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This has been a bit of a revelation, to be honest – I have come to a realization. I’m just going to come right out and say it. I don’t need chocolate teas in my life.

Honestly, that’s pretty huge on a tea preferences scale, seeing as I love everything else chocolate. Seriously – chocolate is where it’s at.

But in a tea? No. I think this reflects my shift in tea preferences lately – I find myself craving lighter, greener, fruitier, less desserty teas. It might very well be a spring thing, but it’s definitely here to stay for now.

That much said, this is a deliciously elegant tea. I wouldn’t say the chocolate tea to end all other chocolate teas, because there are several flavour layers here, and a definite complexity beyond just the chocolate, but it’s definitely one of the better chocolates I’ve tried, if not the best. (Chocolate-orange will always have a special place in my heart, though.)

Nose wise, it jumps from lush in the bag to a little bland in the cup, but the flavour lands on the lush side of things.

Hazelnut, vanilla and chocolate are the three main taste notes for me, but in no particular order – this is a very playful brew, as each sip stacks the flavour chips a little differently. I’m sure this would kill with a dash of milk or cream, and as usual, I’m happy I never keep those in my fridge, because this would have gotten pretty decadent pretty fast.

It’s hard to rate this one, so keep in mind that this really is an excellent tea of its kind, and that my grade reflects preference rather than quality.

Many thanks to Ysaurella for not only letting me try some The O Dor, but helping me address complex existe(a)ntial quandaries in the process.

[Sample from Ysaurella, spring 2014.]

Right, so how do I even explain the origin of this sample? Well, we’re doing the second round of the EU swap box, and cteresa forgot to put one of the samples she wanted to send out in the box… so she sent an envelope, too, a few days later. Of course, seeing as cteresa is cteresa (i.e. completely awesome) she added even more tea samples (hey, empty envelope, gotta fill it).

Among these were a couple that I’ve been dying to try, including this one. I have a pretty decent MF reseller here, but they haven’t had Jamaïque in stock since I moved back.

My prediction for this tea was that it would be like Vanille des Iles with a twist – and yes, that’s more or less what I find myself with here. Scent wise, there’s much more caramel in VdI, making for a rounder, sweeter profile. In terms of Jamaïque, though, there is this perfect, boozy note topping off the vanilla base. The same goes for the brewed tea, even though I find myself struggling more with flavour recollection than scent recollection this time around. In short, however – Jamaïque fronts less caramel and more booze.

It’s a very enjoyable, smooth cup, but just as in the case of VdI, I would have enjoyed a more exuberant vanilla presence.

Thank you, cteresa!

[Spin-off sample from the second round of the EU Travelling Box, spring 2014.]

So a while back I received some samples from the ever-lovely Ysaurella, but I have neither been in possession of the time nor the faculties for note writing until now, so the samples have had to wait patiently. In very pretty air-tight containers, though, so they haven’t exactly been languishing.

My benefactress had recommended 75C for 3-4 minutes, so I went with 80C (my kettle only does increments of ten) a brief cooling off period, and then a three-minute steep.

In the bag already, it is quite clear this is an exquisite green – I had to force myself to brew it fearlessly, as the scent of the sample was so delicate and complex the risk to lose some small delicious note along the way seemed overwhelming.

But, in the end, I managed to keep my hands steady and my timing timely.

In the cup, the complexity of the dry tea prevails. For me, the notes most present taste wise are apple and date. The apple in particular is interesting – it can’t really make up its mind. Is it a red apple? Is it a green apple? Is it a special fairytale multiplex apple? Possibly, possibly, and possibly.

All in all this is a very pleasant tea, with a light, rosey aftertaste. I have synesthetic tendencies, and this tastes the colour of green marzipan. I see the cake from my 25th birthday (and many other birthdays, I admit I do love my princess cake) as I sip.

Thank you so much, Ysaurella!

[Sample from Ysaurella, spring 2014.]

So I was going to wish my friend I haven’t talked to in a while a happy birthday but it turned out she was dead.

I didn’t die when I was 28.

Neither did you.

(I guess we got lucky.)

So happy belated birthday, and happy Valentine’s Day.

The tea? Oh, it tastes the same as ever – it tastes of you, (fear, shame, the inability to play the long game) of me, (no fear, no shame, the inability to not play the long game) of us, (the thick, oily, long, slow burn of forever)

…and, ironically, generously of vanilla.

Usually, when my luggage gets lost, I enjoy myself, because hey, free clothes. But this time around, I don’t really need anything. And Italy is the worst possible place for me to shop for basics. They don’t have my toothpaste. They don’t have toothbrushes I like. (Seriously. I have to TRAVEL to find reasonably soft toothbrushes here.) They don’t have my shampoo. They don’t have my powder, foundation, mascara, moisturizer or any of the other three skin care products I use. I could go on, but I know I’m an idiot whining about getting $600 to shop for – it’s just, I’m not overly consumey, and when I do buy something, I want it to be just the thing. But if I don’t use up the insurance money, it’s lost forever, and the only way to use it is to actually buy (the right kind of) stuff for it, so fine. Let’s play your game, capitalism. Tomorrow we shop some more.

They lost three of my teas, so it’s only fair I go buy some Mariage Frères, right?

This was my Tuesday seminar tea, and a much needed cup. Great seminar, perfect tea.

I’m sorry I whined.

It’s a sopping wet mess over here right now. Just rain, rain and rain. I was out for lunch with a friend and we gave up even trying to be outside when the worst downpour started. We found ourselves right beside this place that I’ve walked past for years and years but never tried (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187791-d1722996-Reviews-Caffe_Novecento-Rome_Lazio.html) so we ducked inside. We shared a pear and marsala cake of some kind and each had a small pot of tea – it was decent, but overpriced, and first they played jazz and then something Deep Forest-y, which didn’t quite compute.

This tisane-like green consisted mostly of fruit pieces, but it was quite drinkable. Why the staff at a tea house would serve green tea in a pot without a removable filter is beyond me, though – the last of it was beyond bitter.

Weirdos.

I don’t really know how to rate this – it’s the best green available at my home airport lounge, so I drink it whenever I’m traveling – more out of habit than strong preference. It gets bitter very easily, and I rarely finish my cup. I’m making this sound so much worse than it is – it really does have a pleasant citrusy body to it, and it goes well with my traditional lounge melon and banana platter.

In other news, my luggage is (half) lost again. It was the bag in which I had placed my sandwich, so this is all very sad. I might have to go out into a torrential Rome and score some more foods. BAD airline. BAD.

ETA: The sandwich was in the other bag! The sandwich is safe!

I’ve been on holiday, and it’s been awesome. I can’t even remember the last time I was this tanned. My eyebrow person had to go several shades darker than normal, so I declare this tanning effort a success.

I shared a pot of this while cooking up a storm for friends and chosen family. As always, it’s a gift of melony goodness. Much like my friends and chosen family. Actually, they’re all the fruits – the whole basket. And I’m so lucky to have them.

Now I’m going to go unpack and repack some bags and ponder Steepster’s new look.

Just a random tasting note from HCMC. Tasty milk tea, added a bit of sweetener as this was technically my dessert. Weather all balmy, nice to be back. Considering sneaking a midnight swim in the closed pool, but I’ve hit four countries today and worry there might be some kind of time-space vortex at the bottom of the pool sucking me into an endless loop of borderhopping and I really just want some suns and a sand; some peace and quiet.

Stuff has a tendency to add up and I don’t want to stand here in a few months with the realization I would need 8 full boxes to escape with even half my stuff. So I’m doing the responsible thing and am bringing two suitcases home with me – one full of stuff I can’t possibly need. If I start jonesing for Christmas ornaments in May, you need to just tell me off.

In light of this, and the fact that I’m trying out a new flight path from Rome and hence have no idea whether I even have fast track (although, to be fair, the FT at Fiumicino is a little overrated, and they’ve checked me for explosives twice in four months, so they obviously have it in for me) I clearly need to gather some strength. Hence, Cookie. Let me tell you, with a couple of almond biscotti on the site, it’s f*cking delicious.

I bought a new carry-on and I love it so much I gave it a name and slept with it.