1089 Tasting Notes
Came across a tin of this in the kitchen of where I am staying. Nice malty backbone. The bergamot is strong but does not assault like some do. Earl Grey just the way I like it.
I added milk because hooray for a functioning fridge!
And how is everyone coping in these strange and bewildering days?
A friend of mine gave me two boxes filled with a. variety of tea bags. So sweet of her. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that I am a bit of a tea snob—not really as I will try almost any tea—and have mountains of loose tea at home. Mountains.
So I am housesitting, which means that I have peace and quiet, internet access and a reliable fridge to keep milk in.
This tea is ok, but just. Having been blessed with Anne’s stellar chais, this one hardly compares. But I’ll drink it because milk, winter, cold.
And Steepster, oh how I have missed you. My wifi died and then my computer died and then I couldn’t remember my passwords to come back and could not even possibly start a NEW Evol account. And then there’s been the thing of my neighbours keeping me awake for the past 5 years and me having lost the will to live in this permanently exhausted state. And my own health issues even before that started. And then, of course, this covid situation, God help us all.
But while I have wifi for now, I am back!
Preparation
Welcome back!
And let’s hope that you passed through all the misery and now better days will come!
Glad to see you back!
Welcome back! :D
It’s great to see you back on Steepster!
WELCOME BACK!! <3
Thank you, Everyone! So good to be back. I’ve missed our Steepster gatherings, sharing life, tea, and news, commiserating, and tea slurping.
Alas, tomorrow I go back home to no wifi, no milk, and no sleep. But I am here for now and perhaps this wee rest and renewal will carry me through with enough energy to change things, at least a bit.
Thank you, Ms. Strange! <3 Right back at ya!
I thought of you a lot during the DT upheaval. Are you still in Montreal?
And BTW, I can’t remember my FB password. Would you kindly tell our peeps there that I am more or less ok?
It’s so nice to see you on here again! (:
Good to see you again! I hope you run into wifi again soon!
I just got my laptop back today. Been 4 days down. Glad to see you back.
@Evol Ving Ness – Yes, still in MTL and still at DT :)
And good to see y’all too! Thank you.
The first three days without wifi is tough and after that, it’s fine. I even got a bit of an attention span back. I even started reading books.
Wow, good on ya!
Montreal is such a fabulous city. Though right now it may have lost its sheen a bit.
Just a couple of days after DT announced that I had a free 50gr bag of tea waiting for me, the city went into lockdown and all of their shops closed. That sucked. I had the tea I wanted all picked out and everything.
Do not hoard green tea. Guilty.
That said, although this tea is not from this Spring, it is still beautiful, green as in new shoot-like, sweet, buttery, and slightly nutty. Miraculously, it has preserved its character if not its depth, finer flavour layering, and longevity. Such a beautiful tea, regardless of my neglect.
This is going directly on my Spring focus pile.
Happy Easter, Everyone! And Happy Passover! And Happy Spring and all the fresh and beautiful things!
Happy all the things. :D
:)
Dragonwell seems to age rather nicely. I just had some 2018 cold-stored dragonwell to ring in spring and it was delightful.
Me too…most of my old green tea is grey and faded! I really should use those up.
I find dragonwell tends to be fine as long as it is sealed, but I can still taste the difference between VERY fresh (as in this months/fresh harvest) and a few months later. I have so many Yunnan Sourcing greens to use up.
My afternoon/evening cuppa. I’ve been thinking maple a lot lately but haven’t been drawn to maple black tea as I had been overdosing on that combination not too long ago.
The woodiness of houjicha soothed by the white is an awesome carrier for the flavour mix.
Still, it seems every single time I pull this tea out, I mull over whether the water for steeping needs to be hotter as per houjicha or lower as per white. Inevitably, I go with lower than boiling, as I do with all my black teas. Likely, with the temperature veering more in the direction of that for steeping green teas. I worry about the white tea becoming bitter with the hotter steep.Regardless, my results are always delicious. So there’s that. I must be doing something right.
My rule of thumb when I’m brewing a blend of two different tea types – go with the lower temperature.
Thanks, Anne.
Another delicious-sounding tea I missed! I think I missed a bunch around my wedding too. It took me far too long to figure that out, haha.
hahha, Kittenna, too funny! I understand the trauma of missing out :)
I also always try to keep the temperature below
My tea tastes are so fickle.
Throughout most of the year, I am all over the black teas—the maltier, the better—with the occasional oolong thrown in. Then, come Spring, or what feels like Spring, boom! And I begin with one or two cups of white or green and suddenly, I am on a white and/or green roll. For as long as that lasts.
So here I am with this delight. The chai treatment on green bases doesn’t usually speak to me. Here, however, the flavouring is all nutmeg and allspice, eggnog-like, with the subtle real pear peeking through. A bit of cream. I detect the slightest bit of citrus too. The green base is present, but gentle. Gunpowder works for me, really and truly. Really a lovely thing, this.
edit—Just checked Anne’s note on the tea and ooops, no nutmeg here despite what I thought was here. To me, the nutmeg came up with the eggnog feeling of this tea. Also, the base is gunpowder and Chun Mee. Well, that apparently works for me too. :)
Another rainy day and I am grateful. The rain muffles the neighbours and calms me, a more ideal combination for sleep. Our team won again in hockey. Hurray! Less in city pride, though go Leafs go, than miraculously I did not hear the neighbours shrieking in the street all night. So YAY!
Also, their kids don’t seem to be home, so blessed quiet instead of jumping, wailing, fussing, and crankiness. And I was able to sleep in a bit this morning too. YAY for that! Since these people moved in three years ago, my home has not seemed my own. Someone is there and someone is making noise all. the. time. And if not, then there is the expectation that whatever I begin doing will be interrupted by their noisy intrusion on my life. There, I’ve said it.And thank goodness for fine tea. Really.
I apologize for my rant. Having said that, ranting, rain, and a fine cup of tea, nothing like it. At the appropriate time, a stellar combination.
I am sorry. That sounds horrible! I am glad you are getting some peace and quiet now, and I hope you will have much more to enjoy in the future!
Thank you, ashmanra. It has gotten better since they first moved in though as a result of patient and tactful communication, on my part. And many many unslept nights, also on my part. And then I snapped and began blasting old school R & B for several hours at a time—I have great speakers. The combination of these approaches has helped, but mostly they are oblivious.
We’ll see how things go.
Really ancient in coconut years :)
However, coconut delicious with the slightest hint of pineapple. Maybe delicious enough to get me out the door to the laundromat in the pouring rain.
Haha. I am curious how long it takes for coconut to go off. I’m sure it is influenced as well by temperature and humidity, not just time, but I wonder why some old teas I have are ok, and others are horrifically not.
I think it might have something to do with whether it is fine shreds or fat lashings or other variations too. I have some DTs Butter Rum that I dread to open because the coconut bits of teeny tiny.
But I think that it can also be luck of the draw.
Life is really something sometimes, yanno?
It’s been a long hard slog in many respects here and sometimes, I just can’t do it. Yesterday was like that. This morning too. I just wanted to shut the blinds and hide in bed. Regardless, I forced myself up and out today, though I have to admit, it was an extraordinary effort.
This is the tea that I brought with me.
Once I was out in the world, some lovely happenings happened.
Someone gave me two delicious home baked toffee cookies.
Another extremely shy someone gave me his email and suggested I keep in touch after the group that we were both in ended.
Someone else invited me to a religious service that was by chance being set up in the restaurant I was in. (I didn’t stay for it, but it was nice to be asked.)
Someone else told me that I was the most fun ever dancing partner in our cohort.
And the weather was warm and a bit wonky and humid ( but it was definitely not winter).
All of these interactions, and this tea too, were gentle and kind. Most excellent when one is feeling particularly fragile.
And as they say, tomorrow is another day.
Those are such lovely things!
Really great post about good people. Hugs <3
Extraordinary rewards for extraordinary effort. Cheers.
This post is what I needed. So wholesome, I felt so similar recently. Shut down blinds and hide. And cry. Or at least being alone. But I can´t usually. I have to wake up and do things. Unfortunately I haven´t met so nice people as you did.
Probably I need to explore the world more. Or at least step out of my routine. Really thank you for this!
Everyone needs a day like this. Helps us all to refocus and see the world for the good points it has.
❤️
Thank you, Everyone. <3
I’ve been taking a meditation course recently and meditating regularly. A remarkable thing is that you truly feel the difficulties, regardless of how much you try to hide from them, AND you really notice and experience the good things too, however small. Highly recommend.
Big hugs to all y’all.
My comment made perfect sense when I typed it and now on reflection, I am not so sure. Anyway, I will leave it for now. It is certainly not meant to diminish anything I or anyone else has said.
yep, appreciating little things helps the crap sometimes. Everyone take care!
@Evol – Your comment makes perfect sense to me :) This was a beautiful and inspiring note.
Thank you, Kittenna. <3
Packets of this were available, in addition to camomile and peppermint tea bags, at my meditation session last night. I went with this and some added milk.
I rarely choose this type of tea at home, but I enjoy it out in the world, especially with added milk or cream.And then, the whole experience was made even more lovely with a bowl of super sweet individually wrapped milk chocolate bunnies and another bowl of crunchy crust chocolate nut mini Easter eggs.
Sounds cozy.
And how do I cope? Well, being glued to my chair and screen, trying to finish last semester of university (undergrad). Tired of distant learning. At first, it was a good change, I was much more into lectures, but now it’s rather annyoing.
I am so glad to not be a student or a teacher in these times. Too much of the same thing everyday. I appreciate studies much more when I need to get up, get dressed, and go somewhere away from home, even when commuting is a pain.
I had so many time idea showing up in PJs only to the online lecture, but inner me said: “Would you show up to actual lecture like this?” and I decided not to do that. Of course, exams are different story and luckily, I didn’t had to wear suit while being examined online.
I am trying to be active, and teachers are glad for that, but being almost only one who responds is terrible feeling.
Good for you!
But for most people motivation is a huge factor.
I almost had this tea today. I’m glad you found a tin of it!
It’s really good. I like it a lot. I don’t tend to reach for Earl Grey’s all that often, but love them when I do. The good ones anyway.