90
drank Connoisseur tea bags by Ringtons
681 tasting notes

This is my Old Reliable, my fail-safe, my Willow Rosenberg of teas. I drink it when I’m in a hurry, or when I can’t find any of my tea-brewing apparatus, or just when I can’t be bothered with the clean-up, and it never lets me down. These teabags have never left my cupboard in the almost three years that I’ve been on Steepster, because they’re always replaced before they run out. The fact that the company brings teas, coffees, biscuits and jams to your own front door does help, but I know I would actively seek these out even if they were less readily available. They’re strong and malty and perfect for breakfast time, and they take milk and sugar really well, though I prefer to drink mine with just a splash of skimmed milk. It would take something mighty special to replace this as the go-to tea in my household.

ETA: I just noticed there’s been a lot of geek references in my notes lately; if you get sick of them, I’m sorry. I’m probably not going to stop.

Preparation
Boiling 10 OZ / 295 ML
Memily

Whedon references are always acceptable references.

Nattie

I feel very strongly about that man.

Roswell Strange

@Memily Especially when they’re BTVS ones.

Dustin

BTVS… eh. Dr. Horrible… ALL MY LOVE FOREVER!!!

Nattie

I can honestly say I’ve loved everything in the Whedonverse, but Buffy has had my undying love since I was 7

Dustin

I think I was too nomadic when Buffy was on air to be able to watch it and get hooked. I did catch and thoroughly enjoy the musical episode tho!

Roswell Strange

I’ve got two BTVS tattoos, so I suppose you could say I’m a fan ;)

Nattie

@Dustin if you’re ever looking to have 100+ hours of your life sucked into the TV before you know they’re gone I highly recommend giving it a go!

@Roswell What are they?! I would love a Buffy tattoo… one day!

ohfancythat

@Roswell are there photos of these tattoos anywhere!? Would love to see them!!

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Comments

Memily

Whedon references are always acceptable references.

Nattie

I feel very strongly about that man.

Roswell Strange

@Memily Especially when they’re BTVS ones.

Dustin

BTVS… eh. Dr. Horrible… ALL MY LOVE FOREVER!!!

Nattie

I can honestly say I’ve loved everything in the Whedonverse, but Buffy has had my undying love since I was 7

Dustin

I think I was too nomadic when Buffy was on air to be able to watch it and get hooked. I did catch and thoroughly enjoy the musical episode tho!

Roswell Strange

I’ve got two BTVS tattoos, so I suppose you could say I’m a fan ;)

Nattie

@Dustin if you’re ever looking to have 100+ hours of your life sucked into the TV before you know they’re gone I highly recommend giving it a go!

@Roswell What are they?! I would love a Buffy tattoo… one day!

ohfancythat

@Roswell are there photos of these tattoos anywhere!? Would love to see them!!

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Bio

I first got into loose leaf teas when a friend of mine showed me Cara McGee’s Sherlock fandom blends on Adagio a good few years back, but they weren’t on sale in the UK so I started trying other kinds instead and have been hooked for almost three years (and have purchased several fandom tea sets including the Sherlock one I lusted over for so long).

Flavoured teas make up the majority of my collection, but I’m growing increasingly fond of unflavoured teas too. I usually reach for a black, oolong or white tea base over a pu’erh or green tea, though I do have my exceptions. I will update my likes and dislikes as I discover more about my palate, but for now:

Tea-likes: I’m generally easily pleased and will enjoy most flavours, but my absolute favourites are maple, caramel, chestnut, pecan, raspberry, coconut, blueberry, lemon, pumpkin, rose, hazelnut and peach

Tea-dislikes: vanilla (on its own), ginger, coriander/cilantro, cardamom, liquorice, pineapple and chocolate

I am a 25 year old bartender, English Literature sort-of-graduate and current student working towards finishing my degree. I am hoping to one day complete a masters degree in Mental Health Social Work and get a job working in care. Other than drinking, hoarding and reviewing tea, my hobbies include reading, doing quizzes and puzzles, TV watching, football/soccer (Sunderland AFC supporter and employee of my local football club), music, artsy weird makeup, and learning new things (currently British Sign Language).

I should probably also mention my tea-rating system, which seems to be much harsher than others I’ve seen on here. It’s not always concrete, but I’ll try to define it:

• 50 is the base-line which all teas start at. A normal, nothing-special industrial-type black teabag of regular old fannings would be a 50.

• 0 – 49 is bad, and varying degrees of bad. This is probably the least concrete as I hardly ever find something I don’t like.

• I have never given below a 20, and will not unless that tea is SO bad that I have to wash my mouth out after one sip. Any teas rated as such are unquestionably awful.

• This means most teas I don’t enjoy will be in the 30 – 50 range. This might just mean the tea is not to my own personal taste.

• 51+ are teas I enjoy. A good cup of tea will be in the 50 – 70 range.

• If I rate a tea at 70+, it means I really, really like it. Here’s where the system gets a little more concrete, and I can probably define this part, as it’s rarer for a tea to get there.

• 71- 80: I really enjoyed this tea, enough to tell somebody about, and will probably hang onto it for a little longer than I perhaps should because I don’t want to lose it.

• 81 – 90: I will power through this tea before I even know it’s gone, and will re-order the next time the mood takes me.

• 91 – 100: This is one of the best teas I’ve ever tasted, and I will re-order while I still have a good few cups left, so that I never have to run out. This is the crème de la crème, the Ivy League of teas.

I never rate a tea down, and my ratings are always based on my best experience of a tea if I drink it multiple times. I feel that this is fairest as many factors could affect the experience of one particular cup.

I am always happy to trade and share my teas with others, so feel free to look through my cupboard and message me if you’re interested in doing a swap. I keep it up-to-date, although this doesn’t mean I will definitely have enough to swap, as I also include my small samples.
Currently unable to swap as I’ve returned after a long hiatus to a cupboard of mostly-stale teas I’m trying to work through before I let myself purchase anything fresh

I also tend to ramble on a bit.

Location

South Shields, UK

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