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What does everyone here do when their tea tastes extremely tired? Do you suck it up and drink it all?

I’ve had this for over two years now and time has not been kind. It tastes like wilted sweet veggies..

When I pulled a sample of this in my package from BoxerMama I thought I had won the lottery or struck gold! The leaves look like golden yarn. They’re very charming and bright! I love how they transform when steeped.

I had this about four days ago in my travel mug but I’m afraid the plastic didn’t do this mellow tea any favours. I had this a few days before that but was eating Kimchi Jjigae, which also tampers with subtle flavours.

Luckily, for a sipdown, I steeped the meager amount of remaining leaves in my tiny glass pot. I got five steeps and each one was very chocolaty and mellow. Very pleasant and definitely something I would think of picking up, in small amounts, when I want a simple smooth “chocolate” cocoa tea with a touch of honeyed sweetness. No bitterness or astringency detected.

Why, hello honey soaked dark chocolate brownie. The finish upon first steep is drenched in caramel and honey, like someone infused a caramilk bar in my cup; I can’t believe this isn’t flavoured. The smell of the wet leaves, in particular, is very chocolaty, and possibly leathery. I’m detecting no bitterness or astringency, just sweet, mellow goodness. This is a rich, moist cup with a cinnamon note that comes out upon later steeps. The sweetness also becomes more pronounced.

I hit around fifteen steeps in my flowering pot (still on the window shopping stage for a gaiwan)! I’ve never been full on board the black tea train but this Autumn Harvest Black Laoshan has changed that.

I sent an extremely small amount, only a cups worth, to Cavocorax. If I had tried this tea before double bagging some I might have forgone giving ANY of my tiny sample away.. Will be picking up more soon enough, no doubt!

I love Dragonwell.

I dumped the dry leaves in my warmed flowering teapot and it smelled like a peanut butter, except more vegetal! Maybe I shouldn’t have done that but the smell was worth it. Wow!

Drinking the “rinse” and it is equally full of buttery nuttiness. I’ve never had a Dragonwell that is this full of flavour and smell. It’s almost overwhelming.

I get the green granny smith apples on the first steep; it’s sweet, juicy, crisp, and kind of tart, in a way. I can’t believe I taste that. The buttery nut notes linger in the back roof of my mouth, like mushed cashews or soybeans. My second steep is even smoother with that prevailing buttery, nutty sweetness. The unfolding flavours evolve into various items.

I think I’m going to end the note there and just focus on drinking as much of this as possible- this may be my new favourite Dragonwell! I purchased two “Dragonwells”, among other teas, from Verdant but this is the only one I bought in a larger quantity right off the bat. I’m glad I did!

On a side-note: I never felt the full effect that the water taste had on tea until I started short brewing and went from Vancouver to Victoria. Victoria water tastes of algae! It is not my favourite.

Yum! This one is very simple. Creamy coconut with a mellow soft base. The sweetness isn’t a forward kicker except around the finish, which is soft like whip cream. As I get closer to the bottom of my cup that coconut whip cream sensation magnifies…Parks and Rec/Leslie amount of whip cream! It’s very rich and I’m impressed that I didn’t have to add milk to get that!

This tea gets even better as it cools. I may need to pick up more in the summer. The only thing left to do is compare it to my Fantasy Island from David’s Tea and the coconut tea from NM Tea co that arrived at my parents place a few days after I left for school… bummer!

Are sipdowns always going to be so bittersweet? Finishing off the remnants of the holidays is not something I relish doing. I got a lot out of it though. This blend made me realize I need to always have a good peppermint tea on hand!

This tea needed milk.

In all honesty, the first impression reminded me of butterbeer. It’s buttery, sweet, and has a mellow black base. Instead of root beer, however, I’m definitely picking up a “corn” component, along with caramel and toffee; the self description is bang on. It feels like DT’s Movie Night too, although I like this better.

All in all, not bad! I wanted to drink this while watching the Christmas special, but ended up making myself some of that Browncoat Genmaicha for the occasion. As much as I enjoyed the Ponds I’m ready for some new faces.

Every time I reach that point where there are no more episodes out I always get the urge to go back and try to watch the old Doctor Who. I think I was up to The Aztecs (006/F) last time… Going to the beginning is like traveling in a time box. How things have changed! I wish I knew an easier way to get a hold of the episodes.

Edit: Backlog on second steep. I found the toffee component to be very vivid on second steep- the tea held up well! If I hadn’t had a toffee crunch kitkat bar a day before I wouldn’t have been able to pick it out at all; I thought it was from an interesting black base at first. I’m bad at distinguishing things!

After curiously looking up myfitnesspal (mentioned on Shmiracles’ post) and logging all of my meals, I quickly jumped to the conclusion that I don’t get enough protein in a day. what, how is that possible?!

While doing some late night emergency shopping with my roommate (her toothbrush died) I impulsively picked up some expensive soy protein powder. Maybe that wasn’t the smartest thing to buy on the fly; there were many brands and types of protein powder and surely there are better ways to incorporate protein into one’s diet.. Oh, well. I thought I could make some cool smoothies..

Or throw it into some tea. This tea. Why did I chose this tea? It tastes beyond funky. I think the powder might go better with the cup of sparrows tongue I have beside me or, perhaps, a fruit tea. I don’t know. A great experimental journey awaits me. Tomorrow.

How to begin describing this? It reminds me of a Nestlé Crunch but not half as sweet. The smell and taste are also reminiscent of my mom’s chocolate covered rice crispy squares, which use a very pungent, somewhat sour and cheap Hershey-like chocolate. Yes, chocolate covered baked rice crispy squares, and maybe some hot cocoa, is what this reminds me of.

It has all the roasted, nutty, and buttery notes of genmaicha (one of my favourite teas). If anything, the American chocolate enhances that “bitter nut” quality to me more than it creates a true chocolate sensation. Perhaps Nutella? I don’t know. I feel the chocolate and roasted rice meet mid-sip then linger together.

This is different but it works! It’s quite the comforting beverage.. until it reminds me that a certain show will never have a season two. Then it’s not quite so comforting. Bitter nut.

This is a sipdown from the future! It’s in my Timolino Travel Mug right now, so of course I can’t drink it for another two hours… Here’s hoping it works out; I haven’t used my mug in a while!

Edit: It worked out.