2904 Tasting Notes
Was hoping this would cut my afternoon candy craving. Not so much…like many chocolate teas (disclaimer: this is a year-old sample) it comes across as artificially boozy. Doctored with the contents of a honey straw, it’s drinkable and the mug is keeping my hands warm, which was my secondary MO for steeping this cup.
Valentine’s Day has always been a little special for us, as that is the “for the record” day we got engaged…and I just this moment realized that was four decades ago today. (The truth is, he had slipped the ring with the micro-diamond you have to squint to see on my fingers a couple weeks earlier. We just had to wait till after payday to afford Red Lobster.)
And special days deserve a little special something in the tumbler. Paris is normally far too elegant for first thing in the morning (love the caramel twisted into the bergamot), but that’s what was in my tumbler when my Valentine saw me out to the car.
I shared this with ashmanra not long ago, but here’s an audio Valentine for you friends, too. You are loved :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daVn8GhJyC0
Ashmanra, have you done a “tea that you drink when your brain aches” prompt yet? ’Cause this is it, after several consecutive days of heavy, high-focus tasks at home and at work. (On the brighter side, writing assignment completed on time and in the hands of my editor!)
Apple-y tea makes me happy, and this is, and while I wish the chamomile had the knockout effect it does on some of you, it does convey a little calm. For those of you who haven’t tried it, the “spice” part is a little overstated—some very gentle cinnamon; that’s all. This is easy to steep, you can leave the bag in so you don’t even have to watch a timer, and soothing to drink with or (in my case) without your brain in gear.
We are involuntary citizens of Chiefs Kingdom. People have gone crazy around here. Therefore, we have taken somewhat perverse pleasure in bucking the trend on this Superbowl Sunday…asked a football-crazy friend, “Oh, is there a game today?”…went to our favorite geek video store after church (not a red Kansas City jersey in the place); got a stack of DVD’s ready for kickoff time… (Apologies to any football fan Steepster friends out there.)
But since “bucking the trend” is today’s theme, Darjeeling it is. Not a variety I often choose, but this sample is in need of a sipdown. This is a nice one. Smooth and silky in the mouth, a tiny bit of fruitiness (not the heavy grape peel I normally associate with Darjeeling), and the prettiest golden-copper color in the cup. Very drinkable without leaving your mouth dry. Good stuff.
I don’t do the sports ball fan thing either. One of those cultural things I just don’t get.
Involuntary citizen of 49ers Kingdom. I’ll be grocery shopping during the big game today.
My way of relating to sports fans at work is by asking, “So how was that sportsball game?” People will gladly go on about it, then, realizing I said sportsball, give me a funny look then laugh. It’s a catch-all for any sports season and lets them know I don’t give a flying fig but also like to see them happy talking about what they enjoy :)
Occasionally, I’ll land the remote on Whatever Big Game is the Big Deal for 60 seconds so I can truthfully tell my boys, “I watched a teeny bit of the game…” Then again sometimes, I’ll ask them, “Now is that the ball with the pointy ends or the one you hit with a stick?”
I went to a graduation party yesterday and everyone there was saying how they had another party to attend after that one. I said “me, too!” (Which is wild because I am a homebody and rarely go anywhere.) They said, “Oh, you are going to a Super Bowl Party, too?” And I had to admit I didn’t know it was Super Bowl Sunday and was simply taking a gift to my best friend for her birthday.
The only shock here is that you still have a dvd rental in your town?! wow. I also don’t care about football… I love derk’s tactic though: “sportsball”. heh
One of the anchor stores at our local mall is called Vintage Stock (aka Geek Nirvana). The size of a small Walmart or Target; books, used books, games and working video equipment reaching back to the 90’s. And yes, believe it or not, rentals. Our thing has been to prowl the 99 cent “just take it away” bin to see who can find the most fun and obscure content. Hubby won on that particular Sunday with a Manhattan Transfer concert DVD.
Awesome — wish I had a place like that around here. Further shock: you still have a MALL around?!
Librarian here: we are the DVD rental in my town, heh.
hah, that is true! There are always the libraries. :D
Mall is about half empty except for pop-ups around Christmas, but it’s still supporting a few standards (Bath & Body Works, JoAnn’s Fabric & Crafts, a Penney’s, and an Old Navy).
OUr city “library” is a bookshelf at city hall :) Since we live in a little village outside our metro area, I don’t qualify for a card at the big one. I could get a card-for-pay…if I ever retire, that may be my present to myself.
When our Walmart Neighborhood Market (a grocery-only Walmart) puts stuff on clearance, they want it gone. Thus, this box was priced at 25 cents. Now, normally, Yogi would have to pay me to imbibe, because I loathe licorice and it’s in nearly everything they blend. However, a quick look at the box surprised me…not an L-word in the lineup. So, for a quarter, why not?
This is evidently Yogi’s take on holiday candy cane tea. With a very cautious steep (3 minutes instead of their recommended 7), it performs as advertised. There’s some stevia in the blend, but the mint tones it down. All in all, a surprisingly decent cuppa.
I have overlooked this little shared sample for months, and shame on me for doing so, because it’s lost a little muscle tone with age. However, even in its neglected state, my sipdown cup was pleasantly tasty. The flavor is just a nice fruit compote (the apricot was the easiest to find) without—and this is the part I cannot love enough—a lick of tartness. This would be a lovely tea-party tea.
Long overdue sipdown. I prefer my green tea on the sweet and toasty spectrum and this leans toward the vegetal; even more so because I had slightly more leaves than required for a full cup. It steeped up dark and chewy like vegetable broth, and on a whim I squeezed in the contents of a green apple honey straw, which sweetened and lightened it both. Between that and the absolutely delicious sunshine streaming directly onto my favorite chair (it’s been days!) one might believe that spring isn’t so far away after all.
Final answer after my sipdown cup: best chocolate mint blend I’ve ever tried.
Okay, I officially have to order this one but since I have a buying ban I will buy it for someone else and we will share a cup.
I have the straight-up cacao as well…if it performs equally well, I’ll send you a cuppa.
Thank you! I was going to get it for someone but she isn’t sure she would like chocolate in tea, so whatever I get will just be for me, I guess!
This lousy winter weather makes me snarf carbs down so quickly, I don’t realize what I’m doing until the cookie is nothing but crumbs. Biscuit Brew isn’t quite an even-steven substitute for what I’m craving, but it definitely has the cookie vibe down. This afternoon’s cup was pleasant accompanied by a sweet tea hard candy. Have you tried these? https://www.auntiekcandy.com/collections/green-tea-candy/products/balis-best-classic-iced-tea-hard-candy I’ve been gifted three varieties: the sweet tea, green tea latte, and green tea citrus, all of which are not 100% flavor accurate, but all pleasantly tea-ish.
