762 Tasting Notes
Found this one in the back of the tea drawer. I recall this came as part of my B&B subscription box a couple of years ago and I wasn’t too crazy about it then. I think I like it better now. Maybe because my sense of smell is at zilch so I don’t catch a lot of subtle flavors. Right now it is not at all sweet and I don’t get any pancake. But the lemon comes through with a tart little zing. Tart, not sour like hibiscus. I hate hibiscus, but I do quite enjoy this one. I still have about 10 grams left, so a few more cups to enjoy.
Preparation
I am continuing to use u0p my samples so I brewed this for last night’s evening cup. Like most fruit tisanes the color was very pale, almost clear. But the flavor was there. Almost sweet, with a little zing from (maybe?) the cherry and cranberry. I would happily drink this one again, but it won’t make it into any future order. Very glad to have tried it.
Preparation
Sip down! (is it a sip down if it is only a sample that can make 2 cups?)
This was my evening cup tonight. For the past several weeks my evening cup has been either peppermint tea or my Good Earth Sweet and Spicy tea. Those are both good teas that I enjoy, and the fact that they are bagged makes them convenient, but that can get a bit boring. As part of my spring cleaning I started to go through my tea drawer. Holy moly, how could I have forgotten all these lovely little samples?
This will not be a re-order, but I did enjoy it. Even with my lack of a sense of smell I got bready notes from this. As the tea cooled, it became sweeter and I got a little banana. I wonder if this one would be good iced? Anyway, as I said, I won’t be ordering any of this but I would be happy to drink it again.
Preparation
This was my evening cup last night. It is as close to an “Irish” tea as I have. That is, the box is green. ;)
Sometimes all I want is a simple herbal tea, and this is one I have very often. I suppose it is not an outstandingly creative tea, but that’s alright. I love a plain herbal mint tea and this one is perfect. Easily found in most grocery stores, a good price, a good evening cup.
Sip down! This was my evening cup last night. I am SOOOO ready for spring and this one sounded spring-y to me.
I enjoyed it too. A light fruity tisane hit the spot. And it has no caffeine to keep me up with this darned daylight savings time shift in the clocks :(
One of my favorite black teas is Golden Monkey. This is not Golden Monkey but I quite enjoyed it. It is not a superb, knock your socks off tea, but I didn’t get any bitterness or astringency from it. In fact, I found it very smooth.
I made a pot of it, heated the water to 200 F and steeped the tea for about 4 minutes. I used my homemade tea cozy to keep the pot warm, and it worked really well. The tea was still warm 60 minutes later when I poured my 4th cup. Instead of using a large mug I used my new tea cup from Hong Kong. It is truly lovely. The maker is Tenmokus. They have a wide variety of Asian styled cups with no handle, in different shapes, different glazes, and different price ranges. Most hold between 110 and 140 ml. I had always considered that to be far too small to hold enough tea, but I have now discovered that is the right amount. The cup doesn’t get cold before I finish it, and with a pot of tea I can refill my cup frequently. It was a lovely tea experience tonight. If you’d like to see what the cup looks like I put a link to it on my Instagram account. The makers can be found here: www.Tenmokus.com
Preparation
Sadness. I didn’t enjoy this cup this afternoon as much as I usually do. The flavor was flat and a little bit astringent. I hadn’t had that before, so maybe this was just an off cup or maybe the leaf has gotten to an age where the taste is now off. It was warm, though, and since it is windy and snowing this afternoon that was was nice.
Still one of my favorites! The mint isn’t as in-your-face as it is with a strictly peppermint tea. I like the bit of creamy vanilla flavor that smooths it out. Today was one of those days at work that make one want to walk out. Thank God for tea.
My nose is very stuffy. I decided to have this one last night. It didn’t help my nose much, but I still enjoy the tea. The wind has turned and is coming from the south. Even though it is 15F, it is darned cold with that wind at 26 mph. Normally my apartment is warm but when that south wind comes up… I have my thermostat set at 75 but it is 62 in here. I have checked all the windows, and they are all cold. It’s that darned wind. Hot tea is required.
I have turned one more page in my cancer journey. The chemo port was removed today. I am still numb from the shot (oh lord, that shot HURT) but having the port gone reaffirms that the oncologist does not expect the cancer to come back. I cannot lie flat for 48 hours. So I am going to find a beloved tea that I don’t drink often because it is too expensive or almost gone and drink a WHOLE POT to celebrate!
I think I’m a bit behind on some news as I haven’t been keeping up with notes, but fantastic to hear this great progress in your cancer journey <3 Definitely drink those favourite teas!
Definitely a reason to celebrate and to cuddle up with a blankie and cat!
Congratulations! :)
What great news, enjoy your celebration — you deserve it!
Congrats on your great news! My aunt is just starting radiation treatment in two weeks for breast cancer. Enjoy your pot of tea!
Hope your port incision heals quickly and that you enjoy the hell out of that tea!
Thank you, everyone! I am in some pain, but it’s bearable.
This was the last step for my cancer journey. I do still have regular colonoscopies, MRIs and oncologist visits to face for the next 5 years. I was diagnosed with stage 3c rectal cancer in July of 2020. I was told that many people with that diagnosis beat it, which made me realize that many do not. 5 months of bi-weekly chemotherapy and 5 weeks of daily radiation and oral chemo therapy helped shrink the tumor enough that surgery at the Mayo Clinic was successful. I was very lucky. Having the port removed showed that the oncologist doesn’t expect me to need it any more. Yay!
Always happy to hear (read) good news!
You summed it up in a paragraph, but that sounds like a long tough year. I’m glad you were brave and soldiered through it all and now have plenty to celebrate!
Yes, you are strong! Congrats on a happy milestone!
I found a straggler from my Etsy tea advent calendar! and brewed it up last night. I love doing tea advent calendars.
This one was good. Certainly drinkable, but the flavor was muted. It is supposed to have cinnamon, cloves, orange, lemon and lime, which sounds delicious. I couldn’t detect any particular flavor. Mildly spicy. Got no citrus. That could be the result of my faulty nose. Anyway, I enjoyed the cup enough to drink the whole thing .
The Etsy Tea Advent Calendar was worth the money I spent, which was around $29.99US. The presentation was lovely. Each bag was wrapped in high quality paper and attached to a foam snowflake. The teas were all from higher end grocery store type companies like
Ahmad and Eastern Shore. I did not find any tea that I fell in love with and had to order. The cost of the 24 tea bags did not come even close to the $30 price, but what you pay for with a tea calendar is the presentation and the fun of opening each surprise. The Etsy shop I ordered from is below:
We enjoyed A.C. Perch this year and Dammann Frères!
Paper and Tea wasn’t bad either. I was just sad with that few repetitions that were there. But tea was usually high quality and enjoyable.
On the other hand, it wasn’t much holiday themed in flavours nor in style.
Dammann Frères is my favorite!
I did the Palais Des Thes one last year and was able to find it online at Macy’s or Amazon or somewhere. From what I recall the tea comes in a muslin tea bag. I’d recommend that one and remember it being pretty affordable as well.
