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Milk alchemy! I misjudged leaf-to-mug ratio and steeped this stronger than desired this morning; however, milk and a magic sprinkle of sugar not only toned down the nippiness, it pumped up the peppermint, which I knew was in the blend, but hadn’t really noticed before. It’s like getting a whole new tea!

Hope you have a minute as the year ends to stop and count some blessings that came your way in 2020. There were some. This year, you just have to look.

I couldn’t pick up much scent from the little Tea Forte pyramid sachet. (But they are so cute and I am in love with the little triangular boxes…) So I went overboard and started the cup bag-in. You pick up the raspberry first; sweet, not tart, with the chocolate following very subtly in the background.

Then I got distracted (imagine that!) watching “25 Words or Less,” my vacation game show addiction, and it started heading toward bitterness. So between rounds, I removed the sachet, added some milk and reheated. With a little creaminess added to the mix, I think the bottom of the cup was better than the top.

We’ve finally hit the Christmas break point where I wake up thinking, Now what day is this? Today, you can add Is it morning yet? Sky is the color of an old bicycle tire.

The plus side is time to sneak in a good contemplative morning steep instead of grabbing a bag and flying out the door.

After nearly a year (and a huge bag, gift from husband, that I am honor-bound to appreciate), I still haven’t contemplated this enough. I like Keemuns that lean toward the grass-hay-and-burlap spectrum; this lands more in the wet wood and saddle leather flavor family. It isn’t terrible, it’s just puzzling.

I’ve mentioned in previous Morning Thunder reviews that I’m not much of a mate fan (reminds me somewhat of cigar smoke), but it is reasonably effective when you need a nudge. It’s even more effective when you forget you left it on the counter and let it steep for 30 minutes. Reheated with a little milk and it was drinkable.

After two days of too much good food and too little physical exertion, I was feeling a little like an overstuffed piece of furniture last night. Needed a nightcap that would help with the bloated, bloodgie feeling. This did the trick.

This little herbal blend is lovely on the eyes—blue like my beat-up flannel bathrobe, a titch minty to soothe the stomach, whole chamomile flowers, and a little honey to soften it and distinguish it from other nighttime blends. Normally and unfortunately, chamomile doesn’t have much of a sedative effect on me, but I slept better and woke up lighter and brighter…so the tea was at least part of the cure.

Show of hands…how many of you have zoned out while pouring water for a green tea and realized after the cup was half full that the water shouldn’t have been boiling? (Please let there be somebody besides me!) If there is a method for un-pouring improperly temp’ed water, please let me know!

Ah, well.

Fortunately, Cuppa Geek’s Comforting Cup turned out to be a Very Forgiving Cup as well. The orange and chai spices covered for any bitterness I may have caused by my blunder. Marshmallow root is fast becoming one of my favorite tea ingredients as well; it gently blunts the sharp edges of spices and tart things. All in all, this is tasty and reminds be of a spicier, edgier counterpart to old faithful Constant Comment (my barometer for all teas orangey and spicy).

Happy Boxing Day…as the servants are off duty (or would be if I had any), it was up to me to get the bedroom curtains down and in the washer. Rewarding myself with a cup of this rich, coffee-puerh-cocoa magic. Nothing to add to prior reviews other than I love this stuff and I’m glad I bought a refill when we were in the shop last month.

Theme song for the remainder of my Christmas break: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeELC0RoWak

Greetings from the middle of a sunbeam on my living room floor. I got up to second-steep this tea and Tazo snitched my chair for a nap. (Cats clearly run this house.)

Among the jing-tinklers and tum-tinglers under the tree was a really glamorous presentation-box sampler of Tea Forte sachets, and this one caught my eye first. The first steep was nicely deep and dark and raisiny, with some truly authentic biscotti flavor. There’s chamomile in here, too, says the label—I always like it balanced against black tea.

I’ve dispensed with 2/3 of the second round and have to hunt around a little harder for the raisin flavor, although it’s still viably present.

Hope you’ve found a sunbeam to bask in today, physically or otherwise. This dark, dreary world needs a lot more light. Merry Christmas.

I received the following review by text from my Tennessee friend last night: “Orange Creamsicle is a winner!”

I heartily agree. My eyes rolled back in my head with pleasure when I sniffed the pouch…scent memories that go all the way back to the church camp snack bar orange push-up pops. (I chose to stomp out the accompanying memories of those embarrassingly tortured junior high summer camp romances. It would just spoil the experience ;)

Steeped at three minutes fifteen, the orange was spit-spot accurate in flavor with no tartness. It lost a tiny bit of the creaminess, but with a little half-and-half, I felt like I was drinking melted ice cream. Reached the bottom of the cup far too soon.

Strawberry and mint is a favorite summertime combo for me—the hotter it is, the more likely you are to find a jar cold-steeping in the fridge, but I don’t do it often in a mug. But as it was at least warm and sunny enough to hang sheets out on the line, I decided to give it a wintertime whirl.

This time around, it didn’t go quite as planned. Either I oversteeped (a definite possibility) or the little Advent packet didn’t quite contain the right balance of ingredients (that happens with chunkier teas when you have limited space and can’t pack it all in there), and it ended up a little on the bitter side.

Your experience may vary—this has great potential for fruit tea lovers!