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I’ve had this tea in my cupboard for quite a long time, and when I gave it a sniff I didn’t smell much from the dry leaf. I’d had it stored in a roll top bag, so I wasn’t expecting much.

I used up the rest – about 3tsp, to make a latte. As soon as the hot water hit the dry leaf all the strawberry fragrance came blossoming back.

This made for a wonderful, sweet strawberry latte, with just a tint of woodiness from the rooibos. Very similar to the strawberry milk you can get in a carton.

I remember this being really good plain as well. I’d buy it again.

This is one of those rare wonderful tisanes that are loaded with hibiscus and rosehip, and the tartness works perfectly to give the grapefruit flavour an authentic punchiness. I don’t drink this often enough, but it’s wonderful and I love it.

We stopped at Tim Hortons after a cleaning spree at our old apartment and I grabbed a whole pile of food (it’s not lunch without half a dozen doughnuts, right?) and got this as part of a combo.

I got a medium with two milk, two sugar, and it was delicious, in that heavily doctored black-tea-that-tastes-like-black-tea way. Nothing special but tasty and easy to drink down fast.

This is a sip down, and while it’s better than my previous cup, I’m still okay with it being out of my cupboard. A 2:15 min steep yielded a strong tasting cup with only a hint of astringency, and a good balance of malty and tart fruity flavours, with a touch of cinnamon.

Bumping up my rating a bit, but I probably wouldn’t buy this again, as there are just so many other Nilgiri blacks that are more noteworthy.

To start off my first full day in my new place, I picked out a comforting old favourite. This tea is incredibly reliable and tasty. Rich malt and sweet potato notes. It’s a pretty straightforward and middle of the road Dian hong, but I love it.

So yesterday was moving day, after a lot of angst and stress about getting things sorted, culled and packed. We hired movers, which is one of the best choices I have ever made, ever. They were done in three hours, a task which would have probably taken all day, or even stretched out over multiple days of stress, sore backs and strained interpersonal dynamics. Since the move was done by noon, we were able to get most of the house unpacked, which has been amazing.

We still have to get rid of a few things at the old place, clean it and hopefully sublet it before the end of the month. But, I am extremely pleased with how well the move and unpacking has gone.

My new place is pretty great. We have a massive kitchen with tonnes of cupboard & counter space, a dishwasher (YES!!), and everything is just really beautifully finished and high quality. We have a bit less storage space overall than at our last place, but we’ll figure it out, and the neighbour noise is going to take a bit of getting used to after living in a concrete, pretty sound proof building for a while. Over all though, I’m really happy with this place, and I hope to stay for a good long time. It’s nicer and cheaper than my old place, which is a winning combination.

And then this coming weekend, I’m off to Mexico for a week. I’m really looking forward to a week with my sweetie, away from the cold, with all the churros I can eat. And also looking forward to just having a chance to relax, because all this moving stuff has been hectic.

This makes a really amazing latte for late in the evening. So good.