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With a flourish of a teacup, I’m turning my attentions from the Highland Games of yesterday to the Greek Luncheon of today. And why not? One of the biggest joys of my life has been the blending of cultures that we can participate in so freely in North America. It wasn’t always so. When I was a little girl, this would never have happened the way it does today. So Hooray!

I had this Elderberry White waiting for me to try this morning before heading off to St. Spyridon’s. (If I fail to have some caffeine before Church, I’m more likely to get a migraine so White Tea was a good choice!)
I steeped the tea 3 minutes at a suggested temperature of 160F.
The resulting brew was too sour for drinking without sweetening for me. The elderberry added enough tang to support sugar but was just too much for me to enjoy plain.
Sweetened, there is a soft smokiness to the tea, an energy from the white tea and an elderberry flavor that is light and gentle.
As the tea cools there is a little creaminess and dry tanin on the tongue (nothing much though).

This was a smooth and soft cup even with the hint of smoke. A good cup before heading off to Church and my Greek Luncheon with the good people from St. Spyridon’s (although there won’t be any roast lamb or dancing at this one…too bad!)…I should bring some tea!

Have a wonderful day everyone!
http://youtu.be/M84us5Wvy2U (If you ever get to travel to a Greek Island, Santorini is wonderful…I was there 4 years ago.)

Slàinte!•[ slanj’-uh; often shortened to slanj ] (To your) Health!

I’ve been away for a couple of days at the Scottish Games in Estes Park, CO with my beloved daughter Annalisa and we had a great time!

Thank you to ashmanra for this tea sample!

The mountain air was refreshing the last few days. 70’s in the daytime and high 40’s at night with a drizzle late yesterday afternoon for a short time. I watched mist rise in wisps above the 14,000 ft mountain peaks, sweeping higher and higher like silken threads forming into clouds by force of nature.

How could I observe such beauty and stand.

When I hear the bagpipes play in such a setting as this, I feel as though all the breath inside of me goes out with the piper into the instrument and the cry goes forth…“Here we are, mere humans in the middle of this beauty and we give all our strength in this breath as a gift.”

Yes, I’m a sentimental Scot! I had my dram of whiskey too with the Clan Cameron Men looking fine in their Kilts!

On to today’s tea!

I was getting a bit sleepy this afternoon so I made a pot of tea. I followed the instructions for brewing temp. and time, then took a little sip. WOW, this was a STRONG cup of tea! I wasn’t expecting such an extremely potent brew!
Not only was the tea dark and strong, but it was on the bitter side.
“What’s this?”
“Maybe this is one of those tea’s very particularly suited to milk and/or sugar,” I said to myself.
Not wasting time, I added some milk and found the tea much more palatable. Then I added sweetening, then more and more until it was exactly to my liking. (This tea took more additions that any other tea in my memory).

The flavor was malty with a little raisin taste, and brisk. With no additions the tea is bitter like a strong espresso.
The wet leaves had the aroma of cinnamon bark (not sweet cinnamon) with a hint of vanilla.

I liked the heaviness of the brew for a morning cuppa. You could really go to town with any type of additions and not overdo it.

When the tea cools down, the malty flavor mellows and becomes more cocoa. You can leave your cup, let it cool, then come back and there is the cocoa taste you may have wanted in the beginning.

A h-uile la sona dhuibh
’s gun la idir dona dhuibh! May all your days be happy ones!

http://youtu.be/lVd_0-SXGBs

I’m surprised that this is the first tasting note on this Butiki
Organic Ceylon Green Tea

I was rustling through the latest order from Stacy for my morning tea and wanted a good cup before packing for an overnight with my daughter up in Estes Park.
A green tea for breakfast? I don’t drink green tea for breakfast, unless…it’s a Ceylon Green Tea. There’s something about the Ceylon Green’s that are almost like a darjeeling. It’s as if the tea bushes have intertwined the flavor of green and black tea’s.

I prepared a small 8oz pot for tea and steeped the leaves 2 minutes.
The leaves and liquor have none of the vegital aroma that I associate with most green tea’s. In fact, the aroma was very, faint. I almost thought I hadn’t steeped the tea properly, but when I reenacted the steeping, the outcome was the same.

The liquor was clear, very golden and beautiful.

When I took a sip of tea, I was surprised at the light flavor.
There was a smoothness to the tea but hardly a whisper of flavor.
I had to concentrate, finding the faint salad green, celery taste which were sweet and fresh.

As the tea cooled, there was an increase in the thickness of the mouthfeel. I added some raw sugar which was a very nice addition.

This morning tea was one that I would recommend especially for those who don’t care much for grassy green vegital tea’s. This was subtle and smooth. Very gentle.

I won’t be writing on Steepster until Saturday.
Today, my daughter Annalisa and I are off to the Highland Games and a Tattoo (all the Piper’s marching together) tonight at 7200 ft. surrounded by towering 14,000 ft mountain peaks. We’ll both cry. The bagpipes are wild and special to us, a reminder of persecution and survival. The fiddle and pipes are played at family events (mostly funerals now). Old Scot’s songs are passed from generation to generation and we Bless the Tartan’s on St. Andrews Day.

I’m bringing along tea of course. There’s a mountain river next to our condo and I’m going to sit there with my tea and soak in the beauty of the Colorado Highlands. (I’ll take pictures)

Have a bonny day!

http://youtu.be/P5P1M5qwBwo Not the best youtube but you get the idea of the pipers playing Amazing Grace
I’ve probably posted this before…Estes Park http://youtu.be/xWlwZA2PnxA (an hour away from my home it’s a great vacation destination for hikers and wildlife lovers).

Thank you Dhart1214 for this sample tea

La la la la la….

What does one do when one does not care for a tea? One has to look for something that is good about the tea like a detective!

I’ll become… Miss Marple …The BBC Detective!

Miss Marple is in the kitchen with her pot of tea, flowery rose china cup (totally not me) which she takes on a tray (along with cream and castor sugar) to a table by the garden window.

The first pour is a nose scrunching audible, “Really, oh no! Something has to be done about this!” (The black thick tea was so strong and bitter it could have disintegrated a discarded murder weapon!)
“I’ll add some cream and castor sugar. Surely that will make this tea drinkable.” But alas, the tea was still sour and without a chocolate, coconut flavor at all.
“Drat it all! Whatever is the matter with this tea? Has it been meddled with?” Looking into the cup for a bit, you could see the process of deduction…the sleuth at work.
“I’ll dilute the tea!”
This proved to be the best answer to drinkability but just barely.

Miss Marple’s deduction was as follows:

Either there was something that went terribly wrong with the Puerh base which made the tea have an odd taste. Or,the flavoring went berserk taking on a persona that has nothing to do with coconut or cocoa. (It could also be a sinister plot.)

The case had to go into the file of unsolved mysteries!

I like a good mystery, and I’ll assume that I am the only one that had an off packet of this tea and leave it at that.

This week’s trip to my Tea Pub was one where I order a
pot of tea (I’m always looking for a new tea to try and write about)
and then pull out a packet of one of my own treasured tea’s
for my tea server friends to try. (These employees are super mega educated about tea!)
I ordered this Darjeeling and sat at the tall bar watching several
of my friendly servers take the last of my sample packet of Summer Tieguanyin and gradually pour all 18 steepings.

It’s funny to watch the whole tea serving and drinking from a bar stool. The Gaiwan was ready and the pouring began.
Eyes rolled around and primordial sounds arose as my friends enjoyed
the exceptional Oolong tea. It was amusing (I know I laughed).

My tea was more interesting and delicious than I expected also.
Harvested after the monsoon season, this darjeeling is a ‘no flush’…because it’s at the very end of picking. It has no muscat flavor, no astringency or acidity.
For an hour or so, my tea friends and I chattered on about what was making this tea so sweet? We ended up talking about beer, then grains and grain sugars and the closest flavor to what we were tasting in the tea was Grape Nuts.
Yes Grape Nuts cereal, which has a barley sugar that tastes good. (One other person said there was some kind of stone fruit but we could never decide on that. INCONCLUSIVE!)

I drank a whole pot of tea. Then I asked for a refill.
(Looking for stone fruit)
An odd thing happened with the second pot.
The leaves smelled soapy. Not bad soap, not Irish Spring. More like the musky warm soap scent left on a man’s skin, very light and pleasant.
(Well OK then, who just woke up?!)

The tea didn’t taste like soap but like Bergamot. Strange.
As the tea cooled, the soapy scent and Bergamot flavor drifted away as if they were never there at all.

I am such a fortunate person to have a place like this to go and have a good time, taste tea and share the tea I have. What a blessing. Without this place, I would have far less contact with people face to face. This is why I hope the tea culture in North America grows. For the tea we all love…sure, but for more places like my tea pub (Happy Lucky’s and in Boulder Ku Cha) to exist for hospitality.

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjBX1Mjf Finally found a picture of the place!

Thank you Dhart1214 for the big tea sample!

We all love Dragon Pearls (well most of us do)!

Even the few who don’t prefer black tea have to admit they’re pretty to look at.
All chocolate colored with golden strands rolled shape of a malted Whopper. (I popped one in my mouth once just to taste the malty leaves)

I’ve collected interesting shaped tea’s for when my young grandchildren come to visit. I have pillows of green tea, cigar shapes and pagoda’s. Tea’s with berries that plump up. AND, this
type of tea with their round shape which looks best in it’s jar like candy and scoop some into a glass pot for brewing.

Everyone loves a cocoa malty tea with some sugar and cream. It may as well be hot chocolate, but it’s better (and easier) to make.
Another infusion and there’s more in a hurry.

I had this tea by myself this morning.
The most cocoa of the Pearls I’ve tried has been Teavivre, but my local shop here in Fort Collins is so close to that standard that I’ll probably buy from them.
The Praise Tea Company Black Pearls are a extremely light cocoa.
I liked the maltiness and smooth richness of this tea, however. There was a baked bread comforting warmth to it.

Sometimes it’s hard to separate malt from cocoa so I carefully made a whole pot of tea, drinking it plain, then sweetening it, then adding cream and then going back to plain again.
I looked for the cocoa and just didn’t hardly, barely find it. (There was a potato chip aftertaste that I noticed after awhile)

I like this tea though. I am a fan of malty, homemade bread goodness in the morning. It’s all yummy to me.

Thank you Ashmanra for this lovely sample tea!

Cranberry and Almond flavors it says in the Harney & Son’s notes.
Fall is coming. In fact, this is the LAST DAY OF SUMMER!

Am I the only one who packed up the tank tops, shorts and white jeans this weekend? It’s a frigid 84 degrees out ;) so I thought I’d get ready for the cold weather with a splendid Fall tea.

Since this was my morning wake-up tea, I added cream and sweetening.
Some flavored tea’s speak to me. “Add a little something, Bonnie, you know you want to.” And I can’t resist.
(There are tea’s that I never add anything to ever, ever, ever!)

I liked the cranberry flavor which was just like chewing on the plump dry cranberry’s that I used to get from Trader Joe’s. Tart and sweet. The almond didn’t taste like almond in a distinct way. I couldn’t tell it was there as a nutty flavor, but it carried the cranberry along by giving depth to the tea so that it didn’t taste too fruity or thin. What I’m trying to say poorly is, the almond gave a cranberry chewy granola flavor to the tea. There.

Come on Fall! We’re ready for the display of color!

This is my 400th Review on Steepster!!!

First I want to thank Verdant for this sample that came with my last order. I saved it for this 400th review. (You like the red?!)

This tea is from the Fugian County of Anxi.

From the moment I snipped open the foil packet of tea, I knew I was going to be taken along on a fragrant journey. The tea leaves had a strong floral aroma that reminded me of having pancakes with berries and powdered sugar in a garden filled with flowers.

I chose a tasting bowl and cup set so that I could do small infusions. (My goal was to do the whole 18 rounds of Steepings!)

All through the rounds the color of the liquor changed very little. It was a pale yellow-green and faded slightly towards steep 16.
The fragrance of the leaves were very floral with a slight vegital tone in the beginning which began to reverse as the steepings continued. There was always a good floral scent.

So, how did this tea taste?

I’ve been sitting for hours thinking about this tea and the 16 steepings that I poured (all of which I will gladly repeat again).

I want to write about the flavor but the experience was more than a straight up flavor review with a list of steepings.

As I began the first few tastings, (which were the most floral) I was distracted, as is the case most times, by the newness of the tea. I ask myself, “What is this flavor here, is it juicy, creamy or astringent?”
It takes a few rounds before my brain and my mouth catch up to each other and I begin to hear the tea speaking. At that point, I have to step out of the way. The mind chatter has to calm down.

When I became quiet inside, I was able to enjoy the tea more, and remembered a time sitting on the beach in Half Moon Bay just listening to the waves crash on the beach. I always stopped to buy flowers from the growers along Highway 1. That area is known for flowers running all over the hills next to the Pacific Ocean. Star and Asian Lilies, Tulips and Mums. I bought flowers from that area at the Farmers Market every Friday by my job in Foster City.

This tea reminded me of those fragrant oceanside flowers rolled out like a carpet in the warm sunshine but cooled by the mist from the sea.
The same area was a growers haven for green beans and Asian vegetables. So, there it was. The flowers and sweet vegetables swirled together harmoniously like the flavor of the tea.

One more thing I must mention.

There was the most delightful creaminess, which I thought at first was butter because it was so thick. Then I changed my mind and said it was thick fresh cream. (I smacked my lips!)
The feeling isn’t the one you have after eating an ice cream, but the one you have after the first bite of a cooked pudding when it coats your mouth.

The tasting notes on the Verdant website are much more detailed than mine. Worth reading. Mine are simpler today.

I’m feeling a wee bit nostalgic. Eight months have gone by and I’ve made so many friends on Steepster. If you are like me, the little personal messages and encouragements that go on in the comments and behind the reviews are what floats this boat. This is all about tea and more isn’t it!

THANK YOU

Thank you Stacy for this juicy tea sample!

I can understand why Stacy stocks this tea so that she has plenty on hand for herself! It’s really good tea!

This morning, when I saw the words ‘Black Tea’ on the sample packet, I casually picked it up thinking, "OK, a nice Black Tea for my morning kick in Le derrière ".

The leaves were long and beautiful. Chocolate brown twisty fingers.
With such dark leaves the liquor was lighter than I expected,
very clear and fragrant, with a scent like apricots and honey.

Before tasting my tea I went to the freezer and took out a few of my prized dried California Apricots (the plump ones that are hard to get ) and cut them up to gather the aroma. ‘Sniff’
The scent was the same as the tea!

I took a sip and the black tea was honey apricot without any maltiness. The mouth feel was rich and full even though you would have imagined at first that the tea was light as a feather.
The smoothness hides the slightest tingle of astringency as the tea cools. There is plenty of juiciness and sweetness, but it’s really all about the golden apricot honey which is hypnotic and swishes you away.

Being raised in Northern California, Apricots were plentiful and never cold packed like the kind you find in the stores today.
My mom (Pat) canned them, grandma (Lolita) made jam, and I picked them off trees to eat fresh, made desserts, and froze them for my kids as popsicles.

Before Silicon Valley was ‘Silicon Valley’ it was agricultural and had orchards and Canneries. Sunkist, Del Monte, S&W, Hunts, Libby’s, and Marianni’s all were there, and in the Summer the teens from my High School worked cutting ‘Cots’.
(Yes, there were no McDonald’s jobs because in the earlier 1960’s there were almost NO fast food restaurants!)
You cut ‘Cots’ (apricots) and got blisters on your hands for minimum wage, and were glad for it! If you were frugal, you might earn enough in a Summer to buy a $100-$200 used car!

Years later, (1980’s) across from the Apple Computer World Headquarters in Cupertino, I noticed an acre of huge drying flats of apricots laying in the sun at Marianni’s Cannery. The old and the new were side by side (and now gone).
A last remnant of what was once a lush valley of 100,000 that had been replaced with concrete and a population of over a million people.

Some have never tasted an apricot fresh off the tree when the sun has ripened it with a blush of red on the skin. The sweetness at just the right moment is juicy and bursting with life.
Try to stop at a stand where they are fresh if you can.

This youtube is somewhat bizzare, shows a 1955 film of Silicon Valley agriculture (a silent movie with soundtrack). Makes me want to cry because it’s gone! I lived for 12 years across from a Prune orchard and vineyard which are part of a freeway now. http://youtu.be/-PacfbdTIms

This tea for me was one reminder of my childhood and I want pass this kind of flavor memory forward like my family did with me.
One of the reasons that I love the organic farms and buying local!

Thanks Stacy! (I know Stacy tastes PEACHES but I taste APRICOT)

Thank you Dhart1214 for this sample tea!

For some readers this will bring back memories, for some…‘Guys’ maybe not unless you were dragged along with mom and a sister as a kid or are a dad who enjoys these times with a daughter.

It’s ‘Back to school shopping time’ for 17 year old Megan!
And of course who do they call? GRANDMA! (I’m so proud!)

I am the Queen of shopping for the family. I know how to get the best deals. It’s a holiday weekend which means ‘sale’ so I went online and checked the store I wanted to go to and found 15% off on top of what’s on sale in the store. (50% becomes 65%, 70% becomes 85% and so on).

Off we went in my Grandma minivan to Macy’s.

My daughter Annalisa, Megan and I scooped up a huge pile of clothes from the sale racks, then grabbed the largest dressing room.

What happens when we women get together is always the same.

We started getting goofy and laughing.
Then I began laughing till I wheezed.
Then they laughed at me, and from that point on everything was funny.
Pretty soon Megan was laughing and calling ‘Grandma", while I was crying and wheezing, “Stop”, and my daughter couldn’t speak at all because she was on the floor doubled over giggling at both of us.

We exhausted ourselves with this nonsense.

We are a family of Laughing women!
In the car with the other two teenage girls it’s even worse.
At home and at Church…we can’t stop laughing and carrying on.

It’s wonderful!

I chose the Black-n-Blue tea for my nightcap because it just struck my fancy.
Most times I like blackberry tea because it reminds me of making jam and berry picking with my children when they were little.

After steeping the leaves in my Finum basket, I sweetened the tea and took a sip.
The tea tasted like a hot blackberry turnover.
There was a nice bakery flavor that I liked, with a jam quality that wasn’t too sweet like candy but was natural but not tart.
There was an aftertaste that reminded me of peach. It’s a full, round mouth-feel that gives the tea that crust buttery pastry flavor.

This was a good and tasty tea.
Perfect after laughs with the women who have my whole heart. These shopping trips are going to create some good memories don’t you think so too?!