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Tea of the morning….

I finally broke into my Christmas tea. I will admit to ordering tea for myself for Christmas. Hubby knows I love my tea, but am incredibly particular about it. He was fine with me doing so. I think this was actually an order placed over Thanksgiving weekend. It was nice to fill out my Teavivre collection a little. The staples of my Teavivre teas are Bailin Gongfu and The Golden Tip Yun Nan Dian Hong. I purchased both in copious amounts when Teavivre had their 2 year anniversary sale. Now I have added in this, as well as the lowest grade of Dian Hong (which is such a value tea, in my opinion), The Panyang, and a refill of the Golden Monkey. I cannot help myself when it comes to China black tea, and Teavivre just does tea so well.

I think this is the first time I have purchased this, even though I had it early in my Teavivre sampling days. I have purchased grade 2 a few times, but I decided it was time to try another. I get notes of chocolate, but they are seriously tempered with a light smoke that is not anywhere near as smokey as lapsang. I also get an earthiness and a touch of astringency. Overall, though, it is a smooth cup. This morning I was struck by how much this reminded me of coffee. I used to be a coffee drinker, but now I am a tea drinker who occasionally has a cup of coffee. ;) That must be why I am always drawn to the lower grades of Keemun. I like the fancy ones, but I can never be without some kind of basic Keemun in my cupboard. I did notice the shorter leaves in this, and I measured accordingly. My teaspoons were on the scant side. It came out perfect.

Usual teapot method.

Tea of the morning……

February has been super busy. Usually, this time of the year goes by so slowly. It is good to be able to sit and enjoy my tea for a moment. What a nice break from the craziness going on right now. I only wish it were longer, so I will have to savor the short moment.

Notes of honey, chocolate, and just yum.

Tea of the morning.

I have had this one for too long. It is a prime example of my tendency to save the good stuff for a rainy (or snowy, as in today’s weather) day. It is still very good, but it should probably have been gone by now. The thing that struck me this morning was the chocolate smell that wafted from the bag when I opened it. I was at a point where I was not going to replace this, but now I think I will when the time comes. I do tend to shy away from the more expensive places to purchase tea, but there are some places that sell remarkable teas and you always get what you pay for. Verdant is one of them. This is a remarkable tea, even though I have probably had it for 2+ years by now. Proper storage always comes up, and this one has just been sitting in its original packaging in my dark cupboard that is on an inside wall. It does not seem any worse for not using fancier storage.

Notes of chocolate, slight malt, no smoke. Very yummy.

Usual mug method and going for a resteep.

Tea of the afternoon…..

I always forget about this one. It is a shame, really, because it tastes like a traditional China black base with this wonderful rosey/orangey scent and flavor. It is great hot, and great iced. It is perfect for afternoon tea.

I know I have been wanting to do daily afternoon tea for some time. I think I have had it for a few days in a row. I need to remember to set this time aside for me every day.

Usual teapot method.

Tea of the morning…..

I am so glad this one finally arrived. Shipping times were slow due to the holidays, I imagine. I saw it was routed through Chicago, too, and they have had some pretty frigid weather. I usually spring for the shipping so it will get here faster, but I am thinking that was not such a good idea in this case.

Well, the tea is worth the wait. I get a floral note, there is a roastiness (ashmanra and JacquelineM- this kind of reminds me of Emperor’s Red from Premium Steap, but more floral), and a lingering sweetness. Really, it is like tea candy. I know that is a weird description, but the cocoa notes come across like a rose chocolate. I am not sorry at all that I just jumped in ordering 100g of this. It will be savored.

Usual mug method so I can try a resteep and not be tealogged.

Matcha of the day…..

I took the advice of Fjellrev and made this one with frozen strawberries and just a 1/4 of a banana to sweeten it up a little. Very yummy, and my daughter liked it, too. We can never get enough fruit in, so this is a win/win. Creamy and strawberry goodness!

1 c. milk, a handful of sliced frozen strawberries, 1/4 a frozen banana, 1/2 tsp matcha. Blend.

Tea of the morning…..

I just seem to be a mess when it comes to brewing this week. Last night the kids were making pretzels and they used my tea kettle to make hot water for their brine water. They changed the variable dial down to make water around 150. Well, I made my first pot of KMF with 150 water. Yea, it was pretty weak. Luckily, this one has a second steep that is as good as the first, so I don’t feel like it was a complete loss. I adjusted the dial and made fresh water, dumped the weak pot, and made a perfect pot of tea. I do love this one. My black tea first love. Notes of cocoa, smoke, and malt with the slightest hint of a bite, all perfectly together.

I would say usual teapot method, but I did not quite do it right the first time. Resteep at 5 minutes.

Matcha of the morning….

Today I subbed out the ice and sweetener for a half a frozen banana. (1 c milk, 1/2 frozen banana-broken up a little, and 1/2 tsp matcha. Blend.) Wow. This is super yummy. I will be doing this again.

Tea of the evening…..

I completely forgot I had this. I originally made a pot of some herbal I had on hand for too long that tasted pretty bad. (PSA: Drink those herbals quickly!) I was looking for the rest of the herbal to throw out and found a few sachets of this.

Sweet, peachy, and yummy. It works. I am not a huge fan of decaf tea, but Harney does it pretty well.

Tea of the morning……

Ahhh. Now that is what I remember. Have you ever prepared a tea and it is just not what you remembered? That has happened to me the last few times I made this. I just wasn’t as crazy about it. I was also having a moment of disappointment as I have at least a year’s supply of this on hand. Well, I think I have to call the last two pots as being my error in preparation. This tea can be hard to measure due to the long, fluffy leaves. It seems this one works out best with the leaves lightly in the measuring spoon and slightly mounded. I do have a few teas that are best measured on the scant side by volume, too, so unless I plan on using my gram scale every time I make tea, I will have to adjust. I am thinking of adding a sticker to the tin I have them stored in for measuring and water temp tips if they very from my norm.

As usual, super wonderful. Caramelized sweet potato, a hint of maltiness. Heavy liquor. :D <——Really says it all.

Usual teapot method, with a loosely packed but slightly heaping measure.