Hesper June Send Message

I like black tea.
I like oolong tea.
So, when I saw this tea, I thought I couldn’t go wrong with it.
I am so happy when I am right:)
For some reason, I was afraid that the black tea would overwhelm the oolong, but it does not.
The Oolong is very much a part of this lovely cuppa.
Malty and Nutty.
Fruity and Savory.
The tea makes me think of chocolate (dessert) yet a like it would be tasty with a Dinner.
Very yummy.
Well Done, Brendan!
Another winner in my book.

I acquired this tea in a swap with Amy Oh
Technically, this is a sachet not a bag, but I thought it would be the perfect way to finish up my day of bagged teas.
Mmmmm…Rose and Orchid teas? I am spoiling myself today:)
This brews up to a lovely golden tea, with a creamy floral and oolong odor.
What I love is that the floral does not overpower the oolong, it is still very present and hits the tongue first before the orchid makes itself known.
A lovely tea from a lovely person, Thank you Amy Oh!

Another sample from the lovely Ashmanra
I think I was besotted from the first moment I tore open its little packet.
I realized that this is the first Rose tea I have ever tasted (I have had floral teas with rose in them but never just a Rose and Black tea)
I love the name Rose Garden, for that is exactly what it smells like, a whole garden full of those pink English Roses.
As I was sipping this, I literally caught myself with my pinky raised, HA!
But, it just feels like that kind of tea.
Taste is sweet, lightly floral and very proper.
If you don’t like roses, do not even try this tea.
But, for me, I am thinking a Rose Tea is needed for my permanent collection.
As I was sipping this tea, I was looking through Pinterest and bumped into this, which made the whole Rose experience even more British:
http://pinterest.com/pin/79376012154322878/
(beware: Only those who love the Doctor might get this;)

Continuing my bagged tea day.
This is a sample from the wonderful Ashmanra in the awesome package she sent me just before Christmas.
I hear that there might be a discussion on if Twinings in America are different than European Twinings.
Well, I do not know if I have much to say either way on that, I simply have not had enough of either to know for sure.
But, the one thing I have noticed is the difference between the leaf in the European and the US.
When I opened the samples from Twinings US, a poof of powder would always fly out of the packet.
The European samples are certainly chopped leaf but not anywhere as fine as the US ones.
The US ones were literally a powder.
Now, on to this tea.
Odor is a bright, sugary orange bergamot.
Taste. Mmmm, I like this tea.
I love the juicy sweet orange bergamot flavor!
I am a bergamot lover and I despise when its weak in the tea.
This tea does not disappoint.

This is my last sample from the great Twinings sample giveaway.
I have heard good things about this tea, so I have looked forward to giving it a try.
Odor of the tea is softly malty and a bit fruity.
Taste is not real strong and I can taste a little bit of the paper bag.
Not a terrible a cup of tea,just a little light on taste for me.

The land of the living.
Toward the middle of the night on Saturday it hit me like a Semi Truck.
This started my nearly 48 hour migraine.
I have not had one this bad in awhile.
My darling sweet husband took care of me the entire time.
I lay in the dark bedroom.
Husband quietly bringing in cups of tea, water, juice and bits of food and pills, leaving them on the bed table where they sat barely touched.
My pets never left my side.
Last night, when I finally ventured out of my cave and husband promptly asked me what I wanted.
I said “A cup of tea”
He made me a cup of this.
I have had this tea for awhile, but have not logged it, because it is the tea that I grab when we are up long before normal people should arise and are out the door into the cold.
I bought this initially because Husband said he was interested in drinking more tea, but there was no way that he could make himself a cup of loose leaf tea at the shop.
So, I got this and I have ended up drinking most of it, because it surprised me with its delightful full flavored malty-ness and bracing spirit yet convenience of a quick cuppa.
It also is one of the only teas I have tried with a bit of milk and sugar, it seems to bring the malty-ness out even more.
They come in a cellophane wrapped box of 80 bags.
Have a tin ready to place the bags into, because they are not individually
wrapped.
Husband has made himself a cuppa of this and also when he makes me a cup of tea he grabs this, because its right by the kettle in a large tin that reads “Tea Bags”
So, last night when he handed me a mug of this, you would have thought he gave me a million bucks, I snatched it from him and inhaled while wrapping my hands firmly around the mug.
After I had nearly finished the mug of tea and he coaxed some peanut butter toast down me, he looked at me and said “there you go, looking better babe”
Then he went on to tell me how these last couple of days I looked like something that crawled off the Walking Dead filming set.
A little later catching my image in the mirror, I saw what he meant.
But, this morning, I am among the living and having another cuppa of this tea.
I am weak today, as I usually am after one of these episodes.
I want tea, but want it easily without thinking, so I think today, I will go through some of the bagged tea samples I have.
Maybe you will see more of me on here today.

So, my first taste of Pu-erh reminded me of mucking out the stables.
This Pu-erh gives me a horse-y memory too, but thankfully a more pleasant one.
Hubby gets fish from Pu-erh, and I get horses, so odd how one tea can appear so very different to each person.
I use one of these little cups for a 2 1/2 cup pot instead of for a 8 oz serving (as suggested) I also start with very short steeps.
I am finding with Pu-erh if I can let it sneak up on my taste buds, I enjoy the whole experience a lot more.
The smell of these tea reminds me of horseback riding with my big red Tennessee Walker,named Star, up on the mountain behind the farm where I grew up.
There is a tiny stable smell, but the good kind (if any of you have been around horses you know what I mean) that good, healthy horse smell.
That smell is mixed with a few other memories, like riding over the soft damp earth under the trees, some patches of the earth covered in a thick dark green moss, the horses hooves would be so muffled on the moss that sometimes we would come upon a deer and her fawn grazing or napping in the filtered sunshine.
Then, maybe we would ride around the other side of the mountain next to the creek where there was a beaver slide and in a small hollow in the shade, there would be a patch of wild mushrooms growing.
Woody,damp earth, moss, mushrooms and horses.
With the taste I get small amount of horse, moss and a lot of mushrooms with a tinge of forest.
It’s very interesting, and although to the new comer to Pu-erh, all of this sounds completely nuts.
But, This tea has fetched a memory from back in the dusty corners of my mind.
I am grateful for that.

Another morning of -10 temps, but with wind chill it brings the temperature down to -30.
My poor hubby is already out in it, but he told me to not come out till later, and then only if he really needed my help.
He told me to stay warm and drink tea.
Yes, Sir!
I grabbed this Assam because it’s a Assam kind of morning.
While it is brewing, I am inhaling it.
Yup, its Assam.
Malty and leathery.
Taste is, well, assam-y!
Ha! nicely malty and a little drying at the back of tongue.
Its not a bruiser of a Assam, but it is certainly a Assam.
Delicious!

Brewing up one last cup of this before shipping the rest off to Sil
Yummy and warming on this very chilly day.
See previous notes for more info.

The Queen!
She is here for breakfast.
I have heard good things about this tea and am delighted to finally get the chance to try it myself.
Dry leaf smells slightly smoky, and even a little floral.
I brewed this for 4 mins, instead of 5.
There was almost something about the dry leaf that hinted some astringency if brewed to long.
I am enjoying smelling this tea, this is a wrap your hands around the mug and inhale kind of tea.
I smell hints of smoke and maybe a bit of chocolate.
On first sip, I was surprised to taste fruity notes.
I don’t find this tea astringent at all, in fact next time I think I will go the full 5 minutes.
I am very glad that Queen C. is here, and I just think she might be someone I invite to stay around for a good while.