Juniper Ridge

Yesterday I just happened to drink three different teas from TheLastDodo that I received a while ago.  This is a special one I haven’t written a note for yet.  Earlier on this was STRONG.  At times almost seemingly unnaturally strong for what should be a wild/organic tea. Yowzas, but it seems to be taming down at this point.  I’ve enjoyed a few of these over the years though I can never notice the sage.  It’s just EXTREMELY mint.  Mint mint mint so not much to say. But it was time to say something! I’m intrigued that it’s wild.  And for a wild organic tea, this is holding up in freshness very very well.  Always good for the headaches.  The second cup has almost a creamier element to it, which is unexpected.
Steep #1 // 1 teabag // 16 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // many minute steep
2020 Sipdowns: 38 (one of Teavivre’s – Nonpareil Yunnan Dian Hong Ancient Wild Tree Black + Anne’s 52Teas – Blackberries & Cream Shou Mei  + Frank’s 52Teas -Lemon Meringue Chai (one pouch left!)

My old coworker who now works for Juniper Ridge contacted me again for more work, this time harvesting some other tree or shrub near Grass Valley, CA. This project involves schlepping all the chainsawing gear up a mountain and camping for several days at a time instead of staying in a hotel and working on flat ground like the last few trips. But I can’t go because I love my new job and my days off are incompatible with their camping trips. So if anybody in the San Francisco Bay Area or Grass Valley/Nevada City/Tahoe region has the cojones to attempt this kind of work, send me a message — pleasefixsteepster oot gmail doot coom. They’re chill people.

Yerba Santa is a highly resinous evergreen shrub with long, toothed-lobed leaves and white- to lavender-colored flowers, indigenous to Oregon south to Mexico. I’ve only come across it in one location here in the Bay Area, on the west peak of Mt Tamalpais while doing restoration work. While eradicating an invasive grass, I’d toe my way around the yerba santa plants, trying not to disturb them too heavily but I’d always emerge at the end of the day with a sticky pair of work pants, more fragrant with this plant’s sap than with my own sweat. I love the resinous smell, so I’d admittedly wear my work pants for as long as possible before having to wash them :P

The aroma of this tea is difficult to describe and since I’m intimately familiar with the plant, it of course smells like yerba santa. Very resinous, sappy, medicinal. The taste is the same but also quite bittersweet at the same time, with the sweetness seeming similar to stevia for me. The finish is tart and drying with a lingering light bitterness. Immensely body cooling, more like balsam or pine than menthol. As far as medicinal claims, it’s supposed to be good for relieving the symptoms of lower respiratory ailments and allergies and bladder issues as a diuretic. I’m not testing whether this is true but if you follow herbal medicine, maybe give this one a try.

I came home, prepared myself a cuppa of this one.

Just hot water in mug, where tea bag was. Just keeping bag in. So, while I am writing this line it is over 7 minutes now.

When dry, it smells strongly medicinal, so I was not really sure if it is a tea for me. Like some kind of cleaner which is used in hospitals. Bleh, but who knows, in cup it can be different. And indeed it is! I am afraid I can´t describe it very well, but just few words: “Fresh air, forest floor, after rain”. Those were random ideas whose came to my mind.

11 minutes steep now.
It becames drinkable. It is a honey? No, it is a tea! But really – smooth, honey flavour, maybe bit of roasted. Very, very interesting.

19 minutes
There is some aftertaste, which makes it sour or astringent. That makes it bit unpleasant. Still; it tastes good – but this is queer.

25 minutes
Tea is gone, certainly interesting; but I am not really sure if I would pick it again.

Thank you Derk for all three teas from Juniper Ridge, they are really interesting teas.

Unfortunately SIPDOWN.

Yep, small sample from derk it gone.
I needed something to boost my mood, because yesterday I failed an exam from Algortihms and more over teacher accused me of cheating. Of course I was not! “You programmed it two hours ago, you should know now how to do it!”

Stupid teacher. Enough, I would not get angry again.

Rather enjoy this tea. This tea, which I was saving for better days. They did not came for long 6 months. Everything sucks recently. Or I have that feeling.

I even did not had tea yesterday, I had to leave early in the morning and returning back home really late, because of work.

YEEEEAAAAH! It worked. I feel much better now. At least something.

Derk – thank you for this tea. Hopefully I will be able to get something similar as this one here. Orders from US are bit out of range for me.

Rating from 88 to 92.

This is very interesting tea. Thank you Derk for small sample, so I can try it!

Douglas firs aren´t common in my country, they are usually planted as park trees. And I really like their aroma.

Visual: light green, clear liquor
Aroma: really strong! Finnish forest, lemons, citrus fruits, sap
Taste: Unique, lingers for really long; firs, lemons, citrus fruits. But really dry. Sap taste as well. Needles.

I was keeping the bag in a cup for whole time I was drinking it. Maybe I will try to make another steep later. Lovely experience which brought me to Finland.

A new box of tea lavishness from derk arrived today, happy times! It’s too late to indulge in caffeinated tea, but I had to try this tisanne and it doesn’t disappoint.

Before steeping, I dropped the bag into a preheated glass teapot, and the aromas sent me directly to a fir tree forest. Nostalgic, a little sad for the lack of forest around here in Southern Ontario, but also full of beautiful memories.

Once infused, the tea has mostly a citric acidity as one would expect, but it’s got a good sweetness and woodiness supporting it. The balance is pretty good and it drinks well. The aftertaste has some nice vegetal notes and has an interesting throat drying quailty. As far as bagged teas and tisanes go, this is awesome.

Oh well, another “escaped” tasting note.
Anyway, second and last tea bag from derk of this blend from Juniper Ridge. Thank you for picking all 3 for me – this one is really aromatic. It filled my room with mint and sage (how unexpected)

Anyway, I had awful day today. I was doing geometry for 6-7 hours, I did not make everything I should. Friend was not really helpful too! He prefered to sleep. And he did not know anyway. And when coming home, I regret that I did not bring my camera with me and going home about hour earlier. The light was amazing!

Stop complaining Martin and focus on tea. Yeah, this tea. I like the comforting aroma of sage. I think I need it even for herbal effects – I had sore throat back few days, nothing major, but it was there. Now I am have starting headache. Probably I was working too hard and forgot to drink (anything).

It is really nice in matter of aromas. It smells like sage and mint. Yeah it is not really surprising I know. But it is those two, nothing else. Maybe it can remind somebody a toothpaste a bit, but I think there is it far too artificial.

Visual of this tea is amazing as well. Golden; clear with no dust. Actually the pieces in tea bag are quite big which I like very much. I haven´t torn the bag though. If it is loose leaf, I think I can dip whole my body in it. It is just so nice. Not just visual and… already described scents.

Taste…
this is not a surprise. It tastes really herbal – minty and sagey. But it is so smoooth! Like a warm honey into a throat. It is mild; soothing with cooling effect of mint. It is just a perfect herbal for today evening. And another evenings too.

JUNIPER RIDGE rocks! One of the best herbal teas I ever had. Close behind are Swiss teas I am drinking now. I wonder what are Czech producers doing wrong? Using old plants, overdried plants or what is making it so bland? Maybe not interesting blends? Maybe mixing too much different flowers and making it just weird herbal mix? I do not know and I am too afraid to ask.

Derk, thank you once more – another thanks are coming soon with finishing all three, eh – two, Juniper Ridge teas.

Steep time: around 10 minutes (-3+5), I am not really sure. But I think it does change anything.

I wanted something simple today. And I don´t feel writing much today.

Colour of liquor is golden – when brewed. I just kept the bag in, it is herbal, so not a big deal.
Aroma: strongly mint of course, lovely! Maybe bit fir.
Taste: Great herbal tea, mix of mint and sage. Nice ratio, both were dominant earlier or later. It was smooth too and with bit like honey aftertaste.

Have I said it´s from derk? I have not! Now I did, thank you! (By the way, this was the tea that started our swap)
Conclusion: Really nice blend of herbals, I expected much less.

Last month, I took a road trip to visit some old coworkers and had a cup of Juniper Ridge’s Douglas Fir Spring Tips while I was there. I really enjoyed the tea so I perused their website, ordered the 3 teas they had available and came across a job posting on their website for a Production Line Supervisor in Oakland, CA. If anybody is interested, the posting is still up: https://juniperridge.com/wp-content/uploads/PDF/181101_JRCareers_Wildcrafter.pdf

I would’ve applied at the time but I knew I’d be moving soon, so I passed the job posting on to the coworker who gave me a ride from the Bay Area down to Monterey. It seemed like a good fit for somebody with our habitat restoration experience.

Cue yesterday, about a month later, I got an email from a different coworker at our habitat restoration company that closed down last year. He got a new job working for a company that makes essential oils, perfumes, soaps and teas. They source their ingredients sustainably from various locations on the west coast. He’s looking for contacts with landowners and resource agencies so that the company can broaden their harvest-base. I’m sure you can guess, he’s working for Juniper Ridge but in a different role than the job posting I linked.

How strange and exciting.

I made a few mugs of this tonight for both myself and my housemate who is afflicted with the same two-week sickness that I finally recovered from this week. The other one developed bronchitis and the third, who actually lives in an RV out front, developed pneumonia.

Anyway, my housemate really enjoyed this as a hot beverage to soothe her sore throat, cough and burning lungs. The sage lends a good savory base but still has some ethereal qualities, while the mint is pretty strongly cooling and I can feel it with each inhale. Long after I’ve finished the mug, I notice a clean, sweet-tart aftertaste. This herbal tea is simple, refreshing and calming. The white sage and mint are incredibly fresh and despite steeping the bag many minutes past the recommended five, they are not stewy in the slightest.

I’ve tried 2 of the 3 teas available from Juniper Ridge and both have been of excellent quality. Now that I know my old coworker is working for them, I’m even more inclined to purchase their sustainably harvested herbal teas. This makes me happy :)

I had been hanging on to my last bag of this for a long time and finally decided to say goodbye.

I’m totally not plugging for Juniper Ridge even though I’ve gotten paid to go on some juniper harvesting expeditions for them.

This is a pricey herbal tea (same price both on their website and at Whole Foods which is the only place I’ve seen it out in the wild), too high for me even given the quality of the material. The Bay Area is not a cheap place to headquarter a business. Regardless, this herbal tea is so unique, calming and refreshing that I’m hoping a sipdown note will spark others’ interest. Maybe I’ll stop pinching pennies and pick up another box once I get my tisane numbers under control.

Upon arriving at my coworker’s apartment, one of the first things I noticed was a collection of beautiful English-style tea cups on a shelf in the kitchen. Her roommate is a tea head! I was shown the stash in the closet and the selection screamed ‘Steepster Member!’ at me. So much loose leaf. She said I could drink anything I wanted, but I remained modest in my selection and only had one of her teas over the weekend. I picked this Douglas Fir Spring Tips because I’ve never seen it around.

We have Doug Fir here in California, but in most of the forests I’ve been in Northern California, Doug Fir is mixed with other tree species. This tea had a damp, dewey quality that reminded me of a moist Cascadian pure Doug Fir forest. It had a sweet fir aroma and tastes of fir, light earth and citrus and nectar sweetness. Wow, what a comforting and refreshing treat for a cold morning on the coast. I have to find this tea.

This tea is a rather old sample, so a fresh one might taste different. I’m mostly getting a sour citrusy flavor here. I don’t taste any pine at all, which is a big disappointment. I don’t know that I’m interested in a fresher sample since I’m not sure I want a citrusy pine tea.

I’ve drank this tea once or twice and haven’t logged it yet. I am having it tonight as my first cup of tea this weekend…lol. And a tisane at that!

So onto the review. I don’t feel like doing a detailed one tonight as I want to get back into my book before bed, but this one is soo savory, I love it. If you like savory teas, you will enjoy. To me it smells like Christmas turkey and mint lol (from the sage). It’s more broth like than tea like. But it’s rejuvenating and soothing to me.

I saw some reviews saying this tea gave them odd dreams. I haven’t experienced that yet with this tea, but as it’s the first time I drink it before bed I guess we will see. I’ll have enough trouble sleeping with daylight saving time kicking in today (sleep time an hour earlier and I’m a night owl lol).

Anyways, this tea is tasty and caffeine free, which is just what I need right now. Very enjoyable for a bagged tea as well.

Belated Merry Christmas Steepster! I finally regained my sense of taste and smell on Christmas day which was awesome, but I am still fighting a hacking horrible cough as of today gahh. I ordered myself a tin of this and the white sage tea with my bfs present, and after reading about pine needle tea being helpful for colds, I thought I’d try it tonight at the lake :) very fitting setting.

The smell is so much pine trees I thought I was in the forest! Wow! Sap and bark and trees..all the smells of camping. I steeped the tea bag (wish it was loose lol) for about 3 mins. The taste is nice and fresh, pure piney goodness, a hint of sweetness and citrus. Hopefully it helps this silly cough to go away! Overall, so far pleased about the flavor and hoping it helps!

Thank you to Nichole for sending me a few bags of this to try! It had been on my wishlist for some time so I’m pretty excited to be able to try it now.

This smells incredible, very fresh but also woodsy. I’m definitely picking up on some citrus and pine. I was expecting long, green needles but it looks like everything has been ground to a powder inside the bags. I steeped this for a full 10 minutes and when I pulled the bag from the water I was left with a golden liquid, almost honey-colored, but also a pretty thick film on the surface. My husband tried this and said it tasted like pickles (???) but I think it’s pretty nice. I can still smell the citrus and pine and the taste is very light, almost a little watered. While it isn’t as amazing as I thought it might be, I am still enjoying it. I’m sure would be a hit ice-cold so I think I’ll try that next.

This is a very interesting tea. Oddly refreshing. Sweet and Savory all in the same sip. Thanks to thelastdodo letting me nab it in their last sales stash. Not sure how I feel about it so I’m not going to rate it, but I am glad I tried it.

Here are the rest of my ramblings:

http://sororiteasisters.com/2015/05/10/white-sage-wild-mint-tea-juniper-ridge/

I purchased this on a whim last week at the Scarlet Sage, an herb store in San Francisco. I’ve always been curious about this blend and wanted to finally try it. The tin is lovely but the tea comes in paper teabags, which is kind of a shame.

The aroma of this reminds me of Thanksgiving. I think sage is one of the primary ingredients in stuffing. It smells and tastes more strongly of sage in my opinion, but the mint is present and provides a really good contrast to the sage. This has an almost sweet quality to it which is odd and not what I was expecting.

I did a bit of research and found out that sage is good for digestive problems (as well as mint), so this seems like a nice after dinner or bedtime type of tea. I might like the smell a bit better than the taste, but it’s a decent herbal either way. I’m sure I’ll be glad I have this the next time I get a cold. Also I felt the smell was very relaxing and then I read this piece on the web that sage aroma lifts the spirits. Nice!

http://www.healwithfood.org/health-benefits/sage-medicinal-salvia.php

I cannot say I LOVE the flavor but it is intriguing and fun.

I got both of Juniper Ridge’s teas for Christmas from my roommates. I love the idea of wildcrafted tea. I chose this tea shortly after unwrapping it. Hey, it was Christmas! Although they are in teabags, I don’t mind much. Loose would have been cooler, but I digress.
I was nervous about this tea. It smelled exactly like the little douglas fir that was our Christmas tree. I kind of like the smell of sweet pine, perhaps the tea would be better?
Well, I did not get too much piney flavor as I thought. Which is good. The stronger tastes that I noted were honey and lemongrass. The pine was sweet and not at all like those tree-shaped air fresheners. I could sense the sun and the wind whipping through the fir trees. It was a light and airy and not heavy and overtly pungent. Hey, I may keep drinking this one!

This was such an interesting herbal tea: While the peppermint is the dominant aroma and flavor, there were subtleties of sage as well in its aroma (although I didn’t taste any sage to speak of). Drank straight up without honey, and it was lovely: The peppermint lingered.

This will be my last logged tea before leaving florida tomorrow for my cross-country road trip and move to Seattle, Washington!
Living in the Pacific Northwest has been my dream since visiting 2 years ago, and now it will be my home. 
My boyfriend and I are making the drive all the way from south Florida, and plan to stop in Roswell, NM, then the Grand Canyon, then California and Yosemite, and then most amazing of all, onto the Redwoods!! I will finally see them for real. I also cannot wait to see Oregon,  which I feel so connected to even though I’ve never been there.
My plan is to study the forests and determine my place in the environmental and forestry field. There is nothing I love more than the trees and forests, and I want to be near them always.

A friend of mine brought this tea over who funnily enough got it from a friend in Seattle, while the tea itself comes from Oregon. 
The magical scent of this tea alone immediately makes it the best tea ever. It is the tea to end all teas for me.
It smells like a forest, and burning a Frasier Fir candle at the same time transforms my room into one. I cannot wait to be in a real forest and to drink this tea among the trees.

What was even more special about my first time having this tea was that my favorite song ever came on my pandora while drinking it. The song is When I Grow Up by Fever Ray http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F-CpE73o2M&feature=youtube_gdata_player
When I hear it, I understand why I am alive. I know where I want to be and what I want to do. 

I can drink this tea forever.
I can’t explain the tree flavor other than its lovely, and has a lemon-like concentrated end.
Its super calming.
I also feel a special energy from this tea. Sort of like when I’m sitting on the ground leaning against a tree, and I get this incredible relaxed and happy feeling in my back. Its hard to explain.

This is literally, my Cup of Tree. 

West coast!! here I come!!!!! Woohoo!!!!