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I made a cup of black dragon pearls to bring to work with me, and promptly left it on the counter at home. I have no energy this morning – I slept sitting up because of my acid reflux and still feel it lurking. I thought this might be good for how my esophagus is feeling, but I am not sure. I just am not a big fan of the licorice taste.

Grunt. Meh. It’s morning. So, tea.
The usual breakroom tea treatment, which holds up well in this particular tea.

Not much to say, except that I’d like to go back to sleep. But that’s not going to happen, so, tea.

Oh my, this is good. I opened this up this early afternoon and sipped it while watching Felix Baumgartner jump from the stratosphere. That was very cool.

The tea doesn’t have the spicyness I normally associate with chai, but it’s a very good, very enjoyable tea. It’s a very gentle chai I suppose.

Frothed a small amount of stevia and half and half, then added the chai after steeping it in my ingenuiTea.

I am defnitely getting some maltiness – it’s more chocolatey than the chocolate chai as I did it yesterday in the gaiwan.

I purchased two gaiwans very inexpensively recently, because I have been wanting to try brewing that way, and I wanted to try some pu-ers. So I ordered those from one vendor, and some various teas from Verdant. The gaiwans came during the week and I got them washed and ready to use.

I got the package of teas right before my guests arrived for a party I hosted yesterday for my doll club, so I could not dive right in. I put the package on the counter in the kitchen to open later. For some reason, my husband decided to open it while the party was going, and I got to giggle at him pulling out bags and trying to pronounce things like “Mi Lan Xiang” and “Shui Xian Wuyi.”

After the guests left, I broke out the Chocolate Phoenix Chai and gave it a try in my 4 oz gaiwan. It’s the perfect size for my tiny hands. Since the directions on the package are for a gaiwan type brewing, I gave it a try. It was all right, but that method just did not brew up as something I would describe as either “chocolate” or “chai.” Good but different. The steeping times were really short when done as per the package.

There are big green pieces in there that I think are the cacao nibs, and lots of other various bits and pieces. It’s a really interesting looking tea. It doesn’t smell chocolaty to me, or malty. It does smell good, but just not like chocolate to me.

I will try a “regular” steeping on my next cup of this, and see if the chocolate comes out for me.

I had this in my drawer at work, so I pulled it out to accompany the scrambled eggs and sausage that I brought from home. Brewed the first cup for only 2 minutes or so, rather than the 3-5 listed on the tin. Added splenda and a creamer tub, and it was quite good. Next cup (same leaves) I steeped for 3 minutes or so, and it came out pretty much the same.

Good morning wake up tea for a day when I wanted a more “plain” black tea – as in not a blend or Earl Grey type.

Semi-backlogging
Brewed some of this up twice yesterday, drinking something like 5 cups in all, and then refridgerating the last cup, which I brought to work with me this morning.

I just love this tea, it’s malty and awesome. So good frothed up. Used stevia and half&half.

This morning I was drinking it straight, no sweetener and no creamer, but the cup was a bit strong. It had steeped for awhile. I’ve been using that Mio stuff to add to water lately, and added a shot of the Strawberry Watermelon flavor to my cup – oh man, it’s really good! Suprisingly good, I figured I was going to ruin it, but no! It’s very tasty. Makes me want to try blending other things with it… oooooo – maybe peppermint! It would be like peppermint cocoa! Definitely going to try that some chilly weekend.

I took a sick day today, there’s a tickle in my lungs and I was up half the night coughing. Masala chai to soothe the cough.

I’m getting low on this, I think I will try another brand of chai for my next batch – I want to be able to compare and contrast. Any suggestions?

Tried a second steeping of the leaves – it’s quite weak.

Drinking another cup this morning. I’m not getting the maltyness from it this morning – it’s more grassy. Brewed at a lower temp this time though. No astringency, no aftertaste. Nice and clean.

Hopefully this cup of tea will not keep me up tonight, I may have brewed it up a little late in the evening. But it was quite good!

The dry leaves actually smelled a little malty/cocoa-y. I didn’t expect that in a white tea. It tastes slightly of malt as well. I really liked it, and look forward to brewing more.