Popular Tasting Notes
For anyone who read my notes yesterday about how I was searching for my CANE (I need to name her, she’s 3 years old with silver, blue and black little squiggle flowers and a black wood handle), and I’m reporting that I found her at Old Navy. She was shopping.
Usually I find my CANE having tea at Happy Lucky’s.
I went looking for her after my hair appointment.
There was an odd ad on the radio for a Viagra type product that you had to ‘qualify’ for (huh?) and the first 200 men who called would receive a free stop watch to time the effects of the product (really?!). I certainly got some good puns out of that ad.
When I got home I finished some tea from earlier and roasted some root veggies for dinner. I set some tea aside for the morning, hoping the weather would brighten so that I could take some Fall Photo’s.
This morning was what I hoped for, shimmering light and blue sky.
I’m going to Douglas Lake behind my daughter’s house to get a sweeping view of the Rocky Mountains. I’ll post later pictures from my shoot.
I had to have the tea I set aside first.
When this tea was ordered I had a long conversation with the owner of Kally Tea and enjoyed the down-to-earth friendly conversation about tea and life.
He lives in the small high desert town of Hemet, California.
In my whole life as a consumer, I can’t think of any product besides tea where you can get to know the owner of the company providing the product.
I’m 64 and unless I walk into a physical store in my town and confront an owner and get to know them, it isn’t going to happen. TEA IS DIFFERENT!
(It’s a miracle really)
The tea
The dry Oolong was loose, not tight little pebbles of leaves
that would unfurl during steeping.
They looked like Black tea leaves and smelled sweet.
I used 1.5 tsp dry to 8oz. water at 160F and steeped 3 minutes.
The liquor was light honey brown, and tasted lighter than I expected for a first steeping. (I will try a little more leaf next time.)
The flavor was soft clover honey melting away on my tongue like water. There was a roastiness so light and savory that it kept drawing me back for more.
I sipped and sipped the smooth, gentle Oolong, thinking how nice
it was to have a tea that wasn’t requiring much of me.
could just relax, not going into ecstacy over it’s wonders or
into disappointment by some flaw.
As the tea cooled, it didn’t blink. Everything stayed as it was.
“Well now, an Oolong for anytime drinking,” I thought.
This type of Oolong is harder to find and one that I’m glad to have. By the way, I think this is one that’s good pared with food.
Here’s a picture from the LAKE http://flic.kr/p/diVvp6
Backlog: well… sort of. I’m on my second cup of this. The first cup was just so good that I couldn’t even spare time to type out a tasting note, I needed to focus on my cup of tea.
That is to say: Oh WoW! This is seriously GOOD!
Definitely one of the smoothest black blends I’ve come across. It’s so smooth that it doesn’t need milk or sugar to make it smooth … it just is. It doesn’t have a real “kick in the cup” type of quality that I generally look for when I consider a tea as a breakfast blend or morning blend versus a later in the day type of tea … but don’t let that fool you. It’s still invigorating and morning cuppa worthy – absolutely! It just takes a subtler approach toward the end goal – wakefulness!
It is bold yet smooth. Creamy with notes of malt and caramel, hints of chocolate in the background. Fruit notes – but the sweet fruit notes – of sweet date, grape, and even a hint of sweet apple. Now, imagine those fruits drizzled with honey. You get the idea.
By mid-cup, I notice some spices start to emerge. Slightly peppery, but very slightly, just enough to get the palate to notice something different in the background but not enough to disturb the smoothness of the cup. Maybe a hint of cinnamon.
Truly a remarkable blend. I would go so far as to say, if you had room for only one breakfast tea in your cupboard, this should be the one. I don’t think I could ever limit myself to just one, but, if I had to, this would probably be the one I chose. It’s so good… very good!!!
I was on their website the other day when they did the grand unveiling post, but was too timid to order a tin. With such a pretty website I am so glad to hear the tea lives up to the image! I am not much of a trailblazer but I am glad someone is. Thanks for the post!
Their Tins are really nice too. I really recommend this tea, and it makes me eager to try the others they have available, too.
Hmmm… I’m curious now
Good lord this sounds yummy!!!!
@Azzrian: It is! And I’ve got some already packaged up for you! :)
What a great tasting note, thanks! I know Terri is always on the lookout for yummy breakfast blends; I’m going to send her a link to this to make sure she doesn’t miss it.
Thanks, Nik, for calling my attention to this post! Although I try to read everyone’s reviews, sometimes I miss a few, due to my crazy busy life. This was one of the ones I missed.
This sounds awesome, & right up my alley as a lover of rich black malty tasty teas! I haven’t tried Hugo Teas yet, but it think I feel an order coming on… Nice Review, LiberTEAS. Thanks!
Thank you all for your kind support. The Morning’s Journey Blend was truly years in the making. About the others—we keep a limited line (never more than five), in order to keep pricing reasonable and to ensure that our teas are first-and-foremost drinkable (meaning less bitterness, natural sweetness, and smoothness).
Also, the tins aren’t just pretty—they are completely recyclable.
Hmmm, you are making me think about breaking my tea buying ban…
@Ashmanra, you are welcome to think as long as you’d like. The Morning’s Journey isn’t going anywhere…nor is Steamed Cloud…nor is Pan-Fired Pagoda…nor is Hill Station.
Did we mention that we have some of the lowest prices on Finum Strainers and Filters?
Cheers. :-)
2012 Hugo teas currently available:
http://steepster.com/discuss/5034-hugo-tea-30-percent-off?post_id=100402#forum_post_100402
Had my birthday party last night, where I converted a few people with this tea! Yay!
Sadly, it wasn’t as tasty as it has been, simply because of the vessels I had on hand. They were plastic. Wow – it affected the flavour a LOT, but since my guests didn’t have any note of comparison, they were still quite impressed! I am happy for that :)
Today is my real birthday and it is kind of awful because I had a migraine last night as the party was winding down, and now today I feel weird and sick. Blargh.
I will have a blog post soon about the great tea gifts I received from my boyfriend, they are gorgeous and I am happy :)
Yay for tea, yay for new converts!
Happy bday I sure hope you get feeling better. Take your time but can’t wait to see your gifties!
Happy Birthday! You know, my husband always looks at me weird when I comment about drinking tea out of plastic or paper cups. I tell him that it affects the flavor of the tea and he just looks at me like I’ve lost my mind.
Oh… and I hope the migraine goes away soon. I hate them. I am glad that I do not get them as often as I used to. I think that the increase of tea consumption has helped! :)
Happy birthday! Glad your party was a success, nice recruiting work! Feel better soon and enjoy your gifts!
Happy bday! I sometimes get headaches from parties. I suspect that it’s all the stimuli. Feel better!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY (and make sure you have caffeine for the migraine!) did you by any chance have a bunch of chocolate?
That could set you off…although with migraine people it can be anything…weather, lights, candles, crowds…yuck…
celebrate anyway!
Happy Birthday to you!!!
Happy birthday!! Hope you’re feeling better soon!
Happy happy birthday! & hope you’re feeling better <3
WOOT! I’m so glad this went off well. Happy Birthday!
Thanks everyone! I think what set me off was a mix of the humidity, work stress, having our first guests over and dehydration! haha today is much better, and I’m enjoying many cups of tea to combat the next one!
Happy belated birthday :)
Happy Birthday!
Happy belated birthday, Daisy!
Happy belated Birthday!
Happy belated birthday! Hopefully you feel better today and celebrated with some birthday tea!
Thanks you guys! You’re the best :D
Thank you Stacy for this juicy tea sample!
I can understand why Stacy stocks this tea so that she has plenty on hand for herself! It’s really good tea!
This morning, when I saw the words ‘Black Tea’ on the sample packet, I casually picked it up thinking, "OK, a nice Black Tea for my morning kick in Le derrière ".
The leaves were long and beautiful. Chocolate brown twisty fingers.
With such dark leaves the liquor was lighter than I expected,
very clear and fragrant, with a scent like apricots and honey.
Before tasting my tea I went to the freezer and took out a few of my prized dried California Apricots (the plump ones that are hard to get ) and cut them up to gather the aroma. ‘Sniff’
The scent was the same as the tea!
I took a sip and the black tea was honey apricot without any maltiness. The mouth feel was rich and full even though you would have imagined at first that the tea was light as a feather.
The smoothness hides the slightest tingle of astringency as the tea cools. There is plenty of juiciness and sweetness, but it’s really all about the golden apricot honey which is hypnotic and swishes you away.
Being raised in Northern California, Apricots were plentiful and never cold packed like the kind you find in the stores today.
My mom (Pat) canned them, grandma (Lolita) made jam, and I picked them off trees to eat fresh, made desserts, and froze them for my kids as popsicles.
Before Silicon Valley was ‘Silicon Valley’ it was agricultural and had orchards and Canneries. Sunkist, Del Monte, S&W, Hunts, Libby’s, and Marianni’s all were there, and in the Summer the teens from my High School worked cutting ‘Cots’.
(Yes, there were no McDonald’s jobs because in the earlier 1960’s there were almost NO fast food restaurants!)
You cut ‘Cots’ (apricots) and got blisters on your hands for minimum wage, and were glad for it! If you were frugal, you might earn enough in a Summer to buy a $100-$200 used car!
Years later, (1980’s) across from the Apple Computer World Headquarters in Cupertino, I noticed an acre of huge drying flats of apricots laying in the sun at Marianni’s Cannery. The old and the new were side by side (and now gone).
A last remnant of what was once a lush valley of 100,000 that had been replaced with concrete and a population of over a million people.
Some have never tasted an apricot fresh off the tree when the sun has ripened it with a blush of red on the skin. The sweetness at just the right moment is juicy and bursting with life.
Try to stop at a stand where they are fresh if you can.
This youtube is somewhat bizzare, shows a 1955 film of Silicon Valley agriculture (a silent movie with soundtrack). Makes me want to cry because it’s gone! I lived for 12 years across from a Prune orchard and vineyard which are part of a freeway now. http://youtu.be/-PacfbdTIms
This tea for me was one reminder of my childhood and I want pass this kind of flavor memory forward like my family did with me.
One of the reasons that I love the organic farms and buying local!
Thanks Stacy! (I know Stacy tastes PEACHES but I taste APRICOT)
Fresh apricots on the tree! Peaches and apricots are my fondest memory of golf courses in the Okanagan! That area is by far my most favourite place in Canada and the US!
Oh my! My grandpa had a partnership in a golf course and owned a golf cart company. He got to do his dream job, a Scot going from one golf course to another…one was Pebble Beach.I went to the course before I left and took pictures not knowing if I’d ever see it again. You should take pictures too. I’d like to see your favorite place.
Thanks Bonnie – your story reminds me of my childhood. I had horses and our pasture backed up to an apple orchard. The apples were so plentiful that hundreds would drop off into our pasture – WAY in the back by the fence line. Our horses would eat them up and we would find those that had recently fallen and were not crushed or black and eat those up. We would take rides to the back line and collect bags full of them and take back to the house.
Nothing like tree fresh fruit no matter what kind it is.
I miss those days too.
Luckily – the family who owns the orchard still owns the property and home there and the orchard is still going strong!
I just no longer have access to the apples. lol
Wish I had some of those apples too, for apple pie and spicy cinnamon applesauce and apple everything! (oh apple tart!)
Bonnie-What a story. Thank you so much for sharing. You brought me back to my childhood. I grew up in a town with mostly dirt roads and farms. They are now all housing developments and schools which makes me a bit sad. I must say, I relate things a bit more to peaches than apricots. Our area has a lot of peaches and a wide variety of them. There are these “doughnut peaches” here that are named that because they are short and fat in the shape of a doughnut. They only appear at farmer stands for 1-2 weeks at the beginning of the summer and 1-2 weeks at the end of the summer. They are super juicy and sweet and remind me of this tea. Apricots in our area are not as common. I have yet to have a great apricot but your story is making me want to seek one out. :)
I’ve seen the doughnut peaches. I lived further north up by Chico, California (2 hours north of Sacramento) in the 1990’s. They grow peaches, and kiwi’s there among other fruits.
My mother always canned Freestone peaches which I loved the best. Apricots are wonderful off the tree but what you get in the stores isn’t how they taste ripe and fresh. It reminds me of the difference between bag tea and loose leaf!
One day I will have to try a fresh picked apricot. :)
Thanks for this review Bonnie!
I have a sample (from Butiki, thanks Stacy) of Mi Xian Black that I’m planning on enjoying tomorrow morning probably. I love love love peaches & apricots, so much that I have one of each trees in my backyard (along with an apple, cherry, & a variety of berries). There is nothing like homegrown!
I look forward to hearing what you think Terri.
OH man oh man oh man. This is delicious. It smells rich and creamy and like vanilla. It tastes…. rich and creamy and like vanilla. Eggy vanilla (you know what I mean, yes?). The spices, however, are not making themselves known to me as much as I would have expected.
I was originally going to say that I can’t taste the base tea, but as I’m sitting here, I am definitely tasting it coming through all creamy and vegetal and delicious. I actually ordered a bag of this base as well, so I can have some fun identifying flavours later.
Anyways…. this is very, very good. I’m not detecting too much spicing, which tempts me to put in a dash of nutmeg and itty bitty pinch of cinnamon (or whatever the heck spices are in eggnog) next time I brew it, but this is by far the best vanilla tea I’ve tried. The choice of base is absolutely perfect.
Ah… that went down quickly. I guess that means it’s bedtime. Good thing, eyes only half open while writing tasting note….
ETA: The re-steep is amazingly delicious as well, just a bit less intense. I can hardly wait to try the base tea by itself (but not tonight: too tired!)
Preparation
Actually, I had planned to spice it up a bunch but after tasting it this way, I just couldn’t do it. The base definitely adds to the buttery-ness.
Nice, looking forward to trying this
Just put in a Butiki order. Will have to wait until next time, but sounds really good.
there are a few new butiki teas coming out so we’ve got lots to be able to have in new orders!
Sil – I think you will love this whether or not you hate eggnog. I can definitely get the eggnog reference, but you could definitely also take this as a vanilla custard tea, or somesuch. And it’s blended amazingly. The base was a perfect choice.
Also, yeah. I will likely buy an ounce or two or this plus all the other new holiday teas once they are out…. siiiiigh! Probably a bit more of the Maple Pecan Oolong as well…
Also Stacy – I re-read your tasting note and noticed that you had mentioned opting not to super spice it all up! So I retract my comment about being disappointed about the lack of spicing (it really is quite fabulous as is) and instead will endeavour to make it a bit more eggnoggy with spicing myself, just out of curiousity’s sake. It would be a shame to cover the delicious creaminess though.
Sounds great. I’ve never tried any Butiki teas but it seems I’ll have to correct that in the new year!
I highly recommend doing so!
Cavocorax dooooo it! sooo tasty!
Also Kittena – I’ll be placing an order to pick up at the very least, this and the plum pudding one stacy’s working on. We should coordinate later :)
Totally agree! No way I can hit $75 on my own again for a while, but I’m going to want a bunch of the new stuff. Since we have to meet up in January due to Kally Teas & Verdant anyways, we may as well place joint orders until then, haha.
i rarely hit 75 – i just pay for the shipping since it’s damn reasonable from stacy compared to other companies coughthepersimmontreecough
Oh, it’s reasonable. I just like to avoid paying shipping if I can :D
ohhhhh dear, I feel my resolve slipping! I wanna try this sooo badly, but I have so much to drink down first. Ack!
Yumminess… I had forgotten just how tasty this tea is. I need to figure out how I can keep myself from going through my tin of this too quickly… Increasing the rating…
Yesterday I went ice skating to actually train (not just coach) for the first time in about a year. I found out two important things: One that I can still skate and pull of my jumps and spins and two that not skating for a year and then putting on your skates will result in many painful blisters. Also, I woke up this morning with my entire body aching. I either have to do this more often or never again… hahaha… To ease my aching muscles, this tea came to the rescue.
I love the sprinkles in this tea. The colors make me smile. The buttery vanilla scent (both in the dry leaves and even more so in the steeped tea) is incredibly seducing and I seem to always give in. With a little bit of sweetener, this tea never fails me. It is instant smiles in a cup.
Sadly, while I am smiling and content, my body still feels like I fell out of the window of a five story building… Argh… Why do I love ice skating so much that I am willing to put up with this!?!?! Silly me… : ) At least I get birthday Cake Tea!
I vote for “more often” (since you just admitted loving it) : )
: ) I think that I might have to. Thanks for the vote!
Keep skating. If you stop you’ll end up like the rest of us. We bundle trips to the bathroom with trips to the fridge because its too far to walk if done separately.
K S you made me laugh out loud… OK, I will keep up the skating and try to avoid your handy suggestion of wasting fewer calories by economizing footsteps… : )
Shhhhh K S … don’t scare her about getting old
That made me lol too.
Preach on, K S … Unlike Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory, holding still and muttering, “I am the master of my own bladder” does not work.
Oh wow.. Sheldon… the little Spock episode had m crying it was so funny. And they drink a lot of tea. Not good tea but it is tea.
Bahaha, just watched the little Spock episode. Love that show!
K S – also highly amused at your earlier comment :D
I understand your pain! I trained for the Olympics as a shot putter when I was young (16-27 even after having kids). Had an injury that put me out. When I was in my late 30’s early 40’s I coached guys and girls highschool weights and throwing and as a coach you demo…ha, ha, ha…what a show off I was…till I could not lift my arms above my waist! Stupid me! Sore and feeling really bad! Now I can’t do any weight exercise because of the fibromyalgia and I used to bench press 250 lbs.! Humbleing! (You never know what old people used to do when you look at them do you!)
Oh man, I feel your pain… when I did squats for the first time (properly that is) a few weeks ago, I thought I was going to permanently walk like a penguin! so sore…
So I second everyone else, continue skating! keep up with the things that bring you joy :)
I was just reading some of the comments to my wife. She called us dorks… Is that a bad thing?
I’m proud to be a dork! :P
Hahaha… K S, as far as I know being a tea dork is a good thing! ; ) Please do thank your wife for the complement! : D Tea Dorks join forces! I agree with Indigobloom, I am also proud to be a dork!
Bonnie- Wow… That’s amazing! I know how much a sport is missed… I won nationals (Ecuador Nationals that is…) quite a few years ago, but then had to quit because I had hairline fractures in both of my legs and it got to the point where it hurt all the time. I will always miss it at a competitive level… My Grandma also is an amazing woman, being older by no means equates to being older or untalented!
YES!!! Dorks unite!! :P
You poeple are just wonderful! Love all your comments :)
I’ll throw my hat into this ring (as a dork, that is)!
Ninavampi, I know exactly what you’re talking about! I love horseback riding but hadn’t ridden in a while. I stupidly went out for a 5 hour trail ride and then woke up the next day and was surprised that I didn’t feel bad. So, I went riding again. The next day, I literally could not walk. At all. For an entire week. I’m not joking! I had to crawl around and call out of work. Stupid stupid me. Hahaha! So yeah, don’t wait too long between skating and definitely don’t skate 2 days in a row if it’s been a while. ;)
Thanks for the excellent advice… I believe I have learned my lesson!
I got a sample size of this with a very small order I placed with Shang. Actually I ordered one ounce of one kind of tea and several samplers of others. This tea smells like honeysuckle through and through. I grew up around many honeysuckle bushes and always enjoyed picking the flowers and sucking out the juices. Actually I believe we would pull the stamen from the flower – I don’t know the actual word but I know how we did it lol. Honeysuckle has a very sweet flavor sort of like honey, but not, when you do this.
This tea is relaxing, lovely, scented, and buttery. There is almost this milky mouthfeel to it.
Its an enchanting tea.
The color is gorgeous!
A very light vegetal flavor comes out in the after taste.
Slightly nutty.
The vegetal flavor mixed with the buttery milky flavor remind me of buttered green beans. Yes I put butter on my green beans, don’t you?
This tea is a sure shot for my shopping list!
Shang tea is actually only about an hour or so from my home and I hope to be able to drop in there soon to visit and sample more of their teas but for now I have several wonderful samples here to try and this one to resteep many times! :)
Happy dance!
Preparation
Ha! I used to do that too. My mom had one in her yard. Poor thing was stripped pretty fast.
Ah… I recall I really liked this one too! :)
A lot of people have been talking about honeysuckle lately. I’m completely unfamiliar with it!! So curious :)
I found an image for you Krystaleyn. This is the flower I remember from my mom’s yard.
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://4.bp.blogspot.com/k12KFNQwzYo/TG-WVTHRt8I/AAAAAAAACRI/dAlvd18f1Ew/s1600/honeysuckle.jpg&imgrefurl=http://winerecipes.blogspot.com/2008/04/honeysuckle-wine.html&h=480&w=640&sz=42&tbnid=LHH2ZnlLd9fgM:&tbnh=92&tbnw=122&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dhoneysuckle%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=honeysuckle&docid=RiPAJnXZ3RIvzM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=n4KXT7m7I4WziQL2it3PDw&sqi=2&ved=0CFoQ9QEwBA&dur=75
Hmm that link goes on forever, doesn’t it?
I think she means http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_k12KFNQwzYo/TG-WVTHRt8I/AAAAAAAACRI/dAlvd18f1Ew/s1600/honeysuckle.jpg
;)
Although it really does amuse me what happened up there. It’s like the link is trying to run away before you can click on it. NO! NOT AGAIN! AAAAAAHHHH.
Screenshotted for Jason ;)
LOL!!!
Clicked link – our honeysuckles were yellow those are pretty white ones!
Clicked link – our honeysuckles were yellow those are pretty white ones!
It was a pretty bush. Sadly only one bush in the yard or I could have had much more honeysuckle!
Bahahahaha @ the link issues. And thanks! So you pull out the stamens and what, suck on them? Does breaking them off cause the excretion of a tasty fluid?
Yes when you pull them out – I guess it is the stamen .. its those things poking out from the middle of the flower – there will be juicy stuff clinging to them and you lick them off! :)
I used to do that with those little white flowers that pop up on the grass!! no not dandelions. The white ones where you can pull out the tubes
This tea sounds amazing! I too remember hunting for honeysuckles in my neighborhood. The first time I didn’t know how to properly extract the honey so I had to learn from my brother a few times. I need to get my hands on this tea, it would be like a trip down memory lane!
We did the same thing but with petunias! My dad taught me how. You gently tug the flower out of its sepals and hold the flower base to your lips like you are playing a tiny trumpet, and give a little sip. There is a drop of nectar beaded at the base of the pistil. Sweet! I should try it with my jasmine! It is a wall of blooms right now!
funny….I have had many white teas that resemble the ‘honey suckle’ flavor profile, even without any additional flavors or additives..but I totally gel with your memories of sucking on honeysuckle, and then there is the difference bewteen the white and the cadmium yellow flowers..my childhood (and to this day) is full of plant foraging like that…
Shang Tea has some of the best white teas I’ve ever tried.
teawade I love a tea that brings back memories! :)
ashmanra did you also make dolls out of flowers? I don’t know if they were petunias or not – I think they were – my grandmother would do that with us.
Indigo – are you talking about clover flowers? They looked like white puff balls on top of a tube stem? You could make necklaces and bracelets out of them if you tied the stems together! :)
Clover flowers are good too!
Up until last night’s discussion, I thought clover flowers WERE honeysuckle. How about that?
Azzrian: it wasn’t until I was married that my mother-in-law showed me how to make dancing girl dolls out of Maypops, also called Passionflower!
Aweee what a sweet thing for her to show you! :)
So I guess I had a crappy childhood and not once sucked anything out of a flower!! Boo to that!
Thank you Teavivre for this tea sample!
Ya’ll know I love me some Lapsang Souchong…Amen! (left over accent from living in Texas years ago!…long story…)
When I saw everyone receiving the new samples from Teavivre and chattering about this LS I was so excited! I knew this was going to be quality tea!
Sunday, I was in Happy Lucky’s Tea House chatting with Sam (one of the tea Sommeliers) about Lapsangs. I had him smell the Teavivre dry leaf. He could tell this was good quality. We discussed something that many people (including myself) often forget when considering Lapsang Souchongs. We concentrate so much on the smoke that we forget about the tea leaves. Tea changes from year to year (we know that) and LS is no exception. Smoke should not obliterate the flavor of the tea . That being said, strong smoke can be done by a master with the correct tea. This gave me more to consider.
Last night was one of my pain nights. My bones hurt and my dreams were wierd because of it. I woke up with a migraine and nausea. I had to get up. This happens too often to stop me.
Caffeine helps stop a migraine and my anti-seizure meds help block some of the triggers in my brain like light or weather change that set migraines off.
Strong tea was what I needed and fast! I wanted a great tasting tea too, tea that would brighten my morning and make me smile! I just knew this Lapsang could do that for me!
I brewed a whole 24oz pot Western Style…2 minutes! Ummmm!
The liquor was a rich honey color with a medium mellow, smoky scent.
The flavor of this Lapsang is smooth but not too strong. A medium smoky brew that surprised me right away by reveiling a coolness probably derived from gentle contact with pine smoke. I had not experienced that in a Lapsang Souchong before. There was also a dry mouth-feel and burn on the tip of my tongue. I added some sugar after sipping several small cups straight. The sweetened version was the best.
Then, I remembered some Natural Maple Syrup. I couldn’t help myself…no self control whatever! I poured a small cup and put a teaspoon of syrup in the tea. It was good! (I am imagining several people at Teavivre freaking out at the crazy lady in Colorado who has ruined the LS by putting Maple syrup in it!.. I hope they’re laughing and having a good time with it!…Love you Teavivre!). The maple dripping off my finger…lick, and the smoke of the tea, slurp…I AM CURED!
My own favorite LS from my local tea shop is smokier than this one and has more pine and burn. It is better for cooking because of the extra smoky strength. I made a batch to test side by side at the end of my Teavivre cups and discovered that my local was more layered.
The difference: Teavivre is a refined, lighter and approachable Lapsang Souchong.
My Happy Lucky’s China Lapsang Souchong is stronger with a burnt, smoky sweet pine taste.
You never want to lose the tea in the smoke and Teavivre has achieved that sweet delicious point that you want to come back to.
I continued to drink this tea and nibbled on Whiskey Cheese! I got it at Whole Foods but my local cheese store carries a Whiskey Cheese and you may find others also. IT IS AWESOME with Lapsang Souchong! Sweet and tangy…perfect to pair with the smoke! Any other sweet cheese would go well with a Lapsang too!
Now I want to go camping. Anyone have a tent?
http://youtu.be/57tK6aQS_H0 The Platters, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes ; ) I Feel Better!
ugh, I had a migraine headache yesterday too, with those zig zags of light and everything, Felt awful!
Glad you feel beter. :)) Bonnie, the Lapsang you sent me was smokey, but it was well balanced. The LS I tried so many yrs agowas from Stash. I rememeber it being more intense in a pine smoke sort of way. Keep in mind that I’ve learnedso much more about preparation too. It was more intense, and it seemed sweeter. It was one of two or three teas I’ve thrown away, and couldn’t finish it. Happy Lucky’s is better, by far. I would gladly pay you to send me some in the future. Lion and the Lamp too! =))
Uh! I’m sorry Amy! I have Atypical Migraines which are less in the head and more like flu /nausea and bone pain is fibromyalgia. The weather in S.F. Bay Area used to bother my fibro a lot! Hope you continue to feel better! One thing, no flourescent lights! Big trigger for migraines!
That’s one of my favorite songs. I just heard that the last original surviving singer died. :-((
Sure Scott they’re very inexpensive! The LS $2.95 oz Jason drove up and bought some too Sunday. The shop set up a flight of Oolong tasting and a pot of puerh. We drank about 7 tea’s! So fun! We need a Steepster Meet-up!
I saw them!
Ssssooo cool…….I mean the tea and the concert. :=))
So now you have to tell me the & teas you sampled! Didi you buy anything besides the LS??
I didn’t write them down but Jason did. We did share a Dragonwell from David Duckler that was a birthday gift sample not online. I bought a refill of a pu’erh
China Gong Ting WANG -Oz. Oh the pot of pu’erh on a tea tray with clay pot etc. Refills
$3.95! My shop is awesome!!! Sam stayed and explained and poured everything!
The refills are not 3.95….the whole pot is!
Did you take pics?? You sould join TeaTra.de!
No but Jason did. Don’t know what he took pictures of besides walking around town! Slosh!
Why join?
So you can post tea pics n stuff with reviews. It’s not as busy as Steepster, but it does offer^^^^^^^ advantages.
I told Sam about Lion and the Lamp (Lamb) LS and I think it got lost in translation! (Sam’s Cambodian) . I told him to have his wife explain! She’s a Southern Belle!
I suspect we have similar taste when it comes to LS. Distinctly smoky, but with a good sweet-y fruit-y note underneath so that it feels like the flavour has substance. :)
Hehehehehe…….
TeaTra.de = jason. Thank you Scott for feeding the insanity.
It didn’t take much food!
; ) Yeah I asked for that one
Uh huh! ;)
OK…….I’ll look you up there Jason. I like to post her, but there’s no option for personal pics ’n stuff like Teatra.de…….
Nice on the whiskey cheese I also recommend porter cheese!
This is the first year I decided to pre-order any shincha (a first flush sencha tea). My curiosity got the better of me and like the true tea addict I am, I had to see what the fuss was all about. There are several places to order shincha from, but I decided to go with Den’s because I have been very happy with the quality of all their products.
First of all, the dry leaves are incredible. Vivid green and vegetal with a bit of sweetness, the aroma is very fresh and delightful.
I steeped this is a Japanese style teapot which I believe is called a Tokoname kyusu – at least it looks like this one on Rishi’s website:
http://www.rishi-tea.com/product/fukugata-tokoname-teapot/teapots.
Mine is white and petite – it holds about 10 oz. of tea.
This tea liquor is much lighter than I thought it would be. I am getting lots of sweet vegetal notes like buttery cooked peas. It’s a bit brothy and a bit fruity at the same time. I’m thinking light notes of berries, perhaps? This is really nice, absolutely no bitterness involved at all. Just a delicate cup of tea. I can see why shincha is so highly prized but ack, it is expensive! This is the only shincha I am planning to buy this year and I’m sure I will enjoy it very much.
Preparation
Sounds like it is worth the experience!
It’s a great tea! I really enjoy how it’s savory and sweet, almost at the same time. I think I’m going to order some of Den’s other shinchas that are available right now.
@Susan – I am definitely tempted by the Shincha Houryoku…
Hm, I’ll have to keep this in mind for next year. If my stash wasn’t already so large, I would definitely buy some of this.
A white Tokoname…….awesome. I have been wanting ti order Shinchas for the last several years, but haven’t -and didn’t last year because of all the problems there. S this year I MUST (& I must hurry)! Hibiki-an is my choice. I have ordered from them, and really like there quality & customer service.
Wow this is sold out already. How mucch did u get -2 oz?
Yes I got 2 oz. I’m surprised it’s sold out already but I guess this is why they take pre-orders?
If I hadn’t read your Shincha post, I probably would have forgotten-and I already have so much tea, BUT, I really want to try a Shincha this year and pick up a Sencha and/ or Gyokuro. I MUST! I miss it so……………………
I think Hibiki-an is a little more expensive, but competitive. The fact that they are in the Kyoto Prefecture may have something to do with it (teas from Kyoto are supposed to be the best). Who knows….it’s all good!
@Amy oh – if you are willing to buy a larger amount of tea (100g instead of 2oz), you can get it a lot cheaper per gram (just not from Den’s, unfortunately… unless you buy from their Parent co. in Japan). However, Maiko Tea’s Shincha Kinari is only 1500 JPY (and between 400 – 500 JPY for shipping) for 100g. It is awesome! Maybe not as good as hashiri, but you’re getting double the amount of tea for about $6 cheaper (not including shipping for Den’s or Maiko).
Also, O-cha.com has several good shinchas that are also cheaper (per gram).
However, it is still worth it!
@ScottTeaMan, actually, comparing the prices of MANY Japanese tea vendors, Hibiki-an seems like (imo) the most expensive, because they do free shipping if you buy over $40 (last time I checked). So, all of their prices include a margin to cover their shipping costs.
@Shinobi-cha – thank you, for the info. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to buy a large quantity since I’ve never had a shincha before and I have a lot of green tea!
No problem Amy! That makes sense… if you just want a smaller amount, Den’s is probably my favorite way to get it. :-)
True Shinobi-cha, Free S & H is over $36, and They do compensate to cover their costs. I was just saying I think they are comparable to Dens-perhaps a little more expensive. I’ve never shopped at Den’s, but I am determined to get some Shincha this year. I’ll check O-cha too. :))
I’m a big fan of aged oolongs and this tea in particular is a really special tea. 22 years ago seems like such a long time. I looked through some of my old photo books to see what I was like 22 years ago and I couldn’t find anything from 1991. There are an explosion of photos from 1993, when I started high school, but I can’t find anything from after I was a baby up until 1993.
This tea was stored for 22 years, every few years the tea is roasted. It is because of this process that aged oolongs are rare. They don’t command a price worth storing the tea that long and re-roasting it occasionally. I’ve heard some speculation that aging oolongs in Taiwan could die out.
This tea makes me happy. It is so delicious and buttery. I definitely recommend gongfu brewing but even western style, it is still very rich and creamy. Roasted chestnuts and tree bark are the first notes that hit my tongue followed instantly by creamy butter notes that linger long after the sip. I’m almost getting a very very light minty end note. There are also some pleasant mineral notes. After about 2 decades, mineral notes start to appear in aged oolongs. This is a tea that I end up drinking so fast because I am enjoying it so much. Yum, what a nice treat!
I’m mad now! You started High School 30 years after I did! I no longer feel sorry for you staying up till all hours concocting new tea blends!!! Young-un!
what sort of oolong was it when it started? where did it hail from? what style or fermentation/oxidation level?
Bonnie-Hahaha. :) My family is such a late night family. I just don’t function well at all before 10am.
Kashyap-It was a Da Ye Oolong. They aren’t very common now since the plant produces less tea than other more common plants. It came from Nantou, Taiwan (middle of the country). The oxidation level is between 20-30% and is charcoal roasted.
nice…I love teas from Nantou and the lighter oxidation explains the buttery and creamy mineral notes
Kashyap-I too am a big fan of teas from Nantou. I’ve been very big into Taiwanese teas lately. It is very buttery and creamy. So delicious.
Fascinating about the mineral notes, I didn’t know that!! Maybe I’ll pack some away in a tea time capsule :)
guess what stacy! i’m ordering some of this! woot woot!
Indigobloom-Only if you don’t mind digging it up every few years to roast.
Sil-An oolong, I’m surprised.
@ stacy – i really loved the 2003 four seasons one.
Sil-Glad you love that one! I think you will enjoy this one too.
Good to know! I’d be scared to burn it tho
Indigobloom-Best to leave it to the professionals, though I would be curious to try it myself. It takes great deal of skill.
I’m a little confused…Stacy, you sent me a 20 year aged Oolong and this would be 22 year old Oolong? Or is this the one you sent?
Bonnie-Sorry for the confusion, the sample I sent was this tea. I typed up that sample in a rush, so looks like I missed the extra 2 years.
Oh good…I can write a review under the right place! Drank with the guys today. I’ve been sick since last Saturday and just ventured out today.
Glad to hear you are feeling better Bonnie. That’s nice that you were able to share it with the guys. :)
been wondering where you got to Bonnie! whew, glad you’re on the mend now
I graduated high school in 1993…trying to decide between this and the gui fei oolong as one of my samples. Tough choice.
Heather, personally I enjoy the aged oolongs a little more Gui Fei though I very much enjoy both. There is such a lovely creaminess to this tea. Both are great though.
I opted for the Gui Fei this time…but this one (1991 Da Ye Aged Oolong) is a close second. It was hard to choose.
Not gonna lie. I’m feeling pretty special right now. It was an amazing day. Weather peaked out around 78. Unheard of and record breaking for Portland in March. After so much rain and gray weather it’s so much fun to see all the people suddenly emerge from hibernation and fill the streets and parks with nothing but laughter and smiles.
After an impromptu bbq at a friends and a few of my other favorite beverage, I got home to find my Butiki order had arrived already. The primary purpose (other than trying some more amazing teas) was for me to sample a few teas that may serve as the base for a custom hops tea that stacy is making for me. But the only tea I had my eye on tonight was the Caramel Vanilla Assam tea. Despite the late hour and my rule about no black tea after 5ish, I couldn’t resist.
This is brand new blend that she wrote about on FB and I asked her to include it in my order. And man am I glad I did. Cause seriously, I love when you have insanely high expectations for something, and not only does it meet your expectations, but blows it out.
This is no ordinary caramel flavored tea. In fact, it doesn’t even taste like caramel flavor. It tastes like if you were to plant a tea plant in a butter caramel and then water it with only vanilla and see what grew. Its as though caramel is actually a part of the tea. I couldn’t separate out the tea flavor from the caramel flavor. Like how the chocolate flavor is just part of LB, not added, but just a part of it. That’s how the caramel flavor is in this tea. It’s not an in your face flavor, but not subtle either.
In case you can’t tell yet, I friggin love this tea. Totally straight. No sugar/honey or cream. It reminds me so much of those individually wrapped in wax paper vanilla butter caramels you can get when you’re checking out in fancy grocery stores.
This is hands down my favorite caramel tea. Thanks for letting me try this Stacy! Please don’t ever stop making it!!!!
Update I had this again this morning and added some sugar per Stacy’s suggestion. The caramel flavor is even more pronounced. I think I prefer it straight though. Either way it’s super good.
That sounds AMAZING!!
want!
I’m so glad you are enjoying it! I wasn’t sure how this would be received. I recommend trying it with just a tiny bit of sugar. Its really decadent that way.
I thought about adding some sugar, but just loved it as is. I’ll throw a few rocks in there tomorrow. Because I will be having this again tomorrow :-)
This is the sample I want in my order!
yum, sounds like a good blend to me :-)
Yay, glad you are enjoying it that much! I’d love to hear what you think about it with a little bit of sugar.
Terri-I’ve already written it on your invoice. It’s the same base as the orange chocolate so, I thought you might like to try it.
awesome! Yay!
NOOOOOOO why did you have to review this before I place my order. Now I want 2 oz. of this one too. Is it absurd to order 6 oz. total of PTA/PTA-based teas?!
great review, sure I’ll order some !
Yeah, Stacy, that sounds so good I think I want an oz also.
Better find something else to give me a sample of :)
Gah. I thought I was done ordering tea for awhile. I need to make myself write tasting notes on my desktop and just save them and stay off this site for awhile!!!
Stacy – when do you plan to offer it online? It’s still in the preliminary review stage, huh?
Tealizzy-The tea itself is completely done. It should be up on our website next week if I can get some time in to do a photo shoot, otherwise everything else is ready. It’s order-able now for anyone who doesn’t want to wait.
Thanks Stacy. I’ll wait until its up, to help me spread out my orders ;)
Tealizzy-Great :)
Oh my gooooodnessssss, I HAVE to have this! I have to have it! Premium Taiwanese Assam is my favorite tea, and you’ve made me so excited to try this flavored one out! :D
I want to at least wait for my upcoming Butiki order to arrive though first. I ordered a couple teas I haven’t tried, and it’s entirely possible I’ll want more, so I’ll have to hold off.
Is this tea a limited time thing, or is it something that’ll stick around? Not sure if I need to panic order this, or if I have time to wait for my current order to arrive. xD
Chizakura-This is something that is sticking around. We may be out of it for a week or two but after that it should be available in full stock. I’m really low on one ingredient that makes up this tea and its not expected arrive for 2-3 weeks. We ran through the first batch before it hit the website and I’m already half way through this batch. I might borrow some of the ingredient that was reserved for a custom blend to make a third batch but I’m not sure yet. You definitely don’t need to panic order this since it will be in full stock within a month.
Aw okay, thanks :) That’s what I was hoping for, but I was worried, as you could see. xD
Alright, I’ll be patient and wait for my current parcel to arrive then, thanks. :D
Brewed up a bunch of this quite strong for icing – I’ll see how that fares in the morning! In the meanwhile, I’m enjoying a second infusion, which, possibly because it’s more than double strength, tastes much like a regular first infusion.
Anyhow, I used 2 tbsp of leaf for about 10oz and steeped for 1 min, then diluted that with probably another 10 oz. of cold water and stuck it in the fridge.
ETA: Yum!! Not only was it pretty darn delicious cold (very dark chocolate), I added sweetener (yep, maple syrup is the current sweetener of choice for cold beverages as it’s the only liquid sweetener I currently have), and I sucked back the cup in no time. It didn’t necessarily need it, I just wanted it to be sweet. The maple syrup really brought out the dark chocolate notes, so it was very satisfying. I’ll have to try some other blacks this way! I haven’t been drinking as much tea lately (only want cold drinks) and my water/liquids intake has been dwindling… iced tea is clearly the remedy.
Preparation
Somehow, I read this to mean you were making cake or cupcake icing with laoshan black tea! Not that you were making iced tea. Ha! Laoshan black icing though, that might be good!!
I thought the same as Tealizzy! :-) Maybe we just wantt cupcakes?
I love cupcakes! Laoshan black cupcakes, please!!
Ahahahaha. Those would be some tasty cupcakes, I think! Quite dark and rich. Now I’m kind of tempted to use the tea in an infusion for icing or something, like I’ve done previously with coffee…
I saw a recipe the other day for earl grey cupcakes and I think it could be done with this tea the same way. Oh I might just go on a baking binge this weekend. I already have matcha muffins planned.
I’ve done icing with matcha…. that was super delicious!
Fuzzy_Peachkin, Earl Grey Chocolate Cake. It would be amazing with Laoshan Black instead of Earl Grey. http://www.shutterbean.com/2012/chocolate-earl-grey-cake/
That looks so tasty! Thanks, OMGsrsly! Need to get chocolate and yogurt!
OMGsrsly – YUM!
Baha, I thought of cake icing as well :D
I don’t actually use yogurt – I just make “buttermilk” by mixing almond milk and 1 tsp vinegar or lemon juice. :) You can use regular milk or soy milk as well! Of course, I do use real butter…
I like Laoshan black better cold than hot. I found that cold-steeping over night in the fridge works great too. I followed the Verdant Tea website instructions.
Very first order of the agenda here, can we all please agree that the country is called NEpal and that there is no such country as NApal? Thank you. This seems a common error, and some people do it with such consistency that it can’t be a typo. NEpal. (Sorry, but it bothers me. I can usually overlook this sort of thing, but certain mistakes just jars the eye. Same with the whole palate/pallet/palette thing. (Hint, on Steepster I can with 99.9% certainty guarantee that you want ‘palate’))
Secondly, Fleurdelily shared this one with me, and I’ve been slightly afraid to try it. I’ve tried a couple of Nepalese blacks before and found them quite Darjeeling-y. But then I seemed to see a lot of good things said about it on Steepster. Claire even had a discussion board subject. So I decided it must be time to be brave.
The leaf doesn’t look like Darjeeling and it doesn’t really smell like it either, although there is a certain note of that Darjeelingesque grassy floralness.
After brewing it smells quite flora, but not in a sharp, pointy way like Darjeeling. There is a sweet, slightly malty note and also a touch of something that reminds me of raisins and other dried fruits. It’s kind of like a much milder version of Assam, rather than Darjeeling-y.
The Darjeeling-y note is there in the flavour as well, but honestly, I would have been surprised if it wasn’t. It’s not as unpleasant as I find it to be in Darjeeling, though. In Darjeeling it’s sort of stabby and pointy and gives me a funky, sour aftertaste, but there’s none of that here. Again it’s mostly like a milder version of Assam with Darjeeling aspects mixed in.
Dooars! That’s what it reminds me of the most.
If you enjoy this, try if you can find something from the Dooars region, and vice versa. Where Dooars leans more towards Darjeeling than Assam, this is sort of leaning in the opposite direction, but it’s still giving me that same feeling of middle-ness.
It’s not my ideal tea (being not Chinese, really) but I’m enjoying it much more than I had expected I would. Very interesting
Great review! I’m going to look for a Dooars tea now.
I had been eyeing a few nepalese teas, and this is only making me more interesting.
And just saying I might appreciate having a palette of words to use while posting from my pallet!
The English lesson gave me giggles.
I like the English lesson too. I sometimes want to start correcting spelling but usually give up in disgust first. After all, it is the internet, so spelling is optional apparently! :)
Looks like I am going to be in Aarhus in mid-January if you wish to take tea with me. I was going to send you a message but could not.
Oops, and then I remembered reading your contact details on your bio. How embarrassed am I?
Sometimes I find it disturbing that I, as an ESL, can be so irritated by it sometimes. I try to remember that I don’t usually know anything about the other person and that they might have a genuine difficulty with spelling and such things, but sometimes…! (I’ve come to the conclusion lately that it’s because I’m ESL that things I know to be wrong can bother me so much. If you lot can’t even work it out, it becomes even harder for me to learn!)
Claire, I hope you can find some. It shouldn’t be impossible, I’ve seen them around a few times.
Roughage, I saw. I think it should definitely be possible. I shall run it through Husband tomorrow as well if he wants to join. I don’t want to disturb him now, as he’s watching something on tv. Warning, though, we’re both fairly shy people, so awkward silences may occur as we flounder for something to say. :) And if you (try to) teach me to say your name, I’ll (try to) teach you to say mine. ;)
It’s ok, Angrboda, I already know how to speak Danish:
http://satwcomic.com/stop-talking
Oh, and I have my own potato! ;)
Actually, I could do with working on my Danish because my nephew mostly speaks it and I only really speak Norwegian fluently, which makes communicating with him interesting. As for awkward silences, I am fine with that. We can sip our tea appreciatively and be companionable rather than chatty. I am not the world’s most outgoing person either!
:D
“palate/pallet/palette.” That’s awesome. Guilty as charged.
haha, good point with that. When working in the art field it’s very common (more like second language, hehe) to use art terms such as ‘palette’. Thank you for reminding of the other option, makes my writing much more interesting. For an ESL person new words are always a treat.
Chinese New Year!!!
Granddaughter Schey and I went to Happy Luckys after Church like we normally do, and hopped up onto the bar stools that we usually occupy.
“Hey, what did you bring us today?!” Preston asked.
With great excitement, I pulled out my bag of Taiwanese Wild Mountain Black Tea which caught Joe’s eye further down behind the cash register.
“Wow, is that it?!” Joe exclaimed. (He and Preston had tasted the previous small sample from Butiki but this was MORE!)
“Yep, I brought the whole bag in so Eric, Andi, and Schey could have some of this tea too!”
I’ve never seen Preston move so fast! He had a Gaiwan, 6 tasting cups and an aroma set (for me) ready in no time.
I invited a young man at the bar (he was drinking tangerine stuffed puer that the shop now carries thanks to advice from Steepster mrmopar) to join in the tasting.
Preston warmed the Gaiwan, placed the leaves inside…waited, then passed the Gaiwan for everyone to smell the aroma. Delicious waffles…this is what we all think the tea smells like!
We each held the first golden-amber pour in our cups up high as Eric made a toast in Chinese 新年快乐 (xīn nián kuài lè) for Happy New Year!
All that I heard after that were….GROANS AND SIGHS OF DELIGHT!
I’ve seldom seen so many speechless, excited tea people. It was a pleasure bringing a grand tea to my friends.
In the past month…I’ve shared 2 tea’s that have been in the top 3 that Eric and Joe have ever tasted…Master Hans Black Tea from Verdant and Butiki’s Taiwanese Wild Mountain Black.
One final word:
What takes my breath away when I drink this tea is the finish.
Just when I’ve swallowed the tea it lifts me up and I’m floating on the most gentle ribbon of lingering flavor that undulates on and on like small ripples in the water. Eventually, my whole body feels the thrill of the tea. (Hard to explain how good it is)
This was a grand way to celebrate Chinese New Year!
Awesome review Bonnie. Question, what is an aroma set? Teach me o’ wise one as I have no Happy Luckys and no Bonnie in my neighborhood.
you’re a good friend to share Bonnie! that orange pu sounds tasty as well!
http://siam-tee.de/product_info.php?cPath=14_22&products_id=120 You ahould find the pictures here of aroma sets. You pour the tea in the tall cup and place the small shallow cup over it. Next, hold your thumb on the top of the tall cup, fingers under the small cup and upend it. Lift the tall cup letting the tea drain into the small cup. Bring the now empty cup up to your nose and smell the tea aroma, rolling the cup between the palms of both hands. Finally, drink the tea in 3 sips (slurps).
The proof that I’m not wise is that I can’t spell a simple word like should!!!
A simple pinky slip that I would never have noticed.
I now understand the concept of the aroma cup. Do you find it to make an obvious olfactory difference or is it more a part of the experience of connecting and enjoying the cup? Maybe both? I love to examine the leaf and smell it both dry and wet. I love watching the leaf dance. I can almost see myself enjoying this process except for the whole tiny cup thing.
I’m not wise, I can’t spell should!
Thanks for the review, Bonnie. I’ll have to give this one a try. I’ve also been curious about the tangerine stuffed puer for awhile, having seen it a few places now.
I am glad they are having success with the orange puerh, it is a great starting point on a tea journey.
I think you just did ;)
The aroma cup enhances the experience for sure and is useful when you really want to dive deeper into scent.
I feel like I’ve just read one great love story!! Best review ever!!!!
What a lovely, lovely review! You really made the tea and the moment come alive.
Thank you. What nice things to say! I know that I talk about my tea house all the time, but what some people don’t know is that going to church and the tea house are the ONLY places I go regularly to interact with people (other than the grocery store or gas station). I feel ‘safe’. These people understand my limitations and never make me feel uncomfortable when my brain gets stuck and I can’t remember a word (which happens often in public). I use a cane in public too. One time at church I didn’t have my cane and went to cross myself and fell over,.which was really funny! Migraines and fibromyalgia play tricks on the brain. My fondness for my tea house is in my heart and in the teacup.
Wow, that is quite a compliment to have one of our teas be in the top 3 favorite teas of another tea purveyor. I love how you describe the finish. So poetic! :)
very wonderful fellowship all around!
Friends … please remind me NEVER to leave the house without tea again. I thought that today would not take as long – daughter was testing for college entrance. Apparently she did well as she was in there for almost three hours. The test is designed so that if you do not do so well you don’t “progress” thus the test is shorter. Anyway … I was without tea for what seemed like a lifetime.
It is so good to be home having this wonderful delicious amazing tea.
Previous notes on this one although I now know what kind of tea it really IS lol still please look at those Im too much enjoying this cup right now to express how wonderful it is.
AHHHHH TEAAAAAA SIGH
I have 2 different teas in my purse at all times for occasions just like this :)
I am kicking myself – I even HAD my travel thermos and some Lupicia bagged tea ready to go but then when i was leaving my hands were SO full I said forget it (I actually said something else) and left without it. BAH
The worst. Glad you were able to refuel now :) Enjoy your evening!
:) thanks Em!
Glad to hear your daughter did well! My purse contains tea, stevia, a cute little spoon, & sometimes a tea strainer, LOL.
Yes and I even HAD the bagged teas IN my purse the day before – had to take them out when I was scourging through it for something else. Then failed to put it back in. I have learned my lesson :)
long test a good sign!
Thanks! Indeed we got her scores already and they are as we expected – not the best in math – which is fine she needs the review course anyway – but English (Reading and Writing) were both excellent! She COULD take honors if she wanted to – we shall see. :)
YAAAAY!!!!!!
Hi Azzrian, I know we met once before, but if you’re in the Kansas city area anytime soon, you should stop by and see our new space on the first floor of Crown Center! Hopefully all is well with you :)
This stuff is bagged!
Bagged tea from TeaSpring. Now I’ve seen everything.
Each bag is wrapped in its own little colourful foil satchet, and I’ve seen that from TeaSpring before, but I never suspected there would actually be a bag inside. I thought it was just fairly costly stuff and therefore portion wrapped. I’ve seen that before from TeaSpring. I can’t remember exactly which tea it was, but it was a very special, blessed on an alter sort of ceremonial leaf for a specific sort of occasion. Which I’ve also forgotten what was. I can’t even remember what the type was, but I think it might have been oolong. Anyway, that’s not important for this one. It was just to say that I’ve seen TeaSpring sell portion satchets before.
This one is the last tea from my Explore China order from TeaSpring uh some time ago. This last tin somehow managed to hide among the parcels I received from other, generous Steepsterites and has gone untried.
This tea is from Zheijang, which is on the East coast of China, just north of Fujian. As far as I can tell, in spite of the name, it has little to do with the Long Jing we know as a green tea (Dragonwell). As I understand it, it is made from the same leaves also used to produce Dragonwell, but these have gone through a different preparation and taste nothing at all like Dragonwell.
It’s not really a black tea either. Not as such, because the process is not the same as for black tea. What it actually is is unknown because the producers are keeping it as a closely guarded secret, but it is apparently a reinvention of a method lost for 300 years. (How this is possible is rather beyond me. How can they know if they’re even close to getting it right? It’s not like they can do a direct comparison) It is apparently somewhat similar, but not the same as, the method used for producing pu-erh, so this tea therefore also has some of the same qualities as pu-erh, including the tendency to age well.
At first this smelled like steam-ironing cotton. No really. That smell you get when you release steam from the iron and get a cloud of it in your face. Steam and cloth. Probably especially if you use laundry soap without perfume in it like we do in this house. I swear I even heard that sound the iron makes, the blob and hiss, in my head.
After a moment, this goes away and is replaced by something that reminds me strongly of licorice root. This note first snuck into the ironing cotton note and then gradually took over, as though it was heavier than the steam and needed more time to actually rise from the cup.
There’s something else in the aroma too, something which I can’t really place. A bit like caramel, but not quite. A bit like fruit, but not quite. A bit like something creamy sweet, but not quite. A bit like marzipan, but not quite. I’m sure I know what this smell is, but for the life of me I can’t get any closer than this.
The flavour has a strong note of licorice root and ginseng. So much so that I had to go and check the details to see if there might have been additions made to the leaf. This does not appear to be the case. It is, in fact, not even mentioned anywhere in the company’s notes.
How odd! Me, I don’t understand how they could possibly miss it. And no, it absolutely can’t be contamination carried over from other teas I’ve had today. I don’t even own anything with licorice root or ginseng in it at the moment. (Except the vile Throat Tea, which totally doesn’t count as we only ever touch that one when ill)
I don’t think I’ve ever come across this note naturally occurring before. How interesting. It is definitely licorice root and ginseng, though. With each sip, I’m more certain. I even get a hint of that funny licorice root-y feeling on the soft palate when swallowing.
Underneath the licorice root-y and ginseng-y note there is something that does taste akin to the average pu-erh. It has the same sort of earthy taste, but it’s milder. It’s not as deep and dark, less broth-y. Pu-erh is for me a very strong tea, one that reminds me of caves and dirt and great big holes. This is sort of the same thing, only up in the sunlight.
I’m rambling, aren’t I? These associations that different flavours invoke are fun, but sometimes they rather get in the way of things. It’s easier when all I get is a colour.
So what I’m trying to say is, it’s kind of like a very mild (possibly slightly thin) average pu-erh, with natural notes of licorice root and ginseng.
I don’t much care for licorice root or ginseng in my tea, to be honest. I love licorice, proper Danish licorice which has nothing, nothing I tell you, to do with anise. Anise does not taste like licorice and supposedly licorice flavoured jelly beans are anise flavoured, actually. FYI. Come to Scandinavia and I’ll show you real licorice. And it doesn’t even have to be the salty sort or the salmiakki sort either (although you’re welcome to try those too if you’re feeling brave. Personally I think those two are the best sorts of licorice in the world).
I’m rambling again. What I’m trying to say here is that I otherwise really enjoy licorice flavoured things, but not in tea. For some reason I just don’t feel these days that licorice root and tea go all that well together. (A couple of years ago I was of a vastly different opinion) So these notes in this tea is rather a turn off for me, and will cost some points here.
Bonus points for being interesting though, because it really is! If you are a pu-erh enthusiast, then I would suggest that you try this one out, bags and all, because I think you would find it really interesting.
“…also has an obsession with finding the Perfect Vanilla Flavoured Black.” Ahh we’re almost twins!
I haven’t had any luck with it yet. I’ve had a few nearlies though. Mostly they fell on not being available for me to actually buy without the aid of a middleman. :)
I agree emphatically about anise and liquorice having nothing to do with tea. Will admit that likely there is a difference. But either, oh, it´s one of those things I am just culturally not into – with a couple exception, both strongly associated with the month of November, funnily enough.
“smelled like steam-ironing cotton” – such a great description I can almost smell it
I love your tasting notes! Silly question but is anise the same thing as licorice? I know I hate licorice in tea blends. I’ve also been to Denmark & Norway, and never had licorice. Now I feel like I missed out :(
Cteresa, is my mind playing tricks on me or have we discussed licorice before…?
Canadianadia, it was the strangest thing. It just immediately popped into my head, sound and everything.
Rachel, if ever you come back, let me know. We’ll meet up and I’ll make you a licorice buffet. :D
Anise and licorice are to completely different plants, but they have similar tastes. This is licorice: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Licorice and this is anise: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anise. In the US things that are called ‘licorice sweets’ are apparently often fortified with a good helping of aniseed oil and contain very little true licorice, but this is not true where I live. We use aniseed for an entirely different sort of sweet here, one I don’t like. (My grandfather loved it though)
I think we did, I remember you expressing your regret you did not see your husband´s face the first time he ate salmiakki (poor guy). But can not remember regarding which tea that was. oh well.
And the links are pretty interesting. Anise and Fennel are the usual stuff around here, they literally grow wild – I can tolerate fennel. Anise not so much.
Agreed here, liquorice and salmiakki (you’ve been acquainted with it, and even wrote it precisely, points on that!) are best when served with tea instead of being in the cup. Never hit it off well with the teas that had liquorice in them. Ick. Have you tried any Finnish liquorice? We have one very good factory here, their liquorice is the best we produce, but I agree on the quality of Danish liquorice. They are gooood as well. Although I don’t count salmiakki as liquorice since it’s so salty, but then again it counts as a sweet…oh, the joys of contradictions.
Apart from Salmiakki, I’ve only seen Finnish licorice in the shape of the white tin with the licorice animals in it. When I was a child we could only get it across the border in Germany, so when we stopped in to shop before crossing back into Denmark after having been on holiday, I’d usually get some of that.
Generally I prefer it to be slightly hard and chewy so that it lasts a long time. Pingvin tends to produce the best consistency for me, although I would never turn my nose up at Haribo’s licorice either.
Mind you, I also occasionally get slightly addicted to this little pastils that I can get from health shops and similar which is 100% licorice and no added sugar. They taste completely different from the sweets. Somewhat bitter and quite strong. They were something of an acquired taste for me. I have a colleague who would eat them regularly and would generously offer. It was the sort of thing where I knew I wouldn’t much love it, but I couldn’t not take one either. Now I love them. :)
The animals are good as well, but if you ever come across with small plump liquorice tubes which have ‘Kouvolan lakritsi’ written on the label, give a go.
I have same preferences of consistency on salmiakki, chewy and pliant instead of soft and mushy, but with liquorice both are good. It’s almost comforting to munch something for a while before taking more, semi-meditating with sweets, hehe.
Addiction with bitter tastes is always highly recommended here, it’s actually very amusing how easy it is to suddenly get an insane craving for something that seemed too strong first. I have a similar feeling with hot pepper salmiakki, it took a while to get used to the almost violent bite they give. Now when they’re offered, it’s hard to say no to them.
I suspect the whole business with bitterness-tolerance here has something to do with the history of eating very bitter rye bread and smoked fish, not to mention all other fish dishes served here; tar and salted fish and meat carries a long way from regional history of our taste buds apparently…
I’m beginning to wonder if we should do a licorice swap, LOL!
You might be right about the bitterness being a cultural thing. I wonder if Finnish rye bread is very different from Danish because I don’t tend to consider ours particularly bitter. Heavy and dense, and very grainy I think. I haven’t thought about it. Now I’ll have to give it a shot next time I have some. Husband doesn’t care for it, but he’ll eat it if it’s the only sort of bread available. I have hopes that he might come around though, because I work with a woman who comes from Brazil, and after some 19 years or so in DK, she’s almost addicted to the stuff. :)
Haha, well, rye can be trying for some. I have a German-Danish friend who commented on the bread that it indeed is very different compared to Danish types, something about maybe using more syrup in yours, we couldn’t put our finger on it. The type of the rye bread depends sometimes also solely from what region people come from: the breads between archipelago, western and eastern kitchens can differ a lot in some cases, due to the impact of Swedish (west) and Russian (east) cultural exchange. As well the soil.
Syrup is probably a good call. I tended to think of it as sort of malty sweet sometimes, but then I got in doubt when you said bitter. I don’t get it often these days, but once in a while I eat a small bag or two and then it takes a little while again before I’ll buy it. We almost always have leftovers that I take with me in my lunch box, so if I’m the only one eating the rye bread it sometimes gets forgotten.
Hmmmm, it’s an interesting case indeed. Maybe I actually should send you a ‘goody pack’ of liquorice, salmiakki and small samples of rye breads, haha. Swap of bitterness and malty sweetness! Albeit it might be a bit trying trip for the bread though…hm. They’re always the best when fresh from the oven. But then again they become nicely chewy after couple of days…aaah now I need to make a sandwich!
I can’t think of a way either. Might be best to leave the bread out. :)
Agreed. Just let me know when the craving hits and I’ll send some goods. :3
Woke up with a cup of Zhu Rong and now I’m a few cups into this and it’s really helping wake me up nicely.
This is a nice, creamy, sweet and slightly smoky sheng. There are hints of spice and aromatic wood along with a slight mustiness and fruitness. My favorite part about it is the creamy texture and sweet aftertaste. This is very nice. I’m feeling ready to tackle my interview now.
Update: I GOT THE JOB!
What interview?!
Just got back. I was applying for a job at a local thrift store. I’m a little cynical right now though, they interviewed like four other people and they were all fully grown, outgoing and friendly adults and I was very nervous. : /
None of them can write a tea review though. Next interview take some tea and a copy of your reviews heh!
Good luck :D
Do not let this discourage you!
My first job there was 3 other people who were ‘full grown’ and very qualified, however that was not what they were looking for…they were looking for someone who was trainable and I was that:)
YAH!!! Congrats!!!! ( wink, wink…I told you so;)
WOW! Congrat’s! Hope you have a thermos!
Hehe thanks Hesper.
congrats!! maybe you can convert them to tea drinkers ;P
Thanks everyone. :)
YAY congrats!!!
Hooray!
Thanks guys. I didn’t know it was possible for people to not get the job because they’re TOO qualified, but it worked out for me! :)
Congratulations!
Congrats!
Yay for you!
All the Best!!
Congratulations!
I’ve been drinking this one almost exclusively for the last week and a half due to a life-long digestion issue that has become more and more intense and disturbing.
Because of this…I have changed to a HIGH Raw and near vegan diet. Roughly 90% of my food intake has been raw for the last week. I’m thinking this is my new norm. I have laid of the tea for a bit and have just done minty tisanes. BUT…I will be getting back into REAL tea SOON.
As for this one it’s Peppermint and nothing else. I have been drinking this to sooth my stomach and intestines, etc. It seems to be doing the trick. It’s minty and soothing yet cooling and comforting.
I hate to hear your stomaches bothering you that much. It ain’t right not seeing your notes pop up every 20 minutes or so- being nominated Most Teas Drank in a Day and all. Get better dang it!
stomache’s-oops. Unless you have more than one.
I still did it STOMACH’S
I bet you’ve done all the elimination diets like the nightshade family, dairy, etc right? As soon as I took out nightshade…better, then there were a couple more and no more stomach aches/intestinal upsets! I had suffered for years!!!
Oh, the rooibos, honeybush, licorice tea’s upset my intestines in a aweful way!
Feel better soon! We all miss your notes!
Thanks everyone!
TeaEqualsBliss laying off tea? Oh Lord, the Mayans were right! Wellness thoughts already headed your way.
I hope you feel better soon.
When you come back to regular tea if you have any ripe puerh I would recommend to start with that. Traditional Chinese medicine views it as a digestion tea and I can tell you from experience that ripe puerh is much easier on the stomach than any other type of tea that I’ve had.
When I start getting sick, I always make a gallon of strong peppermint ginger tea, add some honey and refrigerate it, drink the whole thing over the next 24 hours, and repeat as necessary. Herbal healing is awesome!
I have long contended that straight, strong peppermint tea is more effective than any over-the-counter stomach remedy, and goes a loooong way during cold and flu season, too.
^ truth!
Thanks guys! I’m back :)
YAY! :D
There have been a lot of Butiki Tea’s reviewed today.
Is there a Butiki full moon or something? Hey Stacy, what are you cooking up now?
I have to confess that tonight I watched the (awkward moment)
Finale of “So You Think You Can Dance!” Can I see a show of hands? Who else has watched the entire 9TH season with me? Fess up!
Right before the Finale began, I made a whole pot of Almond Indulgence and settled down with my tray of tea, a mug, cream and sweetening. I WAS READY!
I told Stacy that this tea reminds me of Apple Pie. I don’t know why since it’s an Almond tea but I think of Apple Pie when I taste it. In fact, this tea only needs a nudge of spice and it would make a great Chai. (Thinking about it and scheming I filed that thought under: Future Experiments with Tea.)
My favorite way to drink Almond Indulgence has been with cream and sweetened. I love it this way. I’d like it steeped in milk too. (Note to self…“Try milk steeping.”)
Feet up and mug in hand, I watched the results of the last show of the series. What creative choreography and gifted young dancers. They’ve inspired me. The Arts have always inspired me.
Does it matter that I can’t dance like those young, strong dancers.
No!
I dance with them in another way. I soar in my spirit with every lift, bending and spinning or rising up light as a leaf on the wind, my feet hardly touching the ground.
I fly!
The abandon that I still remember from earlier days, my younger years… playing a classical piece on the piano or putting my fingers on a canvas, creating thick, emotional strokes in the oil paint.
You never forget abandon. And you enjoy observing the joy of it in others your whole life.
What talent!
I love So you think you can dance! I totally missed this season, I don’t watch much TV. But I do love that show, & the amazing things those dancers can do!
Hmmm, what am I cooking up now? Well, I did just buy 5lbs of vegan mini marshmallows. Already ate 1/4 of a pound though. Doh!
I’ve only ever seen a handful of minutes of that show but what I saw was very cool. I’m not a big tv person.
I love SYTUCD!! No shame or awkwardness here lol . It is very inspiring, isn’t it? :) I love this: “you never forget abandon”. So very true!
My favorite season was the first one I watched. It was the season with Twitch. If I had time, I’d probably sit in front of Netflix & watch every season, one episode at a time. Little Terri would really like that, she LOVES wild abandon in all it’s forms. Our motto is “All of life is Art”, so we live for that kind of stuff!
Stacy, I suspect it was Little Stacy who ate all those marshmallows! LOL!
Indeed it was Little Stacy. She has been known to eat whole bags of marshmallows in a day.
You’ll have to watch this season, Twitch was on several times and was on last night. AND the two winners…ah…a guy and girl…yes…they now choose two. AMAZING! BALLET DANCERS! Yes! They had to learn to loosen up.
Bonnie, I bet they did! There have been so many awesome performances on that show, so many routines that made me cry like a baby, they were so emotional, so ‘real’. The only reason I don’t watch this show is because I’m oblivious, I need to be reminded when the next season starts, because I absolutely love watching these dancers push their limits & develop into even more amazing artist, week by week.
Stacy: “Free your inner child” I always say!
Don’t tell Stacy to free her inner Stacy Child Terri!!!! Every tea will have mini marshmallows in it!!!! Oh NO!
Stacy- mini marshmallows sounds very promising! Can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Bonnie- I absolutely love SYTYCD!! I record every episode and watch them (without commercials). I am going to watch the finale this afternoon. I like watching how each dancer develops into someone they may not have known even existed.
Terri- that Little Terri is sure naughty sometimes isn’t she? lol
What would be wrong with putting mini marshmallows in everything? That sounds kind of awesome.
tigress_al-Thanks! Still in the idea stage.
It would be so fun to watch the whole season non-stop without commercials with you guys…and have tea’s…all out fav’s and marshmallows…ton’s…FUN!
That would be fun :)
<Little Terri jumping up & down for joy> Yay, Ms. Bonnie, lets do it right now!!!
Oh My Goodness!
No I am not sorry at all that I got the Boysenberry Matcha that is on sale here:
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/boysenberry-matcha.html
Just wow.
You know I have been throughly enjoying Red Leaf Tea’s matchas over the past couple of weeks. Be that via friends here who sent me samples, and my own first purchase of Bavarian Creme matcha which was DELICIOUS.
But most of the flavors, other than the orange (also amazing) have been more creamy, dessert like, heavier matcha flavors. So I was eager to try this one!
Let me just say MMmmmmmmmm.
So when I first smelled the dry powder I thought, oh tart, crisp, light, berry!
My daughter’s first impression was “Mom this smells like Red Bull energy drink.”
I was like OMG you are SO right!
It does! I have to admit. I do love Red Bull. Actually I had a bit of a Red Bull problem not too long ago, before tea! Thank you tea!
Nonetheless it has that exact same tart smell to it!
Don’t worry though this is totally healthy!
Plus after preparing my matcha, adding some ice and milk, it tastes NOTHING like a red bull!
Okay maybe a little something like it in the sense that it is light, crisp, refreshing, not too tart but just a slight berry tartness but nothing that is going to make you pucker!
I love this!
I feel bad and I owe an apology to summer. Here I was craving autumn and forgot all about berries, fruits, juicy ripe tasting delights and had went totally for heavier, richer, creamier, flavors. But you know what … it is still summer and I am going to totally enjoy drinking this and many other light matchas to come!
So my set up was as follows:
Boysenberry Matcha
Size: Small
Matcha Quality: Royal (Premium Grade)
Flavor: Robust
Storage: Add Small Container (3.00 extra)
Total cost after discount: 21.58
That to me my friends is a steal for a high quality matcha like this!
Now to add to the amazing flavor of this matcha and the quality of the matcha itself I would also like to notate that Red Leaf Tea got my matcha to me in TWO DAYS time! Yes thats right and lets all face it when we place a tea order we want it YESTERDAY lol but that just isn’t possible. What IS possible is that I received my shipping notice the same day I placed my order and it was being handed to me by my always befuddled mail carrier two days later! And yes in fact I did stifle a squeee because my mother was there and so far she is not really onto my tea addiction at least not how far it sinks. But the point here is TWO DAYS! That is some super fast shipping in my opinion! It means that when I am craving the next flavors (already am) I can make my order and know it will be in my hands before the craving can end! :)
Now back to this tea … As I am sitting here in delight sipping away I am noticing this almost earthy flavor to it – no not the normal earthy grassy flavor of a matcha or green tea, but something else. The prominent flavors are still the same, tart, juicy, etc, not to be redundant, but there is something more, its one of those flavors you swish around in your mouth, tap tap tap your tongue around, make those smacking sounds trying so hard to pin point it but it is eluding me! I want someone else to get some of this so they can help me figure it out. Hey it IS on sale after all!
Yes this one is a delight and to think I almost passed it up I mean I was not too sure what to expect and didn’t want something too overly tart but thank goodness I went for it!
Oh oh wait I think I may have just figured it out! Oh I am tempted to make a second round to be sure but yes people I know what it is…. Now this may turn some of you off so I almost hate to say it but for me, its not only a good flavor, but brings back memories from my childhood. So here it is be it a good thing or a bad thing you all deserve to know…children’s vitamins!!! Yup you know like Scooby Doo, Fintstones, etc… Well I may have just lost a few of you on that but for those of you who want a trip back to your childhood then get this! Ah ha! Its the same flavor in Red Bull that is very detectable! Vitamin B!!! Oh boy, I fear I may have lost a few more of you now… the thing is I LOVE that flavor! As a former vegetarian of 7 years (don’t ask why I stopped being a veggie – long story – irrelevant – no excuse for me really) I used to take Vitamin B daily as a Veggie diet does not provide Vitamin B (I think B12 specifically) so for me this is a flavor I like and am used to. Some people do not like it so I guess if you are not sure at this price it is still worth a try! I am sure if you don’t like it SOMEONE around here – I don’t know who – maybe me, would enjoy it being sent their way. :)
Again here is where you can get your own Boysenberry Matcha from Red Leaf Tea:
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/boysenberry-matcha.html
I think you just beat your old record of 856 words. New record: 942 :D
And yes, I do have too much time on my hands – lol!
LOL awesome!
Now I have that song running though my head lol
You’re welcome…. =D
Its not a bad song so its all good :)
Anyway…those vitamins were good heh. Used to want to eat them like candy ;)
Thank you for the review. I just told my wife 20 minutes ago that I was going to quickly check a review can go back to painting a room (remodeling, don’t ask). She thinks that I’m playing games cause no one reads review for this long. Couple more reviews like this and you’ll have to send me a good divorce attorney info as well. LOL.
Don’t know if you all need this info but there’s a word count site I started using when I started this Red Leaf matcha thing.
http://www.wordcounttool.com/
Faster than opening Word just to use the word count tool. :)
Also, I have no idea what a boysenberry tastes like but it sounds luscious.
Awesome review! I’m kind of jealous of the shipping time I have to say ;)
(That’s just my inner Canadian talking ;) )
How did you know I was using Word to do word count?! LOL
Great link, tx.
Please note that we have ran out of Starter Matcha and new shipment should arrive on Thursday next week. Our loss is your gain. All orders with Starter Matcha will be automatically upgraded to Royal Matcha free of charge :-)
You’re welcome. :) you only save seconds but when brewing a finicky tea, every second counts!
@RedLeaf rofl that cracked me up! I was out eating dinner with my daughter and read that – was laughing and had to explain it to her. :) Too cute.
Mercuryhime – its sort of like a blue raspberry flavor to me anyway.
DaisyChubb – yeah I mean that was like a magical tea fairy delivered it lol
I don’t think my mailman would agree he is a magical tea fairy!
I love boysenberry… it makes me think of my home (Southern California) because I consider Knott’s Berry Farm to be the “home” of the boysenberry whether or not it really is. That’s where I got to know it, by eating funnel cakes with a dollop of Mrs. Knott’s boysenberry jam in the park, and the other treats throughout the park that have been boysenberry-ified. So, I think that this one is one of the next ones that I will need to add to my order.
LiberTEAS it is on sale right now AND with the bonus of getting the Royal matcha instead of Starter (select starter) until the next Royal Matcha shipment comes in YOU CANT beat the deal! Go for it! I do really love this one and was NOT expecting to!
I hope this sale continues a little while. I still have three matcha from them that I’ve not yet tried! I need to get busy and drink tea. LOL!
LOL indeed you do! Which three have you not tried?
I have a strawberry Matcha that I think I will try today, Pear Matcha and also Hemp Matcha, which I am trying mostly because I was a huge Hemp advocate in my college days, and I guess I still am when all is said and done. (and no, I don’t smoke it, you can’t smoke hemp … well, I guess you could, but you’d probably end up with a headache … you won’t get high from it)
Strawberry is next on my list PLEASE let me know if you like it or not! I do want to try Hemp as well in time. I absolutely a hemp advocate and totally understand what you are saying however I am also a medical M advocate as well. Anyway lol thats another forum probably :)
Oh and wanted to add – I do not smoke it either but still an advocate for those who could benefit. Just wanted to clarify I am not one of those who want it medically legalized for the wrong reasons.
I know this isn’t the forum for this, but, I personally think it should just be legalized. Why not? We have other things that are destructive that are legal … alcohol and tobacco … they can be just as destructive and harmful to the body (and arguably more so), so why not legalize it and get tax dollars from it? I do not smoke it, I’ve never done any kind of recreational drug (except caffeine), and I won’t start smoking it if it’s legal.
Hemp though would be a very beneficial product if we chose to legalize it, the first vehicle that Ford made ran on hemp fuel, and I think it could offer a sustainable fuel source if people just got their heads out of their butts about the whole thing.
OK… now I’m stepping off my soap box (tea box?) and resuming the sipping of tea.
I will simply say I could not have said it better myself. :) Back to our regular programming lol
Backlog:
Thanks to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me a sampling of this amazing tea from Chado Tea House. I love Gyokuro… and this one is remarkably good.
I am backlogging this because on Wednesday afternoon (technically yesterday, as it is now early in the AM on Thursday) I rolled my ankle and was taken to the ER to make sure I didn’t break it. Fortunately I did not, but it is still very painful. This is the tea that I drank while sitting in front of the TV trying to forget my pain with the help of painkillers. Why is it that doctors are so afraid to give pain killers when we are in pain? Yeah yeah, addiction, blah blah blah. But, when I’m in pain, I’m really not concerned with becoming addicted to something that will help me not hurt. At this point, I’d rather not hurt and run the risk of an addiction than to keep the pain at a “tolerable” level and not become addicted.
end of rant
Anyway… this was really nice. Crisp, vegetative, and soothing … and for a moment while observing the beauty of the tea I was able to forget about the pain. Just a moment, but it was a lovely moment.
Yikes! Feel better soon! A trick for the ER I’ve learned over the years, after having to go for migraines, back pain and stomach pain is to ask for morphine. If they give you enough (!) it’ll last long enough for you to sleep.
Ouch! I don’t know about morphine but I usually get Tylenol 3 and that works wonders :D
Jeeez, glad to hear it wasn’t broken. I feel your pain. I didn’t get any pain meds when I sprained my ankle either…same reason. I wanted to smack the guy with my cane! Anyway…feel better!!
Yeah, they gave me ibuprofen 600mg … and I’m like, I need something stronger than that. They wanted to give me anti-inflammatory which is why the ibuprofen, but, I’m like, OK, then give me some vicodin too. Sheesh. I HURT!
Ouch. =( When I was young I had an Ace bandage on my ankle like every other week. It was ridiculous how frequently I twisted it. It rarely happens now, but I still remember the pain. Hope your ankle heals quickly!
Ha I didn’t even get that! Doc just told me to take aleve when I got home. More like I took my last vicodin from a procedure a month ago when I got home….which led my hubbins to calling me Dr. House for the night. :p
Aweeee I hope you are better soon!!
Bummer! A year & half ago I injured my foot by thinking I was at the bottom of the stairs & stepping off, about 3 steps early or so. crash, boom, no fun. I was on crutches for 6 weeks, & had no stability on that foot for months. I’m just now getting where the stability is reliable enough to ride my Harley again. You have my sympathy, & I hope this heals fast for you, I know it’s no fun. I strongly recommend gel ice packs for pain & swelling.
Hope you make a quick recovery. Terri is right about ice packs. Was it a sprain? Sometimes those are as bad as fractures. My college daughter had an ankle sprain and had to go to Physical Therapy for a few weeks, but made a full recovery.
Ooh, that sucks! Hope you get better soon! As for the pain killer thing, I’ve never seen doctors who were hesitant to give out pain killers before…I guess it’s the area I live in. I can’t imagine telling D.C. people that they can’t have pain killers!
Sorry to hear about your ankle, but glad you got a good gyokuro brewed.
@CHAroma: they even had posted in my hospital procedure room a notification that they will basically prescribe the minimum amount and the way it read is basically: “we know you’re hurting, and we’ll help you with that, but, you’re not going to get something that is strong enough to knock out all your pain. You’ll still be hurting, just not as much.” And as I’m reading that, I’m thinking, Oh great … I’m in pain and they’re already making it clear to me that they’re not going to give me full pain relief. My husband on the other hand, he has corporal tunnel and on a monthly prescription for vicodin and they tell him that he should be taking the vicodin regularly, before he starts to feel pain.
Wow, that’s just insane. I’m one of those people that is extremely intolerant of pain. If you poke me, I cry. I can’t imagine being in real pain and having a Doctor say something to me like that notice. In my opinion, that’s absolutely ridiculous. Is it really that common for people to get addicted to pain killers? Or is it that the people who are already addicted are constantly trying to get more, so doctors only want to give the minimum amount so there’s none left over to sell to an addict?
I don’t know … I think that we hear all the sensational headlines about people – mainly celebrities – that become addicted to painkillers and I think that we’ve become such a legal action society that everyone is more worried about their legal positioning than about the job that they’re supposed to be doing. I just don’t want to hurt. When I hurt, the last thing I’m thinking is “I hope I don’t become addicted to this stuff.” And yeah, it happens and people don’t intend for it to happen and it’s a sad thing when it does. But, you can’t blame the emergency room for an addiction … they were doing what was best for the patient at the time.
Frustrating.
They should at least give you 3 – 5 days worth of something good, usually the really bad throbbing pain of a sprain or even a break is over after a few days, and a few days worth of good dope for pain isn’t going to make you an addict! Sure, it will still hurt after that, but by then you can manage it with some tylenol 3 or some such.
owww! get well hun, and rest up! xx
Yikes! I see the story now! I too wish they’d give out stronger painkillers… although I’m not sure I’d react well to them. The last (and only) two times I was given Tylenol 3 (wisdom teeth and blood clot), I fainted…
Anyways, hopefully you have a speedy recovery, and the painkillers you do have help a bit.
Whaaat – no notes on this one? But I KNOW I wrote notes on this one!
Oh well – I still have quite a bit of this one left, but I have a feeling it’s lost its potency. Oops!
Still nice, but it is very light in flavour.
It’s like drinking the woods- so refreshing! I wrote a little blog post about it quite a while back :) Such a cool tea!
Ah this one sounds amazing :) Loved your blog entry about it
Thanks for sharing the blog entry. I love your teapot!
Thank you! I should use it soon, it’s been neglected since I got a gaiwan. Don’t worry little pot, I’ll use you tomorrow :D
Huh, I’m positive that there were notes on this one before, too. From Indigobloom, for one.
Oops, you meant notes written by you XD
don’t make my hope goes high like that ! after seeing the review was hoping that this tea was back but no :( that what happen when i don’t buy big quantity of something i like right now and wait formlater
Silly Steepster, sometimes deleting our notes!
Hey Zoltar, you’re right – sorry to get your hopes up :(
It’s okay i’m sure they are gonna make another tea like that for the winter this time i’m gonna buy a lot of it :P
hey! what is the pot and bubble cup you are using in this blog entry?! i love it!!
Thanks! I got them both from DavidsTea, the teapot seems to no longer exist :( But the cups do!
thanks so much! they look so different in your pictures than they do on the website. i’m definitely gonna get a couple. …now i am on the hunt for a tiny 6oz teapot!
the teapot no longer exist but you can email them they will check if store near you got some left that what they did for me
thanks for the advice Zoltar, i just emailed them and i’ll let you know if i get any results.
okay, so, long story, but happy ending.
i placed two tea orders with DavidsTeas this month. (i know i have a problem.) (butit’scoldweathertimeandtheteawasjustallsowonderfulsoundingandihadn’tboughtanyinalongtimeanddamnitineededthattravelmug!)
one was placed real early in the month and when i got a shipping notice for the second late order i placed just a few days ago i decided to call DavidsTea and see what’s up. now a few days before that i had randomly emailed them to ask about the tiny glass gongfu teapot in your pictures as Zoltar recommended. ….drumroll…. now they are urgently shipping my tardy order to me and sending me the teapot free. next week is gonna be a teapocolypse!
yay for you ! :) the teapot is really great and hard to get good that you could get one and even more for free lol
Oh my gosh what AWESOME news! Best customer service ever :D
Ok, I need to find some of this.
I still have some ;)
It might not be fresh, but when I get around to swapping again, I will send some off! Even if it’s not “fresh” per se, it still tastes the same to me! Wintergreeny!
That would be fabulous. Somehow I only came across it today.
I purchased this tea at the same time I purchased the strawberry matcha, but I haven’t tried it until today – so many teas, not enough time (nor does my bladder possess the wherewithal to drink as much tea as I’d like to!)
So I made some of this to enjoy with lunch.
It’s got a really nice, strong flavor. The honeybush seems well suited for flavoring, and I prefer it over rooibos, I’m glad that 52 Teas seems to have embraced honeybush as well. I like how the natural sweetness of the honeybush works so cohesively with the pineapple and coconut flavor. And as much as I enjoyed it as it was hot, I am finding it even more enjoyable now that it has cooled significantly… this will be a great tea for the summer – iced!
YUM!
Preparation
I keep forgetting to make iced tea out of this one!! YUM okay adding it on my list of to do’s.
This and the Black Currant Bai Mu Dan are my top two favorite iced teas right now. Sooooo refreshing.
(nor does my bladder possess the wherewithal to drink as much tea as I’d like to!)… HAHA! Or my nervous system, or my stomach. I wish the rest of my body was as on board w/ this tea thing as my tongue- if it was, I’d live on matcha specifically.
I didn’t get the Black Currant Bai Mu Dan – but I did get the Spiced Pear that you released at the same time. I have been contemplating getting the Black Currant though. I haven’t even tried the Spiced Pear yet though! LOL I have so many teas that I haven’t tried yet!!!
This blend sounds amazing! And I’m definitely seeing more flavoured honeybush around now – I prefer it over rooibos too.
This is a great herbal blend and one that I need to try iced…LOL- I wish I had more time to drink tea and able to brew some fresh at work…
Ice Tea, woaps! Frank stop releasing new teas… I realized if I were to purchase each and every one of your teas that’d cost me $300-$400 a year… I’d go broke in no time. Sooo much to choose from!
LOL. You could always sign up for a subscription. The 52 week subscription is less than $1/day for a different tea every week.
By the way, I sort of doubled up on the honeybush blends, but just wait til you see what we’ve done for next week! O. M. G.
Ricky, if I drank Mayan Chocolate Chai as much as I wanted to (a 16oz serving per day), I’d spend about $360/year on chai alone- that’s not even factoring in my matcha and other tea habbits!
OK… Frank… I didn’t think I’d ever be asking you to do this… but could you PLEASE make another peanut butter blend? LOL That way I won’t be enticed to buy. I just placed an order with you (I found the neapolitan honeybush too interesting to pass up), and I can’t afford to place an order with you every week. Make something I’ll not feel the need to try. Like, how about a squid flavor or something?
I don’t know, LiberTEAS, that Tuna flavored one by 52Teas went over awfully well here in Steepsterville … LOL! You never know, raving reviews of squid flavor teas will have you buying some before you know it! HaHa
Lauren: Well, I did “buy” the tuna melt tea… but, I’m just not a squid kind of girl. Not so much.
You know what WOULD be good though… is a Cherry Garcia tea. Yum. Or… I also desperately want to try Zoomdweebie’s Grapefruit Green tea… but every time I visit the Zoomdweebie’s site I see that the tea is sold out…
but… don’t make those THIS next week. Or even the week after that. Make something I DON’T want to buy for the rest of this month. I can buy more teas in May. But, I’ve bought enough in April.
LiberTeas you should hold my credit cards while i hold yours? keep ourselves away from frank for a little bit :)
AmazonV – that would be an excellent idea! LOL I must not buy any more teas this month… I must not buy any more teas this month!
^ I must not buy anymore tea until 2011. Frank, if you see an order from me, you should just tell me my credit card has been declined =]
Frank, the same goes for me except in cases of matcha and Mayan Chocolate Chai lol.
ROFL. Yeah, you just go ahead and place your orders. I’ll be sure to cancel them for you. evil laugh.
@LiberTEAS I’m afraid next week’s tea is going to be a must have for a lot of people, I think. It is so awesome. I’m kind of itchy just waiting to post it Monday.
I’ve been trying to think outside the box a little here lately with regards to our subscription plans. I’m thinking about offering a monthly plan where you get to pick two of the blends we create in a month. What would you guys think of something like that?
Frank – The monthly plan would be AWESOME! It’d be perfect for someone like me, who has limited funds and therefore doesn’t want to invest in a subscription that includes things that we may not even want. I think a lot of people would say the same thing. I’d certainly go for the monthly plan.
Frank, you could always post it at Midnite on Sunday morning- I consider Sunday the 1st day of the week anyway:) Yes, I definitely would be interested in the choose 2 version. I LOVE that you create such amazing and insane blends, but that also means not every one is for me and I don’t want to invest in a plan that may land me w/ several pouches of tea that just isn’t my cuppa.
Frank, I would absolutely be interested in the pick two of the blends… as opposed to the weekly subscription. Sometimes there are blends that I might not be so crazy about (for example: peanut butter blends, squid blends, or split pea soup blends), but there is generally at least 2 teas a month that do interest me.
LiberTEAS, HAHA! I actually busted out laughing when I read your “split pea soup blend” comment… that’s exactly the reason I can’t get mom to try matcha- she says it looks like split pea soup=D
i am to fussy with flavors to even do a 2xmonth plan, sorry frank
Hey! I want the squid blend! Can’t we do prepaid plan =]
Pu Erh is already considered fishy:)
psssh, skip the squid it’s mediocre – EEL i want eel tea
eww… eel? How about a venison tea? Now that… might be interesting. (Now contemplating Frank attempting to locate freeze dried venison). Or how about hasenpfeffer tea?
LiberTEAS, if you want venison tea drink their smoky bacon… it’s more “jerkyish” than bacony.
I’m still hesitant on the smoky bacon… I’ve had the maple, liked it… but not so sure about the smoky.
Dear Pumpkin Spice,
I wanted to like you. Really, I truly did. I know that you might not want to hear that right now, but please hear me out.
When I was mildly disappointed with the first cup, I did not shun you. I tried you again the next day. When that cup, too, left me crestfallen, I was not deterred.
I know what you’re thinking, but don’t you DARE pretend that I didn’t put effort into trying to fix this. I experimented. I changed your steep time. I changed your water temperature. I changed the amount of you that I put in…you. I sat by your bed and read you Harry Potter, and I even held your hair back on that one night we decided to take shots every time those girls on The Hills did something that made us want to lose our faith in humanity. And still, after everything that we’ve been through, things just never felt right.
You were just so bitter. I could never understand it. You looked so good on paper, and I’d be lying if I said your scent wasn’t slightly intoxicating, but being in your company simply wasn’t enjoyable.
I think that the night I knew it was over was when I broke down and tried you with cream and sugar, and I got no pumpkin flavor and could only taste the sugar. With all due respect to your parents, why would they name you Pumpkin when there is no pumpkin to be had? Are you related to the Scented-Bitter-Waters who live up north?
And now, we must part ways. I’m sorry, Spice. Please believe me when I say that I wanted this to work.
Sincerely,
Heather
P.S. You wouldn’t happen to have any friends who taste a lot better than you do, would you?
chuckles You always make your reviews so entertaining! _
Thanks so much! I figure I can at least try to make up for my lack of tea knowledge with mild amusement. I’m glad people are enjoying them.
Hah, excellent! I inadvertently reviewed this today before I saw this post. I wish it had more pumpkin flavor to it :(
It’s always nice when my thoughts converge with someone else’s. Makes me feel like I’m not just talking out of my ass. [Though I often am.]
Late to the party it would seem. But this review is made of timeless win.
Oh my goodness. So much retro love. Thanks everyone!
@Angrboda That I have created anything that could remotely be considered timeless makes me giggle like a little schoolgirl.
A+++++ would LOL again!
What Shanti said. What a great read! =)
A lake AND mountain view? ooh I am looking forward to your shot!
Did she pick up anything good on sale?
if you name your cane, then will it come back when you call it? :D
I love naming inanimate objects – my car is named Gretta, and I named a car generator thingy my husband got me, Sam (because he’s helpful like Sam Axe on Burn Notice). :) Good review too!
Yea for naming inanimate objects! (And, in my case, anthropomorphizing them…) I named my wok Fozzie just so I can say “wocka wocka!” and chuckle every time I start cooking. =]
I bet she has great taste! She must, if she hangs out at Happy Luckys ;)
She folds into three pieces and then voila, springs back solid which puzzles and delights small children.
I am also a namer of things & plants : )
I’ve decided you should name her “Wanda”… because she’s a magic wandA and also, she likes to wandar. Whatcha think?
Ha! I love Wanda for those reasons, @fleurdelily. Dora (the Explorer) might work, too. :D
Ya’ll is SICK! Funny though! She’s my Schtick. I’m not a Wanda, Dora maybe, she’s more of a tea bar fly kinda gal…a tea lush like her owner.
Dora Wanda Schtick it is then! :)