64 Tasting Notes
My pick for after the book signing at Barnes and Noble yesterday. Considering the brewing parameters, and the paper cup, it was still rather good, though it did go a tiny bit bitter. I’ll stick to brewing this one at home mostly, but it was great for yesterday’s pleasant spring weather.
I wish I’d brewed this a bit stronger this morning, but it’s still a great fit for a rain/snow mix day. The cocoa notes are still coming through, which is what I was wanting today.
Random note to the weather gods: Remember Friday? Sixties? Sunny? Absolutely gorgeous? That, weather gods. Not this.
I’ve been battling an exceptionally dry throat for the last four days, with my voice cutting out on me and going gravelly, so last night I decided that instead of wasting the good stuff, I’d pop in a cheapo bag of something or other. I even went all cavalier with the brewing method and brewed it in the mug, in the microwave, as the water heated.
(I know! SACRILEGE!)
But you know what? It turned out to be a rather splendid mug of tea, even after all the rule-breaking. I rather appreciate that Twinings Irish Breakfast is pretty forgiving. It’s not overly malty or astringent, and it doesn’t go bitter as easily as the English and Irish imports do (Here’s looking at you, Yorkshire Gold!).
This is actually my pick two days ago. Normally, it’s a go-to tea when I have a migraine that digs in and doesn’t want to die, for the caffeine and because it’s so consistent. I don’t like to waste better blacks when I don’t have a clear enough state of mind in order to actually enjoy and appreciate them. The beastie marauding in my skull was scoffing at any meds, so I grabbed PG Tips for good, strong comfort to get me through the school day.
Tuesday’s mug, though, was not delightful. It seemed to have an odd undercurrent of taste that was off-putting. I know it wasn’t some kind of carryover from my mug, because I just royally cleaned it to sparkling, and straight water had no carryover taste. After a few swallows, I pitched it.
This morning I’m starting to think the tea was fine, and it was me. I had an odd smell plaguing me yesterday all day, which I finally placed last night…eau de dead bird. I am starting to suspect I’ve got an infection brewing in my sinus, and not a migraine. Time will tell. In the meantime, I’m sticking with non-malty blacks, because they taste truer than PG Tips is.
This is just what I need this morning. A nice, hearty black tea that is nice and smooth and without any maltiness. There’s a little whisper of smokiness to this mugful, but it doesn’t overwhelm the tea at all. There’s a little bit of cocoa undertone, and maybe a bit of woodiness in the flavor. I’m finding it comforting. I’m happy that it tastes like I expect it too, as well, since I think there’s something brewing in my sinuses.
Wish I had a World Market closer — I saw that series on their shelves while on the road at Christmastime, but managed to keep my hands in my pockets.
The only two World Market teas I’ve tried are this one and the Moroccan Mint. I like them both, and have had them both hot and cold. The mint one is really refreshing cold-brewed in the summer.
This is the third flavor of this canned tea I’ve tried this week. It is the best pre-packaged lemon tea I’ve tried, and it’s drinkable, but it’s not my favorite by any means.
The thing is, I love lemon things that taste like lemon to me. Lemonheads are my favorite candy. I save lemon Skittles/Starbursts/gummy bears for last. There’s something off about adding lemon to tea for me, and I haven’t found a tea yet where the lemon tastes like discernable lemon. Ditto with squeezing real lemon into tea. It just doesn’t do anything for me. I haven’t found a tea and lemonade combo I like, either.
I like this okay, but if peach or razzleberry are available, I’ll skip the lemon one every time.
This is the second Peace Tea I tried, on the heels of the peach. It’s got a nice flavor, and like the peach one, there isn’t an annoying aftertaste from the sucralose. It’s kind of generic berry with a bit of a lean towards raspberry. I taste less of the tea in this one than I did with the peach variety.
If both were available, I would default to the peach, but I would still be satisfied with this one, too.
