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Having a tough month caring for my Pachinko kitty. She looks so healthy… Her fur is still so silky soft and she continues to groom herself but I know that she isn’t feeling well. So hard to believe that a vibrant healthy cat has cancer spread all over her body in a matter of months. :( The oncologist told me recently to let her have her little quality time left before putting her down since she is still eating and drinking well. It’s a difficult time for me as I am closer to my pets than people. I think it’ll be some time this month. The second that her palliative meds aren’t working, I’ll call an At Home euthanisia so she doesn’t have to be scared in an unfamiliar place and then I’ll send her to be with my other kitty Fushi who I lose 2 years ago. Thank you again for all your supportive words.

I really liked this tea. Warm, comforting. Cocoa, almonds, very slightly grassy for a yerba mate. I drank it with one of my bombilla sets. So kinda like grandpa style, using 170F (my typical temperature when I drink Yerba Mate) and filled it up all day, no timing… Etc. Many yerba mate have a very strong flavor but not this one. I felt the cocoa and almonds shined in this one. Highly recommended. Thank you Derk!! :D

I don’t know. Sometimes certain tea actually tastes like paint thinner. I don’t know why but this is one of them, unfortunately.

Forgive me for not being around the past 8 days. I found out that my beautiful kitty Pachinko, a siamese longhair mix, looks so healthy. but had a little cough, so I brought her in to see the vet. The X-rays saw something scary in her lungs. A few days later, she had a full-body CT scan. She has cancer that has metastasized in her limbs, shoulders, back, and lungs. The oncologist told me that the prognosis is very poor despite her chubby and healthful appearance. I’m giving her daily steroid shots, and medicine to add palliative care. Once she shows ANY sign of pain, I will send her to cat heaven where she can be with my beloved Fushi who died 2 years ago. I can’t tell you how devasted I am. I am not even over Fushi’s death.

And so it goes…

:(((((

So I love buckwheat tea. Always buying all kinds. This company makes one with cocoa grist so I decided to try it. Let’s just start that the aroma is utterly intoxicating. The chocolate aroma is similar to someone is baking cookies. I can’t get enough of the aroma. The taste is equally as good and it isn’t sweet. It’s chocolately. I mean, real chocolate notes not an “Am I just fabricating the taste in my mind?” type of chocolate tea. The cocoa goes so well with buckwheat.

I tried to find other makers of a similar combination but the only one is this one and it is from Russia. I have bought 3 or 4 bags of it because I always want it around. The kicker is… I don’t even like desserts but this is so good, so comforting to me and it is good for me.

I like ginger teas and this one tastes exceptionally good. Ginger notes are present but definitely not overwhelming. Sliiiightly spicy, sliiightyly tangy. I brewed it over a slice of TeaVivre dried lemon. I thought it had a great balance with the citrus notes but since I like things sourer I prepare it this way now. It is a refreshing drink and energy lifting. I bet it would be great as an ice tea.

After the banana fudge, I tried this one. Now this one is a winner. Can clearly taste the apple, slightly tangy too, with cinnamon, sweetness (but not sickenly sweet at all, tasted more natural type of flavoring), and yummy caramel notes. This one is a keeper.

Like Dustin, I’ve tried to coax the flavors out of this. I do taste the banana but it’s extremely light. Not sure if it was my imagination lol. I tried boiling water and cold brew overnight. I do not taste a hint of fudge. :(

Added thoughts. Having this today. This one is far better, in my humble opinion than the Yunnan Sourcing one. It is so citrusy, fresh, clear taste, unlike others there is barely any earth notes though if that’s your thing… Blahblahblah. :P I already wrote about it twice before I believe.

Having it grandpa style, with a slice of TeaVivre’s dried lemon in it. Yummy.

No funky taste. Citrusy, mushroom, earthy, fruity, and citrus rind notes. Bought this years ago so it’s longer than 4 years aged ripe by now :P. I don’t like camphor but this one has very mild notes of it so it is nice. It is slightly sweet, a little bittersweet. Super dark reddish liquor with a mixture of tangerine and earthy aroma. Having it grandpa style. I put it in a glass mug, rinsed it with boiling water, and have been drinking it today. Sometimes these types of teas taste a little too medicinal for me, but this one does not. It’s very mellow. ^^

After the last few days of drinking gyokuro, I wanted to switch to something more mellow. Mandala Tea sent me this sample (2021 Silver Strand) and it is one of their few teas that I haven’t got to try.

Prepared it in a 150ml silver gaiwan with 160F water. I put the entire bag in (maybe 6 grams?), after a 10s rinse, I did 5 infusions total beginning with 15s infusions and adding 15s to each subsequent infusion.

I really loved the way the wet leaves smelled after the rinse. There was a tart, tangy smell of artichokes, asparagus, maybe melon. The liquor was transparent light yellow. The smell of the liquor was about the same but just very light compared to the wet leaves.

The taste was very pleasant. A pleasant sweetness, and creaminess to it. As I went through the infusions, there was a very slight bitterness towards the end but not much, it stayed a good cup till the end. It has a soft mouthfeel, so creamy on the palate and ends with a little bit of a dry tongue. Super delicate umami, vegetal notes. Fruity melon notes every now and then, light mineral notes. Flavorrs of tangy artichokes, asparagus throughout.

Not disappointed. I drank those 5 infusions so fast. :D

Man, it sure feels good to be able to drink any type of tea again and not worry about my tummy. lol ^^