Popular Tasting Notes
Ohhh wow.
I have never had a Tieguanyin that tastes so chocolatey! With each sip I take I make sure to breath in deep with my nose. Oh the senses! All my senses are touched and tingling (oh my!). And a touch of caramel! I’ve only just begun with this tea, but it was so good I had to come start writing it down. I never want to forget this experience.
ooo I just smelled the wet leaves. So roasty and smokey, hints of cigar in the smell but not the taste. I could smell this all day – the aroma is hitting the back of my throat and reminding me of my trip to Cuba. Sipping wine and puffing back the most sweet and delicious cigars I’ve ever tasted. I’m also getting some sort of citrus fruit in the smell, like a smokey lime almost. Something spunky.
The taste is all lush though, definitely some floral notes are playing with my buds but it’s like a creamy french dessert. I’m intoxicated! I’m in love.
EDIT: A few (maybe more) cups later and I’m with HyBr1d – I think this is the first tea that has given me a real sense of ChaQi. I’m going to have to try a little more leaf with my puerhs to see what other teas can make me feel this good. To be honest – my face is flushed, I’m feeling an overwhelming sense of calm, but heightened awareness as well. I don’t want to put it into words or over analyze too much, in case it goes away! I’m perfectly content to stay here forever.
A tasting note, wrapped in a story, wrapped in an event.
This may be my most difficult review to date. It will be off the cuff, unbridled and from my heart. If this is not to the liking of everyone, there are other reviews and no need to read mine. I’m not preaching my religion either, but it is who I am and I’m not ashamed.
How do I write a review when there has been another tragic death on a day when we are still mourning the losses of 9-11?
In my own lifetime the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Vietnam and Desert Storm, bombings and kidnappings of U.S. Citizens. I’ve learned that you can’t ever let the bad things that happen in life win by turning you into a hateful, bitter person.
Life goes on. There’s always good in the World even though good news doesn’t get much time in the Press.
This Tea and My Story
The Oolong tea leaves were so large (and almost black) that I held them in my hand, juggling an amount that was almost 1.5TB. That was just enough for the Finum tea basket and mug method of brewing.
The steepings are so short, 3-5 seconds and increasing 1 second each steep, making sure to control the timing.
I brought my electric kettle filled with spring water to the boil, rinsed the leaves once and began the first steep.
The aroma of the wet leaves were like roasted short ribs with caramelization on them and everything! (Now of course I wanted some ribs…they smelled so good!)
I put my nose down close to the liquor and inhaled.
The scent was like incense in an old Church when the wood has been permeated with candle soot and resinous incense.
Then I took a sip of tea, curious about how this incense scent would taste.
The flavor was sweet deep mango and floral incense (but not bitter), vibrating in my mouth with intensity. I was having a difficult time pinning down the floral notes because the complexity and power of the tea was distracting me. There was great robust flavor and smooth softness at the same time, then a cool camphor-like vapor, arriving after some time of contemplation.
The scent and flavor made me think of the All Night Vigil during Holy Week (Easter). I signed up to read a portion of the Psalms usually at 1 or 2AM.
I entered the Church which was completely dark other than 1 Vigil light on the Altar and 1 light on the Readers Stand. The whole Church was filled (even petals on the floor) with the scent of roses, gardenias, carnations, laurel and flowers from services held every day during Holy Week. And of course INCENSE! (All incense is natural such as the one this tea reminds me of, ancient Ethiopian Frankincense…which is in little light pinkish pellets.)
As I would stand reading the Psalms until the next person arrived, all was quiet and intensely fragrant. My mouth was reading out loud, but my heart was praying. It was tranquil and beautiful.
When I was drinking this tea through several additional steepings, and began to taste a little of the cinnamon flavor (not sweet cinnamon or bitter but the dry kind), fuzzy textured fruit and floral honey, I could not stop remembering standing in the church smelling the incense and flowers.
The Vigil wasn’t mournful. It was hopeful.
With every tragic event that has happened and will continue to happen in the world, the choice we each have is to be angry, seek revenge, be depressed or, be wise and love each other in the face of it all.
I pray that we are wise enough to love each other.
http://flic.kr/p/dadfAs (Here you can see some of the flowers and on the floor)
http://flic.kr/p/cqY2rG (the outside of the Church)
http://youtu.be/iCgIswP7jPY Music also
Lovely.
Thank you Azzrian. I was hoping I didn’t upset anyone.
how can you upset anyone when it is your opinion and your life
i thought it was great
no need to apologize for being YOU Bonnie! I love your stories, this one included.
May all those who passed rest in peace
A beautiful review, thank you Bonnie!
Great story and beautiful church
This Church is St. Peter and Paul in Ben Lomond,CA in the Redwoods.
Bonnie, I’m listening to the Music link while I drink my first cup of the day, a blend I make to support my immune system: 1 Qt of water, bring to simmer with dried astragulus root (from Cheryl’s Herbs) & thinly sliced fresh ginger root. Don’t ask how much of either, a couple TBLS or so. Simmer covered gently for awhile…15 minutes or so? Remove from heat, add a handful of fresh lemon balm (from my herb garden), a few thin strips of lemon peel, & a spoon of local honey to taste (Cheryl’s carries an amazingly awesome local honey). Drink throughout the day. Thanks for the beautiful music, & the photos as well. :)
The tea and your memories of the vigil, the church and those lost are all beautiful! Thank you for sharing that part of who you are, your spirituality is wonderful and that church is gorgeous! Is it Greek Orthodox as well? I grew up Roman Catholic in suburb and everything was dark and dull and somber, none of the beautiful colors and art and culture that I see in both the photos and picture in your words. I know there was occasionally incense at mass though I didn’t care for it as a child, but roses? Engage all the senses! I value all religious/spiritual paths (I also grew up a Unitarian Universalist) and love the diversity here!
:) it did indeed, especially when the people started moving. Jim also gave me a little lesson in Orthodoxy in a PM. The Alaskan Native American Orthodox services sound amazing! Love cultural preservation though the video did remind me a bit of a documentary we watched in my high school Global Studies course where Islamic missionaries went to a remote Northern African tribe and told them the tree spirits they worshiped were the devil, that made me very sad as I also believe that the Divine expresses itself through nature, my husband finds himself much in line with Japanese Shintoism, but that is neither here nor there. Thank you for sharing your tradition!
Keep in mind that Orthodoxy has been in Northern and Eastern Africa for two millennia! The patriarchate of Alexandria is one of the original five (Jerusalem, Rome, Antioch, Alexandria and then Constantinople). The Coptic and Ethiopian expressions of Orthodoxy are some of the oldest and most carefully preserved in the world.
One reason why Orthodox traditions throughout the world manifest so differently from one another is that rather than going to a place and saying “your faith is bad, let us tell you about a good faith”, Orthodox rather go and say “your faith is good, let us tell you about what we know and see where they match up”.
There is a fine line between panentheism (the divine is in everything) and pantheism (the divine is everything). Animism (like Shinto) and other polytheistic systems stray a bit too far to one side to be entirely compatible, but if the understanding can be honed to come to understand that there is one divinity which is able to express and manifest itself in many forms (both through cultures and nature) then common ground can be found even with those who worship tree spirits. It is a subtle business which can take generations to achieve.
It’s Orthodox yes. Here in the U.S. we hear people refer to the church’s as Russian or Greek etc. because we don’t have an American Patriarch as yet (working on that) and immigrants brought their culture and sometimes Priests here from these different places (although Orthodoxy has been here in the U.S. over 200 years through Alaska). All but a few old ethnic Churches are in English and a mix of people just like you and I.
This is SO SO SO SO Good!!!
Now THIS is what I’m talking about!
Chocolate
Malt
Caramel
Vanilla
Cinnamon but only ever so slightly
Creamy
DREAMY!!!!
Yes in fact I do get all these flavor elements and what a lovely wonderful much needed grounding tea right now!
Everyone’s schedule in this house is chaotic with exception of mine so I am the one doing backflips to accommodate everyone else after 10 years of being the only one working in the house and everyone accommodating ME lol
Its nice to have more income indeed and wonderful WONDERFUL that my daughter is working not one but TWO jobs September 31 of last year will be a YEAR since her neurosurgery!!
Amazing I am proud and grateful!
Still OMG make the noise STOP!!!!
LOL
everyone is bouncing off the walls and I am needing much more grounding, center, and focus to do MY work which is being fit into when I can get it done.
SO with that said – OH YES bring it on – THIS is the perfect tea for this. I am glad I got a sampler and now I am off to get a BUNCH of this!
going to have to try this one again… have a vague recollection of not enjoying it that much when i first tried it but that seems like eons ago.
That sounds like everything I want in a tea, Azzrian! I just checked my order (due to arrive tomorrow, I hope…), & that one isn’t on there… :( Actually there are a few others I want to try now. Verdant Teas look SO awesome, I really want to try everything! I guess I’d better finish paying my bills…
Terri – verdant has gorgeous teas! Totally worth saving up for.
Sil we can’t love them all I guess but this one really is nice for me! :)
Terri I am sure whatever you did get you will find at least one or more new loves! :)
Yeah lol the bills are calling my name as well.
I also need to reply to your last PM – today has been chaos will reply asap xox
I just ordered the summer blends that Verdant Teas still have in stock, and this was one of them. I’m happy to read your tasting note on this and can’t wait to receive my snack-sized order. (Although, after reading this note, I am already kind of regretting only getting the smallest (7g) size…)
wow you have alot goin on girl! but I am SO happy for you and your daughter!
Nik – that’s fantastic!
Hurray for your daughter!!
wow, you have a lot going on! So nice you could stop and enjoy a tea!!
Real rest is rare these days, isn’t it?
Thanks everyone!
Emma did decide to NOT work two jobs today after only one day in the training it was just too ambitious for her (they work the employees REALLY hard there) but she is going to apply at the YMCA for a counter job tomorrow and I am sure she will get it as my son used to life guard there. So that will be a far more manageable second job and its a block from home!
LOL thats how things roll here lately though change change change :)
@gmathis – you know it lol
@ Nik I know I only got the 7g myself
I’m still alive, guys!
Although I don’t think I would have been saying that so enthusiastically even a few days ago. I woke up last Monday morning with a mildly sore throat. You know, the “it would feel nice to have a warm drink this morning” type. Well, not even a few hours later, I was shivering, had a raging fever, and could barely swallow without literally crying in pain. Two days later, a doctor thought I had strep, so gave me antibiotics. Four days later, they still weren’t working at all, and the pain in my throat and ears was so awful that even breathing hurt. Then, I began puking violently. You know the kind where you’re on the floor clutching and lurching, thinking for sure you’re going to rupture something because of the force of your heaving? yeah that kind. Anyway, I went to the ER a few times to get hydrated. We’re thinking the antibiotics on an empty stomach for four days wasn’t such a good idea, either that or it was the wrong antibiotic. I was also blessedly given some really effective pain medication, even though they refused to give me anything for the pain the first time around. They were like “yeah, take Advil.” and I was like “I really think I need something stronger.” and they were like “Well we can’t give you narcotics!” and I was like seriously, wtf? there has got to be something between Advil and morphine you guys can give me. Sure enough there was, but advocating on your behalf when you’re sick is annoying.
Anyway, needless to say I didn’t have much tea at all. I sipped half-heartedly at this cup this morning, because it’s a very soothing and gentle tea, but my heart just wasn’t in it. It’s kind of disappointing, because I also just got my rivertea order in the mail and it all smells amazing. Oh well, I’ll hold off on drinking new tea until I’m feeling up to it.
It’s good to be back though!
Whoa! That sounds like a truly horrific few days!
I am so glad you are on the mend.
Hope you will be feeling in tip top shape soon.
Yikes! I echo Hesper’s comment. It’s good that you’re (slowly) getting better. I hope you continue to take it easy.
Oh I’m so glad you’re starting to feel better! That’s awful. I know what you mean about the “advil or morphine” as pain management options. So ridiculous. There are lots of options!
Thanks, guys. I can’t wait until I feel fully like myself again. And omgsrsly, that really was very annoying. Give me a break-not everyone in pain is pretending, and not every painkiller is habit-forming.
What an awful sounding few days. I’m glad you’re getting better. Take good care of yourself, Keychange. I recommend libral amounts of tea.
That sounds horrible! I’m glad you’re feeling a bit better now.
Ya know, I thought we hadn’t heard/read anything from you for a few days. I was thinking you might be sick. I’m glad you are beginning to be on the mend. Get lost of rest and the always good advice from this group… drink tea :)
I am so glad you’re better and I am so sorry you had to go through all that! I am sending lots of hugs your way!
Thanks guys! let’s hope this never happens to anyone ever! LOL
Poor thing, feel better!
Hope you feel all better soon!
You guys are all so sweet.
Big hugs to you, sweetie! What a couple of days you’ve had. I hope you continue to mend swiftly!
Thank you! so far so good :)
Yikes, hope you’re feeling better!!
Thanks. I’m getting there, I hope :D
Feel better soon and take care of yourself :-)
So much love, thank you.
That’s because you’re very loveable missy :-)
Glad to hear you are still alive and feeling better.
So glad to see you here and hope you’re back to your normal self soon! It’s too bad when so many people abuse the medical system that they won’t give meds to those who actually need them. Hope you’re feeling back to tea time soon!
Glad to hear you’re feeling better. That sounds so awful. :|
Had this beautiful oolong using high mountain seasoned yixing clay pot.
This is my special occasion oolong and I just realized last night that I had totally forgotten to order some more on the last Butiki sale :-(
And then a miracle. I found an unopened 1/2 ounce pouch in the butiki drawer.
So I drank some with no special occasion other than having found it…and it gave me pure joy.
This is the epitome of what clean and fresh should be. A taste of the sky.
Sweet, creamy and buttery, pudding mouth. Floral notes very present of lilac and orchid, with a fresh minty finish.
The leaves are beautiful, so I decorated my pot with it to thank it for my session.
beautiful!
Thanks stephanie :-)
Sometimes it’s a special occasion with no reason at all. And that drinking this tea gave you pure joy, that’s a special occasion and a special tea. <3
Well said cheri :-)
I like that you have a Butiki drawer, that is a level of organization I can appreciate!
Beautiful picture! I am anxiously awaiting for my butiki order to arrivr:)
Lovely! I adore da yu lings!!!!
Thanks christeana, med too can’t wait to get it, especially the mug!!!
Amanda, I only create the illusion of being organized…too much tea!!!
Sars, da yu ling is my favourite high mountain oolong :-)
No, it’s MY fave high mountain oolong ;p
It’s awesome that you have a Butiki drawer.
You deserve a miracle tea find :).
Kaylee, butiki was the first tea Co. I ever dedicated a drawer to :-)
mj, awww, thank you ;-)
Hehe. What are the other companies?
Well, i recently invested in a tin system, that means less tea in drawers! But other than Butiki, Whispering Pines and Teavivre each have their own ;-)
(So much tea!!)
Love your pic! :) Unfortunately, we just missed out on the Da Yu Ling this year. I waited a few days too long to purchase and it was already gone. :( Instead I was able to find a fantastic Fu Shou Shan in its place.
Sooo…some awesome person that may be the creator of this fabulous tea has suggested the idea of a pot devoted to the VANILLA DREAMS family of tea. My own family of VD teas consists of GO, PORT, ELDERWOOD, and soon to be received COCOA AMORE. (Not counting new EL DORADO cause it’s a chai).
Since all those teas are blended with hand-cut vanilla beans, I can only imagine what kind of flavour this will be rendering later.
I started the seasoning process very late last night, and kind of fell asleep during the soaking part. Oops. Does that mean that my pot bathed in awesomeness all night long?
Hell yeah! Now, that cannot be a bad thing…
Well, let me tell you I am drinking GO right now Gongfu style for the first time and it is just dreamy….Awwwww this is soooo gooood!!!
It’s a lot more concentrated this way, and the vanilla seems a little boozy somehow, hard to explain. Probably the minerals from the pot has to do with that.
It maltier this way, also fruitier and more fudgy. All the flavours are so condensed and smooth.
This will turn into a serious addiction, I can tell. Oh my.
Great idea Brenden, and this will make me drink even more of your tea, if that’s possible!!
WOOOOO! When my new yixings get here – I’m going the same thing!
Go look at your PM. And “bathed in awesomeness all night long” is full of win!
Lol, I guess not! Can’t wait for you to try this…
I think I want my Vanilla Pot to be the purple one that sadly, is coming from China so will take a while. Maybe I’ll change my mind and use another one for the vanillas.
You have the purple and the one from mandala coming right? Any others I should know about?
No. I finally managed to stop after the Mandala one. For pots anyway – I do have that lotus cup coming. But I also have 2 others I need to season. One will be just for SD and one will be for other shous and that will leave one for…..?
I REALLY want the purple one to be the vanilla one though, so I may have to wait
Yes, you better wait for what you really want…just pretend you did not see this note this morning…
I will try
This new yixing habit is going to get expensive… I can already tell. In addition to the yixing gaiwans I’ve bought over the past few days, I bought a wall shelf last night, to keep them on. Because you can’t have broken tea ware! And now I see this idea, so I need another yixing gaiwan!
This time, I blame Brenden. You’re off the hook, Foxy!
I’m having GO as my going out the door tea this morning. @Sars the lotus gaiwan need to be the Vanilla one
Have a great day MzPriss!!
Sars…it’s totally on him, thank you.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/125488674@N02/14688641333/
Cute new mug (filled with GO)
Which lotus, HoneyBelle? I got two. Though one is a different type of clay. So maybe I should stick with the yixing for this. Not sure.
Love the new mug!!!
The mug looks awesome!!!
The one where the lotus is actually the shape of the clay with no glaze. Isn’t that mug cute? $4.99 @ TJMaxx
OK out the door with my GO. Have a great day y’all
Thanks for the suggestion, MzP! Have a great day!!!
Sorry, but skip this note if you’re looking for some insightful adjectives on how good this tea tastes.
I’ve been a sleepy head all day…just can’t shake the blues and the tiredness.
Just wanted something magical, that might chase those feelings away. Think I may have found it.
Wild Monk is one of those tea I keep in case of emergency.
Thank you Garret for making this so special, it nearly brings me to tears…good tears that is.
I just got “shengged” by The Monk, and I liked it…a lot.
hugs
Sorry you’re being chased by the blues. But I’m glad this helped! I haven’t tried my wild monk yet. Sounds like I need to do that tomorrow. :)
i need to buy this
Thank you sweet girl..I will get by. This tea is just fantastic, and I need some time alone when I have it, it’s just that good. I’ve had that now and feel much better :-)
Apt, this one is a no brainer…and I believe there’s only a few 2012 cakes left…
<3<3<3<3
<3
Hey! I put way more hearts on that comment! Steepster ate my hearts!!!!!
No worries, one heart from you is already full of special meaning :-)
This is one of those teas that makes me feel better too – glad that it’s working for you – enjoy your time with it and feel better. :))
Feel better dear TF!
Wild Monk to the rescue! Hope you feel better!
Sounds like this will end up on my list of Magic Mood Teas, but I won’t know for sure til tomorrow. :)
Seepster has been eating my characters all day. This sheng <3. I’m grumpy headache girl as well. Grrrr Instead of sheng though I just made up some GO in my newly-seasoned Vanilla Dream pot! LTF!!!! It worked. It steals very little even at this point after that long hot bath. I would say it takes a wee bit of the chocolate flavor and pretty much none of the vanilla. It’s awesomely good.
Thank you deaf friends <3
Sars, I cannot wait for you to try it…
(“deaf” friends??? I OBVIOUSLY DON’T KNOW HOW TO WRITE!!)
I don’t hear that well…
Haha!
But I DO have some badass tea!
Same here…shitloads of badass…
You win the typo of the day award, Foxy!
Whaaaaat? I can’t hear youse!!!!!
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW????
Hugs, TTF! I hope tomorrow is a better day :)
Thank you sweet mj, feeling much better this morning :-)
Excellent :)
I know this is a long review. Sorry but I still think you should read all of it. Just saying.
So. Shou. I kind of have a thing for it.
I drink it everyday and have lots of favourites. I have been known to have shou boxes in the house. (See what I did?) That was before I copied MzPriss and make my own “pumidrawer”. Cause you know…who doesn’t want to be like the fabulous MzPriss?
So it is established that I have a huge amount of shou in da house. But. As you probably know, I can’t resist many of the WP teas. I just go where quality is.
And I had yet to try this one. MzPriss recently reviewed it, and I was kind of envious. She got a real shou buzz out of it. I wanted that too!! But hey, you just don’t order a shoubuzz like you order a pizza.
I had already gotten a nice buzz from a sheng earlier. Pinky cheeks and all. Very nice qi. But not over the top.
There was still room for more. So…could I get lucky twice in the same evening?
Well. That is an understatement folks. This stuff should be illegal.
First I will describe the taste, then the qi. (Cause really, I could devote an entire page to it)
The dry leaves look like “chocolat au lait” shavings, so pretty.
I’m using 7g for 5oz shou yixing (shouxing?)
First steep, and wow. I mean this is as soft and smooth as angel wings. Makes me regret wasting the rinse.
No trace of earthiness or even leather in this. It’s all nuts and creamy vanilla. At first, I thought roasted pecans. When I later read the description, it said walnuts and I think it’s more accurate.
It’s sweet, in a dark brown sugar kind of way. It also provides that fresh mouthfeel of camphor that coats your entire mouth and lingers on your lips.
The third steep was probably the best. A little powdery, still very nutty and creamy.
I stopped at around steep seven, and I can tell you that by then, all I could do was lay on my back and enjoy the feeling.
The qi. It made my body twinkle all over. This tea is pure warm energy. I could feel my blood circulate. It made me tea drunk in a way I have never experienced before. Oh, I have felt this way before, but I promise you it wasn’t from tea leaves. (O.O)
And I kept thinking how nice this feeling will be on upcoming lazy rainy days. I’m gonna need
a lot more of this.
If you already like shou, this will only make you like it even more. And to all non shou lovers, please hurry and give this a try.
P.S. There should be a warning on the pouch: don’t shou and drive.
Uh oh….. Want!
I will have to try that one when they get the Rivendell in stock.
Lol, sil, you shall get then :-)
Allan, you can wait for our swap, but I have a feeling you of all people will want a much larger quantitity of this ;-)
I love this shou and I love this note and I love my Fairy
<3
:-) <3
This sounds good. I just need to get over this weird thing I have going on and try shou.
I am going to have to get into this one day. Cheri “Good” shou will surprise you.
Drool
Sounds fantastic! I adore shou as well :) . . . Actually I like Sheng a lot too. I will look for this tea… This intrigued me: “No trace of earthiness or even leather in this. It’s all nuts and creamy vanilla”. That sounds delightful. Thanks for the review!
Parsifal we have a “puerh of the day” post you may like on the discussions page.
I will check that out, thank you :)
Having a delicious cup of this now, while I’m working on posting a garage sale on our website. This tea is so amazing. It’s tasting very powered sugary today. I’m really wondering how this would taste mixed with our PTA. I bet it would be delicious. I never got around to it but I always wanted to do a Butiki Breakfast Blend with this tea, PTA, and our Mi Xian Black. I think I will make a blend for myself.
So excited to see the garage sale. :) (I love my tea set I bought from you off your garage sale). And, a blend just for yourself sounds absolutely marvelous and tremendously well deserved. <3
DeliriumsFrogs-It’s mostly going to be left over tins, thermoses, etc but I will be posting a few items from my house. There is a really great teaware set that I will be breaking up. I’ll post a sneak peek on instagram. :) Also, there will be those necklaces we made but never did anything with.
Oh yeah and a few cupping sets.
Those awesome tea vial necklaces with the little cup charm?!?!?!?! I loved those!! (i’d have to grab one…)
DeleriumsFrogs-Yes! Those are the ones. If you want one, let me know I can always hold one for you. We only have 3 and I would like to keep one for myself. We have Hello Sweetie, Citrus Dream, and Almond Indulgence. I’m waiting to hear back from the person that made them about pricing. I’m trying to convince her to keep it low.
When are you going to put up the garage sale items? Like this week? Also would it be in the day or night time? Asking because I have work this week xD
Ost-Not sure yet. I was thinking about posting to our official Facebook page a little bit at a time before doing the website post since it takes more effort to post on the website. Are you looking for anything in particular?
Here is what we will definitely be posting:
3 small cup sets, 2 cups each. Different sets
1 glass tea pot
2 8 cup pyrex measuring cups
These cups: http://instagram.com/p/zOPOnnlfKU/?modal=true
2 bombillas
5 cupping sets (white cup and steeping vessel)
1 small cup (oc Japan)
1 large tea dispenser (this is maybe 12 cups, stays hot 24ish hours)
1 large metal thermos
1 paisley gaiwan
tins-so many tins
2 magnetic tea displays
unsold teaware (not a lot but tea jars, and yixing cups with white ceramic on the inside)
oh man..those necklaces…hello sweetie!
Sil-I was looking at the Hello Sweetie more as a ‘break in case of emergency’.
I will be waiting with baited breath for the pricing on those. Heh
I’m with Sil…. those necklaces!!! :))))
I’m totally wanting to yell, HOLD ONE FOR ME!, but I don’t want to be all greedy and grab one before anyone else… (honestly, I love all your teas, so it wouldn’t matter at all which tea was in the vial)
They are a little more then I would like. They are $15.99 and come with a chain.
Ahhhhh! I really love them, but I should probably hold off… They’re so perfect, though! (I can’t ever find decent tea jewelry…)
Do you still have the pics handy Stacy? Pretty sure i’d still love one but my memory is a little foggy.
Welcome back Stacy! Hope you had a wonderful trip!
Now about that tea dispenser… How much do you think it will be?
Sil-let me email you a pic. I’m trying to find the really nice pics my friend took but do have the charm one readily available.
Kaylee-Thank you so much! I did, it was so wonderful. :) The dispenser will probably be $8 + shipping.
Garage sale is on! https://www.facebook.com/butikiteas
Can I lay dibs on the dispenser now?
Kaylee-Absolutely. Here is a pic: http://s1094.photobucket.com/user/butikiteas/media/Garage%20Sale/BigThermos_zps46319c9e.jpg.html?o=9 Still interested? Send me your zip code. If I remember correctly, shipping probably wouldn’t be too bad. I saved one for myself. They are great. I use them at parties and potlucks.
Sil-Let me know ASAP if you would like a first crack at the necklaces. Will be posting them today but can hold one for you if you are interested.
I told Sil yesterday that I would experience the mystic powers of the Tiger this morning as my breakfast tea. This is all thanks to her and the generous sample she sent my way after I told her how curious I was to try this legend of a tea. Now I just found out she ran out herself, sad face…that goes to show her generosity and willingness to share. Thank you so much Sil!
I understand all the hype around this tea now.
A true rough on the edges lumberjack would not shy away from this tea. But it’s also good for us Canadian women, remember, we do like ourselves a strong cup in the morning! In general, I don’t want too finicky and complicated early in the morning, I want a hard worker that takes its job seriously, aiming to please ME!!!
It’s a rich bold and malty cup. But there’s zero bitterness to it, mellow and sweet, yet, strong and powerful.
Even as it cooled down, it remained as smooth as a baby’s derriere ;-)
On the list it goes, it will make a perfect everyday kick me in the petuli Assam!
So glad you liked it! Well worth the price if you can pick it up when A&D does free shipping to canada. Also the tin is just darling! :)
I’ve been really happy with A & D’s damn fine teas, this one especially!
I am such a fan of Andrews & Dunham in general, I can’t tell you how much my fingers are itching to hop over to their web site and order some of this. But I fear the slippery slope of tea ordering justification. Sigh.
Thanks Sil for letting me know about the free shipping I’ll keep a look for it, as you know, I’m in no rush to order :-)
Terri, this is my first A & D ever… I like the humour behind the brand, will sure place an order eventually!
Morgana, boy do I know about finger itch, I have it on all 10 fingers!!!!
they have a new tea as well that is pretty good. I also like their smokey tea but the quantitity would take me forever to get through.. I keep meaning to email them to see if i can custom make a 3 pack and include the new tea instead of the EG
Crap. I DID IT!
Hahaha! Morgana, that was funny!
But i must resist, i’m on a «pseudo» hiatus, you should never post comments like that. Ever.
I’m sorry, TF. I can assure you it won’t happen with anything other than A&D. Although…. I keep hearing the word Samovar in my brain. (Sticking fingers in ears and humming loudly.)
Lalalala, lalalalalaa, lala, lalalalala….
Really lurking at the adventure pack…
" this is my first A & D ever… " Hmmmm interesting – add that to the proife – will see what I can do about that…
Hooo, Dexter, the profiler…you make me smile, I like that :-)
I super love mountain dew. Almost as much as I love root beer. So I had to jump on this one. In saying that, I did leave it sitting in my cupboard for quite a while because I am trying to finish the teas that are open first before opening everything else.
The smell of this dry tea is dead on mountain dew. Delicious. I almost wanted to crack open a can of the real stuff.
I brewed this 1.5 tsp, 10 oz, and about a 1/4 tsp of rock sugar. I normally don’t add sugar right off the bat, but I figured since it was based on the soda, I would add some sugar. The smell of the brewed tea is what I would guess hot mountain dew smelled like.
The taste is a bit different. My immediate reaction was jelly beans. Like a red fruit flavoured jelly belly. Towards the end of the sip there is a mountain dew flavour. I would like to try this one without the sugar, but also as an iced tea/cold brew. I think the sugar may be giving it more of that jelly bean flavour.
Also a very important note, this is a 52 teas honeybush blend and I am getting NO pepper, this is historic for me!
Edit: Made another cup, same specifications, but this time with no sugar. The smell of the brewed tea is still the same but the taste is quite different and not as good. There is a vegetal astringency. I can definitely tell it is missing something, specifically the sweetener. I feel like there is a lot of mint in this blend, but it is too much, giving it a bit of a spice. Not sure what the ingredients in this blend are, but this is what I am tasting. I definitely prefer with sugar.
Preparation
See, I found the same thing as you where the smell was dead on, but I had a hard time drinking my first cup because I found it uncomfortably peppery… Maybe I need to try it with sugar, like you did. Anyway – I’m sending nearly all of it to Kittenna. I’m curious how it’d do as a tea soda, though…
I think this would make a good tea soda. I think though I would make an iced tea concentrate out of it and then mix it with the soda. I will have to experiment a bit. I definitely think it tastes much better with sweetener.
does this taste like Canada mountain dew or US mountain dew? heh
I would say the Canadian mountain dew. But I haven’t had US mountain dew in a super long time, so it is hard to compare.
If there were no tea, I could live on Mtn Dew. That said, what is the difference between Canadian and US Dew?
There is a different source of sweetener in the Canadian vs US Mountain Dew. I always found the US version to be much sweeter. Also Canadian Mountain Dew is traditionally caffeine free, although you can now get it with caffeine I think. I always found the US Version to have more “kick” or “jolt”, if that makes sense.
i like to boil it down to. US version tastes gross and the canadian version is nice ;) canadian = more lemon/lime US = caffeine gross tasting blech
haha
Crazy! I had no idea there was a difference!
cavo..oh yeah. mountain dew was? is? at one point the most caffienated of all the pops in the us. canada it’s always (until now apparently) been caffeine free
I had no idea about mountain dew differences either – interesting!
Orange Crush is high on the caffeine scale as well. No caffeine in Canadian MD? That’s just wrong. ;) Sil, everyone is entitled to an opinion – even when you are wrong. lol
It’s funny because orange crush (and the other crush’s), Mountain Dew, root beer, gingerale, and I am sure a few others, are traditionally caffeine free in Canada. Not sure why the difference. We also have ketchup chips. Ha ha.
If you just google Canadian vs US pop (or soda) there is some interesting info.
Orange crush is high in caffeine in the US?! So different! I’ll have to Google it out of curiosity sake.
Smiles, and I just happen to have ketchup chips on the table in front of me right now.. not than I am eating them.. :-)
Here is a link I found for US caffeine content. http://www.cspinet.org/new/cafchart.htm
oh man..now i want ketchup chips…
Thanks, KS – interesting the amounts of caffeine in some things.
Sil, I know, I keep looking at the bag of chips… ;-)
Mountain Dew now has caffeine in Canada! I think it’s only certain kinds though. “The new Mountain Dew will feature a proprietary bottle, fully embossed with the Dew logo and both Mountain Dew and Diet Mountain Dew now contain caffeine while still having the same bold, great taste. The caffeine content is in line with the standards outlined by Health Canada.”
http://www.pepsico.ca/en/PressRelease/Mountain-Dew-brings-the-mountain-to-you-Toronto03022012.html
Mmmm, ketchup chips. I have ketchup popcorn flavouring at home, so when I get home from work that’ll have to do…
Wow, I didn’t know they were starting to make MD with caffeine it, I will have to check the ones I have at home. Hope it still tastes the same.
On another note, I have had the jingle for mellow yellow in my head all day after doing some looking up about Mountain Dew online…“and they call it mellow yellow…”I should get some popcorn flavouring. I never knew it came in such flavours as ketchup though!
“…just butter it!….”
Dill Pickle chips as well. I think I need to stop for “groceries” on the way home!
better than dill pickle chips are regular ruffles chips with creamcheese dill pickle dip.
Hmmm….
it’s like the guilty pleasure here in the house…Ian noms it all before i can ever get some most of the time haha
OH man, I am totally craving some of that right now. I… I don’t even know where my nearest convenience store is. We have an Iranian market down the street, but they don’t have chips.
In a *#%$@ mood tonight. Was awesome earlier, then met up with someone I forgot sucks all the joy out of me (even as they make me laugh), and so this is why I’m eating 85% dark chocolate, drinking this tea, and winding a ball of really finicky, tangled, super beautiful and expensive yarn to knit my troubles away.
I like this tea, although I find I liked it more when it was still hot. Cooled, it’s a vaguely flavored rooibos; hot, it’s got a creamy lime tang to it. Cooled and sweetened? Slightly creamy, tangy lemon lime. Yes, I’ll finish this one quickly now.
Preparation
(HUGS)
knitting does build neural nets that help to process stress…. as does spinning.
Sorry to hear that. Hope the knitting/tea/chocolate trifecta makes it all better.
I spent all evening getting 4 rows of my scarf started, only to realize I made a mistake on that last row, and then had to frog it all. :P I’m back to my 1st row at least, and willing to try sleeping with at least that satisfaction.
Oh no! I actually started this hat last night with a different yarn, but then the intended recipient shared a different color choice, so I trekked out to a new yarn store to find something suitable. They should’ve wound it for me, and yet… sigh. I’m still working on it, three hours later. Frogged what I started, too. Hopefully I can get to row #1 like you!
Yesterday must have been a day for frogging. I had to rip back almost an entire side of the Katniss cowl because it was an inch and a half longer than my customer wanted. Argh. It’s those moments when I’m truly grateful for tea.
One of these days I’ll learn to knit or do something crafty.
I learned to knit because frankly, I had nothing else to do at the time. Once I sat and committed to it, and realized how meditative it was for me, I was hooked. Then I started going to yarn shops… drool. I want to touch everything – and I do!
I said once to a friend of mine, “I want to play saxophone.” He replied, “If you wanted to, you’d already be doing it.” He’s right. I have yet to play saxophone, but once I got it in my mind I wanted to learn to knit… I just did it. We all make time for what’s important to us. For me, knitting is me time – crucial when you’ve got kidlets, your own business, and a wonderfully crazy life. ;)
Really though, that may sound harsh, however I mean it kindly. It’s something I ask myself now each time I say I “want” anything. Do I want it so much that I’ll take action right now? No? Okay. I’m cool with that.
“Once I sat and committed to it, and realized how meditative it was for me, I was hooked.”
Haha was the pun intended?
Also, I totally get what you say, and for me, yes I want to learn, but clearly I have other priorities or I’d be doing it now.
hooking is crochet.
Darn. I got it wrong. My bad.
What’s a Katniss cowl look like?
Also, speaking of hooking – I just bought the Stitch ‘n Bitch ebook for crochet because it was called the Happy Hooker. :D I’ll teach myself crochet someday, once I’m more comfortable with knitting.
MissB- I find it super relaxing as well! Well, when it’s working.
Which is easier to learn…crochet or knitting? Clearly I know very little about either.
Cavo…. depends on the person. i’m a master class knitter. i can do it with my eyes closed and have been designing for years. ask me to crochet and i just ask you to repeat yourself over and over and over, lol.
OMG James. We totally need to do a tea and knitting meetup in Victoria. You super busy boxing week? :) Or we could do it here and include MissB and other area Steeps.
YES!!!
James – well if crochet doesn’t work out for me, I won’t be discouraged.
Also it’d be awesome if you guys met up and got crafty. I’d love to see your projects – I’m always looking for ideas.
sounds good! i think my right hand might finally be up for it!! (it’s been 8 months). i’m working on that sweater that neo wore in the matrix… the one with all the runs. =0) not in a neutral though, screaming red…. lethal looking. =0D little old ladies look at me suspiciously at first as though i’m having them on (a punk dude with a red mohawk armed with stabby needles), then we argue about technique. life is fun.
Vic or Van, you guys let me know, and I’ll be there. :)
Here’s a picture of the coel Jennifer Lawrence wore in the movie.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wNZqtl44F1E/Upt03DxU8dI/AAAAAAAAKAQ/dlbK3Uh033M/s1600/people-katniss2_zpsf54a57e7.jpg
Ravelry has several patterns for both knitted and crocheted versions. There are a bunch for sell on Etsy, too.
Ha! I can’t knit to save my life. I’ve tried several times, and even taken a couple of classes. Crochet, on the other hand, I taught myself from a book, and I picked up crochet in no time. Someday I will learn to knit! :)
Veronica – thanks! I never noticed it in the movie (unless it’s from the sequel). It looks very warm and cuddly, but it would take a lot of work too. Wow.
Thanks, Veronica! I had seen some versions on Ravelry, but hadn’t seen the original. A lot of the Ravelry ones I’ve seen are less casual and slouchy, more fitted. It’s neat how everyone interprets things for their own style. :)
all this talk of knitting and crochet is REALLY making me consider picking it back up. something i would have never expected to think about again. yet another reason to admire tea people and this site :)
I love to knit, even when I have to rip back the entire crown of a hat because I failed to read the instructions properly. ;)
That cowl is gorgeous. Just gorgeous!
I’ve never seen a cowl like that before.
interesting, that’s an amended version of an infinity scarf…. one that gives an anchor.
this is the one i’m building: http://filmschoolthrucommentaries.wordpress.com/2012/12/30/color-and-the-look-of-a-film-visual-analysis/matrix-4/
but in a really vibrant cranberry. (i’m not a neutral kind of person….. i also added way more runs, lol)
You’re welcome! It is different and much more structured than what’s been popular for the past few years, but I like how it sort of looks like armor.
OMGsrsly – I find the different interpretations utterly fascinating. This is the first trend I have followed from the beginning in a long time. From what I’ve seen the knitted ones seem to be more fitted and have the ringed neckline (which I love!). The crocheted versions seem to be looser and more casual. I’ve seen a few with a structured neck, but most seem to have a looser cowl. All the ones I’ve made have slouchy necks because they are more comfortable. :)
JustJames – Please post a picture when your sweater is finished. It sounds amazing.
I haven’t had a chance to try this on it’s own yet..so i picked this out tonight. HOLY CRAP PPL! this one smells INCREDIBLE…seriously it’s like deliciously amazing crazy ass creamy, yummy OMG i want to eat you all up tea.
…and then you brew it..and it’s not nearly as insane as the smell but it’s still a pretty decently flavoured cup of tea. So i’m enjoying it..but man, i wish it tasted like it smells… many that smell makes me happy! haha
I hate when that happens
sounds incredible! what would you say it tastes like…if you could compare it to any flavor or tea? is this a flavored black, or a straight black with cream bits thrown in? or does it just have an inherently creamy quality sans additions? any notes you’re picking up on, like caramel or vanilla? from the way you describe this tea, somehow i’m picturing a dark, rich liquor.
It’s a flavoured black, no bits in there. It’s like Irish cream….so creamier…more like vanilla than caramel but it’s not vanilla….heh
thanks for your clarification! sounds delicious, added this one to my shopping list!
just poke me sometime mid February and i can send some your way if you like. saves you an order in case you don’t like it :)
I’d love to give this a try as well :)
[sheepishly adds to shopping list]
lol 5$ says you try it and wonder what crack i was smoking when i drank it :)
Dangit Sil, you made me snort tea out my nose!
puhlease..like that’s hard.
[looks down into the mug]
shush…
AHAHA! Ceylon Star, I love what you’ve put in your bio. :)
This has gotta be good, and something I can’t screw up…since I suck at making matcha.
Srsly? YOU, of all people, are judging me? Hahahaha!
Thanks Sil, you are too kind.. I’ll be sure to poke u in February ;p let me know if there’s anything in my cupboard you’d like to try, tho it’s hardly exciting!
pyarkaaloo – you’d be surprised at what i can find to tantalise my taste buds from ppl’s cupboards…i’m trying to taste ALL THE TEAS after all haha
that’s right!
Not judging, Ceylon Star! I think it’s awesome! And the icon too. :)
Holy cow. I’m so damn happy!!!
Method: 6 g, 6 oz, 200 degrees, rinse-15-15, sheng yixing
Aroma: This smells like a beautiful spring day on a tea farm. There is a stream, and amazing trees. The farm has happy animals, and no one eats them. You can smell their hay in the barn! Everything smells fresh and clean and there’s a sweetness in the air.
Flavor: Nom nom nom. I’m really excited about this one. It’s amazeballs!
Preparation
Oh, a farm where no one eats the animals makes me happy :-) and I’m glad you liked this one, I thought my sample was amazeballs too!!!
Oh, a happy animal farm sounds like absolute heaven!
You guys can come visit my farm utopia! And in the meantime you can drink this and picture it!! :)
Happy animal farm! Of Happiness! I’m HOME where ALL he good tea is and I got a Mandala box and a Whispering Pines box and my day just got a whole lot better. There is a big fat cake of 2009 Mengku Jade Dew Raw 400g in there too – so WOOT!
I missed my other two teaplets. If I can scrounge up ANY energy at all – I’m gonna sheng.
If I ever begin a tea farm with animals, I will be calling it the Happy Animal and Tea Farm. Of Happiness!
So glad you made it home and that you had some lovely surprises waiting! Missed you!!!!
How much do you love this Jade Dew?? I <3 it hard. My Happy Animals are going batshit because mama’s home!
Why does Steepster hate me? It keeps eating my syllables.
I knew what ya meant. And I love this so very much. It’s deeeelish! And I was all happy sniffing and drinking it!
Yah me too, got 2 cakes of this, insane I know but Mandala did an awesome job aging this.
LOL, Sarsonator, you’re going to have a total sheng over from all the shenging you did today
Never!!!! I may be tea drunk, but I can never have too much sheng, or a sheng over :p
I love the way Mandala cares for these babies too Cwyn. It is a bigass cake too. Will make me happy for a long time
I’m buying more to keep for later :)
Best hurry – my not from Garret says there isn’t much left.
note
Well poo.
I think 4 cakes. I bought some more Wild Mountain Green too but I love that one so very much. And some kinds I haven’t tried before. You will be getting some of those too in your box.
And that’s “pu.”
I have one of these I need to get out again soon.
Good idea, mrm. It has the Chairman Meow seal of approval!
Where did you buy this tea?
Saw in earlier chat you got it from Mandala. I ordered one.
Sweet
Chairman Meow wasn’t born when I got this one.
Cracks me up every time I read that kitty name.
So today being the fourth of july, I though about reviewing only fireworks teas.
Ya know, the ones that blow your mind.
The ones that create that explosion of happy in your mount.
The ones that you would bring with you on a deserted island.
The ones that you can’t live without…
Ailaoshan Black more than qualifies for the job.
Its salty caramel goodness makes me see bright colours every morning :-)
(Oh and look! Note 300th!!)
Happy 300! I love this one too
Congrat’s on 300!
This sounded too good. I’m having some right now in my cute new green mug
OH! And I’m having cherries in my smoothie this morning :D
Oh! Me too then…with almond milk and chia seeds. Mmmm, cherries. Me and my Steepster friend Dexter (not talking about my dog here!!!) are legendary cherry lovers. Happy to have found another cherry nut :-)
Mine has chia seeds as well because <3. I use half organic kefir and half locally made organic yogurt, cherries, chia and some whey protein. It’s cherry-y and tangy and mmmm-y
Whoa – half my comment disappeared. What I said was: mine has half kefir/half yogurt, cherries, chia and some whey protein.
Thanks loosTman :-)
Yours is a meal!! I don’t “eat” breakfast weekdays but have green smoothies with way too many ingredients to list here, lol. But I’m planning to have oatmeal and apples and berries later so I must keep the smoothie a smoothie!
WOOHOOO! grats on 300!
Mine IS a meal. It’s what I have for breakfast weekday mornings. Tomorrow morning I’m making cornmeal pancakes with peaches and cottage cheese. And probably a little bacon.
I love chia and almond milk smoothies! I use soy yogurt, rolled oats and fruit in mine. I also always add a handful of spinach to get some veggies. Can’t even taste it!!!
I do sometimes put a handful of baby spinach in – you’re right, you can’t taste it. I also do like some oats in on occasion.
I use flax seeds sometimes, too. You guys are making me want cherries. I found some wild cherries when hiking last week, but the trees were too tall for any kind of real harvest. So sad!
Thanks Sil :-)
Sarsonator, I add oat too most of the time, isn’t it great? I started making green smoothies about 3 years ago. I remember how everything tasted weird at the beginning. I now use a ratio of about 2/3 veggies 1/3 fruits. Kale, spinach, carrot, celery, beets, cucumber, anything goes, and I LOVE how it tastes. The boost of energy that follows is unbeatable.
I love the green juice with kale and spinach and celery and parsley – I can feel my cells just sucking it up and smiling
I make green smoothies, too! I normally do fruits, almond milk, soygurt, oats, chia in the AM, and then veggies/fruits for lunch. I love carrots and apples with spinach and kale!
Congrats on 300!!!
Congrats on 300! And this is a fireworks tea for me, too. :)
Congrats on 300!! :D :D
Great idea :)
Congrats on 300!!
I’ve been drinking this tea at work for a couple of days now. The last time I wrote about it, I thought it was finicky and “white wine up you nose” odd.
It seems to have been behaving since then, and we are friends once again. While this is not my favorite Jin Jun Mei – it has been really pleasant the last couple of days.
It knew it better behave!! i approve that you bring such good teas at your workplace :-)
(Now can I get my maocha?)
You cannot bribe me with compliments…..
If you want maocha – then that counts as EITHER your SALE tea for July OR your Aug purchase (it also pushes back sheng pot purchase). ;))
Hmmm….we do sound like a married couple, haha! Then be it, that august purchase can be pushed to September…this way I can have WP AND BUTIKI…in JULY!!!
Wow, Dex… you’re tough. Are you for hire as a Teahab Purchasing Restriction Agent? You’d know this in hockey terms as “The Enforcer” :p
I’m only half kidding. I need help.
Yes you can have WP and BUTIKI in July, but then NOTHING – NADA – ZERO tea orders in August – then back to ONE order per month starting in Sept….
Sars – I’m not sure I’m very good at this – I usually get told about the rule breaking AFTER the fact…. LOL – I usually pretty good at talking out of orders IF informed BEFORE it’s placed. LOL You are almost close enough that if you broke the rules I could come down and “Enforce” in person. ;))
Dexter does a GREAT job with me…many times she has helped me “sleeping on it” instead of clicking the evil “order now” button!!
Haha! Sars, needs you too….do you even know Dex what I can only imagine she just spent on a pu’erh starter kit???
TTF! You snitch!!!!
Snitches get stitches!
Haha! Try to find me in my woods, its full of traps!!
Dex: For realz. You need to start a business. Teahab Enforcers, Inc. You can hire agents in different parts of the country so you can physically restrain people, if needed.
And listen up, Foxy. I could find you ANYWHERE. All I have to do is follow the smell of the tea. So there. :p
Why didn’t I know about the starter kit?
I like this tea some – but I really like Yezi’s Yi Fu Chun way more. Dexter – I need an enforcer.
Haha! Then come on over my dear Sars, the kettle is on :-)
MzP: You did know! It’s not exactly a kit, per se. I just ordered all the teas you two told me to get! I just posted them all on the Today’s Mail thread. Dex… I need you…
TTF: If we lived closer, I would make you help me drink all this!!! :)
If we all lived closer we would have tea parties all the time
You guys, first, I’d I need a peeing device attached to me at all time. Just sayin. I spend way too much time in my bathroom. (Too much information???)
Aaaaw. I want a tea party! No one else I know likes tea this much.
They make those LTF – I think they are catheters.
(I want something more girly though)
(a _pink_catheter?)
Have yo’all SEEN my cupboard?!!!!?? I can’t take on anymore clients…. you mention Dex talk me out of buying this tea – hey I can do that no problem, but UMMMM I go and look at it and the next thing I know it’s arriving in the mail….
Oh, poor Dex…I do try to help you sometimes…does it count????
MzPriss – “but I really like Yezi’s Yi Fu Chun way more”
I’ve moved this into my purse for a work tea tomorrow – it will be my “inspiration tea from my dashboard” tea for tomorrow. Thanks for the suggestion.
You’re welcome. I like it a lot. I bought more after I had the sample.
Aaaaah Saturday morning yums!!!
Method: 1.5 tsp, 8 oz, 200 degrees, 3 minutes, French Press
Dry Leaf Aroma & Brewing Aromas: Chocolate cake. Om nom nom
Flavor: yum! This has lovely cakey and cocoa notes. I wish it was a little sweeter, but that’s easily remedied. I am going to try a second steep and see how that goes!!!
Preparation
MMMM that’s a good morning nom
I wasn’t feeling as poetic this AM, so I kept it short, but yeah. This is great. I love that I have more to look forward to with these vanilla teas because they do improve with age. I can’t wait to get that vanilla pot seasoned!!!
Oh, great choice!! my session of this was so good yesterday…the rest is cold-steeping.
My vanilla pot will be finished in about 3 hours (I’m going longer than Brenden’s 3 that he goes) and it’s sitting on the warmer. I can’t wait!
The second steeping is niiiiice. I put in a little maple syrup because, why not?
I just went Terri-style with my GO as well. This is so freaking good
Mmmmmmm Terri-style.
I’m so glad that maple in tea is getting such good recognition :)
You don;t very much at all and it just elevates it.
Oh HoneyBelle! I missed the note where you’re seasoning your vanilla teapot. I think you may have said before, but which one did you pick for vanilla? Sometimes I’m super senile…
I’m using my “bigget” one (220) – it’s my expensive one that I got a while back and haven’t seasoned yet. But since I will be drinking the vanillas out of it, I decided to use the biggest one
If you have a pic,I’d love to see it. Hooray for vanilla teapots!!!!!
I think there might be on already up on my flikr. Lemme go look
It’s the one on the left:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/125488674@N02/14634789342/
I think my bamboo pot from Mandala may have to be my Special Dark baby
The one in the middle is going to be shou other than SD and the one on left looks a little different now as it had a long warm bath in Wild Monk and is now my sheng pot. It’s already darker.
O.M.Geeee. Those are so adorable!
I think you picked out some lovelies. I especially like the Mandala pot with the cute bamboo pattern. I can’t wait to start seasoning mine when they arrive!!!!
Oh, and we have matching laptops :)
I have a love/hate relationship with this laptop. I’m boiling my bamboo one right now and it will have a Special Dark bath later after we get back from the vet
Oh crap I mean the one on the RIGHT is now my sheng pot and looks different. I have a very adorable purple one coming that will be for oolongs
Reeeally? I adore mine. It’s the second of its kind. The last one went 5 years before the video card died.
I’m so jealous of your seasonings LOL. But soon I will have my own seasoning adventures. The vanilla houhin is scheduled to arrive Monday…
Vet? I hope everything is ok! I have to get my “kids” in for their annual checkup and shots soon.
“Oh crap I mean the one on the RIGHT”
I knew what ya meant. :)
Eeee!!!! I got one for oolongs toooooo! Uh oh. I’ve gone to multiple vowels…. must be excited. Time to make some tea…
I’m making egg and kimchi braekfast tacos and deciding on the tea to take along with me to the vet. Wee Snailys I think
One of my dogs is having (sorry) anal gland issues.
Taco Queen!
I have been hoarding the last of my wee snailys, but Brenden just said that he received a huge order, so I can happily drink them again!
It’s ok. My little princess has AGIs too. Gross, but it hasn’t been a serious problem for her. Hopefully it’ll be no biggie for you, too.
I’m hoping that as well, but we’re on the second round of antibiotics which I hate to give her and she doesn’t LOVE yogurt which I want her to have when she does the antibi-s.
Trying to get motivated enough to leave the house in search of kimchi – yes this would be MzPriss’s fault. Where do I buy Kimchi? Should I go to China town, which is sort of right here, easy to get to – OR do I need to go half way across the city to my favorite Korean market? I can proabably buy it at the HUGE supermarket too, but will that be as good as the stuff you would find in an Asian market?? I love Kimchi, but never buy it, I just eat out whenever possible….
The Korean market is probably the best bet, but I suspect you’d do ok in Chinatown also.
OK – I’m a little frightened to go to China Town, you never know what cute teaware you might run into. Thinking the Korean Market will be safer on that front. Need motivation to get up and moving…..one more cup of tea…
Either way probably. I buy it at my local hippie co-op grocer – there is a small local company that makes various kinds here in town and they sell it at the co-op. I started putting kimchi on tacos when I was out of salsa one time. Last night I just had kimchi tacos for dinner. Oh I also got this really awesome Madras Curry sauerkraut salad – so good. I like the fermented veg thing a waaaaaay lot.
Thanks, I’m going to go and venture out into the world and see what I come up with. I live in a fairly large city I should be able to find real kimchi….
Will report back later…
FYI – Mission kimchi was successful… :))
Someone is going to have a nice dinner :-)
I also had a MzP influenced dinner. Faux chicken, beans, rice, and my world famous Asian peanut sauce on a soft taco shell. I wrapped it up like a burrito b/c I do t have taco shells, but close enough. It was deeeeelish!
Dex: we need a full report on the results of Mission Kimchi!
I think you can wrap anything in a soft taco shell and it would be good. :)) Would famous Asian Peanut Sauce? That sounds interesting… like Thai peanut sauce?
While I was out on Mission Kimchi, I also bought concentrated tamarind paste? I usually buy blocks of Tamarind to make chutney – hoping that this will be good and take out a step. (Also hoping that I can just add a little to black iced tea….)
As for the kimchi – not sure yet. Probably some sort of noodle stirfry. Garlic, ginger, soy sauce, fish sauce, veggies, chicken – and then toss in some Kimchi on the plate… that’s the plan, but things change as I cook… never quite sure what I’m going to end up with
Yeah Dex, kinda like a Thai peanut sauce.
Tamarind paste!!! Yum yum yum
How did your stir fry turn out?
Oh my yum! Out of all of the new teas, this is my absolute favorite. It is just so unique and autumny. The squash is very present and sweet, like a roasted squash and the cinnamon is sweet and slightly spicy, while the soft vanilla adds warmth. It literally feels like autumn in a cup. It’s just one of those teas that you take a sip and then another and before you know it the tea is gone. Unfortunately, we don’t have much of this since I purchased the smallest amount of flavoring but I’m thinking I might pick up more because I have a feeling that everyone will like this one.
want. naaao!
^It’s so yums!
really hope there’s enough for me to be able to pick up all the new teas in my next order! haha. stupid canada post.
Sounds good!
Sounds wonderful, but hey, no surprise there!
Thanks guys! I’m really proud of this one. :)
Can’t find it :(
Sounds very unique and tempting!!
hippiechick-It goes online tomorrow or tonight if I don’t burn out soon.
Lilysmom-I think it’s pretty unique. So far, I haven’t come across any other squash teas. It’s really delicious!
Sounds yummy can’t wait to try it!
Excellent tea!
Please do pick up some more this tea is so delicious! :)
I’m so glad this tea exists! I have such a horrid allergy/sinus headache. This tea is absolutely perfect for when I need something strong yet flavorful. Loving the burned chocolate, bergamot, and bread notes right now. Now if only this headache would go away. I’m trying to drown it out in caffeine and Excedrin.
In other news, we have been pretty darn busy. In case you missed it we added the following new teas:
Kenya Obsidian-wonderful Kenyan black tea
Baked Ali Shan-Lightly oxidized and lightly roasted
Fu Shou Shan-Lightly oxidized, very high elevation, very flavorful
Taiwanese Bi Luo Chun-very fresh, flavorful
Hong Yun Black-tastes like PTA & Mi Xian Black crossed paths
Lattakajoon Assam-Chocolatey Assam
Organic Sourenee Black Blossom-Like a chocolatey cross between Darjeeling & Assam
1994 Aged Bai Hao-Like a honey drizzled on top of baker’s chocolate. Another lovely leafhopper bitten tea
Blackberry Lime Guayusa-Steph’s idea for our Custom Blend Contest
1989 Suncha Blend-Mostly shou but some sheng. Very flavorful and smooth
Still to go-
Kenyan Silver Needle-Incredibly buttery, creamy, flavorful!
2009 Banchang-heavy Apricoty notes. This puerh has quite a story behind it. Rare.
Blueberry Purple-back soon!
Added back-
Birthday Cake
Crimson Horrizon
Whew! We certainly have been busy in the last 3 week!!!!!
Also, if anyone is interested we are only asking for shipping charges for these lovely wooden display cases: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1470625936506048&set=a.1383480678553908.1073741827.100006759666084&type=1&theater
I’m so sorry, Excedrin doesn’t help me w/headaches:(. I’m on Zurtec for abt 2 months. If I skip for any reason it’s a nightmare, I feel suffocated. So excited about your new teas. Feel better;)
I’m all over that Banchang as soon as you add it! Sounds way up my alley! And I will have to order more blackberry lime, too :D
And I hope your headache goes away soon :/
boychik-Thanks! :) Excedrin Migrane is the only thing that helps but only sometimes. I’ve been going to an allergist since I was 8. Have had to take some kind of allergy pill every day. I’m usually ok except when the seasons change. Then all hell breaks loose.
Steph-Thanks! :) The Banchang is delicious. There is a bit of a story behind it but I just don’t have enough room in the description. I might do a separate blog post for it. In the region of that jungle that it comes from, over 78,555 tea trees are more than 100 years old, and 9,412 are over 800 years old. It is a super interesting tea and pretty rare!
I get awful headaches when bad weather is rolling through.
Sorry to hear that Marzipan.
I wondered if that might be the same with you, but just read your post above.
Wow I would love try all of those teas! They sound great!
Thanks, Tea Sipper! :)
I’m so sorry about the allergies!!! I was super close to an allergy induced asthma attack today in the office. Gods, Spring sucks. Have you tried taking Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen at the same time? That sometimes helps me with my migraines and sinus headaches. Aside from that, I have a prescription medicine that immediately helps! I can PM you the name. Please feel better!
Side note: That Bai Hao…. ::drools::
If it’s allergies why aren’t you taking a antihistimine? like reactine or benadryl? as for teas that help I would say anything with licorice root, or dandelion root. They open up the airways and make it easier to breathe. Mint works really well on headaches if you rub the leaves on your temples the oil helps. Or just drink a mint tea. Hope your allergies leave you alone soon!
Thanks, Tea Pet! Spring is brutal. I’ll have to try that trick. For now, I’m trying to avoid prescription meds. My doctor prescribed some but the side effects are making me hold off on trying them.
Helena-I’m just taking Allegra daily. I might give licorice root a shot. Thamks for the suggestions!
It’s too bad licorice tastes like licorice. :(
I hate licorice and all licorice flavored things, but I can do licorice root as part of herbal blends! Just adds a sublte sweetness, I find.
oooh a kenyan silver needle sounds super intriguing.
Hope today is better for you! <3
Thank you Dustin for sharing this with me. I have never actually tried a sweet potato pie but it sounded like a tea that would be different from the typical fruity, caramel, vanilla teas I tend to drink. I was certainly right about that and it is different in the best way possible! It is unique but still with elements familiar enough that I can see myself drinking this often. It is buttery, it is sweet, it maybe even has a caramel-like quality but the sweet potato is also distinct and provides a nice quality to the cup. This is one I would order in a heartbeat. In fact, so is Cookie, the only other Lupicia tea I have tried. Now I want MORE! Bring on the Lupicia!!
In other news, my friend really did NOT like this tea. She felt it tasted like a mediocre plain black where as I am getting a lot of flavor. Gotta love how people can have such polarized reactions to the exact same tea :)
I need to try more from Lupicia :)
They are 2/2 so far. That definitely has me intrigued.
I am SO excited to hear that you’re getting into Lupicia. If I had to stick to one single tea company for the rest of my life, Lupicia would be it.
Dustin was kind enough to send me samples of two different teas and they have both been amazing. Also, Sil stuck a teabag of Cookie into our swap which I was very happy to have more of. Now I have a mission to try more as I really enjoyed the ones I have had so far. I guess I will add Lupicia to my list of places to order from :P. What are your favorites from them btw?
I’m glad you liked it! I just placed two orders with Lupicia recently. The first one came with a sample of their Momoko and it was so amazing I lost impulse control and placed another order the other day. I have never had a peach tea that I really enjoyed before and this one was super flavorful and juicy. They were also out of Cookie when I placed my first order, so I had to add that one… and two or three more. So bad.
My order shipped today, but once it gets in I can send you some samples of those and some of the others I have if you like. Then you will know what you like and should order and I’ll feel less guilty for buying more tea when I already have enough to fill a couch with. Man, that would be one great smelling couch!
Aw, Dustin, I’m so excited to read that! Momoko is a huge favourite of mine.
My faves are Cookie, obviously (the only tea I’ve given a solid 100 rating) and their BEAUTIFUL flavoured oolongs. Ripe mango, Momo (like Momoko in oolong form), Melon, etc.
I also really, really love their flavoured greens – Tsugaru Green is the best apple tea I’ve had, and Bravissimo! is one of my all-around favourite teas.
Oh, and their toasted teas, like that apricot houjicha.
They’re just really good, haha.
Oooooo, I haven’t had all those Anna! I haven’t had many oolongs so it isn’t a base I gravitate towards. I like that they have different base options for their flavors, but I wonder how much they differ from each other.
Have you had Nina’s Marie Antoinette? That was the most impressive apple tea I have had. I’d love to know how it compares with Tsugaru.
I have had two or three flavored houjichas before and liked them. I’ll have to try Lupicia’s sometime. I can see another order in the making already. :/
Dustin, I might actually take you up on that because I want to try ALL their teas. You are welcome to look through my cupboard and we can arrange another swap :)
And Anna, I am not a lover of oolong but Sil made their Melon Oolong sound AMAZING!
No, Nina’s drive me sort of nuts (rant starts here) because they’ve ignored my questions SIX times – I have seriously e-mailed them six times without receiving a response, which makes me wildly cranky (rant over).
And I hear you – the only thing keeping me from not ordering more tea is the sheer bulk of my cupboard. I need to swap more…
Also, I just saw the message about Marie Antoinette too and it might be my favorite apple as well.
Anna, I have only had amazing experiences with Nina’s so I don’t understand why they are being super annoying to you.
I know, everyone is head over heels with Nina’s, so I have no idea how we manage to have zero karma.
And it’s true, the melon oolong is quite something (don’t miss keychange’s review) but if you can’t deal with oolong at all, there’s a white melon tea that works as an excellent substitute.
White melon…I will have to look into that. Thank you. Also, Anna, if you ever want to swap, I am always happy to share my teas (though I am a bit far from Rome :P).
It’s very flavourful for a white tea.
And sure, I’m always up for a swap – I do more trans-Atlantic ones than European, it seems, haha.
Probably because there are A LOT of Canadians on here. Canadians and Americans seem to account for the bulk of members. Or perhaps I only tend to interact with the people from US and Canada since when I started, I only posted on the US/Can. swap board…
Well, this is highly unscientific, but if you go by internet penetration (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_Internet_users) tea culture vitality, and Steepster’s location, language and average target group, it’s not overly surprising.
Haha I suppose not :P
Now I’m looking at their Japanese website to see what exclusive teas they have there! I need to stop this madness. They have Hello Kitty tea. And it looks like they had Halloween tea last year?!?!! Talk about two things I love!
Anna, I don’t know why the words wildly and cranky make me laugh when put together, but they do. Have you tried emailing them from a different address? I wonder if your emails are caught in some sort of filter and aren’t getting to them.
VariaTEA, I just saw your post in the swap thread and responded with the teas that looked interesting to me. I’m a little curious about David’s Pistachio Cream, but I’m worried that I will love it and have to buy 250g of it since that is the only size they are selling it in now.
Haha Dustin, you are serious about trying ALL the Lupicia, aren’t you? Also, did you want just samples of the teas or the full amounts? Actually, I will just send you a message.
Yes, three addresses. And Japanese Lupicia is a WONDERLAND!!!
You have SEEN it?! I would loose my mind. My husband keeps throwing around ideas of places for us to travel asking me things like “Would you want to visit Paris?” and my response is often based on that country’s reputation for tea. I don’t know how I would control myself while tea shopping in Paris.
For reals. My partner’s visiting family in Japan right now, and when he asks what I’d like him to bring back for me, I’m tempted to change my answer from “just being reunited with you is all my heart could ever ask for,” to “TEA. ALL THE TEA. PLEASE BRING ME TEA. YOU MIGHT NEED TO BUY A NEW SUITCASE JUST TO FILL WITH TEA. I LOVE YOU PLEASE BRING TEA.”
(And I am so taking us tea shopping in Paris when I, Gosh willing, get a full-time job)
I wish I had known about Lupicia (or umm maybe that a store existed where I was travelling) when I went to Japan. :)
Sami, the answer is ALWAYS tea. Always. :D
Sami, if your partner is hitting up a Lupicia store, can we place orders with him? A tea mule in Japan would be fantastic!
I’m mostly kidding about turning your partner into a tea mule btw. Mostly. :)
Ok so I’m sure this tea can actually be quite scrumptious indeed, and when i was at DT today, I thought I’d order it in what I’d previously thought to be the fail-safe method of ordering a latte. But alas, it was not to be. It was the same guy who helped me last time, and although he’s alright, he’s a bit awkward and polite but not too friendly or chatty (which is seriously not usually a problem with me, only I’m so giddy and ridiculously over the top with joy and excitement when I go into any teashop that I want to chat up everyone in the vicinity (well the sAs I mean) and they all probably heave a sigh of relief when I leave), and he isn’t the best at the water to milk ratio when making lattes, because this one turned out so watery and thin that I took one sip and abandoned the cup. Like I said, I could taste the potential, but it just wasn’t going to happen at such a watery consistency.
But I got the carry mug! I kind of want it in a nicer colour, so, you know, I’ll probably just do the irresponsible thing and do just that once nicer colours come out. fml.
Ok, off to bed soon. A friend and I are heading to the thousand islands for the weekend to use a groupon and live the good life for a few days. Swimming pools, hot tubs, spa vouchers, good food, good conversation, great tea…should be solid. Oh, and I get to fly Porter which is always lovely.
Aww, too bad about the watered down latte. Makes me wonder if he even drinks them himself.
AWESOME! wave as you fly over me! and you just let me know when you replace your carry mug LOL
fjel, I wondered the same thing! because who in their right mind would enjoy a watery latte ever? I mean, there’s only one right wayto have it: creamy and milky! mmm
And sil, keep an eye out for me around noon tomorrow! I’ll be in an adoreable little porter airplane haha.
And yup, I know where to go when I need to…ummm…recycle my mug. heh!!
your weekend sounds awesome! Have fun!
Yay for the carry mug!
Have a great trip!
Glad to see you mention that you got your mug. I saw your post earlier today and wondered what you did. :).
Have an awesome weekend!
Thanks guys! And yeah, super excited about my carry mug!
Have a fun weekend!!!
Have a great time this weekend!
I want to come, too! PACK ME PLEASE PLEASE.
Oh wow, that sounds like FUN!
Have an amazing trip! :)
Thanks guys! the trip was kind of lackluster, although fitting anna in with all her lupicia melon oolong would have helped! hahaha!
You did not PACK ME. I was NOT PACKED. I have sads.
But you also (presumably) have melon oolong. Which cures pretty much everything, as far as I’m concerned. So no more sads! (besides, you would have hated this place. It was very not-anna-like)
Aww. That’s disappointing your vacation wasn’t all you hoped for. :(
It is, although to be honest, I should have known better. I seem to be one of those people who need a lot of recharge time, and this didn’t allow me to have as much as I needed, hence the wind it took out of me and the subsequent 15 hour “nap” I took once I got home. LOL.
:D That is totally my kind of nap. I did something similar when my Gramma took me and my brother to Mexico a few years ago. I was so wiped from everything we did I just slept and slept and slept. :)
Aw. You clearly deserve more melon oolong! And, you know, if a place is not-anna-like, upping the loincloth-clad grape-feeder staff ratio really is a small fix.
Have you ever taken one of those introvert/extrovert self tests? (Myers-Briggs, for instance.) I’m hugely sociable, but a solid introvert, so too much people interaction drains me. I remember when I was a kid, and went to birthday parties – I was always sick for like a week afterwards, because the interaction part took so much out of me. I loved it, but it really exhausted me.
Yes to the tests. I think I have a foot planted firmly in each world, although if we’re going with the question: do you recharge with people or on your own? my answer is firmly in the “on my own” camp. I get drained very, very quickly by social interactions, despite excelling in most social settings.
ditto! i think we should all have a party at my place. everyone gets their own room to relax in and we can meet up for 30 mins every 2 hours in the kitchen haha
LOL. Sil, you are a perfect person.
Indeed she is!!
That sounds like my kind of party! (In the kitchen for tea, right?)
Pu-erh Abuse Warning! The following maybe sensitive for some readers…
First and foremost I want to thank Garret for this lovely-crazy-huge pu-erh phatty cake! (I just like saying that…I think I will say it again!
First and foremost I want to thank Garret for this lovely-crazy-huge pu-erh phatty cake! (There…I said it again!)
I apologize in advance to the pu-erh purists out there for what I am about to say.
I have had a really hard week and today was the ‘cream of the crop’ really. I needed to release some tension. While pondering just how I was going to go about tasting this pu-erh while at work with only my cup and standard hot tea water that I use for nearly all of my daytime tea…I wondered how I was going to proceed.
A few months ago I received a very hard/sturdy mutant-like plastic tool from japan that I cannot find on any website nor do I really know WHAT it is or how I am supposed to use it. Weeeeeeeell, I ‘dug’ the heck out of this phatty cake from center to sides…just enough to get a good amount for tasting. It seemed to work quite well.
Like I said…I know many pu-erh purists are probably cringing right now…but…desperate times call for desperate measures!
I did a rinse – thankfully – because it was TAR brown/black! The aroma was a gentle pu-erh type smell. Not overly loud at all, actually.
For my first infusion…I did a super short one because of the darkness of it. About 15 secs. This worked REALLY REALLY WELL!!!!! So well that I’m rather tickled with myself!
It’s still very dark in color. The aroma is about the same intensity level. The taste is delightful! It’s malty and rich and and velvety. It’s sweet and fairly fruity! This is right up my alley! WOW!
Dare I say I LOVE THIS Pu-erh? I just might…I’m almost there…ALMOST. Regardless this is really great!!! I’m going to do an infusion test. Stay tuned for more infusions and more notes about this one, folks!
Ahhhhhh! YES! First Infusion Score…HIGH upper 90s…between 97 and 100…at this time.
this stuff is the bomb!
I agree, Amh Oh!!!!
This review had me laughing sometimes you just have to use what you got in a pinch. This stuff sounds amazing.
I was looking at this earlier on their website and thinking that it looked good too. Wish I could afford it but I’ll put it on my shopping list!!!
@Tea Is Wisdom – LOL – If you can’t laugh at yourself who can ya laugh at, eh? At least…I was hoping for that…and it did make me chuckle as I was typing it :) teehee…thanks for commenting :)
Yay!! I am so very happy that you enjoy this!! I was so excited when I had the opportunity to buy all of the raw material from a small tea factory in China. I knew when i first tasted it that I wanted to do a private label pressing of it and so pumped to see it so well received.
We now have 9 private label pressings to date and plan on doing a few more yet this year. So if you ever need to borrow money, don’t look to me. My money is all wrapped up (literally) in tea. But you know what? Even if it all came crashing down tomorrow, I’d have tea to drink and share with friends for several lifetimes!
Sounds amazing and sounds like when I broke my first brick…I watched videos read and said well here we go :)
Story more than review
Here’s my latest update on this amazing tea!
I brought some Earl of Anxi for my friends to taste after Church today, curious about how the Frankincense would be appreciated by a group of people who are familiar with the use and smell of this resin incense (although not in tea).
A few days ago I shared some with the guys who work at Happy Lucky’s Tea House and they loved it! We discovered that the incense resin really blooms beautifully at about the 3rd steeping.
Today, I set up my hot water kettle, small sipping cups and Gaiwan then waited for people (victims) to come by for a chat and tea.
One by one, I went through a round of steepings and then another…each time with great interest on the part of those sipping the tea and smelling the aroma with incense. Everyone loved the tea!
Finally, Fr. Evan came into the room…chatting with people and easing back towards me. (I know he saw my tea things, since we always have tea when we get together for our regular talks)
I steeped a last portion, steep #3, and poured tea into a tumbler. Then I handed the Gaiwan full of wet leaves to Fr. Evan and asked him to tell us what he smelled.
Everyone was watching…
“Hum, spinach…
….and something else…..Frankincense!”, he said with authority…not even doubtful for a minute.
He got it right! Wow! I know he’s a Greek Orthodox Priest but still, these were wet leaves and a mix you couldn’t look at and identify easily. Not bad!
I handed him the rest of my Verdant packet. Now I’m OUT! O U T!
More is on the way though. I knew I was going to need more. I gave some away to three people already so now I have to hoard more for my own enjoyment too.
Tea is my bridge to communicating with people face to face again. I’ve been scared, letting my disabilities hold me back. For the past two years I’ve avoided people other than going to my tea pub. This is my next step, sharing tea. Several people say they’d like to have tea with me at Happy Lucky’s. It’s time.
Props to you Bonnie!
Thanks Azz
You are most welcome! The world deserves you! xox
Wish I was there and I wish I had somewhere like Happy Lucky’s!
The reason I always write about my tea pub is 1. I like it and 2. I think people should look for one…really hunt them down around where they live. Or start something.
Such a nice story! I love that you set up a tea time after Church. A great opportunity for people to experience new tea, in a whole new way! :)
I’m working on some recipe idea’s with this tea for the holidays…
Good stories as always :) and same as Mrnixonpants the more i read your story the more i wish i had a Happy Lucky’s near where i live who know maybe starting one some day after a couple more year of practice with tea :P
Zoltar, I hope more people DO start places to share tea! Walking into a tea shop where tea is sold but you can’t sit and drink tea isn’t the same thing. Having knowledgeable, well paid servers who see their work as a career is key I think too.
I’m definitely going to try some sort of recipe with this tea! We should swap recipes when the experimenting is done, perhaps ;)
(if mine turns out that is – there’s always risk when it comes to experiments! That’s the fun!)
I’m not going to squeek any more details to you daisychubb…we should see what we come up with. I have 3 ideas now. All VERY different for the coming Holidays!!!!
What a good idea! Okay, they shall be secret surprises :3
As you may know, I am on the quest for the perfect grapefruit tea. There are a lot that I love, but many of them have other flavors added that while they do go well with grapefruit (like Zen’s Orange Grapefruit) prevents them from being the one. You know, the one tea I’ll give my heart to and we’ll run away and live happily ever after in a castle by the sea in France. Uhh I really like grapefruit. And I also love Butiki, so I have been eagerly awaiting this tea for months, as soon as Stacy announced she was working on it! Of course tragedy struck and I shipped my order to the wrong place so I was supposed to get it LAST Tuesday but had to wait until yesterday when I could take a trip up to my parent’s house. Stupid paypal, why do you default to my billing address! Depriving me of tea!
In any case, I was ridiculously excited to open this one up and made everyone around me smell it including… one of my cats. My little girl (well, she’s my mom’s cat, but we handraised a group of kittens from 10 days old so I consider the three of them “mine” haha) LOVES tea leaves and was very fond of this blend. She’s always trying to eat them but I think the citrus prevented her this time, though she did take a big whiff. The smell is delicious, like fresh grapefruit. It’s not as strong as I assumed it would be, very subtle and nice.
I cold brewed this one because, come on, I can’t drink grapefruit warm! It’s like… a travesty against all that is natural. Grapefruit must be ice-cold with just a teeny teeny splash of sugar. I can’t drink sweetened grapefruit juice to be honest, it has to be the regular stuff (which no one else in my family will drink haha), BUT I did put a pinch of sugar in as this was brewing, just to bring out all the flavors.
Oooh man, this is grapefruity heaven. Sweet, tart, citrusy. And nothing else is competing with it, so it’s all grapefruit all the way! Well, of course there’s a lovely dragonwell base which adds some interesting nuttiness and grassy freshness. It’s perfect, sweet grapefruit. Ruby grapefruit! The tartness is right on point, not overpowering but also still there. In my book, grapefruit teas need a little bite. They’re just not right without it! And this is perfection. Oh grapefruit tea, I’ve found you! Never leave me! Thanks so much to Stacy for coming up with this amazing concoction. If you like grapefruit you NEED to try it. But no I won’t put samples of this in a swap, it’s mine, all mine, bwahaha! One of those treasures you guard carefully and savor every last leaf.
Yay, glad to hear you love this one!
You are crazy and absoLOOTly right!
i want me order!!! BAH!
I got a sample of this I need to try. :)
I have a feeling there will be a ton of reviews for this one soon haha.
woot, can’t wait to try this one! I have it, but waiting for the right day
Alphakitty-So glad you are enjoying this one! :)
Sil-I hope it arrives soon! crosses fingers
Stacy – no worries.. i’m just anxious :)
What an entertaining tealog! love it!
I’ve had a sample (thanks Stacy and loved it!)
Thank you canadianadia! ^^
So you found It? That means there is yet hope for me and the Perfect Vanilla Black. Sounds like we’ve had similar ways of going at it, knowing exactly what it should be like when found but being unable to find it.
Yes, I’ve been questing for this tea for quite a while! It’s great to finally have it, I enjoyed my other grapefruit teas but they just weren’t “the one.” If you’re looking for the perfect vanilla you might want to ask Stacy at Butiki for a custom blend—she has a way of capturing just exactly what you want!
I was just about to say that unfortunately for reasons of geography and shipping, Butiki is out of my reach. Which alone means that no matter what she came up with, it couldn’t be the Perfect One. For Perfection easy availableness is crucial. However, when I went to check, so as to avoid potentially making a fool of myself, it transpired that the shop may not be unavailable to me, although it does require a bit of research for actual shipping fees.
Angrboda-If you ever have any shipping questions feel free message us for a quote. For international orders, we only charge $1.00 above the cost that USPS charges us to ship the package and that is for PayPal fees, box & shipping supplies, time, gas, etc.
Yes, that’s what I gathered. I’ll probably have a look through later and compose some sort of imaginary order, so that I know what weight amount I would potentially be going for and see what that would come up to.
Did you change it recently, though? I know I looked earlier and I could have sworn it was North America only at the time.
Angrboda-Nope, we have always accepted international orders. Also, if you would like to estimate a little on your own our shipping packaging usually weighs about 6oz (for most orders) and here is how to calculate the price: http://postcalc.usps.com/. We usually use First Class International because it is the cheapest.
AWESOME REVIEW!!!! :) Enjoy your bliss!
Yes, I definitely need to try this one again…
I’m glad you enjoyed the tea Daisy! It really is an amazing feeling getting “tea drunk” :) I think it has a great taste, and I saw you thought it does have some of the brr “flavor.” I hope you enjoy what you have left! Just so you know, the first time I brewed this, I used 5g of tea with 4oz of water, one rinse, and then short steeps. I love that even if you brew too long, it doesn’t get overly bitter, it seems to be a pretty forgiving tea!
Sounds great! I’m doing the same right now, approx 5g in my little gaiwan – I’m combining 2 steeps at a time but keeping them relatively short. Definitely going to try a “western” brew with it too – but tonight I’m feeling like I have the energy to keep my gaiwan goin! :D
Sounds good :) Personally, I find myself normally doing western steepings with black teas, and the short steepings with oolongs :)
You found your party tea! I have my few too. Amazing when it happens it feels so good. My granddaughter Schey got her first buzz at the Tea Festival in Boulder and was all giggley, like she had too much wine or something walking around sipping samples at all the tea vendor tables. Really funny. Glad you’re having a good time!
I haven’t had tea buzz for ages! it’s an amazing sensation :P
So need to try my sample of this when i get home :)
It really is amazing! Man tea is a life changer.
This is what we look for in our Tea….
How many seconds did you do each brew?
I started at 2 seconds and added 2 seconds to each subsequent brew – until I got to about 10 seconds – then I did 10, 20, 30 second steeps and so on!
Hey Daisy, how’s it going? Last day of the season at work today, so ill finally have tons of time to spend on tea!!! I don’t know if you saw the new thing Verdant is doing, being able to vote on which blend they will make!!! Hopefully if it goes well, David will let us vote on straight teas, which I think would be really cool!
Btw, I’m stringing out my aged TGY, while I’d love to drink it every day, I think I may go through some serious withdrawal when I eventually run out :( Anyways, have a great day!
Hey! I did see that – I definitely voted. I can’t wait to see where it takes us!
I’m baking a bunch of stuff for a friends Thanksgiving supper today – so I think I might join you and have a session with this tea to relax and re-energize. Well, now that you have me thinking about it, I think I need it! haha! You have a great day too :)
That is what I think is so nice about the tea, it is a very relaxing brew! I don’t know if ill have some tonight…depends on how many steeps of Laoshan Black I have at work today. Then tomorrow, I’m going to be brewing some white leaf Dancong, which was a private reserve sample that I can’t wait to try!