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Sheldon: What kind of tea would you like? (Proceeds to open a lovely little glass-and-wood “TEA” display case full of bagged teas.)
Amy: I think I’m gonna try…green tea mixed with lemon zinger.
Sheldon: Two tea bags in one cup…We’re not at a rave!
…
Sheldon: Now, imagine this…You and I, entering Stuart’s party, and all eyes turn to see America’s most beloved and glamourous couple…
Amy: Yeeeeaaah…?
Sheldon: R2-D2 and C-3PO. Dibs on 3PO.
Amy: Sheldon, when I said “couples costume,” I meant, like, Romeo & Juliet, or Cinderella & Prince Charming, not two robots from some silly movie I don’t even like!
Sheldon: Ohhhhhhh-kay! I’m gonna let that slide because I know you’re hopped up on tea bags!

Bwahahahaha…I love The Big Bang Theory.

Yesterday, I dropped an orange Airborne tablet into a second steep of an H&S organic rooibos teabag. It worked out well enough that I’d like to try it with a first steep at some point. Today, I tried the same experiment with one of these teabags, except that it’s a first steep, not a second steep. When I tried this tea for the first time, yesterday, I wasn’t impressed by the boldness (or lack thereof, rather) of the bergamot. I thought maybe the orange Airborne would go well with it.

Unfortunately (and also, shockingly), I don’t think this tea is strong enough for this experiment. Shockingly because surely a black tea would do better in the experiment than a second-steep rooibos, yes? Apparently not. =)

I was good this time: I steeped for three minutes and tossed the bag instead of being lazy, leaving it in, and then getting annoyed as the tea gets bitter. After steeping, I dropped in the Airborne tablet and waited for it to dissolve. Instead of black tea with really strong citrus, the result is really strong citrus with a kind of weak echo of black tea.

Oh well, it was worth a shot. I still think this is a good idea, so I’ll just try again with a different tea. =)

Tea amount: 1 bag
Water amount: 6oz/~175mL
Additives: 1 orange Airborne tablet

I’m pretty new to the world of Earl Grey. For the longest time, I’ve stayed away from black teas because of my sensitivity to caffeine. Recently, I’ve begun drinking a little bit a day and, for the most part, finding that I’m able to tolerate it. This is really exciting, because I love black tea’s fragrance, and so many lovely blends use it as a base.

One thing I’ve discovered is that I love citrus flavour in my tea. The very first Earl Grey I tried was Golden Moon’s Tippy Earl Grey1 and I think I may have been spoiled. I can’t speak to its generally mediocre Steepster rating, but I loved its really intense citrusy fragrance and flavour. This tea? Not so much. I mean, the fragrance and flavour are certainly there, but when you say double Earl Grey, that’s what I expect. What I got here, though, was more like ¾ Earl Grey. =)

It’s pretty low on astringency, always a nice surprise with a black tea. My inner lazy bum prevailed and I left the bag in the cup, almost always a mistake with black tea, I’m learning. Consequently, the brew got pretty bitter pretty quickly, but that’s no one’s fault but my own. Admittedly I was a bit groggy, but I couldn’t see any brewing suggestions on the box, so I just started sipping when the brew looked dark enough and got through most of the cup before the bitterness set in. As the tea cooled, the black tea fragrance intensified. I took a sip: it was too bitter to enjoy, but ignoring that, I found the black tea-bergamot balance quite a bit improved. I think if I’d removed the tea bag, the brew would’ve been as nice cooled as it was hot, if not better. Well, I’ve got 23 more bags to get it right. =P

Tea amount: 1 bag
Water amount: 6oz/~175mL
Additives: none
Dry mouth factor: 4/10

1 http://steepster.com/bleepnik/posts/126970

I can’t believe I’m drinking a black tea unsweetened. I’m not happy about it, but I’m trying really hard to (a) wean myself off sugar—not completely, but at least off the need to immediately add it to every brew; and (b) educate my palate, something that I don’t think I can do if I’m so heavily dependent on some sort of sweetener to enjoy everything. Usually I just take a couple of unsweetened sips before adding fun things (milk, sugar, honey, condensed milk, whatever). What I’m trying to do now is have one full, unadulterated cup if I have more than a sample of the tea, and only then do I get to play around with future infusions. Unfortunately that means that this experience is tinged with just the slightest hint of resentment. =)

The dry tea smells just peachy. I can’t decide whether it’s the fruit, a candy, or perfume-y/artificial. Initially it was pretty overwhelming, but as I got accustomed to it, it began to smell much, much more natural. So in the end that part of it worked out pretty well. I couldn’t detect any ginger in the dry leaf’s fragrance.

Brewed, the peach fragrance is only very slightly muted, and the ginger fragrance sort of pops its head out and waves hullo before disappearing again. I can’t really smell the tea itself, either; it seems to really just be all about the peach.

The tea tastes peachy. While each sip has that pleasant burn/bite of ginger, the flavour itself isn’t really present. I think this is unfortunate, because a better balance would really make this tea shine. I’d also like to taste the base tea, but everything is overshadowed by the peach.

Surprisingly, I had no trouble at all with astringency, unusual in my experience with black teas (and I’m really sensitive to it). I did have a problem with bitterness, but that was entirely my fault: I got lazy and left the bag in the cup, choosing to chug the tea instead of getting up and disposing of the bag.

As grumbly as I am about it, not indulging my sweet tooth did, I think, improve my experience and evaluation of the tea. That said, I’m really looking forward to my next cup, because I just know that I’m going to love this sweetened. =) I also can’t wait to try it iced. (Because peach!)

Tea amount: 1 bag
Water amount: 6oz/~175mL
Additives: None
Dry mouth factor: 2/10

Second steep note: I know, steeping a bag a second time is usually pointless. But as this was an experiment, I didn’t want to “waste” a new tea bag on it.

I’m not feeling well. I went to Tar-zhay with Mum the other day, trying to hunt down some of that seasonal/holiday milk (red velvet!) momo said was there. I didn’t find the milk, sadly, but I think I may have come back with some cooties. The fun tickle in the throat, the malaise, the occasional nausea…all the usual party guests are here.

I took two Tylenol and wanted to take some Airborne (the orange kind). I always take it in cold water, but just discovered that I can take it in hot water, too. So I went ahead and boiled some more water and poured it into the same cup and dropped in the Airborne tablet. FYI, it bubbles way more aggressively in hot water than in cold and is lots of fun to watch. =)

Anyway, this orangey rooibos hot fizzy concoction was really good. I love Airborne by itself, and this was much better. It’s so good, in fact, that I wish I could take Airborne more frequently than every 3-4 hours; I could happily guzzle this all day. Next time, I’ll try this with a new teabag to see if the stronger rooibos flavour is an improvement.

I’ve just had my second cup of this. I had the first cup a few days ago and I’m…flummoxed. The two cups were very, very different. I can’t imagine what was wrong with my olfactory sense and tastebuds then (or is, now?) to make my perception so wacky.

Last time, I didn’t write a tasting note because my cuppa was kind of icky. I could have sworn that I smelled something a bit fishy—maybe not fishy, really, but kind of…fish watery? I dunno, it was all very odd, hence no tasting note. This time, all that was gone. I just smelled paper (this is the bagged version that I have) and plain rooibos.

I don’t know what makes one plain rooibos better than another. I’d think that they’d basically be the same. I wouldn’t say that about actual tea, but red rooibos, ya. Buuuuut I guess I’m wrong, because although this has all the “proper” elements of a plain rooibos—its warmth, its woodsy aroma and flavour, etc.—it’s just okay, not great. I love (red) rooibos, so I’m pretty forgiving, and I’m no expert, but I’ve tasted better. How and why better, I’m not entirely certain, just…better.

Weird: there’s a bit of astringency, but not in the usual sense. Instead of hitting the back of my mouth, it hit my throat, like actually in my throat. It lasted just a moment, and disappeared as the tea cooled. Such a strange sensation.

Steep time: I just left the bag in the cup. I don’t worry about rooibos getting bitter and knew that I’d sip-gulp the cup down in a few minutes, anyway.

Tea amount: 1 bag
Water amount: 6oz/~175mL
Additives: none

Woo, 100th note! Do I get to join the Little League team, now? :D

I am not sure about this one. It smells like chocolate and…dirt. I know, I know, I’ve read the tasting notes, too. People say pu-erh has a lovely earthy aroma. Well, now that I’ve smelled it for myself, I’m thinking it’s really just a polite way of saying dirt, and I don’t find it lovely. So I guess if I’m going to delve at all into the world of pu-erh, that might be a problem. =)

The brew tastes like chocolate with a bit of cinnamon, maybe. It’s not bad, but I can’t get the smell of dirt out of my nose! Honestly, it is so much like hot chocolate, that I think if I wanted hot chocolate, I would just make hot chocolate, calories be damned.

I reckon I’ll leave the rating off, for now. I’m sure it’s lovely for what it is, and those who like what it is will probably love this. It’s just not my taste. That said, I plan to experiment with a few more bags to see if I can make a concoction that’s more palatable; if not, there’s always the swap bin!

Tea amount: 1 bag
Water amount: 6oz/~175mL
Additives: 1ish tsp Demerara sugar

The thing about low expectations is that I often end up happy. I’m pretty picky about my strawberry, because it’s so rarely done well. I strongly dislike “berry” flavour: that flavour that is a hodgepodge of berries that can’t be individually identified. I do very much like individual berries, like blueberries, blackberries and strawberries, but if it’s not the berry itself, the flavour better be done well. And, because I haven’t said it enough in this paragraph, berry berry berry.

Right. So. Strawberry. Lovely on its own, if it’s not very tart. Lovely in some candy, if it’s done properly. Kind of icky as a bubblegum flavour. Ice cream? Maybe. See? Picky.

The other thing is about me and fruit teas. The problem is that we don’t really get along very well. It’s not so much that they’re yucky, just that I can’t get over how weird it is to drink hot fruit anything. I always find myself wondering how it’d be iced, and how that’s how I have to try it next time. Until now, anyway.

This is a great blend that’s blended very well. It’s a nice, berrylicious fragrance, but even better is its flavour, which is that of strawberry jam. I do so like my jam. I steeped it first for maybe 7 minutes, I don’t remember exactly. The second time, I lost track of time and steeped it for about 22 minutes. I’ve yet to ruin a rooibos blend by over-steeping it, so I wasn’t really concerned. The only consequence was that the tea got a bit too cool to sip in a leisurely manner, so I gulped it down and almost brushed myself off whilst placing my teacup in the sink, looking for imaginary toast crumbs.

I think if this had had a stronger strawberry presence, it would’ve been too tart for me to enjoy; as it is, I find it really well balanced. This was in the sampler box I bought from LiberTEAS, and I’m so glad to have had the opportunity to try it. It would’ve never occurred to me to buy this and I would have missed out. I can hardly believe that I’ve found a fruity tea I like drinking hot. Bazinga!

Tea amount: 1 generous tsp/~5.25g
Water amount: 6oz/~175mL
Additives: About ½ tsp Demerara sugar for the first steep and nearly a full tsp for the second one. The first cup wasn’t sweet enough and I could just feel that adding a bit more would help bring forth the strawberry. The second steep was pretty weak in spite of the long steep time (meh, it was worth a shot), but I was right about the sugar. Moar strawberryer.

Where, oh where, has my o-o-orange gone, where, oh where, can it be? ♬

Saveur de Paris, in its dry form, has such a fantastic fragrance (if you’re the black tea + citrus-loving kind): black tea, lemony bits, orangey bits… So fresh, so refreshing, one’s eyes open a fraction wider and a smile plays upon one’s lips after just one whiff. But then, then it just sort of went away. Sad panda. The tea smells like black tea. The citrus is there, but it’s not as there as, say, Golden Moon’s Tippy Earl Grey1. It’s not that every blend of the Earl Grey ilk must be so…saturated, but that is what I expected from this blend, given its fragrance.

There is the threat of bitterness in the tea’s flavour, a threat that doesn’t really materialise, but that maybe could if I let it cool.

I’m interrupting myself to say that I think I’ve got this all wrong. I think I might’ve steeped this one too long and tried to drink it too quickly. As it cools, the flavour and fragrance are both becoming more layered, more like what I expected from the beginning. There is bitterness along with the wonderful floral notes (hullo, safflower, how do you do?).

Given this discovery, I’ll scrap my rating and try again with another cup. I have a feeling that if I can actually prepare this properly, I’m going to love it.

1 http://steepster.com/bleepnik/posts/126970

Today, I chai’d this up. Did you know you could chai this up? I didn’t, but that’s never stopped me before. =)

Honestly, I’m not sure Ocean of Wisdom can do any wrong. It is such a forgiving blend, and apparently you can do whatever you want with it and it’ll remain delicious. I did my usual: boiled water, sugar and tea (since it’s rooibos, I like to maximise steep time and don’t bother waiting ‘til the water’s boiling), then added (vanilla soy) milk and let it bubble, bubble, bubble for a while.

Nummy.

On my second try to play nicely with 52t’s Gingerbread Chai, I used the stovetop method: I brought water to a boil and then added (vanilla soy) milk, sugar, and a little more than a tsp of tea. I let it do its thing for about three minutes, instead of five.

The resulting brew was not bitter, which is great, but it wasn’t gingerbread, either, which isn’t so great. It’s a decent enough ginger tea, but the baked, cakey sweetness I was expecting didn’t appear in the fragrance or the flavour, only in…the aftertaste. I tried it just off the stove, and I tried it after it cooled some, but I still only got ginger chai. If only I could get the taste to match the perfect aftertaste, I’d be happy. :D

I don’t _dis_like the tea and I’m happy that I have enough left to experiment with a few more cups. If you’re ever wondering about The LiberTEAS Sampler box, I have no complaints about the size of the samples! They’re really the perfect amount of tea to really play and get a feel for whether you can make a tea work for you, whether you want to pass it along to someone else or stock it permanently in your cupboard, etc. Thanks, LiberTEAS!

Tea amount: 1.25ish tsp/~6g
Water amount: About 8oz/~237mL
Additives: Vanilla soy milk and about 2 tsp Demerara sugar
Dry mouth factor: 7/10 (Even with milk, such a strange sensation!)