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This may turn out to be a mistake but I don’t even care. My wife shared her stomach virus with me and now I am trying very hard to keep lots of fluids in me. Yesterday I was too sick to care but today I need my morning matcha and cold milk. This one has a very unusual flavor that is perfect today. Its almost earthy but probably more nutty and roasted. I read Lion’s review and have to agree it has a stone flavor. Really good this morning.

I tend to love just about everything. One that I have so far hated and avoided is lavender. I can’t stand the smell of the actual flower and find it is soapy perfume in tea – until now. This is one of the blends included in Petit Teas Opulence Variety Pack.

When I opened the infuser package, I could smell the lavender and it was a bit soapy but not in an overwhelming sense. Steeped it for 2 1/2 minutes in 195F water. The liquor is lightly colored green with a bit of yellow tint. To look at it is one of those cups you think won’t have any flavor. The scent is lightly floral, sweet, and not offensive.

I took my first sip, and batted my eyes because I’m momentarily confused. Quickly took another sip. This I am actually enjoying. The flavor is kind of midway between a lotus (that I love) and a light jasmine. The green tea is what sets it apart and probably why it reminds me of lotus. It quickly rises mid sip with a kind of earthy presence and pushes through holding its own until the end. Does not need sweetened. In fact that just muddies the cup.

I once hated jasmine until I experienced it blended correctly. That is the same feeling I had with this one. Good job Petit Tea!

I don’t know about all of you, but I don’t own a scale. I just scoop out what seems appropriate at the time and go with it. The danger of that is that with time my scooped amount gets bigger and bigger. That becomes more obvious when you use a tea like this that come prepackaged in a single serving bag. I poured it out and looked in the bag, wondering where’s the rest of it. However -

The dry leaf smelled like a fresh uncut field. Alive and green. Steeped at 185F for 2 minutes. This is a Chinese green tea but the aroma reminded me so much of a high mountain Taiwanese oolong. It tastes even better. So sweet and floral, yet no where near perfumey. There is a cleansing bite that runs through the whole sip. Towards the end it almost hits metallic but draws back before crossing the line. Starts feeling thick like milk towards the end of the sip.

Really liked this one.

Fell asleep around midnight, and awoke at 4:00 am. I’m not sure how much caffeine is in this but with a name like American Breakfast, I am hopeful it is significant. I really like these aluminum infusers. Less mess than a teaball and far tastier than a bag while just as convenient. This one is a blend of Darjeeling and Assam. Not a big fan of Assam on its own as even the better stuff just tastes like tea. Here it adds that classic bite that a good morning cup needs without a pucker factor. It is just good clean bite. It is the Darjeeling that is the real interest here. Even before steeping the leaf has a nice woodsy scent. The steeped cup has that grapey muscat flavor along with a woodsy (maybe nutty or earthy) element that just makes this tasty to me at the moment.

I read the company description. I’m a fat boy. I know what decadent vanilla sponge cake drizzled with caramel sauce tastes like. (hint – not this) This reminds me of Superberry that my wife loves. To me if you said this was rosehips and currants I would believe you.

Downtown Abbey is a show that I am never going to watch despite knowing a lot of people love it. Mrs Patmore’s Pudding Tea seems adored by most who have reviewed it. I’m happy for fans of both, but I’m sticking with my Earl Grey and Star Trek.

Live long and prosper.

The weather has been brutal the last week (compared to the rest of winter so far) but today we are getting a brief reprieve. The temp hit abt 50 F! The snow is quickly going away and I am happy happy happy. Tuesday night went to band practice and almost didn’t get out of the car. The sidewalk was excellent but the parking lot was pretty scary.

Anyway, almost grabbed a coke but tea won the debate over lazy. Just a little of this left. Brewed it western style. The instructions say 3 minutes but I went 2. 3 would be better, it is a little light. Dry it smells fruity and of hay. Once steeped the cup is between damp earth and barn. The taste is light and a little dusty with wood, earth, and mild leather notes there is more than a hint of fruit towards the end. It is coating my throat with a sweet syrupy feel.

Note overly complex but more satisfying than what I started to grab.

Had this twice today. First with boiling water. In my defense there are no directions on the envelop. The taste is cooling peppermint with a light hit of heat at the end from the ginger. Kind of neat. I can sort of taste the white tea but not really except I taste tea in the aftertaste. It just seems muted – even with some sweetener added.

The second cup I used 160F water. The flavor of the tea is fuller and sweeter this way. It is still somewhat muted from the bag but otherwise a simple pleasant cup on a bitter cold snow blowing day. Days like this, I don’t miss work at all (OK that’s pretty much everyday).

This is an infuser system that comes 12 to a box. Each is individually wrapped and contains 2.5 g of leaf. The infuser appears to be aluminum with rows of holes. It is intended to be an upgraded replacement for bags. I used one infuser in a mug of boiling water. The dry stick has a strong bergamot scent. Once infused it is much more calm and refined. The tea base is a blend of Darjeeling and Assam. That makes a pretty solid combination. Where as my normal Earl has a harsh Ceylon edge, this is smooth and you can actually taste it. The bergamot is natural, bright and citrusy. Strong enough to know this is Earl Grey without assualting your senses. Yeah, so a little bit of a straying from my normal barbarian cup. I added a little sweetener halfway through the cup and in addition to being sweet, I think it broadened both the citrus and the base notes. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I’m actually pleasantly surprised. It easily made a second cup.

This is a flavored rooibos herbal in a bag. The first thing I noticed when tasting is the lack of that harsh scratchy woody rooibos taste. I don’t even smell it. I like that. It tastes predominantly of cinnamon. What little (by my standards) heat I catch I think is the ginger grabbing as the cinnamon passes by. There is orange, chamomile, and anise that add sweetness without calling much attention to themselves. The lemongrass is more fill in than a real note. I thought it was a fun cup

Dad is coming home today so thanks all for the prayers and support.

O Ggmathis, why didn’t I remember your review before I brewed this one? On its own this is tasty but lacks a certain wow factor. Had I remembered her comments, I have a whole box of cacao nibs I could have added. Primarily, this is a light peppermint tea. It doesn’t beat you up with mint yet is obviously mint. A good balance in that respect. It is just the chocolate doesn’t reach that decadent level I crave. I added Splenda and it brightened the cup but didn’t really fix it. I may have to try this again with some Charlie Brown love added. Thanks ggmathis.
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Dad – there was no infection and no clear idea what was going on. One of his nurses told him she laid awake all night trying to figure out what to do for him. She told his family doctor her idea, who agreed to let her try. They treated his leg as if it were a severe burn. He immediately began to respond. After just a couple days the leg has gone from black and blue to nice and pink. Still looks kind of gross but nothing like it was before she treated him. He is walking all over the hospital wing now and making plans to come home. Truly miraculous.