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Now that they’ve brought it back, I can comfortably sipdown what I have been hoarding since they discontinued it last! I’m so beyond broke right now, but I MUST STUFF one of their new bigger tins with Root Beer Float and Cotton Candy. A Pride tumbler would be nice too but we’ll see…I mentioned it to my sister and my birthday is in a week so i feel like she’ll probably get it for me…

Had this cold steeping in a 24ish oz mason jar from about 4pm last night til now (a little before 9am). I knew I was going to have a crazy night at work, and knew I’d need a pick me up in the morning and boy was I right. Ugh, so tired.

But dogs guys. Dogs are freaking GENIUSES when it comes to emotional crap. Bobo, a standard poodle, who I’ve known since the day I started at this job (though I’ve been “on call” for the last year and a bit after being laid off from my full time position due to cutbacks) back in early 2012, crawled into bed with me to snuggle for the first time EVER last night. I ended up sharing the single size cot with Bobo, Murphy (golden retriever), Mojo (another golden), Mudflap (basset hound), and Molly (labXdane). How we all wedged on there comfortably is beyond me but hoboy did I need it.

Still looking at heading to hospital on Wednesday morning though, blargle. :( Mental illness sucks guys, it really really sucks.

anywho, I stuffed a couple filter bags with leaf, filled the jar about 3/4 of the way, let steep for however long that was (math is hard..), then added a wee bit of fizzy water just to brighten it up a bit in hopes of the fizz waking my brains up a bit better.

Just waiting for the morning person to get her so I can go home and shower and get ready for the Pride parade. Don’t feel up to following it to the park at the end (too many people) so a buddy and I (who are watching the parade together) are going for tea and pho before I have to be back at work for 5pm. woo. I hope I still have Molly and Murphy here tonight…

Pulled this one out for my first cup of the day, partly because it called to me, and partly because in approximately one hour, the Netherlands plays against Costa Rica in the 2014 FIFA world cup.

I spent 3.5 years of my life in the Netherlands, and they were the best years of my life. Amazing people, amazing food (ohemgee the CHEESE!!!!), beautiful architecture and landscapes, and sooooooo much acceptance.

The Dutch national colour, for those who don’t know, is Orange, so an orange tea felt like a good hat-tip to the country I called home for a few years (and a country I’d love to return to someday and see it from an adult’s perspective as I was a kid when I lived there).

This tea definitely reminds me of the Netherlands. The brightness of the orange with the sweetness of the vanilla gives me the sense of being back there, where I felt so at home.

It’s a welcome comfort in the midst of an emotional shitstorm of epic proportions. Even though the moment of comfort and contentment is coming to an end as I finish my cup, I’m glad to have had a chance to simply breathe.

It’s of the utmost importance that I figure out if I am a heffalump or a woozle, and what colour I am. I fear my brain may go BOOM! if I don’t figure it out ASAP. O.o

Either I’ve completely lost my mind, or my craving for black tea with honey had something to do with it.

I like to use a CTC tea when adding honey, so that it doesn’t overwhelm the tea itself, since honey is so strong. This one was a good choice. Good body, steeped it a wee bit long so that the honey dulled the mild bitterness without camouflaging the lovely black base.

I need to get my hands on some more Whittards blacks. They’re quite lovely and versatile and some of the nicer CTC teas I’ve had. A friend brought me a 3 pack of adorable tins of Whittards tea when she went to England last year. I wonder how bad shipping would be….

I stopped into the local “boutique” tack shop (shop that carries higher end/higher quality horse gear) to get a hug from my friend who owns it. She’d heard I’ve been having a rough go of it, and excitedly handed me a little washi tin with a mysterious toasted oolong inside. She had picked the tea and tin up in separate countries during a backpacking trip through Asia last year but couldn’t remember where the tea itself came from. But she gave me a GIANT hug (I had a bit of a cry) and we hid in her office and shared a pot.

It’s LOVELY. It reminds me of a houjicha mixed with a tie guan yin. It’s toasty rather than fermented, and in lovely little curls which unfurl to reveal a lovely crinkly leaf as it steeps.

I need to search for something similar for when I run out because I can see myself drinking it regularly. Toasty and nutty yet a touch creamy with a fresh finish.

Random acts of kindness. They make crappy days sooooo much less crappy <3

I turned to this for a cup of comfort tonight. It’s 2:22am and I haven’t slept in days. I’m spiraling downhill fast, and it isn’t pretty. I just need to get through to the morning of the 9th and I’ll be able to actually deal with this bull crap.

This is one of the only red rooibos blends I truly enjoy. I think the lavender cuts the woodiness. I taste more of a lavender/vanilla rather than lavender/coconut, but I like it.

I really hope I can finally get some sleep. I just barely survived a week of hell and I still can’t take the time I need to care for myself. Not until I’ve done everything I need to make sure the pony is looked after.

Spending my birthday on the ward again? Looks like it. Ugh.

Another sample from the lovely Dexter! Ohmygawd peachy goodness <3

I’m pleasantly surprised by the base green. I kind of thought it might be quick to turn bitter, but it’s actually really forgiving.

The peach is a bit soft, almost like slightly over ripe, or maybe canned peaches. The green base has a bite to it, without being bitter, which rounds it out quite nicely.

As it cools, the peach becomes more prominent, but there’s a slight bitter note to the base.

I’m actually really impressed with this one! One step closer to finding that perfect peach tea, yay! Thanks again Dexter!!!!!

I received a surprise package from Dexter3657 the other day and when I opened it I was hit with a wall of incredible peachy smells! I LOVE peach. Peach and grapefruit are my favourite fruits and fruity flavours. When I was injured and bed-ridden, I lived off of cut-up peaches and grapefruit and it was wonderful. Finding the lovely little package put a HUGE smile on my face, so THANK YOU Dexter!!!!!

This is a really light tea, would be lovely iced with a splash of gin or a bit of bubbly ;)

There are times when I don’t like the fuzzy feeling I get from certain white teas, but it works well in this one because of the peach. Peaches are supposed to be fuzzy, so it only makes sense for a peach tea to be a bit fuzzy too!

I like this a lot better than the peach black I had in my stash previously, but it’s not quite that one perfect peach tea I’ve been searching for. But a HUGE thank you to Dexter3657 for the chance to try this one! I can’t wait to dip in to the others soon!

Having a really crappy night, so made myself a cuppa creamy comfort before bed.

As usual, the lightly sweet and very decadent creaminess, followed by a bit of a crispy after bite, really helped ground me and find that inner peace I was struggling to find.

SUPER glad I keep a kilogram on-hand, because it runs out FAST at the rate I drink it.

Another 1L pitcher is in the fridge, cold brewing to take to the barn tomorrow. I have someone coming to try Java out to hopefully lease him when we move to the new barn at the end of the month. With the huge jump in board cost (from the current place’s $500/month to the new barn’s $680/month) I really need the extra cash to help cover the difference, and the evtra person to get Java back into a good, solid, regular work routine so I can start riding him safely now that I’m able to ride again after my stupid accident.

sigh one more cup of oolong and then bed.

not 100% sure if this is the exact tea I’ve got in my cup, but Sil sent me a sample via OMGsrsly of Giddapahar SFTGFOPI (SPL) Musk 2nd Flush. It’s been sitting in the depths of my sample bin because, in all honesty, I’ve been TERRFIED to try it! I’m SUPER anti-darjeeling. I treat it like a delicate green, doing shortish steeps at low temperature, and I STILL end up with a hellishly bitter cuppa. So I tend to avoid darjeeling like the plague.

I made a cup of a sample I got from Fjellrev earlier, that had a darjeeling base, and I couldn’t finish the cup. I barely got halfway through it before giving up. It was super depressing, actually.

So I poked at my Facebook groupies, looking for advice as to how best to make a cup of this Sil sample. I got some great suggestions, and have made the cup but….

it’s sitting on my desk, in front of me, ready to sip, and I’m too scared to try it. It SMELLS lovely, a bit earthy, but with an underlying crispness. It’s a lovely coloured liquor and crystal clear. I just can’t convince myself to try it.

I’ll report back shortly, assuming I don’t end up dying from “Attack of the Bitter Tea”

Edit:

Wow, I’m actually REALLY pleasantly surprised by this one. It’s definitely not what I expected, given that it’s a darjeeling. It tastes a bit more like a very short-steeped yunnan. It’s on the cusp of astringency, as if I pulled the infuser out milliseconds before the bitterness would’ve come out, and it dried out my mouth slightly, but in a good way, if that’s even possible?

I have enough leaf for a cup or two more, and I definitely won’t be afraid to steep it now!

Now, if only I could find MORE darjeelings like this one to add to my collection…