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Are sipdowns always going to be so bittersweet? Finishing off the remnants of the holidays is not something I relish doing. I got a lot out of it though. This blend made me realize I need to always have a good peppermint tea on hand!

This tea needed milk.

In all honesty, the first impression reminded me of butterbeer. It’s buttery, sweet, and has a mellow black base. Instead of root beer, however, I’m definitely picking up a “corn” component, along with caramel and toffee; the self description is bang on. It feels like DT’s Movie Night too, although I like this better.

All in all, not bad! I wanted to drink this while watching the Christmas special, but ended up making myself some of that Browncoat Genmaicha for the occasion. As much as I enjoyed the Ponds I’m ready for some new faces.

Every time I reach that point where there are no more episodes out I always get the urge to go back and try to watch the old Doctor Who. I think I was up to The Aztecs (006/F) last time… Going to the beginning is like traveling in a time box. How things have changed! I wish I knew an easier way to get a hold of the episodes.

Edit: Backlog on second steep. I found the toffee component to be very vivid on second steep- the tea held up well! If I hadn’t had a toffee crunch kitkat bar a day before I wouldn’t have been able to pick it out at all; I thought it was from an interesting black base at first. I’m bad at distinguishing things!

After curiously looking up myfitnesspal (mentioned on Shmiracles’ post) and logging all of my meals, I quickly jumped to the conclusion that I don’t get enough protein in a day. what, how is that possible?!

While doing some late night emergency shopping with my roommate (her toothbrush died) I impulsively picked up some expensive soy protein powder. Maybe that wasn’t the smartest thing to buy on the fly; there were many brands and types of protein powder and surely there are better ways to incorporate protein into one’s diet.. Oh, well. I thought I could make some cool smoothies..

Or throw it into some tea. This tea. Why did I chose this tea? It tastes beyond funky. I think the powder might go better with the cup of sparrows tongue I have beside me or, perhaps, a fruit tea. I don’t know. A great experimental journey awaits me. Tomorrow.

How to begin describing this? It reminds me of a Nestlé Crunch but not half as sweet. The smell and taste are also reminiscent of my mom’s chocolate covered rice crispy squares, which use a very pungent, somewhat sour and cheap Hershey-like chocolate. Yes, chocolate covered baked rice crispy squares, and maybe some hot cocoa, is what this reminds me of.

It has all the roasted, nutty, and buttery notes of genmaicha (one of my favourite teas). If anything, the American chocolate enhances that “bitter nut” quality to me more than it creates a true chocolate sensation. Perhaps Nutella? I don’t know. I feel the chocolate and roasted rice meet mid-sip then linger together.

This is different but it works! It’s quite the comforting beverage.. until it reminds me that a certain show will never have a season two. Then it’s not quite so comforting. Bitter nut.

This is a sipdown from the future! It’s in my Timolino Travel Mug right now, so of course I can’t drink it for another two hours… Here’s hoping it works out; I haven’t used my mug in a while!

Edit: It worked out.

Backlog of a sipdown: apology to jello tea.

Jello tea, I did not know you long. In the short time granted to us I abused you, microwaved you, under-leafed you, one steeped you.. I thought that you were like all the other teas in the box- all marshmallow root and green leaf. It would be an understatement to say I had no appreciation of your true grandeur. Not until I iced you in the fridge. On your final cup.

Where do we go from here? Why did the window seals in this rented bedroom have to go? So much water, so little jello. Dripping sounds are annoying.

This cup contains a lot of plums tonight. First steep was darker with something that was flirting with coffee (don’t do it, tea! Coffee’s a jerk). Wet leaves smelled a bit fishy although that did not transfer over to the taste.

Second steep is where the plums are- pruned, pickled, jammed, sort of plums. There’s a little bit of a roasted flavour but it’s mostly fruit. If I take bigger gulps I get some dry, burnt tobacco and a crusty roasted starchiness. The finish is sweet while the aftertaste is crusty, sour, and buttery sourdough-like! So many crazy things happening in this second cup; Depending on what I focus on I get a different impression. Definitely on my keeper’s list.

Tastes and smells like eggnog to me! The egg custard note comes out near the end. The tangy creamy body is heavily tinged in vanilla. Again, it’s hard to believe there are no dairy ingredients in this. The only thing I might be missing are spices (LiberTEAS has a good suggestion for nutmeg), and possibly some thickness(lowfat eggnog).

My pot tonight is on the diluted side compared to the cup I had last night, where I was able to notice the well paired smooth green base, but it’s still good and eggy.

Thank you, BoxerMama; I really wanted to try this! It helps contain my eggnog cravings without making me feel ill from drinking the real McCoy.. apparently the real McCoy is actually MacKay, which is just confusing and defeats the meaning, but..err, you know, THIS TEA IS GOOD! I’ve had an awkward day.

Earl White is an oddball that I don’t choose to drink often. That being said, I’ve refilled my tin at least three times in the last year, and this baby ain’t cheep. Its robust tartness and smooth white base have made it my go to tea when I’m feeling under the weather.

This was actually my first white tea that I decided to buy during a particularly nasty mid-semester cold; I was hoping the citrus ingredients would send in magical cleaning griffins to purge my clogged sinuses and throat. Hocus pocus anapneo bergamot! I like to think it helped a smidgen..

The body is creamy, floral, vegetal, and melon-like, with a bit of lemongrass. The finish embraces the true spirit of what it means to be tangy; I could get the same effect by squeezing the fresh juice of a sour citrus fruit of choice directly into my mouth. It gets easier to handle and smoother upon later steeps.

The citrus group photo includes: citrus peel, mandarin & lemon fruit essence, the infamous bergamot, and the adopted cousin, lemongrass. It can be…abrasive, also soapy, if not kept in check. Earl White will definitely not be everyone’s cup of tea.

Still, I persist on giving it a high rating; I even dedicated my 100th tasting note to it! Lucky Earl White.

Edit: is there any difference between this and the "Laoshan White? I’m putting my note under this name as that’s what it says on the sticker..

I ripped open my sample of this to have as a celebration tea for making it back to University town and being reunited with my never-before-used “blooming teapot” (and also, my cool roommate).

The first few steeps were tinged with seaweed greenery, and I was missing my Yunnan White Jasmine dearly at this stage. It felt like I was drinking an extremely mild, vegetal green.

My later steeps are more to my liking; “silky”, “clover honey”, and “almond milk” are spot on. Nom nom nom. Much more like the creamy white I was craving, although the vegetal elements are still apparent (and much appreciated). I think this is around my sixth to eighth infusion but I could be mistaken.

This was a beautiful choice to “baptize” my small pot in; the leaves are long, slender, and stringy. I know my tasting experiences are limited but I’ve never had a white tea that tasted quite like this.