Andrews & Dunham Damn Fine Tea
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After finishing the writing of this log, I feel that I should scroll to the top and warn you that there is very little actual content in this post. There is, however, a ridiculous link at the end of it. Caveat lector. And uhm…caveat clicker, too, I guess.
I have officially managed to complete absolutely nothing that I intended to get done today.
I did take a pretty long nap, though.
And I drank a lot of tea.
And I played Fat Princess, which is this hilariously awesome downloadable game on the PS3 that bursts with cuteness and gore.
None of those were on the agenda, but I’m going to add them anyway in an attempt to see if I feel like I’ve accomplished something worthwhile.
Nope, didn’t work, so it looks like I’ll be buckling down for the next couple of hours, but in OTHER NEWS, my sinuses appear to be clearing up! It could just be the late® hour, or the tea, or any number of things, but I’m going to hope that this just means I’m getting better. If that’s the case, it also means that I should hopefully be logging some of the new stuff I’ve gotten in recently-ish on here. [Nothing like having the ability to do something taken away indefinitely than to spur you into a frenzy once it’s over.]
In a test of sorts, and because I need some prodding, I decided to make a cup of Old Man Sampson to gauge where I’m at, taste wise. [I don’t know why I called him Old Man Sampson, because he doesn’t look elderly in the picture, but it’s fun to tag “Old Man” on to someone’s last name every once in a while. Even if they’re female. Old Man Sampson works pretty well.]
Ugh, does the content of this post give you reference for where my mind is at right now? I’m still not fully awake.
Back to the tea, I brewed a teaspoon or so for 4:30. I know from reference that this should be relatively strong for me, but I’m still feeling a little dulled from the cold. Getting a hint of that maltiness, but not enough to feel completely back on my feet…tongue? The tea is still good, however, and the mouth-feel still luxurious. Plus, the caffeine should start kicking in momentarily and that’s always something to look forward to.
When I tell stories that I think might be going somewhere but then end up being either really boring, pointless, aimless, or all of the above, I like to end it with, “And then I found twenty dollars.” Instead of doing that here, I am going to link you to something that I let loop for an amount of time that I’m not going to divulge because it’s embarrassing. It’s a little naughty and possibly gross, and also probably NSFW, but I think it’s funny. And catchy. Enjoy.
Oh. My. God. I will be sending that to many people.
I’m going to have “sweet lemonade, mmm sweet lemonade” stuck in my head all day.
Glad you are feeling better!
Oh, the lemonade part is deadly. I completely lost it the first time I watched it. I love it when the horse starts playing the keyboard.
And thanks! I’m feeling MUCH better this morning. YAY.
I’m going to cop to not giving this tea enough attention previously. It’s actually quite tasty.
I think I might have already mentioned that up until maybe two years ago tea was not something I cared about. When I did drink it, whatever I consumed wasn’t savored [it probably wasn’t very good, either]. I would drink it like you do water. And so I’ve been a little slow on the learning curve, but a few burnt tongues later I know now that to get the full flavor of a tea you need to let it sit around in your mouth for a spell.
After reading what some other people had said about this tea, I decided to let it steep for 4:30 as opposed to the recommended 4 minutes. Other people had let it go for 5 minutes, but I fear the oversteep greatly [since I’ve done it for this one and PBPPPBPTHHPWEH!!! – that’s the sound I made]. Maybe I’ll go to 5 minutes next time, though, because at 4:30 it was REALLY good.
Thomas Sampson is more reminiscent of Jackee Muntz than I gave it credit before. It has that same, caramel-like flavor to it, but it’s not as honeyed. [The difference is somewhat subtle.] I’d call it more malty. It also has some bitterness swirling in the background, and a lightly charred flavor at the finish.
It brews into this gorgeous, coppery color. On the first half of the cup, it almost felt…gritty in the mouth. Although that may not be the right word. Papery sounds more accurate. Kind of dry and with texture. Later on it smoothed out and became more satiny.
Black teas are probably the ones that I drink the least on the whole, but this series totally has me hooked. I see quite a bit more black tea in my future. Going in for cup numero deux.
Thomas, we need to talk.
I like you. It’s just that…well, it’s not you. It’s me. I’ve been talking to your pal Jackee, see, and…I’m sorry. I think you knew this was coming, right?
Ok, but in all seriousness, the description of this tea [besides being clever and chuckle-worthy] contains a warning that I should have paid more attention to – do not oversteep this tea. And by oversteep, I don’t just mean let it sit there for too long, I also mean that if you have a tendency to put more tea in the cup and steep for shorter times like I do, DO NOT FORGET THAT YOU DO THIS.
Oversteeping this tea results in something not unlike a right hook to the uvula, and while I’m sure my face was HILARIOUS when I took a sip, it also scared me off from trying this again until today.
This tea is good – a little darker in taste with a bit more bitterness than the teas I tend to gravitate toward, but complex and something I would like to spend a little more time with to try to parse the flavors out of it. It’s kind of earthy, though not in the same way that pu-erh is, and for me it begins to hint at raisins once I’ve let it sit long enough.
Still, in a battle of dukes I’d have to give the first few rounds to Jackee Muntz thus far.
As an aside, now that I’ve had the privilege of peeking at the wondrous bounties that Andrews & Dunham has to offer, I desperately want them to bring back Series 1 so that I can get my hands on some tins.
Also, though not really related, while I’d like to be able to claim that their theme on this series conjures up images for me of something not ridiculous, I found myself going back to a website I haven’t been to in years.
http://homestarrunner.com/oldtimeyween.html
That’s right. The Homestar Runner. IT’S DOT COM!
Ah, the joys of Homestar Runner. It’s been awhile since I visited as well…but the visions of Trogdor burninating the countryside and the peasants will last forever.
Oh and tea…yeah…let me know if your second try is better. I’m not down with raisin tea.
Trogdor was a man. Or maybe, he was a dragon man. Or maybe he was just a… dragon. But he was still TROGDOOOOOOR! My friends and I got so much leverage out of Trogdor alone, it’s a wonder I’m not sick of him now. But I still can’t get enough.
I’ll definitely be drinking a lot of Andrews & Dunham over the coming month[s], so I’ll keep you posted for sure. The Series is worth purchasing for Jackee Muntz alone, though, if you ask me.
And then Trogdor comes in the NIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!!!
Auggy already commented on how to drive Jackee Muntz into Caramel City, so I’m going to take this opportunity to get a little goofy on y’all. [Like I really need an excuse.] I can’t take credit for this idea. While I’m sure it’s been done elsewhere, I’m sapping inspiration from both an episode of Hey Ash Whatcha Playin’ and a rather brilliant Yelp review a friend of mine wrote. If any of you have never stumbled across text-based games, you might not get this. So here’s something ridiculous that may or may not help: http://bit.ly/DgJqE [Homestar Runner, Dungeonman 3].
Me: Jackee, what the hell? Why don’t you taste like caramel anymore?
Jackee: I do not understand “caramel.”
Me: Cut it out. What I am doing wrong?
Jackee: What’s a “wrong”?
Me: …What?
Jackee: You are holding a glass MUG. Inside of it sit eight ounces of dark copper liquid. Steam rises from the top, swirling into nothingness. Exits are to the NORTH, SOUTH, and WEST.
Me: …
SIP TEA.
Jackee: You take a sip of the TEA and burn your TONGUE. Cursing like a sailor whose ship has chanced upon a Kraken, you bang your HEAD against the COUNTER in frustration at your stupidity. Exits are to the NORTH, SOUTH, and WEST.
Me: HEY!
Jackee: What’s a “HEY”?
Me: Grumble. LET TEA COOL.
Jackee: You sit aimlessly, watching your TEA while you wait for it to drop an appropriate amount in TEMPERATURE. Occasionally, you blow on it, though you are unsure of its effectiveness on the actual cooling process. Exits are to the NORTH, SOUTH, and WEST.
Me: SIP TEA.
Jackee: You take a sip of TEA. The mouthfeel is thin, but not quite watery. The TEA is flavorful – strong, with notes of smoke and pine and a light sweetness. Exits are to the NORTH, SOUTH, and WEST.
Me: POUR TEA OUT.
Jackee: Well, that was wasteful of you. Exits are to the NORTH, SOUTH, and WEST.
Me: It’s not my fault you don’t taste good to me anymore! It’s your fault you don’t taste like caramel!
Jackee: I do not understand that command.
Me: Sigh. READ STEEPSTER.
Jackee: You log into your Steepster account. New reviews have been posted. Please click here: http://steepster.com/aug3zimm/posts/23176. Exits are to the NORTH, SOUTH, and WEST.
Just to walk you through my thought process at this point, now I’m really thinking. When I had Jackee the first few times, I was drinking out of a different mug and I didn’t know that my utiliTEA was messing me up temperature wise. Even when it turned, I don’t want to say bad, but “not as good” on me, I didn’t know about my utiliTEA’s little issue for the majority of my experimentation. I’d get a cup of caramel maybe one time out of five, but the parameters wouldn’t match up so I was starting to think it was all in my head.
By the time I figured out the temperature problem, I barely had any Jackee Muntz left, so I tried a few cups on the stovetop and they rendered much of the same. I also tried it in a travel mug, and the smell thing didn’t seem to fix it either. I did discover that steep time didn’t appear to have too much of an effect, though, so long as I kept it somewhere around 3:30 to 4:30, it was pretty consistent.
Part of me must have still thought I could get it back to caramel. I think that I was partially re-invigorated after the discovery of my utiliTEA temperature issue, so I re-ordered Series 2, but the first cup of the first tin was not successful either. After reading Auggy’s review, something clicked though. A lot of it had to do with the fact that she had actually found the caramel and that gave me hope [and also reassurance that I hadn’t completely lost it]. But also I was looking at the temperature [205°] and thinking about maybe it was the shape of her travel mug. But my mug hadn’t been shaped all that differently from the one I like to use now. Except…it had been a bit larger. So maybe the tea to water ratios were a bit different… No, I DON’T KNOW WHY I DIDN’T THINK ABOUT THAT BEFORE.
Me: CHANGE MUG.
Jackee: Which mug would you like to change to? To see your current mugs, type INV.
Me: INV.
Jackee: BODUM MUG, CAFÉ MUG, BIG TEAL MUG NOT SUITABLE FOR DRINKING TEA, BORING STARBUCKS MUG.
This is the mug I was originally drinking tea out of, by the way – http://bit.ly/4Am3Xb – the bottom top one. Oops.
Me: CAFÉ MUG.
Jackee: You switched your BODUM MUG for your CAFÉ MUG.
Me: MAKE MORE TEA.
Jackee: You turn on your KETTLE and wait for the water to heat, measuring out a heaping teaspoon of TEA before dropping it into your INFUSER. In a few minutes, the WATER is boiling. Exits are to the NORTH, SOUTH, and WEST.
Me: LET WATER COOL 195°F.
Jackee: You wait impatiently while the water cools to the appropriate temperature. You really should learn to be a little more tolerant.
Me: SCREW YOU.
Jackee: I do not understand “SCREW.”
Me: MEASURE WATER 11 OZ.
Jackee: You measure out 11 ounces of WATER into a MEASURING CUP.
Me: POUR WATER.
Jackee: POUR WATER where?
Me: Into the mug, you idiot.
Jackee: I do not understand “idiot.”
Me: POUR WATER INTO MUG.
Jackee: You pour the WATER into your MUG.
Me: STEEP 3:15.
Jackee: Doesn’t that seem a bit short?
Me: Now you’re helpful?
Jackee: I do not understand the question.
Me: STEEP 3:45.
Jackee: You let the TEA steep for 3 MINUTES and 45 SECONDS, watching a couple of stupid VIDEOS in the the meantime before removing the INFUSER.
Me: SIP TEA.
Jackee: You burn your TONGUE and your IQ drops another few points. You take out a FLYSWATTER and slap yourself across the face. Exits are to the NORTH, SOUTH, and WEST.
Me: LET TEA COOL.
Jackee: You sit aimlessly, watching your TEA while you wait for it to drop an appropriate amount in TEMPERATURE. Occasionally, you blow on it, though you are unsure of its effectiveness on the actual cooling process. Exits are to the NORTH, SOUTH, and WEST.
Me: SIP TEA.
Jackee: The TEA feels heavy in your mouth. A soft note of pine hits your TONGUE, but then gently fades away. You are greeted with the taste of burnt sugar.
Me: SIP TEA.
Jackee: The TEA feels heavy in your mouth. A soft note of pine hits your TONGUE, but then gently fades away. You are greeted with the taste of burnt sugar.
Me: SIP TEA.
Jackee: The TEA feels heavy in your mouth. A soft note of pine hits your TONGUE, but then gently fades away. You are greeted with the taste of burnt sugar.
Me: SIP TEA.
Jackee: The taste of burnt sugar slowly melts into the background and a salty note enters the flavors sliding around on your TONGUE. Anxious, you hold the TEA a bit longer in your mouth and are greeted with the overwhelming taste of caramel.
Me: OH SWEET POSEIDON, THANK YOU!!!
Jackee: What is a “Poseidon”?
Me: I hate you.
Jackee: I do not understand that command.
Me: …
INV TEA.
Jackee: A FATAL ERROR HAS OCCURRED. NUMBER OF TEAS HAS EXCEEDED CAPACITY. PROGRAM WILL TERMINATE.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how I won Thursday.
Just a few more notes on the tea, because really that’s what all that mess up there was about, I did try steeping this at around 185 and didn’t quite get there in terms of the caramel, so I think that your temperature needs to be at least around 190°F, and could probably go up to 200°F but 205°F might be pushing it. [Auggy mentioned to me that her mug was cold and so it probably temperature dropped when it was in there somewhat significantly from the 205°F.] All this being said, all I can say definitively regarding the temperature is that it should be just below boiling if you hope to achieve this. It’s possible that we’re both just mad.
In regards to the tea:water ratio, I use one of these – http://bit.ly/5SpSvE – and when I measured it against a teaspoon last night it was like…1 1/4 tsp. Give or take a bit. I fill that up that spoon with just a teensy bit over, so somewhere thereabouts. The amount of water I put in the cup is somewhere between 11 and 12 oz, closer to 11.
All of this is assuming you a) have some Jackee Muntz on hand and b) want to try to replicate the caramel taste. I usually don’t get this specific in my logs, I know, but this has been bothering me for quite some time and I’m afraid that you’re seeing the aftermath of my GEEK OUT session here.
And thus endeth the really long tea log. I’m giving Jackee the ratings bump back to where he deserves to be, now that he has realized his potential for me again.
Squee!
Preparation
OMG LOVE THIS.
Seriously. I’m in love with interactive fiction and text adventures, and this is a totally WIN parody of that sort of stuff.
And yay for CARAMEL!
♥. Just… Srsly. ♥
You crack me up! :P
Nice review that was so funny. And yum caramel.
niiiice. i can’t say anymore. homestarrunner is a fave of mine anyway.
What @angrboda said. I’m going to go make some caramel Jackee Muntz right now.
@teaplz Hahaha, not gonna lie, they get kinda tedious for me. And usually there are too many players that have been doing it for yeeeeears and they just go FOOM FOOM FOOM everywhere and I’m just sitting there, all, “Nooooow, north is…”
@Everyone Aw thanks, Steepsterites! [Steeps? Denizens of Steepster?] I’m glad you enjoyed it. I had a lot of fun writing it.
@Jack I’m curious to hear how it turns out. I made it again this morning just because I wanted to be SURE it wasn’t going anywhere, and it worked [PHEW!]. I think I’m gonna try to dial it up to 200°F next time; might make it a bit stronger.
Great post!
Oh takgoti, I meant more of interactive fiction/text adventure than a MUD. There aren’t any players except for yourself. You use an interpreter to play them on your desktop, and they’re usually free. Zork’s the most famous one. They’re sort of like interactive stories, and you emulated one exactly in your post. They’re often filled with puzzles and narrative elements. Their hey-day was in the 80s, although people are still making them today. www.ifcomp.org is the website for the annual competition. This is what Strongbad was parodying, not the MUDs (text-based RPGs where everyone runs around killing things).
@chrine Thank you!
@teaplz Sorry, that wasn’t clear. I was speaking generally of text-based games. The entire schema tends to bore me after a while. I’m too used to my graphics. My brain is lazy. The FOOM FOOM crazy player thing is just an added get-me-outta-here bonus for some text-based games. Though I guess that’s true for a lot of games. [Oh, WoW…]
Haha, amazing =D. It took me a while to catch on. I’m slow :(
My bodum cups have cracks in it! It’s so sad. I have a 12oz and two 8oz ones. Every time I wash them out, I hit them on the faucet.
Sorry for the stupidly long, long-winded explanation right there. I just geeked out cause I never get to talk about this stuff with ANYONE.
lol i used to play a MUD with my fiancee but he was a FOOM FOOM player where i was like “ok i go west right?”
@Ricky Eep, that blows.
@teaplz No worries.
@Kitch3ntools HAH, I know, right? I finish reading the description and I’ve finally decided which direction I want to go into and the computer’s like, “Uh…you’re dead.” I’m not much better at single player text adventures either – I die far too easily. I think that they are largely responsible for why I was terrified of dying at any given turn when MYST came out [even though I was told on several occasions that you couldn’t die – you COULD get trapped forever at one point though].
Myst was just terrifying in general! The eerie music, those talking books… the fact that you were ALONE all the time. And those puzzles were damned hard!
Haha that was somewhat entertaining =]
@teaplz Truth: I used to make one of my parents sit in the room with me when I played MYST. My dad was better because he’d actually try to help me when I played it. I also used to do the same thing with Prince of Persia when that first came out. In my defense, I was nine, but I’m still a wimp. I can’t play stuff like Bioshock or Dead Space when I’m alone. Or at night.
@TeaCast Thanks?
Someone needs to get this girl a copy of Inform7. (Maybe it’s a higher version than 7 now, actually, that’s just the last I was aware of/obtained, admittedly).
All that was missing in this review was a grue. Grues are compulsory.
The temptation to totally overshare in this comment section is overpowering. In my Other Blog Life, I cover/review video games. Obviously, steepster needs its own fem gaming clan, or something.
sophistre, there’s Gargoyle for Windows that’s an all-in-one interpreter. Pretty awesome. And I’d love to know your Other Blog Life! And I’ve been dying to post this somewhere, to someone that would understand, ANYONE… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nigRT2KmCE
takgoti, I can’t play ANY of those games, period. I end up screaming and throwing the controller. Everyone makes fun of me. I tried to play Silent Hill once. I had to run away from the TV, and beg someone else to turn it off within 20 minutes of starting. So we are comrades in wimp-ness!
@sophistre I had to look up what that was. Wow. [It looks like 7 is the highest version, too.] From what I skimmed it looked like a text adventure constructor program of sorts? I totally see myself becoming fascinated with the idea, losing myself halfway through, and then shoving it in the corner where half of my unfinished craft projects are.
Oh, also, I definitely typed out and deleted, “You are likely to be eaten by a grue,” about three times before deciding I might be exposing just a little too much geek on the internets. Clearly, I was wrong.
@teaplz WORD. I also refuse to watch scary movies. A couple of friends called me once and told me to come over and hang out. So I drove over there and they were watching a movie, and I asked them what it was and it was some creepy Japanese film so I definitely left. Hadn’t even gotten my shoes off. I can’t sleep when I see that stuff, and the fact that I even am thinking about it so much now is probably going to result in the need to put on something like Anchorman so I can actually go to bed. Yes, I’m that bad.
That video was a fine way to end a very sleepless late-night-early-AM. ^^
That’s precisely what it is. It’s very intuitive about how it handles object creation (which is really all the code for text-based games is, afaik). Fun, interesting. After I discovered it, I did precisely what you’ve described above. I think I have a copy lying around on a disk somewhere, but I never did anything with it.
And alas, we three diverge on the matter of survival horror games and horror films — I am a sucker for both, despite having hated scary stuff as a kid…I suppose ‘Alien’ was probably responsible for converting me. I play them and watch them now even though playing them alone is sometimes out of the question and sleeping afterwards is usually nearly impossible. I don’t know if this makes me a masochist or what. Maybe I’m addicted to the adrenaline rush!
@sophistre Haha, thanks! Also, so far as the horror thing goes, for me it’s mainly the creepy feeling like someone’s watching me feeling that gets me. That and the suspense thing. I totally psych myself out. The act of being scared if I’m not expecting it is something I can usually handle. It’s the expectation of being scared that is when I get freaked out. [I don’t think I actually realized this until I typed this all out.]
Funny, somewhat related story, a friend of mine used to hear the voice of Robert Stack from Unsolved Mysteries in her head whenever she’d go out to put the trash on the curb or something similar. “It was a normal Wednesday evening on this quiet street in Baltimore, Maryland. Jennifer Johnson was walking her trash out to the curb…”
@teaplz – I stopped writing them for ages, but as of recently I’m sort of trying to reassemble anything that wasn’t official onto a tumblr page, which is now listed in my profile, if you’re curious. ;) I’m lazy and update the video-game specific stuff rarely though, alas. I’m pretty behind.
@takgoti – I totally psych myself out. I am able to think of infinitely more frightening things once I’m jumpy than the movie or game can throw at me, for sure. I’m not ashamed to say that there are nights when the bathroom light stays on! Thinking about it, I wonder why I do this to myself…ahh, well. That’s pretty funny about your friend. I guess for me it’d probably be Bill Curtis!
Great post. I love the detail. I think you should do more of this. But man, that was long! :)
This’ making me feel bad that I haven’t logged onto any of my usual MUDs in a while. All of my characters have probably expired. Ahwell.
But I’m interested in the tea now. Hmmm. Very interesting read.
@Tyler Hahaha, thanks! [Though I don’t think I’ll be writing another review like that anytime soon.] And yes, I tend to be very long winded. Oops?
@AJ Sounds like me and my relationship with WoW. Though I think/hope that my characters haven’t expired. Anyway, you should check Andrews & Dunham out! I can’t make any guarantees as to how you’ll get along with them, but I like them quite a bit.
I poked through the website a few times! It just takes me forever to purchase items online. I am a very apprehensive online shopper, despite glowing reviews. Actually, it extends offline as well. It takes me a few days of staring to decide.
@tak: Not that I play WoW, or if I did that I would even acknowledge that sort of thing in a public forum, because I totally would not, but if that were true, I’m sure you could find me on Malorne.
LOL. Reading this, I felt like I had been sucked into the Lost Treasures of Infocom. Oh, and as for where north is: you need a pencil and some graph paper. You haven’t met tedious until you’ve mapped a text adventure. Its even more tedious than mapping a pre-auto map function CRPG. ;)
I <3 You! :-D
Confession.
I’ve gotten so used to my tea experiences evolving to surprise me pleasantly that it’s a pretty huge shocker when something begins to lose its hold on me.
Does this mean that I think that Jackee Muntz sucks? Niet. It is, however, different.
I’ve mentioned before that black teas do weird things to my taste buds. Sometimes they taste one way, sometimes they taste another way. On one day I might think, “WHOA, raisins?!” but on the next it might be, “Ooooh, malty.”
When I was reading people’s thoughts on keemuns [not just this one, but others as well] and they kept talking about smoky notes and woody taste and whatever, I didn’t get it. I thought that maybe I was missing something, but I didn’t really care because to me, this tea tasted like I was sucking on a caramel. Caramel was what I tasted, and that was really all I tasted, and MAN was it good.
I have no idea what happened that changed this tea for me. It could be the water. It could be that I was doing something weird with the temperature gauge and I didn’t notice. It could be that I was hitting a very specific time with my steeping and there’s something off now. It could be that when I started drinking this I was having ongoing problems with a cold of fluctuating intensity and so my tongue was out of whack. Maybe I ruptured the space-time continuum and in the warping of time I was unwittingly residing in a magic place where this tea was phenomenal. Maybe a unicorn was pooping in my strainer. I have no idea, but now, I’m tasting what all of the rest of you are talking about and I’m not nearly as much in love as I was before.
That last sentence sounded really depressing.
So, anyhow, woody, check. Smoky, check. Kind of a hint of that caramel, but because it isn’t nearly as present as before it’s become disappointing. It’s got a hint of bitterness to it as well.
What I really need to branch out and try more keemuns to get a better gauge for what I think of this one. I should probably try that one from Adagio that people keep talking about. I need the playing field to level a little bit more before I can fairly judge poor Jackee, as he’s got a lot to live up to in his former self, but for now I’m dropping the rating.
Preparation
Unicorns are jerks.
I am unsure how I feel about unicorn poop tea. I hope it would taste like a rainbow.
OF COURSE it would taste like a rainbow…everyone knows that! now i’m thinking about the “Charlie the Unicorn” youtube bit.
takgoti, maybe you have suddenly developed a super sensitive, uber palate overnight. if dear jackee can’t cut it for you anymore, i would love to swap teas with you. i can hook you up with a couple of adagio’s keemuns….and some others, of course. in the meantime, i’ll just keep hoping for my palate to mutate too.
http://pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF044-Falling_Dream.gif
I have no idea what relevance this has to your post. I just thought you’d like it.
I described Gunpowder’s appearance as “pellets from a rabbit god.” Why are we obsessed with poo-poo?
LOL I was just thinking of echoing Lena’s offer of a trade, although I suspect her tea collection is much more interesting than mine! ;)
Don’t worry that your tea tastes different from day to day. But also, don’t pay attention to what people tell you the tea tastes of. My pu-erh hasn’t been the same since my housemate told me it tastes on haddock
@sophistre Especially ones named Charlie.
@teafiend If indeed there was a unicorn pooping in it, it tasted like caramel!
LENA F. I'd love to swap teas! [My email's heather.takgotigmail.com.]
@Jillian D’oh! Later, perhaps?
@Grinnyguy Ah, I’m not sure that it’s so much worry as it is sadness. My tastes on other teas changes somewhat often, but it’s usually an improvement in some way or another. This was definitely a let down and it was pretty obvious to me what had changed. In any case, your advice is appreciated. I’ll be sure to keep it at hand in the future lest haddock attack me.
Sure, no prob. Maybe I could try some of those Samovar teas you’re always raving about without having to sell my (fictional) first-born to pay for shipping. ;P
Email is JillDragon@gmail.com
I think it is time and temp with this one. I almost always get the smoky leather taste from it but one day I made it and must have steeped it slightly differently (cooler water as I recall) and I got the caramel notes you mentioned.
@Carolyn Blerg, I really have tried just about everything I can think of in terms of messing with time and temperature, so unfortunately I think I’m past the point of advice by now. When I was getting the caramel syrup effect, I WAS brewing it at a slightly lower temperature for just under 4 minutes. The first time I tasted the caramel was with A&D’s instructions, so on this cup I decided to return to it and see if the magic hit again, but I didn’t have a ton of luck [as you can see, sigh]. So yeah, at the point I’m really too frustrated to worry about it much more. I’ve got one last ditch effort that I’m going to try with the final bit I’ve got left.
I will laugh if your last ditch effort works. With joy. But still. Laugh.
Not that this tea has ever been bad for me, because it hasn’t, but tonight the stars aligned, the fat lady sang, and cows across the land mooed as though they’d never moo again.
I brought the water to a full boil and let this steep for JUST under four minutes in the neighborhood of 3:45. I’m not sure if that made any difference, but all I can tell you is that this cup I am savoring right now? It’s not tea – it’s elation.
At the risk of you thinking me gross, I’m going to say this regardless because I don’t know how else to convey the depth to which I am enjoying this. I don’t want to swallow this tea. I just wanted to swish it around in my mouth FOREVER.
It’s leaking caramel. It’s like I’m sucking on a Werther’s Original. It’s as if I took a bucket of sugar and a stick of butter and melted it all down, let it simmer and bubble for 15 minutes, and am now sitting here drinking it. I mean, if I close my eyes, I can very nearly fool myself that I have a mouthful of caramel.
The feel of this tea is silky and thick. It FEELS like I’m sipping on syrup.
I might as well admit it. I am just fully, completely, and utterly enamored with Jackee Muntz.
Okay okay! I’ve been tempted by this tea ever since I saw it on Steepster Select but this just put me over the edge. I’ve ordered it and soon it will be mine! Muahahahaha!
Ahem So yes, thank you for your delicious and tempting review! :)
I think the whole Jackie Muntz persona is supposed to be modeled on a boxer. He’s probably missing teeth and in later years will likely start demonstrating dementia from years of having his head pounded. You may want to reconsider this relationship long-term. You’ll only wind up having to play caretaker to a crippled old man whose caramel oozings eventually won’t taste as sweet. Actually, if I understand the marketing of the Andrews & Dunham teas, all their teas are limited editions, so you may want to keep your fondness in check. He’ll only break your heart.
@aug3zimm Nicely done!
@East Side Rob Well played. You would think that all of that would turn me off from this tea, but I’m drinking it again as I type this. You make a good point, though; I WILL likely miss it terribly once it’s gone, though. It will probably result in a re-order once I finish this tin if they still have any left. I’m still miffed that I missed out on Series 1.
