3068 Tasting Notes
My favorite stay-cation stopover was downtown Springfield, Missouri—not new downtown with the ubiquitous mall stores and everything-looks-like-everything-else strip malls, the real downtown that’s working hard on renovating historic buildings and keeping the vibe alive. A few doors down from my husband’s desired stop (The Pizza House; hand rolled crust since 1958) is a little tea and spice paradise with lots of tempting Adagio samplers as well as privately labeled bulk teas (some of which I think may also be Adagio’s).
Sorry, long intro. If you’re still here, I was really searching for some good dragonwell and missed it if Chabom had any, so this was the backup plan. It looks authentically sench-ish, and the decaffeination process hasn’t leached all the flavor out of the leaves—a trick for green teas. Mild, of course, but will be a nice autumn switch from fruity, minty tisanes.
Souvenir from our belated and much-needed 40th anniversary stay-cation run to northwest Arkansas yesterday.
The pu-erh base as good and strong, but not as minerally as I expected. In the sniffy jar at the store, the orange peel and vanilla scents were pretty mild, but at home and steeped properly, they make themselves known nicely. Rather than tasting like a creamscicle, this reminds me of a beefier version of Harney & Sons Tower of London.
My only snark is that Spice & Tea Exchange is pricey, and they recommend a crazy amount of leaf per 8 ounces. I can get a nice cuppa with about half their recommended amount and a good long steep time.
Happy Anniversary! That’s good to know about their leaf recommendations. Sounds like a nice cuppa!
We were young and stupid and wanted to tie the knot as quickly as I finished summer college term, so official date is mid-September. Years wiser, we wish we had postponed the wedding until October. So we’ve agreed to revise the Official Matrimonial Calendar.
Unless they can find fresh cherries in season at the store or grow their own, few people really know what real, just-plucked-off-the-tree cherries taste like. Most cherry tea tastes like candy or cough syrup. Lupicia has this one down cold…the taste and scent transported me to the cherry tree out back with the V-branch that was just the right size for my skinny little backside, a book, and my transistor radio (message me if you’re too young to know what that is ;).
Ashmanra was the generous sponsor for the trip down Cherry Tree Memory Lane. My thanks!
The weather guy this morning said he felt like he was giving the forecast for “September 42nd” instead of mid-October. But we did have one viably autumnal day earlier in the week. Cool and deliciously damp, so I threw open the office window (old school building with windows I can control myself!) and used up some scraps of these nice leaves
It took me years to learn how I like lapsang: weak and wimpy. But this version is light enough on the smoke, I can steep it for a “grown-up” length of time without it tasting like campfire ash. The good-quality tea base is still detectible, too.
Lots on my mind to distract me this evening, so when I grabbed the sample pouch that came from the natural health store, I had no inkling it was intended to be iced. I just popped the single-size bag into a cup and let it steep 5 minutes (that I did read off the bag).
Inattentiveness wins in this case! An odd-duck mix of everything from apple to aloe to sea buckthorn is sweet (but not too), pink (but not hibby-heavy), and … I’m getting buttery!
The actual for-sale tins evidently contain pitcher-sized pouches, and I can see that this would be really tasty iced, but thanks to my sloppy serendipity, I wouldn’t mind seeing it in single-serve bags.
Definitely in the running for the “long past the due date” category, but sealed and stored away from the light of day, it’s held up pretty nicely. Caramel and apple flavors are both present and accounted for; a pretty even balance. With milk, it’s a nice substitute for several far less healthy dessert options I’m currently craving.
Teasippers sugar cookie tea note reminded me of the Celestial seasonings factory and tea room in Boulder. I have a free Saturday afternoon and I’m in the Denver area, seems like a good time to go to their tea room. This one seems like a good one to try, but do you have any other suggestions?
Oh, how fun! I have always liked their Roastaroma (chicory/carob) and Morning Thunder (black tea with mate), especially when fall weather kicks in. They’ve got a Sweet Harvest Pumpkin, but it’s pretty stevia-heavy…you have to be a fan.
I agree that Roastaroma is a good one to try. Mist of their zinger line is good if you like Hibiscus. Bengal Spice has a strong cinnamon flavor. Mandarin Orange Spice has a pleasant orange flavor and is light on the spice. Their Lemon Ginger tea is unique in that it has a noticeable lemon candy flavor.
Passed on to me by a church friend whose evaluation was, “It tastes like it smells.” I wasn’t able to sniff at the time, as I was supervising The Fifth and Sixth Grade World Speed Checkers Relay Championship. (You really need to hang out with us on Sundays…it’s a hoot!)
However, once I was home and could consider it properly, I decided that her loss was my gain. I prefer my EG’s to have a little something else to balance out the bergamot, and the sweet cream flavoring does so in a very classy way. Want to try the next cup with milk to make it a Earl Grey creme deluxe.
Hope your Saturday was pleasant! Between welcome rain showers, we took a quick break from the usual round of piled-up household needs and strolled the grounds of our little burg’s 150th birthday party next to the baseball diamond. Burgers on the grill, handful of craft tents, a decent local band, and a petting zoo with a pot-belly piglet that was a third the size of our biggest cat. Took about 10 minutes to see all there was to see ;)
Local do’s signify the beginning of fall, and with the weather cooperating, I was in a chai mood this evening. This little gift tin sat neglected all summer, but I think it’s going to be fun to work my way through it. The cacao chai is pleasant and the spices don’t overwhelm the cacao vibe. I’ve had one cup with milk and one without; neither with sweetener. Both tasty, but I think I like it unadorned best.
