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Ok I decided to give it a try and make a pitcher of this iced using the Mr Coffee Iced tea maker. I was unsure how it would come out using a green tea, but it turned out great! A nice iced glass of tart apple green tea!

Backlogging from last night. This was pretty tasty – a subtle chocolate flavor comes through best when milk and a little sugar are added. I used 1.5 tsp rooibos and 1 tsp cacao nibs in about 10 oz water.

When asked what kind of tea he would like after we came back from our walkies (took him up a steep hill, omg, my left lung collapsed half way up and I’ve had a bit of a cough since!) the boyfriend replied, “What have you got in the green department these days?”

Green department. Not a lot, really. It’s all sample-sized (which I’d rather save so I could put some thought into it and post about it) or flavoured (which he wasn’t that interested in). He’s relatively new in green tea and have become rather hooked on sencha recently after having tried the Bolivian green I had, which was sencha-like in presentation, and all I had that wasn’t just samples were Chinese. I didn’t want to get him something radically different from what he had discovered he liked, but I didn’t really have a choice.

Then it turns out that my three tins with plain greens were all nearing empty. None of them had enough for a whole large pot. This did not really make things easier.

So it was either asking him to pick something else or getting creative. I chose creative thinking that if he didn’t like it then at least we had tried it and we could make something else instead. And also I’d be rid of that last bit of ancient Gunpowder of dubious quality at last!

So I took the rest of that and added the same amount of the TeaSpring Long Jing or as close an approximation of the same amount that I could get. I did consider chugging the last bit of the Bi Luo Chun in there as well, but decided not to overdo it. So Dragonwell + Gunpowder = Dragon Powder. Naturally.

Dragonwell is a type that for me has a very distinctive kind of flavour. It’s got that thick, heavy sort of cat-breath-y quality and it can get a bit overwhelming. I was expecting that to come through here as the primary flavour. Especially also considering the fact that the Gunpowder in question was several years old and somewhat faded.

What actually happened was that the Gunpowder really stepped up to the challenge, masking almost all of the cat-breath-y thickness of the Dragonwell, and for the first time in my life I finally got what people mean when they designate Gunpowder as a smoky. I have never been able to find that before.

So the result here worked really well. The Gunpowder got to shine, boosted upwards by the Dragonwell laying a foundation for what little the Gunpowder had left in it. Smooth and somewhat sweet, not really salty and not at all fishy.

I was surprisingly pleased with this.

Thanks goodness for tea! A nasty cold hit me hard this morning, so I have been drinking lots of tea today. I really like chamomile when I’m sick, but I wanted something a little different so I used about a teaspoon each of chamomile and rooibos in about 10 oz water. Very nice – good chamomile flavor, and the rooibos adds its smooth earthiness. I’m so stuffy, I’m kind of surprised I can even taste anything, but this really hit the spot.

I drank a lot of fresh mint leaves from the garden over the summer, and have had dried leaves sitting in my cupboard for a while now. I’ve been feeling a little stressed since it’s the end of my term and I’ve been heading for the mint stash.

Yum! This isn’t as good as when I had it with fresh leaves… the flavor is so much more intense. I put in about a teaspoon which I think was a good amount. No sweetner or anything added. It’s just flat out mint, and it really tastes so delicious. It’s really soothing my stomach as well.

I wonder if mint is re-steepable…. ;)

Another cup of this blend – I’m still not sure if I want to keep this tea yet or send it off when I mail the TTB out tomorrow. Like I said before, it’s nice but nothing special so I can certainly live without it. If I send it on I’ll probably take it out of its tin and but it in a ziploc bag to save weight (and shipping costs! The person before me paid $33 US).

This came my way in the Travelling Teabox and since my tea cupboard is sadly lacking in Earl Grey right now, I decided to try it.

Looking at the leaves I think there must be some of Adagio’s Earl Grey Bravo in there (I can see the pieces of citrus peel and the blue cornflower petals) so at first I was nervous that it would be horribly strong. As it turns out it wasn’t that at all – the bergamot flavouring was nice and mild. It’s nothing mind-blowing but it’s a good, solid tea – so kudos to whoever made it, they did a good job. :)

Whoa, the smell is perfect for the day all of the leaves seemed to change. Fall is really here, and this tea did the trick of reminding me of that. The smell was unlike anything I’ve ever drank. Lots of BBQ grilled in smokiness plus a sweet aroma I couldn’t place…part of the bbq? I didn’t get much tea taste, but there sure was a lot of flavor. Although I haven’t tried a pure lapsang to compare it to, is the smokiness the tea flavor?

I shared this cup with my husband and it went down smoothly. I don’t think it is something I would buy, but it definitely opened my eyes to the world of Lapsang teas. I’m excited and curious to try more of this kind of tea.

Thank you Jaime for letting me sample your personal blend.

I had some Assam with breakfast this morning but wanted something a little more interesting for the 2nd steep. So, I steeped my Assam leaves with a cinnamon stick and a few drops of vanilla extra. It was simple and delicious!

I left the cinnamon stick in so it got a bit spicier as I drank it, which I really liked. I’m so glad that cinnamon sticks are cheap at the Indian grocery – I think I’ll be going through a lot of them this fall. :)

I combined a little of each of Talbott’s Caramel Sundae in with their Chocolate Strawberry Temptation and BAM!!!!

This is tasteeeee!

I can taste the caramel right away followed by the strawberry – and the strawberry lingers! There are hints of smooth vanilla flavors thru-out. And the Chocolate is more in the aftertaste and it’s more cocoa than chocolate on the tongue.

I’m pretty pleased with this pairing. NOM.

I got bored drinking different assams so I decided to blend a few together. This is actually very good. Its very smooth and brisk at the same time. It has no bitterness and just a touch of astringency. It has that assam malty smell and taste. Just great for a breakfast tea. I also stole the name from Rijje.

More playing around with my tea from Zoomdweebies… this time, I took my blend of Praline’d Pecan tea (half Praline & half Pecan) and combined that with the apple pie black tea, also from Zoomdweebies. Combined these at a ratio of 1:1.

Delicious. Makes me want a slice of apple pie topped with Pralines & Cream ice cream. This I think is better than the apple pie tea on it’s own. The flavor is somehow smoother. Yummy!

Finished up my sample of this from the 1st round of TTB… accidentally steeped for 7-8 minutes but STILL not bitter. Very nice. I can almost taste a cream note in the background but still not any bergamot. I wish it was a tad stronger but it’s a smooth black blend that’s very nice for the first tea of the morning on a very cold day.

Got a sample of this in the traveling tea box (I assume it’s the same blend listed here), and am trying it today. I brewed for 5 min., as was noted on the bag, and was a little paranoid about it coming out bitter, but it’s really nice. It’s a lovely golden-brown colour and smells good as well. It doesn’t scream “earl grey” to me (maybe the bergamot isn’t very strong?), but it’s very pleasant. Not too heavy of a black tea blend, and very nice for morning tea.

My first cup of the day…

It’s really good. Please read my previous tasting notes on this one for more details!

Brewed some more of this as my last cup of black tea for the day.

It is rich and delicious. I add a little bit of half and half to it, and it seriously reminds me of Pralines and Cream ice cream from Baskin Robbins (something I’ve not had in a long time, especially now since my oldest daughter now works for Menchie’s).

Ok… so, I’ve got all these teas from Zoomdweebies… I might as well play with them, right?

I like this SO much better than the two teas separately. Yummy, sweet… and I added just a drop of milk to give it a little creaminess. Perfect.

Just made up some chai concentrate. It is delicious! I’ll summarize my method below.

I used a generous tablespoon or so each of black peppercorns, cloves, cardamom, a few cinnamon sticks, and a couple good hunks of dehydrated ginger. I crushed the spices with a mortar and pestle, and simmered in 4 cups water for 10-20 minutes, then added about 3 tablespoons darjeeling tea, removed from the heat, and steeped for about 7 minutes.

To serve one mug, I mixed about 50:50 tea concentrate and hot soymilk, and a generous spoonful of sugar.

I cooked up a big batch of chai – here’s my recipe (approximately):

For 4 cups water plus 2 cups soy milk:
8 black peppercorns
18 cloves
18 cardamom pods
2 pieces dried ginger
1 1/2 cinnamon sticks

I smashed up all the spices with a mortar a pestle, and simmered them for about 45 minutes. Then I added 6 tsp Lipton Darjeeling tea and simmered for 7 minutes more. I added a generous spoonful of sugar to my cup, and I refrigerated the rest to heat up later. It came out delicious! A good balance of spices.

Somehow I’ve hit on a really tasty blend of spices. Too bad I didn’t measure. But, I think I like anise a lot more than I thought!

I just picked up some fresh spices at the Indian grocery, so I decided to make chai with rooibos last night. For a 12 oz mug I used:

1/2 cinnamon stick
1 small piece dried ginger
3 black peppercorns
6 cloves
6 green cardamom pods
half a piece of star anise
2 teaspoons rooibos (Cameron’s)

I coarsely crushed all the spices with a mortar and pestle and simmered them with water and soymilk for 8 minutes. Then I strained the mixture into my mug with a couple spoonfuls of sugar. Delicious!

I haven’t had stovetop chai tea in forever (see recipe in tea description)! I’ve been drinking steeped herbal blends which are good, but as you know, ain’t nothin’ like the real thing! This was spicy and creamy and sweet (honey). A dessert in itself (and toast with butter and orange marmalade was a not so shabby accompaniment!). Truly one of my favorite treats in the world.

The only problem is that I had it at 9pm and was up half the night. I’m not sure how many times I have to do this to myself before I stop drinking caffeine after 5 when I know better! But…but…it’s the most delicious, and it was Saturday night, and.. but.. ;)

One of my favorite pairings: a chilly night and a good cup of stovetop chai :)

Prepared stovetop. A delicious end to a meal of curried shrimp with rice. I never fail to be amazed at just how good stovetop chai with milk tastes :) Creamy, spicy, comforting yet energizing. Honey takes it over the edge – a magic elixir!