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So this has been steeping for over an hour. In fact, it steeped for so long, my whales went back to black :(. Unfortunately, this can be oversteeped. It is coming off peppery in this cup, though that is a result of my prep and not a reflection of the tea. Nonetheless, I still have a lot more of this to prep properly so thank you Dustin!

In other news, how is it that when you cross the border, fat free whip cream goes from being 30 calories to merely 5 calories?

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Thank you Allie for a sample of this blend. I have actually tried it before and really enjoyed it. It is the Harney version of Glitter & Gold which is one of my favorites so it was nice to get another cup.

So I woke up yesterday at 10 am and started writing a paper. I finally finished that paper today at 3. For those counting, that is about 29 hours solid of starting at my computer and writing about genocide. I finished with an hour to spare, which I planned on using to have a cup of tea. only my printer decide to be difficult and so I had to spend time fixing that which meant no tea for me.

Then I took my paper to class and as I was walking out, a classmate stopped me to talk which made me realize I might have done the paper incorrectly. A paper worth 50% of my grade so that is not good. However, there is nothing I can do now so I am not going to stress.

And if that was not bad enough, I ended up stepping a huge puddle with my converse on so I had to walk the 1/2 hr home with a soaking wet foot.

Oh and steepster is glitching again. Luckily though, nothing seemed to go wrong with this tea, courtesy of the wonderful Sil. It has the tiny hint of spice, a touch of fruitiness, but the most prominent flavor is the base which I am actually really enjoying today. It is a more mellow cup that is good for any mood as opposed to a more bold and powerful flavor. This is not one I would have chosen myself but it is one I would definitely have again so thank you Sil for sending me such tasty treats :)

Back in November or December, my tea sharing partner, Roswell Strange, sent me some of this tea after the smell alone made her nauseous. However, that package never found its way here and now it is lost somewhere in Canada. I wasn’t too sad given Roswell Strange’s reaction to the tea and yet I was still intrigued as to what it tasted like. Now, thanks to NayLynn, I got a chance to sample a cup.

It actually is much better than I expected. There is a hint, a very subtle bit, of peach sweetness which helps to balance the flavors of the hops (which are certainly the most prominent component of the cup). Not bad, though not necessarily for me either. It is an interesting cup to have once but I am not too heartbroken that it is the only cup I will have.

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Thank you NayLynn for a sample of this tea. Tbh, I am on the fence because it smells amazing but my sips alternate between an awesome vanilla bean flavor and an astringent black base. It is actually quite weird because I just don’t know what I am going to get with each sip. Would I purchase this? No, probably not. Would I have another cup? Yes. But for now, I am happy to just cradle the cup in my hands and sniff this aromatic cup.

I really like this! Thank you Sil for sharing as this is one I overlooked each time I checked RiverTea’s site (which is often). I imagined it would be more Pina Coladaesque I suppose, or maybe I feared the coconut might get a bit lotiony like it tends to do in rooibos teas but this is just a nice, juicy, tropical tea. Very, very good.

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In contrast to the Tiramisu matcha I had earlier which was slightly short of 1/2 a tsp, I had just over 1/2 a tsp of this left. I dumped the whole thing into a glass and made myself some maple syrup matcha milk. Sipping on it now, I probably should have saved the excess to combine with something else at a later time because this is a little vegetal (think maple syrup sprinkled on grass). This is not the way I wanted my time with this matcha to end but c’est la vie. Nonetheless, I am glad I got to try it so thank you Fjellrev (and Sil) for providing me with a sample.

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Thank you Roswell Strange for the sample of this tea. It is certainly a pleasant cup, one I would not turn down, however I don’t know if I would want to commit to 50 g of it as there are other teas I would reach for first.

Nonetheless, sipping on it now, I am enjoying the flavor of red fruits. I don’t know if I would say “cherry” per se but it is definitely in the ball park. Plus, I am pretty impressed that a cherry rooibos manages to completely avoid tasting like cough syrup or medicine – a feat not easily achieved it seems.

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Thank you Fjellrev (and Sil) for the sample of this tasty matcha. I actually had just under a 1/2 tsp left so I added a touch of French Vanilla since that seemed appropriate (and easier than having to unwrap my Belgium Chocolate). The end result is a really delicious combination of mocha and vanilla creaminess. I think the two combined has actually helped to bring out each individual matcha as this seems to be more aromatic and flavorful than when I had each matcha separately. Interesting…

First tasting note – so much pressure.

First off, thank you so much NayLynn for sending me a whole package of this tea to enjoy! I tried the original Marshmallow Treat in the bestsellers sampler pack and fell so in love with it that I ordered a whole pouch of the stuff. Then when S’mores Genmaicha was reblended, I got that too and enjoy that a great deal as well. Consequently, when this tea came out, I was so drawn to it because I love every component (Strawberry?Yum! Marshmallow? Delicious! Genmaicha? Mmmm!) and yet the cost to ship one package could not be justified. With that said, I am eternally grateful for your kindness :)

Anyways, when I got NayLynn’s swap package, my plan was to wait to open this until I got through some of my other genmaichas. That plan clearly went out the door. I didn’t even get a chance to smell the dry leaf in my excited though I will say the brewed cup smells 99% of strawberry and 1% of roasty-toasty goodness. Sipping on this tasty tea reveals a different story as the genmaicha is the more prominent flavor while the strawberry is present but subtle. All in all a very good cup.

And now I am looking at Peanut Butter Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha…