation
67, I guess, is get ride of soon:-) I am sipping a dandelion roasted root tea in tea bag from Republic, too. it has a roasted smell, but tastes quite banal. I have a bias against tea bags…does it really make difference?
Once you go loose tea you never go back…. well only occasionally.
I don’t really like tea bags because they make the tea taste like paper, good for traveling or work though
@TeaBrat, you are right…no wonder it smelled like an old bag…how about the fancy nylon satchet ones? I haven’t tried them
IN my opinion the mesh bags are a lot better :)
just googled it. ah, i see, mesh, has holes, lol. cool concept. will see where it sells teas in mesh bags, good for office.
Good afternoon Steepster!
Ugh, I have been out on disability for almost 3 months and I got back to the office today, working part time until June. I don’t know why but sitting at my desk is causing me some incredible pain. I am definitely more comfortable at my desk at home but they won’t let me work at home. I think because here I have a drafting table and a drafting chair and it seems more comfortable than being all scrunched up at a short desk.
Anyhoo, I got two Steepster select boxes while I was gone and decided to open them both up today. I don’t know if I’ve ever had a buckwheat tisane before. This smells really good, very nutty and bready. The flavor is nice and sweet. I am getting a grainy sweetness and even though this is a dark roast, it doesn’t taste like something that’s been dark roasted. I like this fairly well but maybe not enough to actually run out and buy any. It’s nice that I survived my day but I wonder if anyone around me noticed how I was so whiny and grumpy. Harumph!
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It is always so hard to go to work after medical problems. Especially if you are in pain. :( Hope you feel better soon. We don’t want a grumpy TeaBrat, now do we?
Thanks, I’m afraid I have a long recovery ahead but at least I have plenty of tea. ;-)
I’m sorry you’re in so much pain. :(
Sorry about the painful desk arrangement :( Can you convince them to get you an ergonomic assessment for your workarea?
I signed up for Select last month, and the box with the Soba Cha was my first. I found it really interesting – more like a light broth than a beverage, really. I kind of want more!
Oh no! I hope something can be figured out soon, so you can work pain free!
Thanks all! No the people I work with have been jerks about the whole thing but for now I’m taking a lot of breaks and using ice when I need it.
@TeaBrat, hope you feel better and take it easy at work…I am new to this community and in SF too.
btw, I see you are also a buddhist, that’s great. I went to the two zen centers each once
I picked this tea up after my acupuncture appt. today at the Spicely store on Market Street. They have some unique blends and I don’t think I’ve ever had a blended kukicha before so I thought I would give this one a try.
Instructions say to steep this at 180 f for 2 minutes. This is the roasted kukicha and I definitely think this could be steeped at a much hotter temperature. It’s a light mix of green tea, orange and fennel and it’s pleasant for the afternoon I am having. I ended up doing a second steep with boiling water and it seemed fine that way. This is a very pleasant cuppa though it isn’t destined to be a huge favorite of mine.
It looks like I am going back to work on Monday part time! I hope I manage to survive it. I am still not sleeping very much… :(
Preparation
I ended up going for a walk to Whole Foods today and spending money on things I didn’t really need. Well, I did get food but I didn’t need more tea that’s for sure. ;-)
It’s strange that the Whole Foods near my work does not have any Pukka teas at all, but the one closer to my house has a smaller assortment of teas and a lot of the Pukkas. I’ve been wanting to try this for a while. It’s definitely gingery and intense. I’m sure I must have had galangal before in Thai food but I couldn’t really tell you how the flavor is different than ginger. There’s licorice in here too, the tea doesn’t really need it but it provides a bit of sweetness. Also this has a bit of turmeric in it, not enough to really make the tea yellow however. This is definitely a warming and spicy tea! I wish Pukka had a variety pack so I could try some of the individual offerings without having to buy an entire box.
I don’t love it, but I think it will be good to have this one around for my achy body which still feels like that of a 90 yr. old arthritic woman. I am healing a bit more every day!
Flavors: Licorice
Preparation
This tea ended up being my cold brew experiment of the day. It makes a pretty good cold brew but I think I prefer it hot. Cold, the papaya and green tea notes really seem to pop out and I don’t get a lot of strawberry. Definitely serves the purpose of refreshing me on this sunny day and maybe will wake me up gently (as I just got up from a nap!)
I love Golden Monkey, too!