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Good morning Steepster :)

My tea cupboard is a mess… I have too many little tins and this morning when I was rummaging around in there a few fell out on my foot. whoops! It actually seems a bit less cumbersome to keep them in the envelopes somehow, although the tea probably stays fresher in the tins.

I also broke my For Life teapot this week which is a major bummer… I’m forever breaking teaware! Might need to talk a walk down to Japantown this afternoon to buy a new one.

Anyway I thought I’d drink this for breakfast this morning. It isn’t anything too special, though adding sugar and soymilk seems to bring out more of the toffee notes. I doubt this will be a repurchase for me somehow.

Sipdown of the morning…
I’m having this in my fruit smoothie along with a banana, frozen peaches, soymilk and chia seeds. I never thought it tasted much like strawberries, even when I was drinking it plain. I think it’s fair to say I won’t be restocking this, although there’s certainly nothing offensive about it.

hmm, when I first reviewed this tea 8 months ago I didn’t like it as a cold brew, but today I do! What gives? I don’t know if I’m such a big fan of melon flavored things in general but today this seems very buttery/sweet, refreshing and with a cantaloupe flavor. I made this in the Lupicia handy cooler and am drinking it straight from that, also trying to wake up from a nap so I can meet my friend for dinner… anyway I am finding this very refreshing today and might make up some more to have for tomorrow :)

Tea #2 of the day…

Wow I was so looking forward to trying the senchas from Obubu, but sadly none of them have really blown me away so far and they all seem sort of similar. I made the sample in my Lupicia handy cooler and was just so eager to scarf down some green tea I am now drinking it by the glassful. Maybe I should have made this is a smaller teapot?

Anyway my tea liquor is very light, compared to other kabuse senchas I’ve had this isn’t nearly as bright green. It has a nice sweet vegetal flavor — reminds me of peas — but with a bit of palette cleansing astringency in the finish. Definitely not a bad tea, jut not super thrilling.

It does seem to be waking me up, however!

Good day Steepster…
I had kind of a rough morning, I was over at my boyfriend’s house in Berkeley and woke up with itchy hives again. Decided to go home and take some Benadryl and that seems to have helped the problem, though it made me so sleepy I didn’t wake up again until almost 11:30.

I decided to have some of this as my wake up call. This is actually a fairly decent breakfast tea and goes well with a slice of gluten free toast. This really does taste like someone crushed up a cookie and threw it in the tea. Very caramel, sweet type of flavor.

I know my immune system has been out of whack lately and I’ve been very prone to stress related illnesses. I think I’ll try to focus on green teas and decafs for the rest of the day.

Sipdown
I’m glad to just be finishing this one off. For a cardamom tea, it’s just kind of boring, not enough cardamom flavor. I think I’ve written multiple tasting notes on this, so I won’t write any more. It definitely needs something, in my opinion.

Wow, just home from a long trip on the bus, such crazy traffic! I have to go out again in a few hours but I just want to stay at home and hibernate now.

Just trying this tea now which is from a swap with Cameron B. I like nutmeg and I’ve never tried this before. I ended up making this in a giant mug! I wasn’t sure that I liked this so much when it was plain, but after soymilk and sugar was added it became transformed into a nice dessert tea. I definitely think the nutmeg element is prominent, and there is something creamy about it as well, so overall I was fairly pleased with this.

In other news, I did get notice from the EDD that I’m eligible for unemployment now. At least that money will cover my rent and maybe I won’t have to be so worried for the next few months. Rents are so expensive in SF that I will still have to use my savings to live but the unemployment money should help me to get by. I guess I still need to watch my tea spending for a while!

Another sipdown for today… it’s good to be cleaning out my cupboard to make way for some new stuff. ;)

This blend is fairly tasty but I don’t seem to adore it as much as some other people do. Won’t be a restock, but I am enjoying it today.

This is a sipdown for me…

I have been so stressed out this week trying to negotiate my severance package, I’ve broken out into hives (!!!) twice and I think the two must be related unless I am developing a new food allergy. I feel like I need a vacation.

This oolong is a bit like a vacation in a cup, very soothing. I love the buttery and slightly vegetal flavor that reminds me a bit of sweet peas. And the aroma is so nice and flowery! I went for 3 steeps of this before I decided to finish it off. I do feel more relaxed somehow after drinking this.

I don’t have any unflavored green oolongs at the moment and I feel I should remedy that situation. More tea shopping may be in store for me :)

I bought this tea yesterday, although I really KNOW I shouldn’t be buying any more tea. This is one of my favorite Golden Monkeys and I don’t have any more so I felt justified. And it’s my favorite breakfast tea, but right now it’s the afternoon. :-P

So I finally heard from my ex-employer after threatening them with my attorney and now they say they’re going to offer me a severance package if I resign. Oh happy day. Nice to leave a place that would “restructure” your job after you broke your arm and were on a company approved medical leave. I won’t be sorry to leave this pack of wolves but it’s still a very emotional time for me. Thank goodness for tea.