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Ah, tournament time! Today and tomorrow is CEO, one of the big tournaments in the FGC and the last big one before Evo. Currently I am enjoying the finals for Killer Instinct, a game where I occasionally play a Raptor. Killer Instinct was a game I really disliked when I was younger, but the remake has really earned my respect, and not just because it is the first fighting game I have played in a while where my hands don’t lock up with tendon cramps. Not sure if they just got better or what, but it makes me happy.

Today I am looking at Liquid Proust’s A Dark Kitchen Sink, a blend of: golden pu’erh needles, loose ripe pu’erh, dianhong black tea, sunmoon lake black tea, vanilla bean (with flavor residue),roasted oolong, roasted pecans (unsalted), caramel (cane sugar, vanilla extract), cocoa nibs, Indian oolong ,honeybush (very very small amount)…it really is everything but the kitchen sink! The aroma of this tea is, to use fighting game slang, godlike. It smells like pecan pie, fudge, and a tiny bit of earthy loam. It is immensely sweet, caramel and chocolate dance with vanilla. and blissfully it is sweet but not grossly so thanks in part to the loamy notes and nuttiness. I might have drooled just a little, or a lot…either way, it smells really good.

I decided to gongfu it, the tea might be a blend, but it has tea that I frequently gongfu, so why not? I am almost at a loss for words describing this tea’s aroma once steeped. The notes are as expected, strong vanilla, caramel, pecan pie, fudge, loam, and malt…but trying to convey how mouthwatering sweet and rich it is, that is a challenge. The aroma of the liquid is also pretty intensely sweet, strong notes of vanilla and fudge with underlying pecan pie and loam. Super sweet and rich!

So, this is possibly the best blend I have had….ever. Seriously. It is dessert in a cup, like liquid Better Than Sex cake (making me calling it orgasmic not really an exaggeration) bringing in notes of fudge, vanilla, caramel, pecans, toffee, and a finish of earthiness and marshmallows…this is an intense tea. It hits all the right notes for me, it is immensely sweet and rich without being cloying, smooth as all get out, and just wow. Ben, being more diplomatic and not wanting to say it is orgasmic, says it is an epiphany in a cup.

You know, one of the things I love about being a person who has a sensory disorder, is how my strongest sensory input comes in the form of taste and smell…it is why I do what I do…sometimes I get overwhelmed by a taste or smell, it washes over me and drags me under, much like the undertow of an ocean wave. I don’t necissarily like the intensity of some of my other senses (looking at you sound and frequently touch) but I would not trade my sense of taste and smell for the world, especially when presented with teas like this! The second steep is pretty identical flavor wise, no real change in notes (except…I think the marshmallow finish turned into meringue) but the taste has become more intense.

Around steep three the rich fudge and vanilla notes, while still intense, are mellowing a bit, especially the vanilla. Now I get cherry notes (probably from one of the Hongchas) yams, still very rich nuttiness, and a richer loam note. Towards the finish I get a bit of molasses toffee and pie crust, with lingering sweetness. I got four good steeps out of this tea, and two moderately good steeps as I try to drag any bit of flavor I could from this…and then I needed to buy myself a pouch because delicious. Honestly, Andrew, this was one powerful concoction, bravo!

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/06/liquid-proust-teas-dark-kitchen-sink.html

The next one had me whooping with joy, it is a tea with ACTUAL SASSAFRAS in it!! I love the sassy, in fact it is what makes Red Jade one of my favorite teas, I just love it…having a backyard with the little trees in it was a big reason why, plus it just tastes really good. It smells really good too, this tea is super heavy on the strawberry, I can barely make out the sassy at all, but it is there lightly.

So this tea brewed pink, which was fun, thank you beets! The taste is pretty good, a little bit tart strawberry, but mostly sweet strawberry and refreshing green with a sassafras finish. My only complaint is that the sassafras is not stronger, but I am pretty sure most people who drink it are fine with the levels, I just really, really like sassafras. I have a sneaking suspicion that this tea will be a cold-steep staple for outings on hot days.

For blog: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/06/tea-box-express-june-box-tea.html

The first one up is the oh so evocative Front Porch Special, which is basically an Earl Grey with spearmint and jasmine…ah nothing quite beats a fresh glass of iced tea with mint on a hot day, it is so nostalgic for me. This makes a mean iced tea, just the right amount of briskness and bergamot with the cooling sweetness of mint and jasmine. Luckily the bergamot and jasmine are both fairly light, so I don’t have to worry about being overwhelmed by two flavors I am only lukewarm on. I tried to foist this off on Ben to try, but he is not a drinker of cold tea, what with being from the north (like really north.)

For blog and such: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/06/tea-box-express-june-box-tea.html

Today I am taking a look at Teanami’s Bu Lang (2011 Raw) a Sheng Puerh made from ancient trees. And when I first saw they were made from ‘ancient trees’ I cringed, that is such a hot topic on the interwebs lately and has become a really unpleasant bit of marketing, but they say their trees are at least 100 years old and that is so much more believable. I’ve known a lot of trees in the 200-500 range when I lived in the mountains, and I am pretty sure the massive spruce in the yard is almost 100 since it is as old as the house…but I am getting off on a tree tangent. Anyway, Bulang, I have so far only had Shou from this mountain, honestly staying away from the Sheng because it has a reputation to be rather bitter, but it eases off the bitter as it gets some age to it, and with my Sheng drinking being limited (thanks ya jerk of a stomach) I go for the sweet or camphorous stuff. But I do love a tea adventure, so here we go! So, this tea does not smell like something that will be bitter, it smells like fresh white grapes, cut sunwarmed hay, a tiny touch of leather, honey, dried apricots, and a tiny almost undetectable (took me a few sniffs) camphor note. I was pleasantly surprised at how sweet this tea smells!

Cranking the kettle to 200°F and giving the tea a rinse, the aroma of the leaves is a bit on the pungent side with wet hay, lemon rind, apricots, and a touch of spinach. The aroma of the first steeping is pleasantly light and sweet, with an undertone of lemon and hops and a tiny hint of camphor.

At the beginning of the tea session, well, you could fool me that this tea is bitter. Granted I do brew it at less than boiling which makes me different from the real pu-heads, but I like it that way. I would describe it as tangy rather than bitter, like lemon rind but not as sour, with accompaniments of spinach and cooling light camphor. It has a thickness and a touch of a dry mouth, and the aftertaste reminds me of the taste of leather. Around steep three it starts to get a bit of that bitterness, though lucky for me it is the bitterness of kale rather than of hops, like some bitter shengs can get, and I really dislike hops.

Ah, this sheng is doing that fun thing where it flip flops from bitter to sweet in a drool induced instant. Like going from kale leaves covered in lemon to dried apricots and hay with a leather finish. Sadly around steep four I am getting that obnoxious dull ache in my guts which makes me so happy for my tiny baby gaiwan. A little farther into the steeping session brings out a tobacco note, which blends well with the aftertaste of leather.

Whelp, this is a tea that definitely outlasted me, nine steeps in and the leaves have only barely unfurled. It is starting to ramp up the bitter notes. The bitterness is pleasant, really wakes up the palate and causes a great salivary sweetness. Sadly this is definitely one of those Shengs that kills my stomach, which angers me because I really wanted to see how far I could stretch this tea out. I am curious if it would be milder on my stomach with more age, perhaps I will come back to it in a decade!

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/06/teanami-bu-lang-raw-2011-tea-review.html

Ugh, I am not feeling too hot today, ok actually I am too hot (what with it being summer) but that is not my problem. Luckily I feel better than I did an hour or so ago where I did not think I would be up to writing tonight. But, here I am, and glad to be feeling a bit better at that! I tend to get immensely frustrated when my various health woes get in the way of my cognitive function (thanks Fibro-fog, or whatever you are) it is one thing to be in pain, it is quite another to be a walking pile of derp, because then I can’t really do anything and I get very bored.

Today we are looking at a tea of a thousand names (ok really just like five) from a new to me company that has very quickly endeared itself to me by carrying some awesome teas! Ruby 18 (or Red Jade, Sun Moon Lake Tea, Hong Yu…) is a cross between native wild Qingxin and Assamica, and we have the the Taiwan Tea Research and Extension Station to thank for that! This tea is a thing of beauty and a serious favorite of mine, one of the few specific teas that gets its own teapot (Gui Fei and Tangerine Blossom Red being the others) the leaves alone are worthy of admiration, and that is before I get into the sniffing. The aroma of the leaves is pretty intense, strong notes of sassafras, yam, and red pepper combine with cocoa and cinnamon, classic Red Jade notes. What made this one different than the usual was the accompanying notes of okra, dried tomato, cherry, and very very light black licorice. I am in love! Going to spend a while sniffing the leaves, be back later.

After I finally pulled my nose out of the leaves and brewed them, the aroma of the soggy leaves is a classic explosion of sassafras, menthol (it is super weird, smells like menthol but not mint, it blows my mind) cinnamon, and a bit of red pepper, cocoa, yams, and cherries. Smells delicious! The first steep’s aroma is very sweet, like honey drizzled sassafras, cocoa, cherries, and yams with a brisk malty finish.

The first steep is wonderfully smooth, and pleasantly strong without being too strong. I find sometimes with Red Jade you have to have a slightly lighter hand with brewing or it gets really brisk and almost too strong, that did not happen with this tea at all. It starts with robust malt and sassafras notes, then moves to cocoa and cherry with linger well into the finish and aftertaste. They are joined at the finish with sweet, syrupy honey and tangy dried tomatoes. The sweetness sticks around into the aftertaste for quite a while.

For the second steep, the aroma is very sweet and super rich, notes of cocoa, cherries, and malt blend with a gentle sassafras note, or as I describe in my tea notebook, this tea is a little sassy smelling. Somehow this steep manages to be even more rich than the previous one, strong notes of sassafras dance with yams and cherries with a strong cocoa note. Around the middle a strong brown sugar note creeps in and lingers til the end.

Third steep’s aroma is pretty similar to the second, but a stronger note of cherry and malt with an underlying pie crust note that really has me craving cherry pie…and Warrant, but I always want bad 80s (techincally 1990, but come on) music. This steep really ramps up the sassafras and malt, it is wonderful, I never get sick of that note, reminds me of growing up in the south and the wonderful sassafras trees in my backyard. I also noticed a surprisingly fun note that I have never encountered in tea and it took me a minute to nail down, there was just a delicate hint in the middle of strawberry leaf. I got several more steeps out of this tea, I sat with it for quite a while enjoying its depth and was sad when the tea finally called it quits.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/06/totem-tea-ruby-18-taiwanese-black-tea.html

Blog: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/06/motion-matcha-collection-of-matcha.html

This was the one I had the most trepidation about, mainly because pomegranate is a bit tart, and usually things labeled just ‘berry’ can be either really tasty or really sour. The aroma of this tea is pleasantly sweet and very berry, a combination of pomegranate, blueberry, and raspberry. I think I have to say this was my favorite, it was very sweet, a bit of an artificial taste, but blueberry flavoring is one of the few flavorings I like (you should see me tear through a box of blueberry waffles) and at the finish there is a bit of mouth puckering sour. My only complaint with this one is there is a bit of a burning mouth sensation (and this was present with all of the flavored ones, but stronger with this Matcha. I am assuming it is the citric acid since it can have that affect on me.) Oddly I can barely taste the Matcha in this one, there is a bit of a grassy undertone and that is about it.

Blog: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/06/motion-matcha-collection-of-matcha.html

Ooh this one smells yummy, both before and after adding water, strong notes of strawberry with just a touch of citrus with an underlying green Matcha note. Ok, this one I like, it is sour like lemonade (very lightly sweet lemonade, kinda like unsweetened lemon koolaide now that I think about it) and tart strawberries with a slight bitterness from the Matcha. I do wish this one was a little less tart and sour and a little more sweet, but that is easily rectified. It has a long lingering aftertaste of sourness, and honestly reminds me a bit of summer, a very specific memory of staying hydrated while working with my dad as a kid using watered down only barely sweetened lemon koolaide. So that little bit of nostalgia was kinda fun.

Blog: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/06/motion-matcha-collection-of-matcha.html

Smells very much like orange vanilla candy, like those swirly orange and vanilla life saver things. The taste is very similar, very strong artificial orange with light vanilla and a bitter undertone. It has a bit of a sugary sweetness, though it does not really counteract the bitterness from the (judging by the color) culinary grade Matcha. Sadly this one was not much to my liking, though I did notice this was one of the Matcha with flavoring only rather than oranges, so that could be why. I notoriously dislike orange flavoring, like seriously, it is the candy that always gets ignored, right there with lemon and green apple.

Blog: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/06/motion-matcha-collection-of-matcha.html