79
drank Anastasia by Kusmi Tea
2036 tasting notes

Sipdown no. 10 of March 2019 (no. 45 of 2019 total, no. 533 grand total).

It has been a hard few weeks. Work has been intense. The Bar Mitzvah preparations have been intense. I have been stressed, and I think the stress has been affecting me physically, which makes me anxious about my health and that leads to more stress.

Then this week, we had to take one of our cats to the emergency room. He was having trouble breathing. He turned out to have a mass in his abdomen they thought was probably cancer, but in any case, was inoperable.

His decline after that was steep and fast, and last night we had to say goodbye. It was something of a shock. He was 16 but he didn’t seem sick at all, while his sister and litter mate has been ailing for a while now and we’ve pretty much been expecting her to take a turn for the worse any minute for months.

Anyway, I feel really drained and not in the best shape. I don’t have a lot to say that I haven’t already said about this tea, other than that I made my sipdown goal for March with it, and most of this month’s sipdowns have been large or medium sized tins. So there is that.

AJRimmer

I’m so sorry you had to say goodbye to your cat. Every cat is so special in its own unique way, and I’m glad you got to enjoy so many years with yours. <3

__Morgana__

Thank you. :-)

tea-sipper

I’m so sorry for your loss. Try to take care of yourself!

mrmopar

Sorry about your loss. I lost chaiman meow a few years back myself.

Kittenna

So sorry to hear about your cat. It’s tough enough when you know it’s coming, but so much harder when it’s unexpected :(

derk

<3 to you and your fam, Morgana.

Mastress Alita

I’m so sorry to hear about the loss of your fur-baby. Hears to sixteen beautiful and memoriable years and what sounds like a relatively quick and painless passing for the dear. Stress really can take a toll, I went through a rough few months the last two months and am only now getting back to normal, but at least it does pass and start to level out, even if it sometimes takes a while. Hoping for the best for you, try to take care of yourself, Morgana.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

People who liked this

Comments

AJRimmer

I’m so sorry you had to say goodbye to your cat. Every cat is so special in its own unique way, and I’m glad you got to enjoy so many years with yours. <3

__Morgana__

Thank you. :-)

tea-sipper

I’m so sorry for your loss. Try to take care of yourself!

mrmopar

Sorry about your loss. I lost chaiman meow a few years back myself.

Kittenna

So sorry to hear about your cat. It’s tough enough when you know it’s coming, but so much harder when it’s unexpected :(

derk

<3 to you and your fam, Morgana.

Mastress Alita

I’m so sorry to hear about the loss of your fur-baby. Hears to sixteen beautiful and memoriable years and what sounds like a relatively quick and painless passing for the dear. Stress really can take a toll, I went through a rough few months the last two months and am only now getting back to normal, but at least it does pass and start to level out, even if it sometimes takes a while. Hoping for the best for you, try to take care of yourself, Morgana.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Profile

Bio

I got obsessed with tea in 2010 for a while, then other things intruded, then I cycled back to it. I seem to be continuing that in for a while, out for a while cycle. I have a short attention span, but no shortage of tea.

I’m a mom, writer, gamer, lawyer, reader, runner, traveler, and enjoyer of life, literature, art, music, thought and kindness, in no particular order. I write fantasy and science fiction under the name J. J. Roth.

Personal biases: I drink tea without additives. If a tea needs milk or sugar to improve its flavor, its unlikely I’ll rate it high. The exception is chai, which I drink with milk/sugar or substitute. Rooibos and honeybush were my gateway drugs, but as my tastes developed they became less appealing — I still enjoy nicely done blends. I do not mix well with tulsi or yerba mate, and savory teas are more often a miss than a hit with me. I used to hate hibiscus, but I’ve turned that corner. Licorice, not so much.

Since I find others’ rating legends helpful, I added my own. But I don’t really find myself hating most things I try.

I try to rate teas in relation to others of the same type, for example, Earl Greys against other Earl Greys. But if a tea rates very high with me, it’s a stand out against all other teas I’ve tried.

95-100 A once in a lifetime experience; the best there is

90-94 Excellent; first rate; top notch; really terrific; will definitely buy more

80-89 Very good; will likely buy more

70-79 Good; would enjoy again, might buy again

60-69 Okay; wouldn’t pass up if offered, but likely won’t buy again

Below 60 Meh, so-so, iffy, or ick. The lower the number, the closer to ick.

I don’t swap. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I have way more tea than any one person needs and am not lacking for new things to try. Also, I have way too much going on already in daily life and the additional commitment to get packages to people adds to my already high stress level. (Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does.)

That said, I enjoy reading folks’ notes, talking about what I drink, and getting to “know” people virtually here on Steepster so I can get ideas of other things I might want to try if I can ever again justify buying more tea. I also like keeping track of what I drink and what I thought about it.

My current process for tea note generation is described in my note on this tea: https://steepster.com/teas/mariage-freres/6990-the-des-impressionnistes

Location

Bay Area, California

Website

http://www.jjroth.net

Following These People

Moderator Tools

Mark as Spammer