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11/21/18

After trying Earl Grey tea and enjoying it, I thought I would try more black tea. I am trying to drink less coffee and substitute for tea instead, because I have found that I really enjoy the tea making process. It is very relaxing and I have felt that it calms my nerves and helps when I am very stressed out. This Ceylon Black tea tasted average in regards to flavor. It was nothing special, but it was definitely decent. What I noticed the most though was how much energy I had after drinking it. I purposely chose a black tea because of how much caffeine it contains. It was a very nice change from coffee and provided similar effects. I will definitely be trying some more black teas now. I will probably drink this Ceylon Black tea again at some point.

11/18/18

I have made Earl Grey tea myself before, so I decided to pick some up from the store and give it a go. I made it similarly to how I have been making the oolong tea that I really enjoy. I let it cool down a bit, and was pleasantly surprised with the flavor of this tea. It had a bit of a fruity taste, but it was not too strong. It was a light flavor. I would definitely be interested in making this tea again. I think next time I might try adding milk to it, because I was reading some reviews and apparently it is very popular to be enjoyed this way.

11/16/18

I woke up this morning feeling very sick. I think the temperature changes were starting to get to me. I have heard that drinking matcha can help some with sickness, because there are a lot of health benefits and properties within the tea. I have been making this matcha very frequently because I have enjoyed it so much, so this time I wanted to see how my body would react to it with being sick. I made it early in the morning before classes. I did not notice much of a difference the rest of the day, although I did notice that I did feel more energized. But I did notice that the next day I was already feeing better. I am not sure if this was because of the matcha or not, but either way I will continue to make matcha several times a week and I am so glad that I tried it because of this class.

11/13/18

I decided to be ambitious and try this tea because of the holidays coming up. It sounded like a nice tea to get in the Christmas spirit (although December is still a month away!) I steeped this tea for a few seconds longer than I typically do, after reading reviews. The smell of this tea was very strong, and I was surprised at how much I liked the aroma. I was nervous to taste it, though, because of many strong opinions I had heard about the rooibos in the blend. It turns out that I could not actually really taste the rooibos though. The tea did have a pretty strong peppermint flavor though, which I did enjoy because of the cold weather. This is definitely a tea that I would only drink around the winter holiday season. It was a nice treat though, and I enjoyed the strong flavor more than I thought I would! I tend to like peppermint flavor though, which I am sure helped. I also think that I would prefer drinking this tea later in the day or night, and not early in the morning.

11/4/18

Because I have decided to brew the High Mountain Oolong tea for my ceremony, I have been making it pretty frequently to find out how I like it best in regards to steep time and amount of tea and water used. I have come to the conclusion that I like this tea best with 3 grams of tea and 12 ounces of water. I like to steep it between 3 minutes and 15 seconds to 3 minutes and 30 seconds, which is how I made it this time. This tea is the perfect amount of flavor for me, without it being too overpowering. I really like teas that have a very calm flavor, because it puts my mind to ease and I feel very peaceful and relaxed. It has a slightly sweet aftertaste too, which is nice. I enjoy this tea the most when I make it in the morning to get my day going in a positive way.

10/29/18

I decided to try making the Jasmine green tea again. I had ordered the package from Amazon for the first time that I tried it in September, and I definitely did not want the rest of the tea to go to waste. Because I was not a huge fan of the very strong floral taste the first time that I tried it, I decided to make it a bit differently this time. I steeped the tea for less time, and also used less tea leaves. I have really been enjoying drinking my tea outside if the weather is nice, so I decided to take a stroll outside with this tea to appreciate nature. I think that being outside with the nice weather definitely helped me enjoy the Jasmine green tea better this time. I also think that I liked it better with steeping the tea for a shorter amount of time, because there was more of a bland taste without the strong flower flavor. If I make this tea in the future, I will definitely steep it for a shorter amount of time again.

10/24/18

I decided to try another flavored tea to see how I liked it. The last flavored tea that I tried was the Jasmine green tea, and I was not a big fan of the floral taste. I decided to go with a fruit flavored tea this time from Teavana. After trying it, I think I have realized that I am just not someone who enjoys flavored teas like this. I think I prefer teas that are a bit more bland in flavor. I am very sensitive to smells, and although it smelled fruity, it started to give me a slight headache. The taste was just a bit too fruity for me. For someone who likes fruity teas, I feel like this would be very pleasant. I did decide to relocate my normal tea-drinking spot to the outdoors this time, and I actually really enjoyed this. There is something about being in nature with a cup of tea in your hands that is very peaceful. The weather outside was very nice, and I think I will drink my tea outside more often now.

10/16/18

I decided to make my weekly tea tasting note on this matcha tea again, because it has really grown on me. I made this tea in the early morning this time (7 AM), and I found that it gave me a lot of energy. I felt like I had drank a cup of coffee, but it was matcha tea instead! I am typically someone who really struggles in the morning, but this tea made me a lot more excited and energized to start my day. I made this tea iced again, like I have previously done. I have found that I prefer matcha iced. I was thinking about using this tea for my ceremony, but I ended up choosing to not do so because of the tea making process. I wanted to use a tea that would be steeped rather than whisked, just for ceremonial purposes. I really do enjoy the matcha tea making process, though, as I have found that it is really relaxing and gives me a time to reflect on the day ahead of me. This taste again was earthy, but I have found that I actually really enjoy this taste. I think it just took a bit of time to grow on me.

10/7/18

After tasting several different teas, my favorite overall has been the High Mountain Oolong tea. I decided to make it again to see if this is the tea that I want to use for the tea ceremony. Last time I made this tea, it was very light and refreshing. Because the flavor was so light last time, this time I decided to make it with 3 grams of tea instead of 2. I also decided to brew the tea for a few seconds longer. I made this tea around 9 o’clock in the morning. After taking the time to enjoy it, I decided that this tea is definitely my favorite and I will probably end up using it in my tea ceremony. I also really enjoyed the stronger flavor, from using another gram of tea leaves and steeping the tea for a few seconds longer. I will probably make this tea several more times before the ceremony, to see which way I like the tea best (temperature, steep time, amount of tea and water).

10/1/18

I have been thinking about what tea I would like to make for my tea ceremony for class, so I decided to try making matcha again to see how it would turn out this time. There is definitely an art to making matcha, and I wanted to really perfect it and see if I liked this tea better the second time. I enjoyed it the first time, but I was not quite sure if I had made it correctly. I watched another youtube tutorial again to make it this time. After it was ready, I poured it over ice again. The taste was very earthy again, and very fresh. The first time that I had made matcha, I was not sure how to feel about the earthy taste. This time, though, I actually really enjoyed the earthy-ness. I also found that the tea tasted a little bit less bitter this go-around. I made this tea mid-day and it was a nice refreshing way to break up my tasks that I had this day.