3238 Tasting Notes
I tried this one iced today, but I didn’t increase the sugar or leaves at first. It was a bit watery, but the addition of more sugar helped, though I really should have made it with extra leaves if I was planning to ice it. I had the second cup from the pot warm, and it was just as yummy as it should be! It seems so thick and frothy made with 2 parts milk to one part water, and I feel like I am drinking liquid pumpkin pie. Delicious! It is a smooth and mellow chai.
Preparation
A whole pot with some Swiss cheese cubes to celebrate a beautiful day! Harney’s English Breakfast is 100% keemun, and having just had a cup of their Hao Ya A I can really tell it! This has very nice cocoa notes and great body and flavor. It is smooth and lovely and while it is considerably less expensive than Hao Ya A it has all the attributes of keemuns that we love.
The wind is blowing billowing clouds of yellow pollen around, so my earlier washing of the car is already undone, but I don’t mind – it was too pretty to stay inside! The dogwoods are so heavy with flowers they are almost blinding, the tall pines all around me are releasing puffs of yellow, and there are five speckled blue eggs in my fern thanks to the little house finches. It’s a good day. I’m taking the tea tray outside!
Preparation
I had only one teaspoon left of my sample and wanted another taste to help decide whether this goes on the next order. The first time I tried this I was a tea novice and thought it terribly strong. Today I thought it very smooth and sweet, with lots of body and flavor. How tastes change! I would love this as a breakfast tea with milk and sugar, or as an afternoon tea taken plain. I read that the Queen of England usually drinks a Hao Ya A for breakfast. She has good taste in tea!
Preparation
Ah yes! Today I have the house to myself and can read quietly for a little while. I decided this was a great time to try Indian Spice again, this time prepared the way Harney and Sons recommends in their special instructions in the tin.
I feel like I am drinking liquid pumpkin pie! It is really yummy! On my first tasting note of this tea, I stated that it was rather bland and plain until we started eating Belgian Cream Puffs with it. The next sip of tea after was completely different, very full and sweet. By preparing the tea this way today, that is the taste I got right off the bat. It is rich, thick, and full of flavor, but not strong or overbearing. I consider this a very calming cup.
I used 16 oz. skim milk and 8 oz. water and since I didn’t have Demerara sugar cubes (they call for six) I used 5 teaspoons of sugar instead. You heat the milk and water, add the tea and sugar, simmer for 4 minutes, and strain. I do have some succanat, and I believe I will try that next time in place of sugar. I think the honey notes of succanat may go very well with this.
I wish Sandy were here to try it this new way with me!
Preparation
The “like” is less for the tea than for the “house to myself so I can read!” Woo-hoo!
Indeed. Homeschooling four children and having three of them still in the home now means you are almost never EVER home alone! Hubby used to tell me to go off and have fun, and I told him what I really wanted was to be in my own home by myself a little! Adore my kids but I sure do like a quiet house now and then! :)
Treated myself to a binge-read of half of “Christy” by Catherine Marshall this weekend (one I’ve had half-memorized since sixth grade) and regretted having no sassafras tea currently under the roof to go with it.
Raining, raining, and gray! Chilly, too, so I needed a great cuppa to warm myself up. For some reason, this one is tasting like a terribly expensive dark roasted oolong today and I am LOVING it! There is the barest hint of keemun smoke and some cocoa notes. The tea is sweet and smooth – doesn’t need a thing.
Preparation
We wanted special teas to go with our frosted brownies today and Vanilla Comoro came to mind right away as a special dessert tea. I use the loose leaf which is just full of vanilla bean specks – soooo good. This is one of the best decaf teas I have had with rich vanilla and caramel flavors and a lovely sweetness.
Preparation
Today was a special tea party day as our little guest was turning seven! We had chocolate fudge frosted brownies cut into butterfly shapes and sprinkled with colored sanding sugar made by my girls and Ginger Lemon Cremes…from the store! This tea was a delight with our desserts – smooth and sweet, it needs no additions.
Preparation
I oversteeped – I almost never do that! But even with two minutes over my steep time this tea is delicious. Vanilla Black does not taste like a caffeinated version of Vanilla Comoro. I find it a little more flavorful than Mariage Freres’ vanilla tea.
