TeaMaze

Gloomy outside, tree is up and adding a little cheer to Shabby House on Turkey Creek, our new neighbors have a twelve-foot inflatable snowman up and blowing in the breeze, I bruised my hand playing “Santa, Cookie, Elf, Candy, Snowman” with my Sunday kids, and all of that is making me feel prematurely marshmallowy—it’s not even December yet—so what better to accentuate the mood than my favorite cookie-ish tea?

French Macaron has been a favorite ever since we started patronizing TeaMaze, but the more I drink it, the more I think it could have just as been easily titled “Almond Sugar Cookie.” TeaMaze has nailed the cookie element and like the real thing, it’s better with a little milk. Imagine Celestial Seasonings Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride on steroids with frosting.

As to the card game, it’s a holiday version of “Taco, Cat, Goat, Cheese, Pizza,” a silly, souped up version of slapjack. Just perfect for a bunch of 11-year-olds, or grown-ups that occasionally act that age. Recommended.

How was your day? I played with kiddos (we mock-conducted part of Handel’s Messiah and played ring toss with loops of tinsel) and made my mom’s apple cake recipe for a work luncheon tomorrow. Only one small peeling injury. I intend to tie a ribbon around my sore thumb and milk it for sympathy.

While the cake baked, I let Rod Stewart sing sweet Christmas carols to me and enjoyed a second steep of one of my favorite TeaMaze goodies. The first steep is almondy, pastry perfection; second needs a little help, so I helped it with a fistful of tiny marshmallows.

(Tea review coming…travelogue first.)
Back in the 80’s, Precious Moments was a thing … little doe-eyed, childlike characters on posters and figurines. The artist, Sam Butcher, created a Sistine-Chapel-ish attraction in a remote rural area that in its heyday, was a tour bus mecca for collectors. It’s still open, on a much smaller scale, and a ten-minute drive from my front door.

There’s an Italian restaurant on the grounds that used to be the Precious Moments Convention Center—Chef Aleks is Albanian and puts a very non-Olive-Garden touch on his specialties. I could just order a cup of his chicken marsala sauce and drink it like soup.

Anyway, we trekked that direction for Sunday lunch and I came home full of carbonara and chilled to the bone because it’s a bit of a hike from the parking lot. (Crazy weather—snow Wednesday, 55 F yesterday a.m., tornado warnings in the evening, mid-30’s with wind like daggers today).

So, too full to eat dessert, I drank it. Now the tea. I have reviewed this a couple of times, and my experience continues to be good. Almond-y teas tend to be a little finicky for me, but so far, this one hasn’t been a bit bitter, even with inattentive steeping. It it is creamy and you know that moment when you’ve held a delicious almond sugar cookie in your mouth and it reaches the melting point? Yeah. That’s this tea.

The folks at TeaMaze have absolutely nailed the “cookie” flavor in this toothsome blend (that’s an adjective I use sparingly; I believe I also applied it to H&S Vanilla Comoro). I did not buy enough when I was at the shop, so I’m stretching each spoonful as much as possible. This morning I tossed in some generic bulk-shop Ceylon, a little milk, and it was nearly as good as new.

I broke into the good stuff from our Branson run for a morale boost. If you dessert tea fans like almond-y, cookie-y, marzipan flavors, this is absolutely spot on. Blissfully sweet to smell and taste, even straight up, even neglected and cold on my desk. Almond first, cream and sugar next. Can’t wait to try a proper cup with milk!

(Should you wish to research further, it’s spelled macaroon on teamazeshop.com website.)

Thanks to gmathis for this sample and the lovely handmade card that came with it! Very fancy.

Been sitting on this for a couple weeks because I haven’t had the time to properly enjoy it, but it got cracked open today. The smell of the dry tea is delightful—strong and dark like European coffee with hints of bittersweet chocolate and Chinese black tea. Didn’t expect that to carry over to the actual taste, but it did! Sipping on this while I cleaned out all of my external aquarium filters made the whole process much more pleasant. Probably the best execution of a mocha tea that I’ve had so far.

Since we can’t get our act together for a day trip to the Ozarks (although I am aching for some mountain air), last month, my thoughtful husband placed a birthday order to our favorite tea stop from that direction. This little Ceylon breakfast tea isn’t on my Teamaze “A” list, but it is still tasty. It has that smooth “just tea” profile with a nice little sugar sprinkle at the end of each sip. Better for spring afternooners than first thing in the morning in the dead of winter.

Sipdown. Though I did like this one for its natural sweetness and gentility, it was a little too gentle for morning wake-up call. I am bone tired this time of year and need kicking instead of nudging in the a.m.

Still can’t get over what a pretty tea this is dry—for some reason, the leaves remind me of long eyelashes. I added a little extra leaf to some spent ones in my steeping basket and let the whole thing go a little longer this morning; results: fruit and brown sugar. Really nice.

This isn’t currently appearing on the TeaMaze website, and that’s a shame because the leaves are long and lacy. You’d like the way it looks.

Though “Breakfast” is in the title, this really isn’t the brash and bold thing I require to get my eyes open. “Brunch” or “afternooner” would be a better time-of-day recommendation. The first sensation is on the back of the tongue: sweet—almost brown sugary, with a very subtle malt-and-cocoa sensation that tickles the tip of the tongue as you swallow.

With that said, this is a fine, elegant tea. Just be alert enough to appreciate it.

Ooh! Thanks for this one, gmathis. Had just enough to make a little pot of it before bed.

After a day of approximately 5 other pots of pure oolongs and blacks, this was a much-appreciated reprieve. It’s a calm, unfussy black base with a heavy helping of rich strawberry and cream flavors. Doesn’t even taste artificial, and I appreciate that they didn’t try to make it sweet. This was an excellent one to sip on while starting a new book. Think I’ll be getting an ounce or two of it for when I want a flavored black—my usual Lady Londonberry is good, but sometimes the lemon mixed in with that strawberry can be a bit much!

Double dippity day, and this one even pairs with a book currently in progress on Mount To-Be-Read: A Dublin Student Doctor by Patrick Taylor. This is my second time through the series and they’re just as enjoyable as reruns: think All Creatures Great and Small set in small town northern Ireland with people, not animals.

The tea…again, nothing new: strawberries with coconut to add a little creaminess. There’s supposed to be a little rum-mishness in there, too, but I’ve never really picked up on it. Still, another favorite!

This morning, the scent reminds me of a clear, sticky strawberry lip gloss that was in my stocking in fourth grade. Nothing chemically about the flavor, though; just strawberries and cream all the way.

Funny, this is a thematic tea, although I never intended it to be. Every review I’ve written for it refers to my Sunday kids. Today, too. This is my quiet rocking chair cup before I load up the goods for “Tea and Cocoa Day,” our Sunday-before-Christmas tradition. (And a good way to get rid of unwanted teabags ;) One of my sixth grade boys asked “Do you have any more of that bacon tea?” My husband thought it was so funny, he went out and bought an ounce of Lapsang Souchong for me to take him.

Sipdown, hopefully temporary. TeaMaze is open again and this one’s on the top of the list when we get there. It’s my current favorite no-fail strawberry and cream black tea. Needs no sugar or milk; all the goodness is thoughtfully provided for you.

The last note I wrote for this was six very long months ago—the last time I got to go on an “Impact Day” adventure with my fifth and sixth grade church kids. Appropriate that I have picked it back up to fortify me for my first Sunday back with them after a long dry spell. They’re my weekly joy break, and my tank was well past empty. Counting the minutes till I get some (properly sterilized and sanitized) air hugs.

You don’t know what you have until you miss it … normally at this time, I’d be in a room we’ve dubbed the Warehouse with 11-year-olds pecking at me like chickens, showing off their phones and dumb photos, telling me about their pets, and asking me if I’ll play a game with them. Our church staff has been fabulous—sending videos and video challenges to our kids; we’re getting ready to connect virtually in a few minutes; our kids’ pastor did several neighborhood drive-by’s, and I’m keeping a steady stream of snail mail headed their way. But, oh, how I am counting the days until they’re driving me nuts again!

However, virtual church has its benefits—like its proximity to a whole pot of this gentle strawberries-and-cream blend. The black tea base is really nothing but a base, the flavors are so pronounced. Authentic sweet strawberry pie flavor; doesn’t taste artificial at all.

It could be the sheer delight of putting my feet up in the sunshine after a high-intensity adventure with kids (more on that in a minute), but my first sip of this novel tea made me go “ah-h-h-h-h!” with eye-rolling pleasure. Sweet strawberries and cream, even without adding milk. Separately, I’m not getting the rum or coconut, but together, this is sweet, creamy, fruity magic. Flavor holds up reasonably for a second steep as well. I’m putting this on my “next trip” list in a larger quantity.

End of tea review. Adventure time:

Eleven kids, four adults, five breakfast casseroles, one coffee cake, 35 dirty dishes, three boxes of plastic gloves entirely used because “these are getting slimy,” one dead battery on the church van and an accidental triggering of the burglar alarm at the homeless shelter. My little team was on sausage-browning patrol. Your heart would grow three sizes like the grinch watching these kids doing grown-up sized acts of service. Mine’s about to bust.

Enjoying an absolutely delicious Sunday break, bathing in a sunbeam aimed directly on my rocking chair (although Tazo is glaring at me because he claims to be the rightful owner of any and all winter sunshine spots).

Close to hand is this nice, silky, buttery oolong from our new favorite shop in the Ozarks. Its fruit flavor and scent is not far from peach cobbler, and while I don’t generally choose oolongs first, I’m glad hubby talked me into bringing this home. Little pricey, so I hope it holds up well in subsequent steeps.

You would have laughed at my Sunday church kids—10 and 11 year olds. They asked me for another tea and cocoa day, and it was fun watching them paw through my chest of random bags and man the electric kettle like grown-ups. Shiloh loves Good Earth Sweet and Spicy with enough sugar to fill a hummingbird feeder; David insists he only likes “sweet tea,” and Jonathan, on a dare, tried a cup of Lapsang Souchong: “Hey, that’s not so bad!”

My only previous review mentioned that this tastes a little like H&S Hot Cinnamon Spice with a rooibos base…couldn’t find the whiskey part. Since I’m nearing the end of the pouch, I went nearly double on the leaf and left it more than six minutes (which I should’ve done previously, but never actually read the package). Doing so didn’t make a huge change, but it did intensify the clove part of the blend and created a pleasant little burn on the tip of the tongue—maybe that’s what was intended to emulate the whiskey. I’ve been so crabby all week, a burned tongue to help me keep my mouth shut wouldn’t be a bad idea ;)

Just when we laid in supplies for all things winter—fuzzy socks, plenty of cold-weather comfort food, Christmas-y tea…we got a string of 65F sunshiny days that will carry us well past Boxing Day. Mind you, I am not complaining! Just having to rearrange my sipping pattern a little.

Whatever the weather, we gave this one a try…husband loves TeaMaze’s Irish Whiskey flavored black tea and hoped this would be its spicy counterpart. Truthfully, I’m not getting any of the bourbon-y flavor at all, but the cinnamon-clove-orange trio goes well with a rooibos base. It resembles Harney’s Hot Cinnamon Spice, but less sweet, which is OK by me.

Using a 3 a.m. thunderstorm wake-up as the excuse for finishing off my packet of this strong stuff this morning. No new thoughts about it—still malty and brash—but for the price, next time around, I’ll default back to good ol’ PG Tips and use my TeaMaze allowance for what they do best—unique flavored blends.

Second run-through of this CTC…at its hottest, just off the steep, it is strong (I’m sticking with the dark pumpernickel descriptor I used previously) and smooth; as it cools, it starts acting like those stupid alarm clocks that get LOUDER AND LOUDER IF YOU DON’T SHUT THEM OFF. Sharp and brash. Which is OK. sometimes I need brash to get moving in the morning.

Realistically, this would be best toned down with a bit of milk and sugar. Builders’ tea.

Oh…British tea…(rabbit warning)! If you are a historical mystery fan, have you discovered Maisie Dobbs? Spans post WWI to (currently) early WWII and the London blitz. Delicious storytelling. At any rate, I’m reading the blitz installment and it mentioned a wartime tea ration of 2 ounces per person per week. So today’s tea chat topic…how would you manage?

Our Christmas run to Branson and the Ozarks is steeped in tradition…right down to which booth we occupy at Godfather’s Pizza in Nixa, MO (balcony area, left side in the middle) and precisely which seats we grab at Silver Dollar City’s Courthouse Theater for the “A Christmas Carol” musical (center auditorium, 2/3 of the way back, exactly in front of the sound booth). When Tiny Tim starts to sing, I’m like Pavlov’s dog…it’s the automatic emotional trigger for me to start blubbering. The run was extra misty this year; I’m missing my parents and sister, and when (again, according to tradition) we stopped to smooch in front of the building façade where I met my husband circa 1980, it was GONE. Bulldozed in favor of a water ride. They did not ask my permission.

Sorry, just had to get that out. The tea part’s coming. Day 2 of the tradition involves Christmas shopping at favorite venues, and some of that shopping was embarrassingly self-indulgent at this fun, colorful little tea shop on the strip.

We asked the TeaMaze owner to guide us to her strongest stuff, and this was on her recommended list. It’s a clobber-you-upside-the-jaw Assam CTC. A teaspoon and a four-minute steep was incredibly stout…malty pumpernickel in 10-pound Doc Martens. Second steep at 5:30 was still strong enough for an a.m. tea for most of you, and took milk extremely well. They’re calling for a hard winter in these parts. This will be useful.