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Thank you Stacy for this sample

It has been several months since I taste tested this tea. I think it’s important to revisit and try tea’s more than once.
Previously, I commented on the preference I have for making mint tea with fresh mint from one growing on my patio with lots of sugar the way it’s done in Lebanon and much of the Middle East. (My friend introduced me to cafe’s in San Francisco that serve tea this way). You are supposed to sit and sip slowly and talk for hours on a hot day.

Putting my prejudices aside, I have learned to appreciate the effort of Stacy to sell only the best organic tea’s with quality flavor that I appreciate. I wanted to give this mint a second taste review.

This morning, I was preparing myself with some Lebanese music and wondering what to wear later to a Hookah Bar? Jeans? Uh, this is close to the University and I’m going with Schey (she’s 18) who’s soooo excited! Every day Schey has been calling “When are we going to the Hookah Bar Grandma?”….gar.! Mint tea was on the list of things to do before going to a Hookah Bar. (I think)

(I’m skipping right to the taste)

The flavor of this tea was surprising. Delicate, smooth, fresh.
The gunpowder tea was so mellow and soft adding a taste almost pastry-like.(I don’t remember any gunpowder tea tasting that way.) There wasn’t any smokiness.
The peppermint was not like a breath mint…nooooo. The peppermint was soft…very, very soft without a bite. I noticed a curious floral fragrance hidden in the mint.
The mouthfeel became creamy. That was unexpected. Creamy peppermint and gunpowder would be insane unless you know how Stacy blends tea. She is a master of creating creamy tea’s.
The ending had a tiny little tannin right at the finish.
This was a delightful tea. I am again Hook-uh-ed (haha dumb pun!)!

Time to put on some more music. Next order Stacy! Moroccan Mint for Me!

http://youtu.be/LUr5uVs73JQ Lebanese Bellydance Music
http://youtu.be/2ScDdxavE4g Moroccan Beautiful Guitar…very nice

Hookah Bar Photo…http://flic.kr/p/ceW845 NOT GOOD!

Thank you Angel and Teavivre for this Sample

I had all three granddaughters helping out on this review and we went through three steepings using a french press (of all things..this was big enough to brew for 4 people).

The first pour was the lightest colored. Light golden brown and toast scented. Schey said the taste was grassy and the other girls thought the flavor was good but tasting like earth and somewhat astringent.

The second pour was medium honey brown and smelled like wheat bread to all of us. We sweetened the tea and enjoyed the sweet bread and honey flavor. Megan noticed that there was a little saltiness.

The third pour was the most interesting. We labored to find the words for what the flavor was.

“Sesame!” I said….“Exactly, yes”, was their reply. But I couldn’t just stop there and leave well enough alone.

“Sesame Street!” I cried! (I meant to say Sesame Tahini!)

We rolled, cracked up…cried…laughed till we hurt…what a goofus!

So, ok ok ok…I thinketh this tea tasteth like Sesame Tahini and Honey!

We all liked it. We had a good laugh!

The next review I PROMISE to be serious Teavivre! Really!

Thank you Jason for this BIG Sample!

My granddaughters (18,17,15) are sitting and watching Gladiator on my big screen TV as I write.

I served them some (Tangerine Creamsicle) tea already and had some myself but now I wanted more. (I’ve also seen Gladiator a zillion times!)

What could be better than blood, swords and tea?!

Jason kindly sent a nice hefty sample of this Darjeeling which I was ready to try.
The scent of the liquor was such a heady floral mix of orange blossom, jasmine and wet bamboo steaming and curling up into my face. I took a cup around for each of the girls to smell. Ummmmm. Smelled good to them. Approval!
I took a sip and noticed how light and brisk the flavor was at first. There was no astringency and the flavor was naturally sweet with a light bergamot taste.
As the cup cooled it became creamy and thickened. I added sweetening and swooned. Oh the exotic Indian winds blew through me…a monsoon of delightful floral tea.

I commented to the girls that this would be a proper tea to take on a Yurt trip (people of all ages go stay in Yurts Colorado. Youth groups, even the Senior Center has Yurt trips!) This and an Assam would do well.

DAVIDsTea has successfully created a blended darjeeling to take the guesswork away for people who just want to drink tea and not study first flush, second flush…and flushes that don’t make sense to many people.

Very enjoyable!

Thanks Stacy for this fantastic Sample!

This is a new tea! Stacy is coming out with a whole slew of tea’s soon and I can’t wait to find out what’s in store for all of us who know just how good her tea’s are!

At first, I was expecting an organic, naturally flavored tea…a nice afternoon pick-ME-up before heading off to pick up the 3 granddaughters who are treking from their ranch into town (about 5 miles). I’ll do a run to get them and we’ll have tea at my place, then I take them home.

To my surprise, this tea wasn’t flavored (the name Spring Twist tricked me).
My steep time was 2 minutes at 175F.
I was greated with the most fragrant salty spinach scented vapor raising from vibrant green leaves in my brew basket. Yum!

I’ve learned that all things spinachy in a basket don’t necessarily taste like spinach when poured… any more than wet Pu-erh leaves smelling like kerosene and leather taste that way as well.

The first sip… oh my, was like baby white corn on the cob. Sweet, young corn as juicy as if you had just picked it off the stalk. The kind of kernals that ‘pop’ with juice when you bite into them…and buttery.
This tea was thick with creaminess. There was no astringency or hint of tannin…no daggers of bitterness. Just a little salt, some fresh butter sweet cream.

I thought a bit before pouring another cup.

What if the corn was even a little sweeter? Not really sweet, but like the best of the Summer sweet white corn?
So I did it!
I added about a half teaspoon sweetening to just see if I could replicate that much loved flavor…and it was perfect.
(The saltiness of the tea is usually how I judge if sweetening will enhance a tea or not.)
I couldn’t taste any sugary addition but I could taste more sweet corn.

Since this tea has not been listed on the Butiki Website as yet, I’ll transfer my review or update the information when it becomes available… but I couldn’t wait.
I wanted to let Stacy know how much I enjoyed this tea. It is really good!

Thanks Stacy! Looking forward to all the new tea’s!!!

CRAZY ME! http://youtu.be/i66vQ2EM9Z0 Monsoon Wedding Rain Song

When I review an elegant tea it takes a lot of effort. I have a disability. If you were around me you would notice that I can’t multitask and that I get ramped up or hyper until I know you well and can relax. It takes time to write and find the words to express what I want to say and feel. Then I’m drained.
So every day, I mix a hard tea to review with an easier one.

This tea is an easy review. A fun review.

Boulder Colorado is a tea lovers Paradise. There are multiple tea houses and a Tea Festival (next month). I love to go from place to place walking through the outdoor Pearl Street Mall full of flowers and fountains looking so beautiful, stopping at one tea house after another.
I found this locally bottled Iced Chai that comes in various forms. Concentrate, sweetened and unsweetened and all vegan, organic and packaged responsibly. Worth a taste, I thought, since it’s a local product.

Yowzah! One sip and Yowzah! This is some potent Chai!
There’s a volcano in the bottle! Fresh grated ginger (not powdered) and cardamom, organic fair trade black tea, cane juice, ginger juice, organic soy milk and other spices…you betcha!

If you have any trouble with your sinus’s or waking up in the morning…I have the cure!

Shhhhh….
(the truth is… this is good tasting tea.)

Really, out loud… THIS TASTES GOOD! The heat kickin, and spices
cooled just enough by the soy milk that there is mellowing at the end as though the Black Tea arrived with a caramel flourish.

I would buy this again. Actually, the concentrate where you may add your own milk of choice would be better. You could make the Chai just the strength want it to be.

Nice job for a Brewed in Boulder, CO Fresh Chai!

Now let’s Dance! http://youtu.be/sp1UFAopkHc Come on!

Thank you so much Jason for sending me a sample of this special tea!

Finally, my spirit was calm enough to drink this tea and appreciate it fully. The time had to be right. So much chaos lately, with little rest.

I didn’t want to rush a rare tea that I couldn’t gather up for myself again. This Yabao is gone. No longer available. ( Psych Joke is on me! I thought this tea was gone,but it’s NOT! So I’m dancing in place (tap, tap, tap! Love happy endings!)

The dry leaves looked like large daggers of wheat and when wet turned bright green, cream and toast.
Smelling like newly sheared grass on a warm Spring evening. Sweet floating scent carried easily on the wind.
The liquor through these 15 second steepings in my Gaiwan, were very clear. Pristine.

1. My first taste was a gentle mist of honeydew melon, light and airy. The juice sparkled then thickened at the very back of the throat. This startled me. How could this be a Pu’er? My mind was stunned not knowing how to process what I was tasting.

2. This cup became a vision of pine trees around a pool of water with light reflecting off the surface. Glistening, sugary bursts heady and intoxicating. Looking down from a point above the pines, gliding on silk…the taste so smooth, fluid and lasting.

3. I didn’t want to admit to it. No! But, I did smell snickerdoodle in the leaves. Ah, yes. Spice and rock sugar, sweet and juicy with some of the pine trees hiding in the background like a trip to a fabled Fairytale House filled with much craved treats.
The best was indeed yet to come.

4. There was an odd smell in the leaves that made me crazy! I wanted to know what it was?! I loved the smell!
This steeping took me on a journey back to the Sierra foothill town of Paradise. One way I heated my home was by woodstove. Being a woman alone with 5 teenaged girls (only 1 was mine…the rest were “throw away kids” that nobody wanted) we had to cut wood and stoke the stove to keep warm in Winter. I remembered the smell of cutting down trees…the smell of the center of the wood and fresh sap. Even though we used cedar and oak, Christmas meant Pine tree cutting.
This Silver Bud Yabao on infusion #4 was smelling like fresh cut pine wood, and sweet like rock sugar, juicy and silky at the finish.

Magnificient! Stunning!

Thank you Jason!

Thank you Stacy for this Sample!

I was soooo tired last night that I woke up on the couch about midnight having snoozed…zzzzz sitting up chin cupped in my hand (not a pretty picture). This is not how I sleep ever! Taking my zombie self off to my fluffy bed, I finally had the first full night’s rest since the High Hill Fire began on Saturday.

This morning I had this nice little paper wrapped mini Tuo Cha from Butiki to look forward to. Ahhhh. Puerh!

Steeping 7 minutes (after a 20 second rinse) 18 oz would be perfect for beginning my day.

While waiting, watching the fire news, I was stunned to find out that I am only 2.5 miles from the fire.

I really am mentally anxious for tea!

I expect a nice little Tuo Cha to produce an earthy flavor…mild and comforting but a bit predictable.
I should have known better than to assume that Stacy would be predictable in her choice of a Butiki Puerh Tuo Cha!

The flavor was mild and not earthy at all. Fresh then cooling in a way that reminded me of a forest. There was plenty of juice and a heat across my tongue lighting the way for more discovery. Something elusive…a flavor that was an herb in the background. This prompted me to go onto my patio and pick some Rosemary, Sage and Greek Oregano. Rubbing a little Sage between my fingers and smelling the scent? Maybe? Rosemary? No! Greek Oregano…? Um hum…Yes!
Greek Oregano is light, sunny reminds me of playing on a hillside in the Summer smelling the light, natural wild growing herbs.

I added some sweetening…which in this case increased the herbaceous quality which I found to be so desireable and unique in this Puerh.

What a surprise and treat this Puerh was for me. So different than I assumed or expected. So worth having again and again.

I drink tea, I buy tea, I drink tea, I buy tea!

My previous review found me sitting at the tea bar at Happy Lucky’s Tea House having a pot of Taiwanese Ruby 18 and chatting away with Sam about a particular Assam/Oolong blend that I was drinking.
How we began talking about Green Tea (which I rarely drink) I DO NOT KNOW! But, somehow or another I left the shop with an ounce of Green Tea! All I had to do is smell it once and I was hooked. (The look in Sam’s eye was a knowing look… as though he knew this would be irresistable). (I think I was mesmerized by Sam’s purple Cambodian shirt!)

I left the house in the first place to mail tea samples to a couple people (hey!) and get some groceries. By the time I came home through the fire produced fog, I was wanting more tea. (the smoke makes me really thirsty!) This was my tea choice.

Sam said this was a toasted but sweet Green Tea from Japan.
The dry leaf smelled like Sesame Oil. It smelled just like that and like dry seaweed.
I steeped the leaves 3 minutes…the wet brew smelling very salty like a salted fish but not fishy. (that makes no sense except that fresh fish never smells fishy!)

The pale amber liquor was sweet and light with a toasted flavor on the sesame seed side with a fuzzy mouthfeel. No astringency or bitterness. Very light. This tea is a bit salty. I added some sweetening to heighten the contrast between the sweet and salty and loved that the best. There is juice and enough body to enjoy along with edamame, light Asian salad, stir fry veggies or rice dishes. (I’ve got an idea to steam some vegetables with this!)

This tea is a nice change from my usual Black Tea’s, Pu-erhs and Oolongs!
Very good and tasty!

I stopped at Happy Lucky’s for tea today looking for a headache cure for the smoke I’ve inhaled from the big fires here.
I asked if there were any new tea’s to try and this Ruby 18 was suggested. When I asked my expert server Sam more about it, he said it was an Assam Oolong blend, a toasted old leaf Oolong cooked and left with the leaves whole and straight like black tea. We discussed this category of darker Taiwanese Oolongs that would possibly place this Oolong with Black Tea’s in China. It is dark, has long leaves and isn’t green. Not sure.
Just learned the Assam is a hybrid with Chin Shin grown in Taiwan and introduced to the U.S. in 2011.

After my pot of tea steeped. I smelled the dark ruby red-brown colored leaves which smelled slightly of cinnamon and flowers.
The flavor was lighter than an Assam, not malty or smoky but mild with a little Oolong personality and no astringency.
The pairing was more successful than I would have imagined. I thought about how this would make a very fine cold brewed tea. Just the right balance of fruit and body.

I can’t stress enough how much it means to have a tea shop where you know the staff and where they and the owner are knowledgable about tea. If you can find a place…a tea pub…for yourself…do it! Search for such a special place.

Happy Lucky’s is the Best!

5 AM I awoke too early with a splitting headache from a cloud of smoke that desended to ground level from the High Park Fires. Uh!
I put on some clothes and walked a down the street towards the hills but stopped part way realizing that there were no hills to be seen. The smoke was too thick and the end of the block was invisable.

Again, my head throbbed…I wanted tea!
I had some new tea from Butiki that I had never sampled. The reviews were too good to resist. Raspberry Truffle certainly sounded more cheerful than the dirty smoke-fog.

Butiki Tea’s ingredients are first class. Organic, Vegan. This has chocolate, dry raspberries, and Kundalay tea. Notes of cinnamon and just sweet enough not to need sugar.
There is a creaminess that reminds you that this tea doesn’t taste like cake or pastry but a real chocolate coated, raspberry filled truffle. You know, the kind of candy that you sneak and eat by yourself savouring each little bite with delight. “Oh thiF is soooo gooB,” you say, with a muffled mouthful of gooey truffle dripping from the corners of your mouth and sticking to your fingers!
You understand why this tea is popular. Imagine drinking that truffle experience without the guilt of overindulgence (or the calories!). Yes!

I feel better, but…it would be good if you would send prayers for the firefighters and the displaced people here! Thanks!

(I’m sorry if my reviews are bad, right now I’m having a hard time with them…please understand it’s hard. Thanks! Doing my best.)