two leaves and a bud

Third time in a row, I drank this herbal as my reading-in-bed cup last night. Still yummy, but not quite as enjoyable as the previous two nights. Perhaps it is time to move on to a different tea tonight.

I finished House Rules last night too. It was a good book and I liked it. But I didn’t like it a lot the way others in my book clubs did. I figured out the ending/mystery before the mid-point of the book and it was frustrating that the whole book no one ever asked the main character exactly what happen, and they should have. The more interesting aspect of the read was reading about a child with Asperger’s Syndrome both from his point of view and what it was like living with him for his family.

So tonight I’ll be starting a different book as well. Most likely Beautiful Creatures by Kami Gracia and Margaret Stohl, a YA supernatural novel, for another online book group. I’m thinking not my usual cup of tea, but I’ll give it a try. It is set in a fictional town in South Carolina.

The Alpine Berry was so good the previous night as a reading-in-bed tea, that I had it again last night as a reading-in-bed tea. (Currently reading: House Rules by Jodi Picoult)

I drank Alpine Berry last night as my reading-in-bed tea. This tea is growing on me more. Steeping it at 4 minutes has definitely improved the taste and provides a much more enjoyable cup. More flavor, a bit tart. I drank it up pretty quickly. I think I might have this again tonight.

Backlogging. Last night.
I increased the steep time by another minute because increasing it to 3 minutes the last time I made it was a vast improvement over the 2 minutes that is recommended on the box and I thought it could be stronger without becoming oversteeped. A bolder and, I think, more pleasant taste of apple, blackberry, and raspberry with some tartness. I could try steeping it longer but do not think it needs to go any longer.

Good 1st steep. 3 min was fine too. Need to retry. But I think around 4 min will do.

As this tea tasted watery-tart-appley the first time I drank it, I upped the steeping time 1 minute. And there was the berry. Mostly it tasted like warm blackberries with some warm raspberries and a bit of warm strawberries, all with a tart finish. Much better cup this time. I will bump the rating accordingly. Next time I might try steeping it an additional minute to see what happens.

I didn’t think this would take a 2nd steep. But I decided to try resteeping it last night. Appley. Tart? Tart? No. Watery! This no can do a 2nd steep.

I always check out the tea sales when I’m at Earth Fare. A couple of weeks ago, two leaves and a bud were on sale. Since I was in need of more caffeine-free teas for evening consumption, I picked Alpine Berry. This is my first two leaves and a bud tea.

Sight
Dry leaves: Small green leaf pieces, orange peel pieces, dark pink-red pieces, pink-brown pieces.
Wet leaves: Larger green leaf pieces, larger orange peel pieces, muddied pink-red pieces.
Tea: Immediately began turning a rich mulberry, which ended as a black mulberry.

Smell
Dry leaves: Apple, rose, orange, generic berry – perhaps blackberry and strawberry.
Wet leaves: Warm apple, tart.
Tea: Apple, strawberry.

Taste
Weaker than I expected. Watery. Apple. Tart. No berry. I smell berry but no berry taste.

I am going to try steeping this longer next time, in hopes to get stronger flavor and less watery. Drinkable but not something I’d buy again unless it improves with experimentation. I’m going with a 50 rating (decent) for now but will probably lower it if I cannot improve the strength.

Too light for my taste. I do get a very faint presence of orange & green tea, but it tastes very watered down even steeping for 6 minutes at 185F. Pairs nicely with shortbread cookies.

So here I sit sipping a cup of … " Cabochard? “Boss?”
“Thé Vert au jasmin” by L’Occitane? Matthew Williamson’s “Sheer?”

I associate Jasmine so strongly with perfumes that I don’t think I’ll ever enjoy drinking jasmine with any frequencly. But yet I wanted to try this, thanks to the great Travelling Tea Box. Pearls are fun to watch. I wonder if there’s a very slow film of them unfurling anywhere? I watched these little pearls unwind and slowly get bigger. I won’t call it an agony exactly. They looked more like that were transitioning from nap time to recess at a little nursery school for tea.

This tea smells very nice, but I have just not conditioned myself to tasting this odor. The great thing about the Travelling Tea Box is that I’ve been able to try things that I might have hesitated to spend money on. You make new friends with teas you have not tried before; you find new tea companies and race to the internet to place an order; your prejudices are either confirmed or toppled.

Jasmine, for me, is a nice middle-note or top-note for perfumes. I’ve never liked it as a base-note. I don’t think I can ever accustom myself to drinking it but I suspect it’s a taste once acquired that does pay dividends. I’m in no hurry to run and spray Clinique “Aromatics” into my mouth but I also don’t feel a need to rinse out my mouth. The aftertaste is pleasant.

Adieu, Jasmine Pearls! You’re moving on to your next destination!

yo man i just had this tea tonight and it is the bawm dawt cawm. i am not mad at this tea at ALL. i dont know wat jasmin is but on a scale of one (1) to ten (10) its a tastesplosion yeah. it was like i had a dang like there was a flower garden in my mouth it was great. im kind of a tea noob but this kinda stuff the reason id heat my water ya feel me

I don’t think I’ve had a berry tea that I’ve ever liked. Needless to say, I didn’t have high expectations. I expected it to be bitter, overpowering, and harsh; this tea was none of those things. It reminded me of very mellow red wine. Since I only had a sample, I will definitely be going out to buy a box.

Steep Information:
Amount: 2 tsp
Additives: none
Water: 2 Zarafina cups
Tool: Zarafina Green-Loose-Medium
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: floral, honeysuckle (weird I expected Jasmine)
Steeped Tea Smell: Jasmine, honeysuckle, floral
Flavor: flowers
Body: Light
Aftertaste: tingly tongue, I can feel floral perfume filling my mouth
Liquor: pale translucent watery yellow-green

well 4 was too much, 2 was too little, perhaps next time 3 will be just right?

Post-Steep Additives: none

Steep Information:
Amount: 4 tsp
Additives: none
Water: 2 Zarafina cups
Tool: Zarafina Green-Loose-Medium
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: floral, honeysuckle (weird I expected Jasmine)
Steeped Tea Smell: Jasmine, honeysuckle, floral
Flavor: liquid flowers with a bit of green tea
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: tingly tongue, I can feel floral perfume filling my mouth
Liquor: light apple juice yellow, translucent yellow-green-orange

I should have used 2 tsp and not 4, I have no idea what I was thinking.

Post-Steep Additives: honey
more green tea, less floral, enjoy it much better this way

Resteep: Zarafina Green-Loose-Medium
I should have done mild? Bleh too bitter to drink, tossed it, very vegetal, very floral, but also very bitter

Rating: 1/3 I fully expect this to become a 2/3 when I try again with the proper amount of pearls

images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/03/two-leaves-and-bud-loose-leaf-green-tea.html

Very light and refreshing. Minty but not overwhelming. Good for relaxing, not waking up. More pricey than my usual tea.

Steep Information:
Amount: 1 teabag, 2.8g
Additives: none
Water: 6 ounces boiling
Steep Time: a little over 2 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: not getting much smell, and MilitiaJim agrees
Steeped Tea Smell: orange black tea
Flavor: smooth strong black tea
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: astringent, briefly bitter
Liquor: dark brown

This was my free gift when I ordered using a twitter code.

This tea would likely do well with a bit of sugar and splash of cream.

It’s a smooth quality black tea in a convenient bag, nothing WOW but certainly better than most bagged blacks I have encountered.

Post-Steep Additives: none

images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/03/two-leaves-and-bud-teabag-black-tea.html

Still smells funny and I am still drinking it. Not sure why I am still drinking it. Perhaps it is because of the lack of other options in my tea drawer at the moment. On a really nit-picky note, the string on the tea bag is too short and I have a hard time keeping the paper tab from falling into the cup while water is being poured into the cup.

Ok, this will probably be the weirdest tea note I’ve made but here goes…

I REALLY like the taste of this tea. It is raspberry, apple, and something more herbal which I’d assume is the hibiscus. The berry flavors don’t get too strong or syrupy like they often do in berry herbals. The color is amazing: dark violet. But, I don’t really like the smell of it at all. This is going to sound strange but the smell has something in addition to the raspberry that I can only describe as a light mix of mustiness, chamomile, and vomit. Luckily that smell is not overwhelming. The smell gets much better after I add agave nectar to the tea. Despite the smell, I keep drinking it so I guess that says something. I’m on my 3rd cup.

It’ll be interesting to see if I keep drinking this after I get my tea order next week which contains some other berry herbal teas. I really have some mixed feelings about this one.

Steeped 2 minutes at 190 F.

1 bag, 12 oz hot spigot water
i still like it, but i love hibiscus

had one cup no sugar, enjoy it very much, see previous note, tried to resteep and failed so added a second bag and enjoyed

Steep Information:
Amount: 2 teabags
Additives: none
Water: 16 ounces hot spigot
Steep Time: a little over 6 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell:
Steeped Tea Smell: sour, berry, floral, defiantly getting hibiscus and blackberry, if i sniff and think hard i get the citrus note at the end lightly. Not getting the apple or rose at all.
Flavor: delicious apple berry hibiscus punch! a little tangy, starts sweet, then sour/tang, then sweet again. I love it, it’s like a fruit cocktail.
Body: Full
Aftertaste: sweet berry with lingering apple
Liquor: deep dark opaque purple-red

See my company review here.

I love this tea, it’s delicious and full of flavor, and the flavors and a blend, you can pick them out if you try (well i can’t find the rose) but not the weird teas that the flavors seem to be separate and not mesh.

I need to cut back on my caffeine so there will be plenty more herbals coming up.

This packaging is excellent for at work, the individual packs keeps it fresh and i don’t need to keep the box when it gets low (and my drawer will still be clean). Also teabags are just so convenient at work.

Post-Steep Additives: none

images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/03/two-leaves-and-bud-teabag-herbal-tea.html

This is my second go round with this tea and I really like it better this time. It has a nutty peppery finish to it while being vegetal and a little buttery. It is a light tea with no bitterness. The tea bag is huge with actual leaves and I intend to use it a few more times before it gets recycled. I liked this tea.

Nice green tea, I added 1/2 tsp of honey to it. The tea tastes slightly nutty and very smooth. It has the green tea taste and has no bitterness.