Peet's Coffee & Tea

Just finished this tin. It was good, but I cannot say that I would rush to buy more, now.

It’s work time!

Leftover from last night – this was not bad, cold.

Not just for breakfast anymore!

First tea of the morning, while walking to work.

Oh the irony that this should be the first tea that I drink in 2014…
Happy New Year!

This morning’s pot of tea in prep for singing.

Making some of this for a coworker and myself.

Big pots!

Made a big pot of this to push through the morning and keep things going!

Couple cups for an early meeting.

As we enter the fourth quarter for 2013, I figured that I should take the opportunity to share a review of this highly relevant tea: Peet’s Anniversary Breakfast Blend for 2013. The blend combines some of the best teas that Peet’s has found that year. I have not tried any of the previous anniversary blends, so this one will stand alone, compared only to itself.

As recommended on the packaging, I begin my tea session by steeping a little over a teaspoon of loose leaf in a cup of water, whose temperature is just off boiling. Four minutes later, my tea is done, and I compare all of the aromas. Dry, the malty, tangy aromas were persistent and dominant with some sweet, grassy undertones. Wet, the smell of the leaves is subdued on the malty front, and the sweet, grassy aromas are joined by a sharp wood scent. For some reason, I am reminded of alfalfa.

Four minutes of steeping has produced a cup with bright, chocolate undertones mixed with a malty Assam flavor, barely touched by a bit of sweetness. Without it being much stronger, this tea could easily stand alone as a solid black tea with no need for milk or sugar. The addition of such may bring out more nuances of the tea. The aftertaste contains just the barest hint of bitterness, but any heavy astringency is offset by other flavors. For fans of heavy black teas, this one should definitely be tried. I would rate it an 89/100 on my personal enjoyment scale.

Though it is advertised as a breakfast blend, this tastes great in the mid-afternoon, as I am drinking it now!

Absolutely delicious! Fresh, green, delicate taste and fragrance, buttery amazingness. I love Sencha and this one is awesome.

Thank goodness its Friday. Of course, its still going to be a busy day today, but the weekend is in sight, and its the first weekend since June that I am not working. Rapture! Joy!
Sipdowns!
Farewell, Black Currant. You did your job well enough, and were a pleasant companion. And though we part forever, it was a nice relationship!

For the first time since June I don’t work on a Saturday! I got to sleep in, and then enjoy a highly leisurely cup of tea!
Oh, I’d almost forgotten how that felt.

Whoops, dropped off the face of the earth there for a few days. Sorry guys, I had some travel, and I am seriously in the middle of Camp Nanowrimo. Argh, three thousand more words to go. I can do it! Wooo!
So, in tea news, I went into my local Peets to see if there were any of the Peets teas I like on sale, as they are expiring soon. Of the teas on sale, I’m afraid that none were the ones I really like, so what I’ve got will be the end of that particular tea train.
I will say, though, that there are a lot of other Black Currant fish in the sea, and I’ll be alrght with not having this in my cupboard, when I’ve finished it.

I was feeling uninspired this morning, so grabbed this, which is inoffensive. Some mornings I just don’t want to drink a truly wonderful tea, and ruin it with my feelings of profound meh. Ever have one of those days?
I am told that Peets is going to stop making teas! Eeep! They’re hardly my favorite, but they make at least one tea that is really good (not this one, sorry, Black Currant), which I will miss.

The Rosehips months of Whining (aka Summer) continues on, with me cast as the lead whiner.
Gosh its hot. I hate it when I wake up and find that its just already boiling. That means nothing will be pleasant today, I’ll feel wrung out and sticky, and my beloved tea will seem almost too hot to contemplate.
Grr.
Reaching for the lighter flavors today, by way of adjustment, but it only works so much. Yes, its a light and almost juicy tea, but it still makes my feel a little too warm. Grr.

Its been so hot here lately that I’ve been having trouble getting in a full night of sleep, and what sleep I do get is punctuated with tossing and turning and other unpleasant things.
So my morning cups of tea have become precious, liquid assets that are prized above rubies, to help coax me into the morning, and let me face my day without nodding off every two seconds.
That, plus concealer, have been my weapons against heat related exhaustion this week.
I hope it cools down soon. Until then, thank you, tea.