84
drank Topaz Pu-er by The Tao of Tea
2036 tasting notes

Sipdown no. 20 of 2020. I intend to get to 21 to break the 20 curse.

I put the last of this into the fridge as a cold brew.

I think I was getting to this point last summer, but I think it is time for me to acknowledge that I don’t love pu-er.

I really like the idea of it, and I know that a lot of people consider it to be the only tea worth drinking. But it is hard for me to fit into my lifestyle.

I have been off of work since the Monday before Christmas. I’m having a full two weeks off during a pandemic. And I still seem to be running from thing to thing.

I run from exercise to meditation to cleaning out the kitchen cabinets, to cooking dinner, to… whatever is next. Even when I am trying to practice mindfulness, I mostly have to bring myself back from thinking about, in the immortal words of President Bartlet on West Wing, what’s next?

I feel like doing justice to puer takes more time and patience than I have. In looking at the samples I have left to sip down, I’m daunted by the puer ones and when I’ll have time to do them justice.

I might as well accept it. The tea I enjoy most is the tea I don’t need to spend a lot of time making. There. I said it.

Mastress Alita

I feel the same way… I also just can’t seem to like the taste of it either, no matter how much I try!

derk

Nothing wrong with that.

__Morgana__

Yeah, I like the taste most of the time, but the time investment is too much for me. :-)

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Comments

Mastress Alita

I feel the same way… I also just can’t seem to like the taste of it either, no matter how much I try!

derk

Nothing wrong with that.

__Morgana__

Yeah, I like the taste most of the time, but the time investment is too much for me. :-)

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