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A sample of this turned up. It’s probably ancient.

Never mind. Quite tasty in a cinnamon black tea kind of way.

I’m not a big fan of cinnamon, but this is the good kind of cinnamon.

The cinnamon is punchier than the base. A glug of milk makes this rather tasty for a slow day.

Grateful that this doesn’t contain anise.

Ok, everything I previously said about this tea, I take it all back.

Maybe, this new development is because I gave the bag of leaf a good shake. Perhaps because I almost doubled the amount of leaf I used. Perhaps because today I am drinking it with organic milk. Maybe all these factors have nudged this cup into becoming something completely new and magnificent.

This cup is all bright tart raspberry and marzipan cookie on a punchy black base.

Just wow.

The mood for what gmathis calls builder’s teas seems to come upon me more and more often. Perhaps this is because the flavoured teas I have been drinking lately are so over the top, with a gazillion flavours dancing together.

Enter Malachi. Simple. Uncomplicated.

Yesterday, I picked up some milk, so I had it with milk, a lot of milk.

So far, this blend of Assam and Keemun is one of my favourite H & S’s teas.

It steeps up a deep mahogany. Punchy, malty. A great tea to start the day with.

There must be some sort of pan-national Steepster crowd mind intuition thing happening today as everyone is reaching for Harney.

This one’s been kicking around for a while.

Whenever I pick it up to steep, I remember that anise bite and I think, ah no, and put it down again.

Too bad because this is one delicious tea. Prune, plum, dried cherry, stone fruit, dried fig, malt.

The anise peeks through ever so slightly. Perhaps age has muted it. Perhaps a cooler steep has.

I’ll be sorry to see this one go. Sometimes hoarding is not such a bad thing.

Either this tea is too sweet for me fullstop or I shouldn’t have reached for a flavoured tea today. Or maybe it is one of those that, according to CrowKettle, needs milk.

I had no idea that this blend contained maple. Had I known, I would have saved it for another day.

Blueberry and chestnut—that’s what I signed up for. But I was counting on blueberry and chestnut of the North American Imagination: roasted chestnuts and fresh blueberries. Granted, an odd combination.

Instead, I think what is going on here is the highly sweetened chestnut purée, sweetened with maple syrup, with a sprinkling of blueberries.

Probably needs milk. None in the house at the moment and snowmageddon outside, so going the the store is out.

It’s fine. Just not something I am in the mood for today.

Edit—also should have read CrowKettle’s note before selecting this. Oh, regrets, I’ve had a few, but then again, too few to mention…

The rare mood to have an uncaffeinated tea struck me last night. This blend is all spiced wine, including that slight catch at the back of the throat.

This cup has a nice citrus rind presence, but, for me, the plum is absent. What I am getting is the slightest bit of rose.

Took a travel mug of this with me for booster day. See previous note. No menthol or eucalyptus detected in this steeping.

My booster appointment was on the edge of Chinatown: fortuitous planning, I’d say.

After my shot, I thought I’d walk over to pick up my favourite Hong Kong-style milk tea and a few delicious things to eat on recovery day, just in case.

My usual HK tea place was a bit of a distance. My bag was heavy. By the time I had walked a few blocks, my arm was hurting.

We’re still in lockdown here. Still? Again? Our numbers are going up, so amongst other things, restaurants are closed— takeout and delivery only.

I wouldn’t be able to have my tea and breakfast inside anyway. Favourite HK style was still quite a hike. #2 favourite place was closed. #3 milk tea place was still a ways away.

Decided to stop into a bubble tea shop I’d been to before. Not HK-style but mainland China-style.

I ordered a milk tea hot. Would you like cheese? Huh?

The last time I was there they asked if I’d like the cheese topping on my tea and I had declined. It must be a thing. This time I thought well, why not.

It turns out the that the cheese is whipped cream with the slightest tang—maybe a bit of cream cheese added?

The milk tea was milky and mellow. More creamy now with the hint of whipped cream on top. No punch of strong black tea base. The surprise was the addition of a thinnish jelly that kind of slimed itself into sips through the fat straw. Not boba, but something like the gentle almond jelly you can sometimes have in Cantonese dim sum restaurants, usually accompanied with fruit cocktail.

Yeah, it was good. Unexpected composition but good. I’d have it again, more as a dessert rather than a caffeinated beverage.

Oh, and my tea was served to me in a lovely paper bag with a trio of what looked like white chocolate truffles. It turned out that they were sweet chewy rice balls. Not as chewy as mochi, but along the same lines.

Vague tart red fruit. Sour cherries? Red currants? Bah!