Various Artists

So yesterday was the Columbus Tea Meetup and its theme was iced teas which made me go ‘eh’… but, it is still a tea gathering!

I decided to take some Liquid Proust Teas, but then I was like : “Dude, you never cold steeped your stuff…” But, I rolled with it. I ended up bringing an ESP blend and my Mate Nectar. I told many people that mate teas and green/black teas are VERY different and advised them that they may not like it. The turnout made me smile because I said nothing and let them discuss because I am not going to say something about my teas (except on my birthday when Nostalgia comes out).

This is what I learned: Bringing cups of happiness is more important than supplying money for my own tea habits, but there is the conflict of having enough revenue to continue to do such. The idea of a non profit tea company that takes the earnings to distribute to a partnered tea farmer would be pretty sweet, but that is something that is down the road for me as this seems to be what I should be doing for now. It would be more enjoyable if I could blend teas and send them out for free :/

Anyways, with all that jazz being said: I can still give out free samples ;) but I won’t do Liquid Proust Teas business on here so shoot me a message on Etsy if you want some free teas :)

p.s. I do apologize about this post, sometimes I wish Steepster and Reddit were free of companies because I want a place to shred some teas down to nonexistence and praise others as if they should be used instead of a proposal ring, but whatever. It is what it is.

Well… I just drank about 8 different iced teas at a meetup and probably won’t get to revieiwing them seperately.
But, it was quite a bit of fun :)
http://photos3.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/9/6/0/e/highres_439958414.jpeg

Look at the swap table http://photos3.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/9/6/1/3/highres_439958419.jpeg
:)

Drinking this 2013 Liu Bao Hei Cha from Hifi-Tea…
What the hell???
This taste like aged cherries in some oak that was extracted into pu’erh to be fermented and dried out…

Freakin’ weird. Yet, weird can be a good thing; if not, I’m doomed.

I review a lot of tea because I drink A LOT of tea… but, I drink much more than I review. I was going to sit down one day and do a backlog… but that seemed like a hassle after I looked at my list :/
So, I shall take the lazy route: Backlog http://postimg.org/image/aeo25oweb/

Ginger Lemon Bash and Strawberry Cream White from Teavana.
Maple Bacon Rooibos, Chocolate Pomegranate, ceremonial matcha, matcha, gingerbread house, artic fire, orange brulee oolong, strawberry kiwi, lavender grey, love of pairs, yerba mate chocolate, mother of pearl, earl grey le creme, and papya lemongrass green from Anna Maries’ Tea
Mission hill black, mission hill darjeeling, margarets hope China, Gopaldara classic, thurbo black, and illam black from Teabox.
Pomegranate hibiscus and joshua’s blend from Darlene’ Tea Port
Gyokuro, phoenix oolong, and pouchong from Faeries Finest.
Gyokuro from the Uji district.
Pure chai from David’s Tea.
Thailians Jinxuan from ESP.
Tropical black from Teanzo.
Sweet love yunnan hearts from yunnan.
and then all the other stuff I have forgot to review these last few months.

It is quite possible that either I have too much free time on my hands or that I am beyond addition when it comes to tea.
Anyways, about to go catch up on Falling Skies with my dad and drink another three teas because I can down 60+ ounces between the next two hours and still not change my sleep schedule a bit.
Right now I’m sipping on a ‘secret’ tea :)
While I drink it down I can’t stop thinking about this quote from Proust… it just, it saddens me in a unique way: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152506640402361&set=a.10150584159532361.381084.714617360&type=1&theater

Drinking some Naturally Grown Karigane leaf stem from YUNOMI right now.
This is one strong green tean. Very easily identifiable as a Japanese green, bt much stronger than would be desired. Personally, I think the difference between this and others is that it is a stem tea. The color is beautiful and fully green. I just wish it wasn’t so rough on the mouth as I sip it

Brewing up some beauties today as I figure out the temperature and steeping times.
So thankful that I’m pursuing this full on. Just… all the imagination!
French Toast Dianhong
Tangerine Jasmine Pearls
Whatever that tea with homemade rock candy in it is
Peach Blossom Tung Ding
http://postimg.org/image/g1efr4yw3/

Drinking a sample of some anxi oolong tea from a newer supplier… well, let’s just say that I know that if this is indeed anxi oolong that it is not high quality nor is it mid quality. Somewhat disappointing, but this is only the third disappointment with searching for teas to use though which is great in comparison to how many have been very nice.

Learning bout’ that honeysuckle
https://instagram.com/p/393zj9RYL1/

Unknown oolong steeped three times and thrown out three times. Whatever it was, it was the worst oolong I have ever tasted.
The only leads are: Taiwn Gao Shan Cha

Not sure what made me grab this tea today, but I did.
Out of my swap box I picked out a genmaicha that had more popcorn than anything! I thought that was kind of odd but I wanted to try it because it looked rather fresh. It brewed clean with a nice aroma. The taste is a bit overpowered by notes of popcorn which I normally never pick up in a genmaicha, but I really enjoy this pot I brewed :) this is not just a one cup drink for me so I shall have three.

I FINALLY DID IT!!!!!!!!!!
I drank hot water thinking it was tea I just brewed. I knew the day would come that I would forget that I didn’t steep anything yet and sip from pure water.

Well, here’s my take on it: Very pure in taste, very similar to the taste of hot h20. Not much to really comment on though, lacks in flavor and isn’t very appealing. While it doesn’t have much flavor, it makes up for it by quenching my thirst which is always good. My guess is that this would be perfect for mixing with other drinks and liquids, possibly even steeping something in it :p

Right now I am drinking a lot of oolongs that I will review later… but I want to write something for my fellow Steepsters to read.
Just being 100% honest here
Within the past 24 hours I have been treated so well on Steepster that I am unsure how to channel all the warm feelings. What has happened is that a few different people have offered to send me teas on my wishlist. Understanding that they would have to take the time to look at my wishlist and be willing to offer those teas makes me so happy. I can’t wait to make more connection and have a job so I can pay it forward 10×. I’m already at work on this as I correspond with individuals in China, New Zealand, Japan, and Russia. To be honest, I love the internet. The internet provides the ability for families to Skype over long distances, see what friends are up to via Facebook, purchase goods directly from sellers, obtain education where books are scare, talk to those with similar interest like tea, and so much more!!!
The future always holds a multitude of possibilities to which I look forward to sharing with you all.

Do not eat spicy gouda cheese and drink an orange oolong blend after… I just teared up from the pain that my mind experierened as my taste buds sent some eletrical messages to my brain that might have suggested I was to harm myself because of how awful that mixture tasted.

Bought some Chinese Yunnan Maofeng Maohou Bud because I like the silver that is wrapped around the green leaf. This tea was somewhat mild and had a very wild taste to it. I liked it enough to drink 8ounces of it, but I’m not sure how many more times I will want to drink this tea yet because it is odd.

I bought some Chinese Jiaogulan balls because they look cool… dumped that cup out quick- NOT MY CUP OF TEA!!!!!!!!!

I drank a lot of tea today :)
https://instagram.com/p/3Gqf3IxYC5/?taken-by=liquidproust

https://instagram.com/p/3H6M8yRYIx/

Watermelon Tieguanyin… this is my first time blending, I’ve baked sake into tea and infused them so this should be an easier method.
I will say that for my first attempt this is quite tasty. I balanced out the melon taste to the floral taste quite well. I think I’m going to make one adjustment to give it a slight buttery texture by mixing a very small amount of gyokuro to the mix.
I will go ahead and blend up the Watermelon Tieguanyin w/gyokuro in the next few days. If anyone is up to brewing a cup and giving me feedback, that’d be great!

Went out for sushi for the first time in Tokyo last night… I am not a fan of sushi.
Anyways, what I found to be very interesting is the little container of matcha at every table. So you take the tiny scooper and put bit of matcha in cup and fill it with hot water where napkins would be in the US. I was surprised to find out that it was a genmaicha matcha because it was rather green. The rice taste with the vegetable taste of matcha was appealing since I was eating (not just sushi either) but I couldn’t imagine drinking this just as a drink though.
Fun times :) http://postimg.org/image/nslsi36w7 (shadows and lighting make it look darker than it is)

With no agenda or idea of what I was doing in Tokorozawa, I walked to the top of a tall building. Knowing that I can’t speak Japanese I know I can always walk anywhere and just say sorry and it’ll be okay because I’m a foreigner , however I did not expect the top floor to be a restaurant area. I walked around and was surprised to find a high end tea shop that only carried 6 teas. There were two oolongs, a few green teas, and then randomly a pu’erh. I decided to buy the pu’erh because it’s rarely seen here in Japan. I’m still confused about that tea shop… why it was there and why they only sold 6 teas. Whatever, it was an enjoyable trip
https://instagram.com/p/15m_pBRYM7/?taken-by=sinhatin

Walked into a rather large tea store and a lady pulled out her phone to translate for her. It was pretty awesome. She ended up pointing at a chair for me to sit in… so I sat and she brought me some tea: https://instagram.com/p/15GFCOxYLK/?taken-by=sinhatin

Ended up being a mid grade sencha that was pleasant. I ended up buying the display box they had for a 2015 harvest sencha… now there is only one pouch left.

I look forward to opening the box in a month when I’m back home :)

Talk about random…
My bike had a problem so I pulled over and this lady randomly comes out to help me out. I couldn’t understand anything she said because she was speaking Japanese, but she fixed my bike for me and I followed her to say thanks and she happens to own a pottery tea-ware store with a few teas. There are only two chairs in her place but she made me some tea and I still couldn’t understand her which sucks because I didn’t have more then 1000 yen on me so I couldn’t pick anything up at the time. She brewed me a cup of green tea that was very strong but it was because it was a lower end green tea. It was a nice experience and I plan to go back .

Just ate at higher end Indian restaurant in Tokyo and decided to order a chai.
This was one of the worst chais I’ve ever had. I know it was hand blended, but that doesn’t equate to good and this is an example of that. The cup was tiny (4 ounces) so I thought it’d be strong and bold, however it was watery and tasted like cinnamon and black pepper that should be eaten and not drank. I like chias, I really do , but dang this was rough.
I only drank an ounce of it because of the taste.