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I saw that this was re-released on the DT site today, and decided to start a sip down of my remaining 2oz packet from last year (maybe 2 years ago?). I like this, but I much prefer the Gingerbread Matcha from DT over this one. Made as a hot latte (my first latte in months!) and it is quite comforting. But, I won’t be repurchasing after I’m out.

Steepster seems to be running smoothly! I’ve missed my daily visits, so it’s nice to see it back and without 504 errors. Hopefully this continues.

I’ve been buying almost no tea. I’m trying to get my cupboard to under 200. It’s also been 100+ degrees daily, so I’ve only been drinking 1-2 teas/day rather than my normal 4+. I just can’t justify buying too much new tea right now. My Taiwan Sourcing order was the exception, as there were some Spring 2020 teas that I wanted to try.

This is one of those! Looking at the dry leaf, there is way more osmanthus than I was expecting. The flavor is definitely reflective of the appearance. It’s packed with the sweet, creamy, floral of the osmanthus with an intense caramel sweetness. Some golden raisin and candied fruit notes. This definitely tastes like a dessert in a cup.

I’m finally able to access Steepster again…kind of. I’m getting a lot of 504 errors, but it seems to be working for now.
Finished this tea off during the Steepster downtime. Still delicious. Sad to see it go.

Mansa’s July membership tea. I’m really, really enjoying being part of Mansa’s members reship program. Basically, you get an ounce of tea sent to you every month, and Ashley (the founder/owner of Mansa) puts together readings, webcasts, and guided tastings throughout the month. It’s been extremely informative, and I’ve really enjoyed being part of it. Highly recommend!
As for the tea, it’s one of my favorite raw pu’erhs that I’ve tried. Notes of wildflower honey, slightly overripe stone fruit, and a bit of damp hay in the first steep. Subsequent steeps lose a bit of the sweetness and develop into something much more earthy.

This is one of the August Uncommon blends that I’ve repurchased. It’s extremely comforting, and though it’s something I generally like to reserve for cooler weather, I decided to brew up a cup this morning. Smoke and burnt sugar notes, the addition of a bit of honey enhances the creme brûlée experience and makes the smoke more mild.

Lovely high mountain oolong. No astringency or bitterness. There’s an ethereal quality to this drinking experience. A bit of snap pea and spinach, with some stone fruit and honey in the finish.

I’ve been back at work for about 6 weeks, and just last week our mall was ordered to close again (I manage a store in the mall). Our company has decided to proceed with curbside pickup, so we’ve been going in everyday, with not much to do. I decided to bring in a small gongfu set, to enjoy some of the teas from the JL (Fong Mong) sampler while I read some comics I’ve been meaning to catch up on.
I brewed this up…and it tasted terrible. This was no fault of the tea, I realized, even though I filter our shop’s water, the water just did not taste good and ruined the poor tea. Lesson learned, but a waste of this tea.

I have a soft spot for 52Teas genmaicha blends. This one is a bit creamy, but no eggnog to my palate. Still very enjoyable, but I would’ve loved to see some rich/eggnog flavors.

Another tasty iced latte. Creamy and sweet with a nice amount of pepper.