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Some of my clothes want me to lose some weight. The month of January (lack of light, lack of exercise, lack of serotonin, etc.) doesn’t care whether I do or not. While the two are battling it out, I am hoping these little babies will help stem the 1:30 p.m. “just shut up and give me a three-pack of Zingers” blues.

They were a Christmas present from my son—a three pack of Classic Iced Tea, Citrus Green Tea, and Green Tea Latte. So far, I’ve haven’t ventured further than the Classic, but it does taste exactly like southern sweet tea with simple syrup. I don’t like it in a glass, but in a hard candy, it’s pretty tasty!

I’ll just stick this review in “Random” because my “Premium Classic Black Tea” from TeaMaze is also marked “limited edition” and is nowhere to be found on the website now.

Hubby picked this one—I would have passed it up due to lack of information—but I’m glad he did. There’s no variety mentioned in the packet description and trying to place it is a little bit like leafing through a “Where’s Waldo?” book. The bass notes have some Keemun leather-and-mahogany, but the treble is pure Juicy Fruit Gum, like an oolong. Hmm.

I’m looking at a window full of slow snow—wafting down like little cotton parachutes; the kind that creates very little worry because there won’t be much and the temp is just above freezing. It’s also the kind that makes you lazy because it’s so soothing to watch.

So I’m using that as an excuse to rock in my favorite chair and alternate peeking outside with peeking at old episodes of Northern Exposure. You need to find and watch the episodes with Marilyn and the Flying Guy. They are adorable.

Sitting next to me is a little cup of Caramel Apple Chai. I am picky about my chai. I want the spice to be light enough I can taste the other ingredients. I can. The apple is nicely evident, the spice isn’t obnoxious, and you can coax out the caramel with a little milk and sugar.

The dry leaves had a nice apricot scent which translated nicely into fruit flavor that lasted throughout the whole cup. The almond/amaretto was secondary, but detectable. That’s OK; I have terrible luck with almond stuff getting bitter, so less was more.

Good for a bedtime that I’m going to have to adjust to accommodate going back to work come Monday.

The new year arrived with a bang at our house. Lots of them, actually. For those of you who have not had the privilege of weathering a Midwest ice storm, there’s nothing like hearing frozen limbs slam onto your roof and praying that they don’t jab holes in your shingles. Come join us next time! (All appears to be well and the power lines held.)

I had already set this out to drink on New Year’s morning, but a little joy was especially in order after the lousy night’s sleep. Gifted to us by niece and nephew along with some other funny, random Chinese grocery items (smoked eel, anybody?), it was nicely and securely sealed, with big, rolled leaves.

According to my husband, who likes his oolong stewed to the consistency of mud, it “wasn’t toasty enough.” Sleep-deprived impatient steeping probably had something to do with that. However, I liked it just fine—it is does lean toward the wheat-toast flavor category rather than peachy-fruity. Perfectly acceptable second steep.

I like my citrus creamy rather than tart, and Basilur has nailed it with this lovely little tea. Vanilla smooths out the rough edges. My inventory is dwindling…time to sniff out some more.

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.