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“Okay, I normally love this stuff. Something’s wrong. It tastes soapy. Argh! It’s a sipdown too, which makes me even more sad.” Read full tasting note
“My granddaughter Schey is truly one of those special people (like MOST of you here on Steepster) with a giving heart…full of kindness and love. She loves me not in words, but with her time. Nobody...” Read full tasting note
“I’ve got som backlogging to do and no idea how long my internet will be up to let me do it. While we have power here at our place which i am SUPER thankful for, the internet is still spotty and...” Read full tasting note
“It seems like everyone has a peppermint bark tea this season, right? Although peppermint bark isn’t my favorite confection, I am happy to try Verdant’s offer. The dry leaf smells minty and very...” Read full tasting note
Ingredients: Cacao nibs, Cinnamon, Birch Bark, Fennel, Spearmint, Peppermint
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My granddaughter Schey is truly one of those special people (like MOST of you here on Steepster) with a giving heart…full of kindness and love. She loves me not in words, but with her time.
Nobody spends time with me other than her.
One of these days, she’ll be swept off her feet by someone that I know won’t be quite worthy of her…but that’s another story.
In the meantime, we have tea together, she calls me often…and yesterday she came over to bake with me.
Last year I decorated my home for Christmas and nobody came over. I felt bad. (This is something that happens to people when they get old) Young people are busy…(I know this) but it’s a hard reality to sit alone in a beautifully decorated room with your tea. Sigh…
I’ve learned to dig deeper into my heart this year. The source of my being happy is no longer dependent on having people around me, even though I do like it when I have a visit or when I go out to tea.
Schey is allergic to regular ‘Black Tea’. It makes her weep and she gets depressed and moody rather quickly. I’ve never seen anything like it. Puerh, green tea and oolong’s are all fine. I know the reason (too long to explain here).
When Schey arrived for our holiday baking, Pandora was set with classic crooners…Bing Crosby, Michael Buble, Nat King Cole…all the old tunes we could sing along ‘loudly’ in the kitchen. http://youtu.be/_ONkQD1uxkY
We made a double recipe of spice cake (grinding the spices ourselves) and then peanut butter chocolate fudge. http://flic.kr/p/ipxxdi
While the cakes were baking, we sat next to my Christmas tree and watched two recorded epidodes of Once-Upon-A-Time. http://flic.kr/p/ipwDAn
I made a combo tea: Peppermint Bark Herbal and loose Shu Puerh in a large pot.
I know this might sound strange to some people…but most chai’s and herbal blends taste great with loose puerh, especially with cream and honey or sugar. (This tea can be rebrewed once or twice)
The flavor of mint and spice with the puerh I chose (this one was mild) was festive. Perfect pairing for our afternoon! I brewed the tea 3 minutes…longish-yes…but I didn’t add lots of puerh, and the Herbal needs time to release (not the 1 minute suggested by Verdant).
Crafting a latte binds the herbal blend and puerh together into a rich, smooth holiday drink.
I took a picture of Schey. Her peanut butter chocolate dessert was going to both the servers at Happy Lucky’s Tea House and employees at the local Grocery Store. My cake is for tea with my 3 year old grandson’s.
Don’t you think that best memories we have are doing things with other people? This usually doesn’t cost much money, but takes some of our time.
Don’t forget to take pictures over the holidays. (So many people forget to record time with people they love and time is short!)
Wish I could bake together and have tea with all of you!
«One of these days, she’ll be swept off her feet by someone that I know won’t be quite worthy of her…» this is such a statement of your love for her…
This review made me shed some tears…for totally different reasons, I can relate about this review, you know why I think :-)
Bonnie, I wished I could spend a Christmas eve in your company, you could teach me how to bake, and we could share a few cuppa togheter!!!
hugs If i was closer, I’d come visit for the holidays! :)
I never lie when I say that you are welcome!
we have tea date at some point, i do believe, though e haven’t nailed down a date and time, lol.
You talkin to me James?!!!
i am! i thought you invited me down last year to try out your local brilliant tea house….
this day sounds like heaven to me—hanging out together in a warm kitchen that smells of cake baking away in the oven, festive and special tea in pots to share, music from another time that makes one nostalgic, and a beautiful home with a loving grandmother. i am jealous of your granddaughter (my grandparents passed away quite some time ago…i miss my grandmother’s kitchen to thi day, more so than ever around the holidays).
I did! You should come here! Besides…there are other tea places to go to if you’re one of the secret Celestial Seasonings Tea drinkers (factory close by…), and tea houses in Boulder (Ku Cha, Dushanbe).
augh, now i’m thinking about her and well, hello there unexpected afternoon crying. thanks Bonnie (i do NOT mean that sarcastically). your posts are a treasure.
there’s alot of that going around i think…. tis the season for a bit of weepy, ifjuly. nothing wrong with that. i miss my gran horribly. i have a whole jar of tea i’ll likely never drink because the smell reminds me of her… and the tin she made my last xmas cake in……
Every Christmas, it would be nice to share these memories on Steepster and with friends. Some people adopt an older person who’s alone. (The tea community seems especially kind to elders) I hardly know anyone my own age. 65 isn’t ancient, but some of my disabilities at times makes me feel 85 and then I snap back to 65 going on 30 again. Become the moments you enjoyed with parents and/or grandparents. Bake, put on music and sing. If you went to Church, Synagogue or some event this time of year with grandma, do so again and remember that love. You can become what you treasure.
Thanks JustJames. I know exactly what you mean about those smells and the tin, things like that. I’m sorry (but also happy in a way) you miss your grandmother too!
Bonnie, you’re right. The first few years I was on my own I kind of treated holidays like any other day—often worked overtime, didn’t cook or decorate, etc.—and in retrospect I think it was because I knew it would be painful, the contrast between what I could do just starting out alone with what I remembered. But slowly over the years I’ve become more festive, and I get a lot of enjoyment out of fashioning my own domestic rituals to look forward to seasonally and gradually cultivating my own family life. Trimming the tree, hanging and stuffing stockings, making certain dishes only once a year, and waiting until just the right time to play certain music, visiting people when we’re all cheerful because of the festive season…those things do make me feel like I have a home in this world.
I hope you have a wonderful holiday season! <3
Thank you! Not to be morbid, but one day (not too far off) my life as it is will end too. My treasure is measured in how much I love and the memories I leave with others. I am ever mindful of how precious time is. My life is Blessed every day with discovery and wonder!
I wish I would have known my grandmothers. I never got the chance :(.
I enjoy your beautiful stories of spending time with your grandchildren. They are so lucky to have a grandmother like you. They will cherish it forever.
i consider myself lucky because I knew my 3 great grandmas and 2 grandmas. unfortunately I have only one now, she is 89. I cherish those moments when i come visit her. its almost everyday. i think i love her more than my parents
I share stories to say..“Hay everybody, you will be where I am some day maybe…this is what you can do too. And if you don’t have a grandma, find one!” My own grandmother’s were dud’s. Really. I decided to be what they were not…like watching Hallmark Christmas Movies or It’s a Wonderful Life and deciding…“I want to create that kind of experience for my family!” You don’t wait for it, you make it happen.
When my mom was alive…the whole family went caroling in her neighborhood, pushing her wheelchair down the street. NOBODY came to their door to hear us!!! After awhile we began to giggle. It was so strange that nobody wanted to listen to us caroling that we sang even louder and laughed as we sang joyfully up and down that gloomy street.
You make it what it is in your heart no matter what is happening around you!
“You don’t wait for it, you make it happen.” and “You make it what it is in your heart no matter what is happening around you!” Such an awesome outlook, I agree. It reminded me of some of my lady friends who, when I got married and started packing bento lunches for my husband, were all like “I wish I had a wife to pack me awesome lunches I could look forward to every day!” And I said jovially “you can always be your own wife!” It’s easy to forget sometimes.
This is why I always have tea in my purse to share even when I go to my tea shop. Today, the owner shared a blend he created…then the manager made a free pot of tea with some spice and puerh. We’ve become family. I stopped in the cheese shop and bought a chunk of Earl Grey dusted cheese and ginger chocolate (I know the little shops around the tea house). I haven’t lost my sense of wonder and delight…the joy of life. Believe me though, it’s challenging at times to overcome depression and loneliness. I have to work on celebrating life.
Bonnie, move to Toronto. I’d have tea with you all the time LOL
Thanks I heart-bloom! Thanks a look at my little grandsons who came over for tea at 8:30 AM this morning (man that’s early) on my Facebook Bonnie Johnstone. Merry Christmas!
This sounds so lovely ;~}
Smiles back to you! ;]
Awww. You have an awesome fam Bonnie!!
We’re kinda all family here…
How true is that! :)
I’ve got som backlogging to do and no idea how long my internet will be up to let me do it. While we have power here at our place which i am SUPER thankful for, the internet is still spotty and having issues.
Let me preface this by saying i HATE that all verdant’s blends seem to have a steeping parameter of boiling, 1 min. The teas never taste delicious and wonderful until you change those…and really? every tea needs boiling? hmmmm
This one is from yesterday. It’s tasty, but nothing to write home about. That being said, I would also be fine having this AND stacy’s peppermint patty in my cupboard as they both bring something slightly different to the table. :)
Glad you have power. I’ve been lost in my own little world for the last few days, hadn’t seen any news and didn’t realize how bad the storms have been out that way. Stay safe, and I hope your power stays on. :))
(My personal feeling about most herbals is this…unless I’m sick or want to sleep…which is almost never…herbals are great mixers with puerh, black tea or whatever (had cocoa nibs, cinnamon, laoshan black….whatever.)
It seems like everyone has a peppermint bark tea this season, right? Although peppermint bark isn’t my favorite confection, I am happy to try Verdant’s offer. The dry leaf smells minty and very cinnamony… So much so that it made me sneeze!
My first cup is at Verdant’s steeping parameters, but I left the basket in the tea pot for the second cup to steep for however long. The first cup is mostly minty, and I don’t get a lot of the other flavors, especially at first. More of the chocolate comes out as it cools, but the one minute steep seems undeveloped. The longer steep, unsurprisingly, has more of everything… More mint, more chocolate, more cinnamon, although I would hesitate to call it truly chocolatey. I added some sugar to make it even more dessert-like, which was pretty tasty.
My thoughts exactly on all three were “hey Verdant, what’s with the 1 minute steep time?”
For all three longer was better. Hello!
And sweetening…definitely. I tested sugar and honey. Honey (clover honey) doesn’t ruin any of the tea’s. (You can’t always say that)
OK, to get the chocolate flavor add a pinch of Laoshan Black or Zhu Rong. (I keep cocoa hulls on hand too). It resteeps well like you expect from these blends.
I am so excited about this one – I’ve never had a tea subscription before, but the Verdant blends were just so tempting that I managed to talk my husband into a month or two… but time will tell if I can swing it longer! ;)
Today was our first day back at school after the storm this last weekend, and my students were absolutely crazy. I feel like I’ve been juggling all day, and being able to sink into something fascinating and new just sounds delightful. I’m itching to try the Jolly Earl blend, but it’s way past my caffeine cut-off. If I tried it now I wouldn’t do anything but bounce off the walls later!
Teaware: 16oz ForLife glass infuser mug
Measured dry: 2 rounded teaspoons
Temperature: 175º F
Steeping Time: 1-1/2min
Additives: 4tsp raw sugar
I’m so used to ignoring packing lists that I didn’t realize there were steeping notes included. It should go to show how messed up my mind is right now that the other teas I just looked up for re-packaging seem to have influenced my steeping. I love Verdant’s samples, but I really wish they would re-seal. I think that’s how I ended up at 175º F instead of the recommended 212º F. That’s the best I can figure.
I’m getting mostly the peppermint and spearmint right now, with only hints of the cinnamon and maybe the fennel. I’m not getting much of the cacao nibs at all. That may have to do with my mis-steep. I think next time I make this I will follow Bonnie’s suggestion about adding a pinch of Laoshan Black (to bring out the chocolate notes), cut the amount of raw sugar, and make sure to steep at the correct temperature!
For now, I’m going to go curl up under a down blanket, sip this, and enjoy cuddling with my kitty, Mei-Mei, who is feeling extremely affectionate tonight!
Well, I’m at a sipdown for this tea and I never logged it! Haha, I drank it down in about a month, so it was a very good tea! I first had it at the lake over the holidays, so I didn’t log it due to poor nets up there, but I should have logged some other cups too haha. In a nutshell, this is minty and sweet, the fennel adds to the flavor nicely and the cacao is present but not overwhelming, as with the cinnamon. The cup seems like it could be a bit more chocolatey since it’s a peppermint bark tea, but it’s refreshing and not too sweet so you can drink it all the time. Oh, and I also steep this one for about 4 minutes, much longer than specified, and it’s really good. If this became permanent/seasonal, I would probably look into restocking. I love the herbals that come with the blend club! I’ve enjoyed all three that I’ve received, can’t wait for this months! :)
I usually hate tea with cinnamon in it but I put in 2 full spoonfuls of sugar to make it not awful so this is not awful. I can’t say I like it very much but I will give it that it is tolerable which is more than I can say for most cinnamon teas. The fennel is very strong as well and the mint is faintly present, also briefly in the aftertaste.
My mother said it tasted like cinnamon gum to her but my cup was steeped and sugared to my taste and not hers. I have more of a sweet tooth.
I have seen reviews that say the second steeping is stronger cinnamon so I might skip that. If I don’t, I’ll come back and edit.
This is the first of the three December teas I’m trying. They all sound and smell fantastic! I couldn’t help opening them all and smelling them. Looks like these blends have healthy doses of my favorite spice- cinnamon!
3 min first steep. Dry ‘leaf’ smells like mint and cinnamon, whereas wet it smells like mint and cacao. I wasn’t sure how much of this to use- I used 2 tsp, but perhaps I should have gone for a full tablespoon because first sip doesn’t taste like much. The flavor reveals itself in further sipping however. It really does remind me of peppermint bark- very minty, especially. It isn’t super chocolatey but the undertone of cacao is enough for me. I think sweetened this tea would be positively decadent. In any case I enjoyed this first steep.
7 minute 2nd steep. This steep has much more cinnamon, and just more flavor in general. Nom nom nummy. Both if these steeps were delicious, and I think next time I will go a full tablespoon. I think it would probably be really good with a tea like Laoshan black added as well.
:(
Oh boo!
Blech.