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So my birthday was on Sunday and it was a pretty shit day thanks to my family. Luckily though, I always have my friends, both my real life ones and those I have made here on steepster. Seeing as my family neglected to even get me a single birthday card, it was especially nice when a lovely blue and white box arrived Monday evening from my amazing tea twin, Roswell Strange!! She sent me a tea book, lots of tea samples, a giant bag of one of my favorite rooibos blends, and an amazing pickle birthday card that sounded oddly like a cross between your typical old jewish man and my own dad. It really put a smile on my face so thank you so much Roswell!!!

Anyways, after the events of my birthday, my family decided that they just weren’t going to talk to me for a couple of days which meant I tended to stay in my room, cut off from my tea and my kettle :(. Today they started talking to me again and though it isn’t exactly a warm welcome, I can at least feel comfortable enough to make myself some tea so that’s what I did.

I decided to go for a matcha because I haven’t had one in a while and I thought it might be fun to dump it into my milk frother and see what happened. I wanted a warm drink though so I tried to choose a dessert flavor for an after-dinner treat but I also aimed for something that wouldn’t be weird hot. This seemed like it should fit the bill so I pulled it out of my birthday box, courtesy of Roswell Strange, and whipped it up (literally I guess as that’s what the frother does :P).

Unfortunately, this matcha + warm, frothy skim milk has led to a drink that is much, much more pie than berry and not in a good way. It has almost taken on a yeasty/buttery type flavor like undercooked pie crust. I can smell the berries but I’m not getting much of them flavorwise, though every now and then I get a dose of cinnamon which I can’t decide if that’s good or bad. Anyways, as a hot cup, this is not for me but heres hoping that the berry comes out more in a cold brew.

In other news, one good thing that happened Sunday is I just happened to break my kindle while my dad called to wish me a Happy Birthday. Granted, the breaking my kindle part sucked as I have basically been reading a book a day for the past two weeks (though it still functions, just now I have a sad button that makes it a little troublesome to browse/buy books) but since it happened while I was talking to my dad, he offered to buy me a new one for my birthday. So now I am in research mode trying to decide if I want the Kindle Voyage or the Kindle Paperwhite. If anyone has an opinion, I’d love to hear it!

Sil

ugh. Sorry to hear the family was sucky.

Anlina

Happy birthday! Sorry your family was jerks.

Roswell Strange

Sorry to hear your birthday went poorly :( Glad I could make it a little better though – and I’m happy you liked the pickle card. It was hard topping last year’s.

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Sil

ugh. Sorry to hear the family was sucky.

Anlina

Happy birthday! Sorry your family was jerks.

Roswell Strange

Sorry to hear your birthday went poorly :( Glad I could make it a little better though – and I’m happy you liked the pickle card. It was hard topping last year’s.

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My cupboard has grown exponentially since joining this site and I have a lot to share. Feel free to snoop through my cupboard and message me if anything interests you – I am always happy to swap!

For me, flavored teas are definitely my sweet spot. I will most often reach for black teas and rooibos or honeybush blends but I do keep some flavored whites and greens around for when the mood strikes. I have a few herbals/tisanes but most of the time I find myself disappointed by them as they often smell deliciously sweet and then end up tasting tart/sour. I have a little bit of an aversion to pu’erh and oolong teas. I am also wary of florals, earl greys, and chai teas. I do not like overpowering citrus flavors nor do I usually like hibiscus, licorice or chamomile. I love dessert teas – caramel, vanilla, toffee, cookie, cream, and other sweet flavors make me smile. Fruits like strawberry, peach, mango, and pineapples will often catch my attention as well.

I have also realized that although I really enjoy adding frothed milk to some of my teas, if I do not like the tea with zero additives (just in plain water without milk or sugar), I probably won’t drink it. The one exception is flavored matchas which I will happily drink in cold milk if I do not like it mixed with hot water. My theory is if the tea can’t stand on its own then it is not for me and I will more than likely try to swap it out for something else.

Tea Ratings Guide (as of December 10, 2017)
90-100 Teas I NEED on hand at all times
80-89 Teas I want to keep around for a cup every now and then
70-79 Teas I am glad I have around and can experiment with but probably don’t need more than what’s in my cupboard
60-69 Teas I would not turn down a cup of from a friend but that would probably be enough
50-59 Teas I can see why someone would enjoy but are not for me
Under 50 Teas I really did not like and most likely got dumped

Location

Waterdown, Ontario

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