Various Artists

Oh, that’s a cute picture! (It’s 4 white teacups with varying colours of tea on some wooden boards, in case it changes again.)

Tonight I’ve mixed 50/50 Almond Marzipan by Zen Tea, and Creme Brulee by DavidsTea. And I added some of that weird creamer I made… which I’m totally going to make again, but include 1 tbsp maple syrup to make it more like commercial dairy free creamers.

So. Good. It’s dessert in a cup, definitely helped out by the amount of calories in the coconut creamer. :D Yum yum yum.

Finished up my homebrew chamomile blend, and made a new one! The old one had orange peel in it (I picked it out…), which is something I’m trying to avoid right now, so the new one is:
- chamomile
- lemongrass
- lemon myrtle
- marshmallow root
- fennel
- lavender

Pretty random, right? Well, it’s really tasty too. SUCCESS! Tea is great. :)

This is some random rooibos chai I found in the cupboard. I steeped it for, umm, about 30 minutes (oops?) then remembered it was on the counter. All it needed was a splash of cream, because the cinnamon and the long steep sweetened it enough for me tonight. I had originally planned on having it with some maple syrup.

It’s really good with the potato pancakes I made. Mm. (http://www.theironyou.com/2013/11/sweet-potato-latke-turkey-burger-aka.html)

I actually don’t mind a rooibos chai, and will have to see which local shops carry one. I can see it being a welcome addition to my cupboard this winter!

So this is a gold packet that says “refined Chinese tea” that I think originated with Sil and I got from Heather.

I have no idea what it is. It smells tasty. All sweet, rich notes. I’m steeping it as I do my usual black teas – 3 min at about 195F. I think the instructions say 3-7 minutes, but I could wrong. I don’t really read Chinese, I only recognize a couple characters.

At any rate, steeped it smells like roasted squash. Kabocha, when it gets nicely browned in the oven. So sweet and delicious. I don’t think it tastes as good as it smells – there’s a weird sour note I sometimes get with tea – but it’s pretty good.

I think it’s so funny that my picture of puerh at the Chinese diner has ended up being the picture for this “tea”. :)

I stuck two bags of tulsi in with one bag of wild berry zinger. It’s getting a little late, and I need to turn off the computer and chill. Maybe sleep some. I have a lot to do at work tomorrow, and then need to head out to a tea shop for some holiday shopping. “One for you, and one for me.” Right?

The mix is actually pretty good. I’m not much of a fan of the zinger teas hot, but with the tulsi I don’t mind it. The tulsi and berry combination is one I can get behind. It will be a good way to use up both boxes of tea. :)

This time it’s Harmonizing Tulsi mixed with Redberry Tonic from DavidsTea. IDK. I think I like tulsi and apple mixed together, but not so much hibiscus or rose hips. I’ll have to find just dried apples, and mix up some tulsi and apples and some Nana’s Fruit Garden to see what happens there.

(This time unsweetened, incredibly overleafed, and I didn’t manage to finish a bag of anything. Oh well.)

This is a mix of Wild Orange Blossom from Teavana, and Harmonizing Tulsi from Herbal Republic.

Yes, I’m aware that I’m stretching a bit here.

Umm, it’s drinkable. I did 1 part orange, 2 parts tulsi. Mostly I’m getting the tulsi, which I generally don’t mind, but don’t LOVE in the blend from HR.

I really like tulsi blended with apples and berries, so I’ll be trying that out with the plain tulsi I have. However, I think the Harmonizing one will have to be drunk on its own, as it just isn’t right with other flavours. The candy-sweet orange just doesn’t go well with the incredible herbal flavours in the tulsi blend.

Out for Chinese food with a friend tonight, and we’re served puerh instead of the usual green! So awesome.

It’s actually a really nice puerh, too. Not what I’d expect for a cheap late night diner. :) Tastes like dirt. In a good way.

This feels like cheating, but I haven’t actually had any tea today.

Instead, I’ve just made some ginger-tumeric tea, with a sprinkle of tumeric, 1 tbsp ginger grated, and 2 tbsp honey. Nom nom nom. Lemon is also good in this. I’m steeping it like a tea rather than simmering it for 5-10 min on the stove, because I’m wiped and cold and want to go curl up in the nest with the cats.

This is for a Hazelberry Puerh from Steam Tea House. It’s not out yet, but I spied it on the shelf and got a sample.

The info I could find about a tea of this name was from Adiago. So I have no idea. Yes, it’s hazelnut, but what berry? Beats me.

Last night I had a mug of this with nothing added. It was really sweet, creamy, thick and heavy. I quite liked it although I feel the flavour needs more time to chill as it’s quite strong. I guess it depends on if it’s their own blend or they’re bringing it in from a supplier, what they can do.

Today I had a second steep with some maple whipped cream. Oh my, that was so good. Just rich dessert like flavours.

So I decided to look for some homemade cold remedies. There’s one where you take lemon and ginger (and chili), and pour honey over and keep it in the fridge.

There’s another where you take cinnamon and honey and mix them together.

Both of these would be spooned into a glass of boiling water to make a tisane.

So I decided to concoct my own. No lemons in my house right now, so I used 1/2 cup honey, 3 tsp ground ginger, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground tumeric. I’m drinking some now. I still can’t really taste anything, but I can tell this stuff is SPICY. I’d probably only use 1/4-1/2 tsp tumeric next time. That stuff is strong. And stains everything yellow. :)

Mixed Ginger Puerh and Super Ginger from DavidsTea this morning for my cold. Ugh, colds are terrible. My coworker’s partner is pregnant, so bringing a cold to work is an awful idea.

Anyways. I can’t taste anything. I can sorta smell a bit kinda, but the taste is just sweet, and the sense is just warming. This will be a good time to go through all of those green teas I never drink. :)

Camomile, orange peel, lemongrass, lavender, honey. Yay! A good end to thanksgiving dinner. :)

I did it again, guys. 50/50 Bayswater Creme Brulee and Divine Temptation. Both the black tea versions.

It’s so good. It’s nutty and sweet and sorta coffee-like. Maybe a little chicory. IDK, it just reminds me of camping and hanging out with my grandparents.

Whelp. I guess I know which “tea” I’m bringing hiking in Sept. Definitely have to bring this one. (Maybe I’ll bring a mickey of amaretto as well. Really get the nostalgia-factor high!)

50/50 Bayswater black Creme Brulee and Divine Temptation. With milk and sugar because wow.

Wow.

WOW.

Hazelnut nougat, sweetness, burnt sugar/coffee-ish flavour. So good.

I decided to make up a big batch of lemon-sage tea, for deliciousness. Have I mentioned I really like medicinal/herbal teas? Because I do!

1 tbsp fine sage leaves (not powder!)
2 tbsp honey (or to taste)
zest of one lemon
juice of half a lemon
4 cups boiling water

Cover and steep 10-30 minutes, then drink! I like it both hot and cold, so the extras go into the fridge for another time. It doesn’t taste like something that goes on chicken, even though sage is, well, sage. Think of it as an herbal lemonade. I need to do this with lavender. Yum!

I mixed up a blend of herbs tonight, what fun!

2 tbsp chamomile, 1 tbsp lemongrass, 1/2 tbsp orange peels.

I steeped about 1 tbsp in a mug using a filter bag, and it is so delicious. Fresh dried chamomile blossoms are so tasty and honey-like. Yum!

This bedtime tea is brought to you by the idiot who turned the heat in the apartment to “COOL”! I was sitting here shivering, and wondering why I was so cold when I had already turned up the heat. So I went out into the hall, and examined the thermostat. My apartment feels significantly more chilly than the entry, and the entry is at 68F! BRR. Wooly socks for me.

Back home from vacation! Super happy to be back with my tea stash, but will definitely miss the warmth of Kuaui!

With my order from TTC, I received a surprise sample of a new black tea they are growing themselves called ‘Formosa Golden Dragon Tippy Black Tea’. It’s not on their website site yet, but when it is, I’ll move this review over to the appropriate steepster page.

This tea is delicious. Has that signature Taiwan Black Tea flavor, but is markedly different as well. The aftertaste is totally cinnamon, like cinnamon candy, but not fake, just good. The cup is super smooth and has a bit of a Fujian flavor to it. Will definitely order it when it pops on the website. But their samples are so huge, I have several cups left before I’ll need to order.

TTC has quickly joined the ranks of Verdant, Butiki, and Yezi teas for me. Amazing tea and customer service.

My husband just returned from a trip to Singapore and brought me back a few teas. One of them was labeled a Lapsang Souchong. I thought, oh crap, I seriously do not like them. But when I opened it. It smelled amazing. Rich chocolate. Dark roast. Is that normal? I always thought LS were just meat smokey. And I don’t eat meat, so I really don’t like my tea to taste like it. But this one was either mislabeled, or maybe there are different kinds. Cause this one was amazing. Anybody have any insights?

I used my new favorite glass steeper. Perfect 8oz glass mug with glass steeping insert. Pictures here:

http://tastybrewtea.blogspot.com/2013/10/my-favorite-new-steeping-cup.html

Felt like mixing a few things up tonight. I used about 2/3 Culinary Teas Genmaicha and 1/3 David’s cookie dough. Yum. I think next time I’ll throw in a few marshmallows. Good mix.

Here’s Hoping tea box

Luo an gua lien teavivre

Lightly floral, spring-like green tea. Not bad, but not remarkable either.

Here’s Hoping Tea Box

Chen Nian Puer by Golden Bridge

A little too much fish flavor. I’m not enjoying this one at all.

Here’s Hoping Tea Box
Sencha summer citrus by ocharaka tea shop

Bright,buttery, and sweet base that compliments the natural citrus flavors. Slightly floral undertones make for a warming, summery cup.

Here’s hoping tea box

green Ceylon by Alokozay

Perfume-like smell. Thick-bodied, sweet green tea with hints of honey and apricot. I wasn’t so fond of the floral aftertaste though.