Geek + Tea

Adventageddon Day 7 – Tea 4/4(ish)

Gongfu!

So my fourth advent tea today wasn’t really a tea at all, but a teapot! However, none of my other teas today made sense to brew in said teapot which is why I’m logging this as an advent tea even though it’s really not. Also where the “ish” in my header today is coming from.

I really was delighted to unbox what is probably the most fun piece of teaware I’ve ever received in an advent or countdown!! I mean, how ridiculous is this piggy pot!? I think I’m in love – and it was a really good excuse to pull out a tea from another company to brew in it, which was just enough of a gentle switch up to my adventageddon routine. In this case, this more floral and smooth Tieguanyin, which is a tea in my stash I’ve been meaning to get around to trying for AGES now!

Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C0kaEKuO5Du/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGt0-J4xuaQ

I found another geeky tea for my third trip through the May sipdown prompts!

Apparently this tea is no longer available. I have no idea how old it is, but it does not taste like it has suffered from age. This is a bright, somewhat sharp, grassy green tea. It was good with food but not really what I love to just sip on. I will probably be passing this one to someone else who might enjoy it more.

Sipdown (1493)!

Well, I did it! I’m proud of myself for quickly crushing through this little sample pouch and finishing (I’m pretty sure) all of it within a one month time span.

I steeped this last mug up while catching up on some Critical Role earlier this evening. I had it in one of those fill it yourself type of teabags and I never removed the teabag so over the course of the three plus hour live stream it got… strong. Very strong.

Also cold, because I’m not great at remembering to finish up the mug quickly when I get pulled into doing something else. The taste was really, really thick and lemon heavy but a “lemon oil” kind of slick citronella type lemon and not something super sweet or fresh and bright. The finish was very herbaceous, with a strong nettle type note coming out. It’s not the best cup of this I’ve made it was was still enjoyable and it felt like I was doing something good for myself – even with it being cold.

Now I need to pick another herbal blend from my very, very over stuffed sample drawer to tackle next…

So, in my apartment I have my own bathroom off the side of my room that has a shower in it and then there’s another bathroom in the main apartment with the washer/dryer and both a shower and a bathtub…

I fucking love bubble baths, but I never ever use the bathtub because it kind of just feels like a major dick move to use the main bathroom when it’s the only one my roommates have access to and I have my own private bathroom. However, both my roommates were out of town this weekend so I treated myself to a good fucking soak in the tub and this was the tea I steeped up to sip over that ultra relaxing bubble bath. Hot, soothing and just a bit herbaceous lemon…

Yeah, this cup of tea was just total self care.

Cold Brew!

I think I like this better as a hot tea. It wasn’t unpleasant as a cold brew, but the lemon flavoured seemed brighter when made hot and with this method I got even more herbaceous kind of undertones that, combined with the lemon, sort of gave me a citronella vibe!? Refreshing all the same though; like drinking a healthful lemonade.

Steeped up as a very late night cuppa a few days ago! I know there’s other stuff going on in this tea and you can taste some of the more herbaceous nuances to the cup – however, I definitely wasn’t in the mindset for detail hunting and I mostly just wanted to enjoy a cup of smooth, natural and flavour forward bright lemon tea. That’s exactly what I got, and I was a pleased tea drinker because of it.

sample share from VariaTEA (maybe also roswell?). I recall nothing of this tea…reading now it was a blueberry white..but all i remember is a generally sweet white tea. meh

Sample from VariaTEA. I’m with her on this one. No rhubarb or ginger. This was just sort of a black slightly bitter tea that had “something” to it but nothing i could place.

nope. this one is not for me. tried it a couple times now and just murky nope.

this one was weird. I remember feeling like the smell wasn’t matching the taste or something. Distracted drinking this one as well though i suspect when i try it again i won’t be pleasantly surprised. lol

Geek Steep S1E17 – Doctor Who

This was a great episode, for me personally, because it let me sort of refall in love with a fandom of my past that in many ways I had kind of forgotten. I mean, you never really forget Doctor Who – it’s one of those shows that makes an intense impression on you. However, at some point I just stopped watching regularly.

However, as I watched the 50th Anniversary Special and sipped my Doctor Who themed cup of tea this sense of comfort and familiarity came back to me and quite quickly I felt myself falling back in stride with the series and wanting to rewatch old, favourite episodes. In fact, since we recorded this episode I’ve watched about three of my old favourites!

It’s really no surprise I was drawn to this tea – the combination of lime and thyme sounds great in its own right, but the playful pun and reference to my favourite Doctor… Like, I would have been crazy to not pick this up, right!? It’s a nice tea – I don’t think I mentioned the flavour at all on the episode but it’s more of a soothing herbal flavour with strong notes of lemongrass and thyme than anything else. I wish there was more of an acidic and bright lime note, but I like that approachable herbaceous taste a lot too.

A good sipping tea, for sure!

Our Website: https://www.geeksteep.com/
Our Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geeksteep/

My Geek Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CKRltxXAkpV/

Listen to us on Buzzsprout:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1286036/podcast/website

DB topic:
https://steepster.com/discuss/42133-geek-steep-a-new-tea-and-fandom-podcast

Sipdown (1497)!

Another cup that just reminded me a lot of cozy or “wintery” cinnamon oatmeal. Smooth and flavourful, though not necessarily stand out/unique. It’s a nice evening type of tea though for when you want to just lounge about and decompress from a long day.

Morning cuppa from today!

This was nice and sort of light/simple in terms of flavour – mostly just cinnamon. However, there was an element from the black tea base in combo with the cinnamon that made me think a little bit of oatmeal? It wasn’t anything mad impressive, but it was smooth and consistent and the kind of warming cuppa that was perfect as the weather starts cooling down now for Autumn.

Adventaggedon Day 24 – Tea 3/6

This actually ended up being one of my favourite “advents” this year – in quotations because it was actually a 12 Day Advent. I really underestimated how much I was going to miss having more quirky/nerdy fandom teas and it kind of reignited a love of Harry Potter as well – I have such a deep desire to reread the books or, at the very least, rewatch the movies now.

This wasn’t my favourite tea from the advent but it was really nice – it smells like sweet cinnamon oatmeal, and it kind of tastes like it as well. In the best way though; creamy oats and sweet, mildly hot cinnamon with just a bit of apple. Maybe some clove, too? It really made me feel nostalgic, and was a pretty fun and festive send off for this advent!

Honestly, the advent was pretty expensive – though part of that is 100% because so many of the ingredients in these blends are actually GROWN by the owner on her farm. So, it’s a very cool way to support local small business. Would I do it again next year? Maybe. It would definitely depend on the fandom – I wouldn’t do another Harry Potter themed advent, but a mixed fandom advent or another fandom I love? Definitely!

Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CJM0NCOgiTR/

Geek + Tea Advent Teas – Day 12

Made this one as an eggnog latte. It works well with that prep method since it has the classic holiday sweet cinnamon flavor. However, it does not have a lot beyond that. It is supposed to have cacao and that comes through closer to the end and in the aftertaste. I am not loving what it is contributing though since its more a cacao flavor than a sweeter chocolate flavor. I get the intent, but this isn’t quite there for me.

Today’s advent tea pictures: https://www.instagram.com/p/CJM6hkWg2_V/

ETA: This is my 5500 tasting note which seemed like a fun number to share

Latte Sipdown (267)

H is for…House Blend

I think this is meant to be a vanilla chai if I remember correctly. It’s not really that interesting as a latte. Mostly a run of the mill chai that is not overly flavorful. It’s mostly warm milk and some spice and I just find I want more.

Geek + Tea Advent Teas – Day 11

Geek + Tea calls this a vanilla and spice blend. I definitely get the spice and the vanilla comes second. Cinnamon is the strongest flavor but the ginger is underneath and more earthy than spiced. Also, the base, paired with that earthy ginger, is a touch astringent.

I drank a mug of this one today but I wasn’t super into it. The thicker notes of vanilla with the warming and a bit woody/astringent cinnamon were actually pretty solid but there was an off note of something sour that killed the cup for me. In the moment I actually thought it might have been badly aged orange peel, but looking at the Steepster entry for the blend I’m not actually sure that this is orange in this tea so that leaves me puzzled about the cause…

I can’t remember what the context was, but Marika brought this tea up in a conversation recently as just being perfect and cozy and it made me want to pull out my sample of it to revisit. I’ve been hard core channeling the “cozy” feeling with my working from home tea selections lately and she was dead on that this reaaalllyyy fits well with that! Rich black tea with notes of malt, walnut, and honey mixed with silky vanilla and warming cinnamon undertones.

As I sip this tea I can definitely picture myself in the Gryffindor common room over the winter break, all curdled up with a mug of tea in a jumper made by Molly Weasely.

Adventaggedon Day 22 – Tea 6/6

When I skimmed through the ingredients for this tea earlier in the morning I was pretty sure that I wasn’t going to enjoy it, but as soon as I smelled the dry leaf my opinion changed. It’s rather eggnog-y, with definite warming cinnamon and ginger spice notes. Sweet though, and creamy!

Steeped, the eggnog feelings continue! It’s a more medium-ish level of flavour, but the vanilla in the blend definitely comes off in a way that it much more custard-like and appropriate for a festive eggnog experience. The spices are present but unobtrusive, with the cinnamon and ginger continuing to be the forward flavours. I feel like there’s maybe some allspice or nutmeg as well, but I can’t remember off the top of my head.

I added some coconut milk, and it’s boosting the creamy elements and thickening up the mouthfeel a bit. I don’t know if a spiced eggnog was the intention here, but it’s what’s been achieved. It’s actually impressive – eggnog is one of those flavours that’s sort of tricky to get across.

Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CJHkg9EA3im/

Geek + Tea Advent Teas – Day 9

As a kid who both loved to read the books and watch the movies, Slytherin seemed like the bad house. I mean we all remember Harry obviously did not want to be in Slytherin and most of the baddies were Slytherin so I feel like we were conditioned to associate that house with “bad”. While I don’t particularly think that anymore, part of me found this tea fitting when I saw it was full of ingredients, I think taste bad such as gingko, ginseng, and green tea. I also thought a green tea was fitting because Slytherin’s colors do encompass a shade of green. So at first I was like this is fitting. Then I started thinking that those green teas are all associated with health and wellness blends and because of the “bad” association, they seemed odd.

Drinking it, I don’t like it. As to be expected, I think. It just tastes like a health/wellness blend in that it is sort of medicinal and focused on twigs and stuff. So, its going into my swap box because I don’t want this again – mostly since I have a bunch more teas to drink that appeal to me more.

Adventaggedon Day 20 – Tea 6/6

This seems like a missed opportunity to have more fun with the blend name – why not something like “Weasley’s Christmas Jumper” that was a more direct reference!? Also, a Cardigan is not the same thing as a Jumper/Sweater – but I digress…

The tea itself was very nice – I made it up for the second half of my Home Alone watch tonight and it was sweet, cozy and festive – just the perfect pairing! It’s very similar to the Gryffindor blend from earlier in the advent, but caffeine free and a little bit more of a red apple than a green able flavour. Sweet, bright and juicy though – with the apple coming first and stronger and then the sweet cinnamon notes following up and finishing out the sip. Pleasant, and a great addition to today’s rotation.

I think I like the Gryiffindor blend (blanking on the actual name right now) better because it’s more complex and nuanced, but this is one of the nicer apple cinnamon rooibos/honeybush teas I’ve tried, and I prefer that it’s more apple and less cinnamon. Geek + Tea just really seems to know how to nail a good apple flavour in their blends!

Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CJCZpVTAt6i/

I made this iced since the package recommends it that way. Personally the lavender just kills it for me. It’s berry but the lavender lingers and makes it a little soapy for me.

Geek + Tea Advent Teas – Day 8

I drank this on the 16th and not much comes to mind other than “berry”. It was very pretty dry leaf though.