Sun and Cloud Mist

The dogs and I are having an odd morning today. Since next week my alarm clock is going to be set for 3:30am (haha, yea…) I’ve been trying to get up earlier, but my dogs don’t seem to want to wake up until just around now, so it’s a battle of cranky dogs for a few hours.

Anyway, you might see a lot of tea tasting notes from me today because I’ve been slacking on drinking tea and as a result have become DEHYDRATED. Which is NOT good for my weak digestive system :-/ SO, tea is on the agenda today! (Along with homework for the final few weeks of my online classes FINALLY)

So, to the tea. I didn’t smell much when this was in the bag (A sample from Amy Oh; THANK YOU!) but once it was it the cup, YUM! Smells JUST LIKE lemon dessert bars mmmmm. I’m almost afraid to taste it because I don’t want to ruin the taste… Well, here goes nothing… Sip…. Not bad! It has a lighter flavor than the smell, but it does taste almost exactly like it smells! Perfect lemony creamy flavor with just the perfect taste of green tea. Now, I’m not usually a green tea fan, but I actually really like this flavor. Must be a different type of green tea (and I’m a fan!) I think the soymilk I added helps with the creamyness, but I might actually omit it on the next cup and see if it brings out the lemon flavor a bit more. Thanks for the sample Amy Oh and for creating this wonderful tea Frank ! :)

I am not having this under the best of circumstances, I must admit, because I made it upon coming home from work. Therefore I am gulping like my life depended on it (which it very nearly does!) and quite forgetting to pay attention. So today’s post might be a little superficial and stuff.

I’ll start with the beginning, namely when I opened the envelope yesterday. After having been sceptical for the first two days, this one finally got my hopes up for something that we would enjoy. Husband has a weakness for almost anything to do with lemon, so I was certain that he would like it. Me, I was struck by how much it smelled like a cross between a lemon surprise pudding and the sort of lemon pudding that my dad used to make when I was younger. (Unfortunately he can’t make it for Husband as gelatine is an important ingredient and Husband being vegetarian. He tried with agar-agar once, but it didn’t turn out very well at all).

After brewing it still has this lemon pudding medley smell. Lemony, creamy and sugary. I was pleased.

The flavour I was expecting was something a lot like these lemon puddings, and of course you just can’t do that in tea. You can get something that imitates a thick, creamy, custardy consistency, but you can’t actually get it. And the aroma was making me want that consistency.

I got over it though. You just can’t always get what you want.

The actual sip gave me initially green tea, then a funny flat note, and then a bunch of lemon-y lemonness. I don’t know what the flat note is. I can’t really describe it as anything else. It was just a feeling of flatness right there in the middle of the sip, like the first bit and the last bit weren’t properly connected. It didn’t make the tea unpleasant in anyway; it was just a bit odd, that’s all.

After the cup had been standing there for a bit and been allowed to develop slightly, the flat note gradually became shorter and weaker and after a few more minutes it was completely gone, so if I had just waited a little longer before sipping the first sip, I wouldn’t even have encountered it.

I always find it interesting how a tea can completely change character just by being left on its own for a few minutes. I’m especially noticing this in green and oolongs. Black teas do it too, but not to the same degree. They’re much more consistent in flavour most of the time.

Anyway, this did indeed live up to my expectations, if not completely then at least nearly, and Husband, predictably, gave the thumbs up as well.

I’m seriously craving a lemon-y pudding now, though! I tried my hand at aforementioned lemon surprise pudding earlier this year because I know it’s a favourite of Husband’s and it was for his birthday. It turned out really awesome (even with the dividing of eggs which is something I normally try to avoid as much as possible), so perhaps one of these days I’ll do it again.

And now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a few top secret items to wrap.

I used 1.5 tablespoons for 375 ml of water.

The dry leaf smell reminds me of lemon meringue pie. The brewed tea has a lemon mixed with smoky aroma which I’m guessing comes from the lemon and green tea. There is a sweetness to the aroma which, I think, is coming from the marshmallow root.

On the sip I’m getting a bitter-celery-metallic flavour at the front which turns into a more lemony flavour.

As the tea cools, I’m getting a more smoky-lemon flavour and the bitterness is faded. I’m also detecting an enjoyable green tea aftertaste in the aftertaste of the tea.

Rating: 57

I will try to keep my infusion time closer to 2 minutes in the future.

I have some of this yummy tea thanks to two very awesome people on Steepster – Amy Oh and MadelineAlyce! Thank you both awesome people! Steepster just seems to attract the most generous people.

My doggies and I went to the vet this morning. Poor things got their annual shots for various things. Vet said that Cali has an abnormally slow heart rate and an unusual rhythm. They want to do some more checking up next week. :( Then she said that we need to find out the closest emergency pet center in case he collapses due to insufficient oxygen. :( It’s so weird because he’s so much more hyper than the other dog. How can someone with boundless energy have an abnormally slow heart rate? :( He seems so normal.

While my mind isn’t completely put at ease, by this particular tea, I find that the bright lemon flavor and cute packaging is sorta helpful. I cold brewed this fantastic smelling tea overnight. I think I used a bit too much leaf, but that’s easily remedied by adding more water. It’s so delightfully refreshing and lemony. It really tastes like lemon! Like lemon zest! There’s also a bit of sweet marshmallow in the end of the sip that really makes this taste like a yummy lemon dessert. Like lemon meringue maybe. Tasty tea base as well! It’s supportive and grounding for the lemon flavoring.

After a hiatus from steepster – as well as other things – I am BACK! I have been drinking teas all thru my hiatus but no new teas, really, because I wanted to make sure I logged them here. SO now that I am back…I have LOTS and LOTS to sample and log. Here is the first of many.

I really thought I already logged this one but apparently I didn’t. It smells lovely. Creamy, sweet, lemony. After it infuses it fades away and smells more ‘green’. The flavor is green and floral with hints of creaminess and lemon. The Marshmallow root is present and pleasant. The end sip lingers nicely.

Backlogging -

Got this with my Graveyard Mist purchase because you can’t buy just one of Frank’s gems! :) This is a really unique flavor. I taste the lemon and the marshmallow, but it’s not an artificial of either, which is nice. I wonder how this is iced?

The kitten on the package is adorable too. Makes me miss my kitty-cat, Reesi. We put her to sleep in 2006 after 15 years of awesomeness. Seriously, she was the best cat ever. She’s spoiled us for other cats! Anyhoo, she would probably enjoy this…or at least enjoy a snack while I enjoyed this cuppa. :)

This was one of the teas I received in the grab bags 52teas was selling a few months ago. So, when I opened the package I saw this one first. Green tea with a cute kitty on the front? Sold! I’ve been drinking this for a while now, just a little slow to logging it!

Anyways, upon opening the bag I am hit by lemon, reminds me of Pledge, with a marshmallow note underneath. The wet leaf is a sweeter lemon, like a lemon pastry of some sort. The taste is sweet lemon with vegetal green tea, and marshmallow, mostly in the tail-end and aftertaste.

It definitely reminds me of some sort of lemon pastry, it’s good! The green tea is surprisingly not buried underneath the lemon, it has a butter-like taste to it that only helps to amplify the pastry taste. Butter croissant with lemon icing maybe? Either way, it’s yummy, and the adorable kitty on the front, well it’s fun to stare at while sipping the tea!

This is the perfect lemon green tea. Light and sweet, pure deliciousness.

SPOILER ALERT!

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me a mug full of … sun and cloud mist tea.

I have been waiting all day to try and not be the first person to blab the third tea of the 52 Teas 12 days of Christmas box but it’s almost 9pm here and I’m off to bed soon. I have been drinking this throughout the day which has given me a while to contemplate the blend properly. Plus I have to mention the kitten on the label is adorable!

My first thought when I opened the packet was that it smells very similar to Gooey Butter Cake which also has lemon myrtle. The main difference seems to be that this tea is green and the GBC is black. But they both have the same creamy lemon smell.

Once brewed they do still have a very similar smell and taste but this is a much lighter version than GBC and a little fresher tasting. Judging this tea without comparing is hard to do.

Smell: Creamy lemon
Taste: Light and greenly fresh with creamy and slightly sweet lemon. The green tea is of nice quality with no bitterness which makes me think this would be delicious as an iced tea. I am using my last cups of this with my husband though as he liked it so I don’t have enough to test that theory :(

This was on my list of tea’s to try from Frank so I am glad I had this opportunity but since I have a pack of Gooey Butter Cake and am used to that one and with this being so similar I don’t think I’m won over by it. I do like it don’t get me wrong but I just wished it was a little different.

16/12/2012
silly label. pretty good tea. i had a lot of problems trying to get these 52teas christmas box teas brewed in a tasty way. i just never seemed to get the time and temp right even after all the teas i tried. but this one was nice. do like lemon greens :) yum