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The overwhelming taste is licorice root-fennel seed. Very sweet. Also taste cherry bark. All the other typical chai spices are mostly in the background but not hidden. Licorice root definitely gives some body. The tea seems to get thicker at the bottom of the cup, when I notice the mouthfeel and coating nature of slippery elm.

This is actually not terrible tasting but I’d rather go for Traditional Medicinals Throat Coat. They’re both functional herbal teas that will provide a little relief in the moment.

2022 harvest

No string of words that flows through my fingertips into this keyboard can capture the complexity and simplicity of being that some teas have the ability to reveal. I sip this one and it tells me, “Slow down, you wild child.”

This tea is mild enough to be the first nourishment of the day but its unassuming and ethereal nature might soon overtake and dissolve you if you’re sensitive. The desire to sit and meditate overwhelmed me. There is no option, only the way.

This tea feels very Indian. A dry leaf aroma of saffron and red cherries with wintergreen. A feeling of mountain spring water, cooling herbal medicine, papadum studded with cumin seed, ocean mist suspended at high altitude, pink rosebuds with dark green glossy leaf, yeasty fruitbread. I spoke with my mom yesterday about how my own tea seedlings are doing and my plans for them. I described to her the idea of terroir but in terms of wine. This tea expresses its terroir in a way that is so subtly gripping. It makes me excited to get all my babies in the ground hopefully next year and see how the Sonoma climate, geology and hydrology will eventually express in these plants.

Thanks for providing an experience, Ketlee. Another wonderful harvest that paints a picture of the ever-shifting nature of earthly processes. I’d like to share this experience with a friend.

[last year 90, this year amazing]

Gongfu brewed in a glass gaiwan. I can see just how green these leaves are. It steeps out like a green tea, too, in regards to astringency. Cold-brewed spent leaf produced tasty beverage. I will try western brewing to see how the leaf character unfolds.

Citronella candle.

Blergh. Lemony herbs steeped as a beverage will never be my liquid sunshine.

Hopefully the pitcher of cold-brew I made for Kiki goes over well with her. If not, like this cup of hot I made, the pitcher will go to watering the garden.

Revolting. I like medicinal tastes but not artificial. There is no balance here. Not to mention it’s sickeningly sweet with the combination of licorice root and stevia. Points for valerian working.

Yogi is the worst.

Dosing my bowels with senna tea is not the solution to the deadening of peristalsis due to opioid usage. How can people drink this stuff all willy-nilly. This is hardcore medicine even with only a 2-minute steep. Educate yourself.

(it works but feels like poison, like Smooth Move)

Oh, now this is the best tulsi! Pungent, herbal-sweet, clove-dominant. That’s incredible. There are strong peppery-cinnamon and licorice-basil notes, too. Really tingles my tongue. In fact, the citrusy aftertaste and tingle feels like Sichuan peppercorns.

Saying this isn’t going to do any favors, but something about it reminds me of working at the bowling alley. The shoe disinfectant?

Guh, another note bites the dust.

Kind of a summary of what I lost:

If you’ve ever truly pined for a pistachio-tasting tea, this affordable and organically grown green tea from Sikkim is the one you want to try. Added bonus is the milky caramel aroma and taste. I could see somebody else coming from the chestnut cream angle to describe this tea.

I know this simple and straightforward tea will win some hearts even if it’s not my style.

Thanks for the freebie, Ketlee :)

The smell of this tisane is like that bug-bitten honey note in true teas — this is some really high quality red clover!

Sweetness from the red clover, some of that creamy oat mouthfeel, a little earthiness and tang from the raspberry leaf, nutritious taste from the nettle, a barely there chill from the peppermint. I like this a lot. It has a very well balanced taste that matches its name.

Couldn’t ask for a better tea to have post-surgery. So mellow and easy-going, gentle and nourishing. Thanks, Mandala :)

Another 100g gone mostly to iced tea; this is only my second cup hot.

This tea is clearly flavored to play on the character of Chinese sencha. Forward note of winey-catpissy black currant joined with a cool, subtle note of CHowards violet candies (I wouldn’t say this is a floral tea). These mix well with a touch of bitter almond and the toasty, pastry-like note of the Chinese sencha. I do think about macarons. There is also a bright and tangy quality like a glass of white wine. That sunniness combined with the grassy, slightly bitter and earthy quality of the green tea really connects with the black currant and violet in a way that conjures the feeling of having tea in a garden. This is a pleasant, delicately flavored experience in a cup.