Roswell Strange Send Message

I’m so pissed at Tre right now!

He just got in from Siast, and his first question was “what kind of iced tea do we have in the house?”, to which I answered that there was some prickly pear brewing and about a cup worth of Tropicalia left. I told him he could have the Tropicala if he wanted and he then proceeded to head over to the fridge, grab the Tropicalia and dump it down the sink! WHAT THE HELL!?

I basically screamed my head off at him and he sorta just innocently went “I didn’t want it”. THAT DOESN’T MEAN YOU DUMP IT DOWN THE SINK!!! I would have drank it, I was just trying to be nice and offer him some because that’s what a nice roommate who is in a good mood from getting 35 teas in one day does! Ahhrrgg! It’s limited edition, and one of my favourite teas ever. I might not ever get a chance to buy it again because it was seasonal! Such a freaking waste.

Anyway, this is one of the samples I purchased today from Janelle. It’s a blend I’ve been curious about since learning of Della Terra but I was hesitant to place an order for it because what people seem to love about it is the sweet, cakeyness where as I would want it to be very cakey but also very much full of pineapple (and most people seem to think it’s lovely, but comment on a lack of pineapple). So, the idea here is to sample it and then determine that way if it’s something I’d want to order as part of the Black Friday sale.

So, steeped a level tsp. for 8 oz. of boiling water for 3
min. 30 seconds…

The colour is actually really light for a lot of the black teas I’ve been drinking lately (and any of the Della Terra black teas I’ve ever had). Maybe that’s because typically Della Terra uses their measurements for 6 oz. cups (smallest cup size I have is 8 oz., though). And the smell…

It’s just SO good and heavenly and indulgent and delicious. However, all of that is coming from the CAKE aspects, and I’m getting no fruit which is what I really want. Boo. Sipping at it now, and I think this is honestly the best cake tea I’ve ever had. There’s clear notes of brown sugar and a very creamy taste to it. It’s like eating the brown sorta layer of an Angel Food cake: the sweet and soft ‘crust part’ that I used to pick off the outside and top of the cake as a child.

Still, I can’t help but be a little dissappointed because while this is delicious I feel like I was promised pineapple sweetness and now I feel like this is sorta lacking without that. MAYBE part of the missing flavour is because the small sample portion I bought didn’t actually contain any pineapple bits (although it did contain cherry bits). I do get some fruitier notes in the very back of my mouth in the tail of the sip but nothing so distinct I’d call it pineapple or cherry. Sigh…

Maybe I’ll throw in a 1 oz. sample pouch into my Della Terra order and see if I can pull more pineapple flavour out of the tea by actually using leaf with pineapple bits. At the very least I’ll have a delicious cake tea to occasionally sip away at.

Errghh. So conflicted. It’s good – but not what I wanted or was hoping for.

EDIT: I let the last quarter or so cool for a while, and I definitely get a more clear pineapple taste this way.

Well balls.

Janelle just got here, and after adding in all my samples I purchased from her I’m now at 94 teas – which is the most I’ve ever had, with tons more on the way still. I have so many choices, and no idea what to dig into next.

Thankfully, after trying one of my RiverTea blends I had already started making this one (have to try something from each package, after all) so that makes the current decision much easier. After this, though, I think I need to tear into my Della Terra samples next so I can decide what I just need to pick up during their Black Friday sale. So, that leaves four Della Terra samples to finish (or at least try once) within a day and a half. I can do that.

Anyway, I stuck to the package instructions for this one. With the limited amount of Butiki teas I’ve tried – Stacy’s steeping instructions have yet to steer me wrong. Dry, the leaf for this smells quite like natural unprocessed maple (which I suppose it is). I feel like a lot of teas that try to recreate that sort of “maple syrup” kind of maple go WAY too sugary and sweet – but this smells just right. Sweet, but not overwhelmingly so. A gentle maple sweetness if you will. The pecan also comes through in smell, to me a bit less than the maple though.

Taste wise – this is a very gentle cup with delicate flavours. When the tea first met my lips I got some very slight citrus notes that were quite present and even though in the initial sip you do taste maple and pecan, the flavours from the two don’t really feel like they start to “set in” until you’re swallowing – and then your mouth is left with this very rich maple pecan taste, with the pecan really being the star in the end. Super creamy and smooth and just perfect – like I imagined it would be. I like that about Butiki teas: they live up to your expectations (and often exceed them) in my experience.

I think this is a perfect tea for when you want something sweet but not overpowering. I think this will be the perfect tea for when I’m in the mood to just have a quiet and relaxed evening, like now. Just sorta simply perfect. I have no reservations – this is going straight into the blue oolong tin that Tre bought me yesterday as part of my “gonna have to keep restocked” collection of teas.

Can’t wait to resteep :)

EDIT: The resteep was still very good – I feel like I got more citrus and pecan notes and less maple. Ultimately, though I think I liked the first steep better.

This is the first tea I’m trying from the teas I won in RiverTea’s “what would you do for 100g of your favourite tea” contest. Although, it was really hard to pick out of the five teas they sent me. This one, along with two other cherry teas, was a sample size and then I got what I’m guessing is 50g each of two different teas: a mango vanilla black (which I just totally love the name of) and a mulberry white. Admittedly, I think I decided on this one because when I opened my Butiki order up the first smell I was hit with was the very intense smell of the lychee in the Lychee Oolong that I ordered.

I took a few pictures of everything as I was opening the package up, and just a few moments ago uploading everything to Tumblr. This is the link if you’re curious:

http://guyfierithirdandfinalantichrist.tumblr.com/post/68299190362/pictures-of-the-tea-i-recieved-from-the-tea

Personally, I love the packaging. Everything is beautifully packaged and has a very personal and humble feel to it. It get the impression everything was put together with time, attention, and care. My only complaint would be that the teas I received in larger quantity have no listed ingredients or steeping parameters. For Boatsman, the mango vanilla black, I can sorta just stick with the parameters on the two black samples I received but for the mulberry white I’m going to have to do a bit more guess work.

Also, I can’t believe a company with a mulberry tea would pass at the opportunity to name it something fun like “Pop Goes The Weasle” :P

You have to see the opportunity and then seize it! I love teas with fun names – it really makes them stand out and, personally, it draws me in more when I’m shopping online. If I see something like “Mango Black” listed on a website I’m less likely to click on it for additional details than I am to click on something like “Boatsman” (I just really love the name of this one, for whatever reason, so it’s my example tea right now) so I can find out what’s in that blend. That’s part of why I love DAVIDsTEA so much: a lot of the time their blends have really fun names.

Anyway, dry this tea has a very light and subtle lychee smell. It’s somewhere in between the realm of artificial and natural smelling, but leaning more towards natural. I’m so determined to find the perfect lychee tea – so I do have high hopes (especially for a tea named “The Tea of Kings”).

I steeped 1 tsp. in boiling water for three minutes, as per RiverTea’s steeping guide. As it steeped, the aroma got to be significantly stronger. As it’s brewing now, the lychee doesn’t smell artificial at all and the black base smells a lot more strong and bold.

Here are a couple more pictures:

http://guyfierithirdandfinalantichrist.tumblr.com/post/68302362032/the-tea-of-kings-lychee-black-tea-blend-from

Sipping at this slowly now; the black tea base is the first flavour present each sip. It’s strong and bold – so I get the “of kings” comparison. There’s also ZERO bitterness and astringency: this is a very good black tea base that goes down quite easily. The black tea taste then transitions quite smoothly into this very sweet and lush lychee taste that reminds me of eating straight lychees. The lychee does NOT taste artificial or perfumey to me, which I’m so thankful of. This delicious fruity tastes lingers for a very, very long time in the aftertaste which really allows you to draw out each sip and take your time enjoying every last bit of the cup.

I’m really enjoying how this is very rich and flavourful and gives the impression of being complex without actually relying on a large variety of ingredients to create a huge taste profile. Often times that translates into a very overwhelming and overly complicated tea. This is simple and I appreciate that. I don’t think I can call it the “perfect” lychee tea, and it’s not the best lychee tea I’ve ever tried in general – however it IS the best black lychee tea I’ve ever had, and by a long shot too.

So as a first tasting of RiverTea I’m very impressed!

EDIT: As it cools down, the lychee gets even more intense and flavourful which just makes this SO good!

EDIT: I take back my complaint about lack of ingredients lists/no steeping parameters on the two larger amounts of tea I recieved. Apparently I just wasn’t looking hard enough: both the steeping parameters and ingredients are listed on the bottoms of the tins.

Well, depending on how you look at it, I’ve had a really good tea day and a really bad tea day…

I got up literally three hours ago and since waking up I’ve added 21 teas to my cupboard – and the day is not yet done. I’m expecting to meet up with Janelle today and purchase the samples I wanted from her tea stash which shall add about ten more teas to my cupboard. Yikes!

So, after waking up the first thing I did (after checking steepster, of course) was catch the bus to the mall so I could go to the bank to take out my rent money and the money I’ll be owing Janelle for the teas. Of course Tea Desire is in that mall so I had to stop in to, if nothing else, say hi to the sales ladies and get a tea to go. Of course, in addition to having this as my tea to go, I walked away with 50g each of two mores teas (Prickly Pear, which I think will be excellent for cold brewing, and Brasiliano which is a mate that smells SO indulgent).

I had this on the bus ride back home, and I have to say I was not totally impressed. Shelby, my favourite sales lady, said this was a favourite of hers and highly recommended it, so I took a chance but I’m glad now that I only got it as a tea to go and didn’t purchase any.

Taste wise, the black tea base had a very chemical taste to it that I just couldn’t shake. It was super present and it ruined any other positives this tea had. I’m wondering if a shorter steep time would reduce the harshness of that chemical taste, but I also did allow it to steep for exactly the time that Shelby said she liked it best.

There were positives, though (just sadly out weighed by the harsh chemicalness)! The vanilla that managed to come through was very smooth and natural tasting, and the grenadine was sweet in a way that wasn’t cloying like I’d imagine a grenadine tea to be. It almost but not quite reminded me of a Shirley Temple.

When I got home, I saw that in the 40 minutes I’d been gone I’d recieved not one, but two parcels of tea! My order from Butiki had come in, and I’m SUPER impressed by how quickly that made it to me. I definitely was not expecting to get everything by Black Friday. Also, Stacy was super kind and added an extra sample to my order (Irish Breakfast)!

And, the package from RiverTea which I won in their “what would you do for 100g of your favourite tea” arrived today as well! Considering it was coming from Berlin and mailed out less than two weeks ago I’m also very impressed by how quickly it got here, and seeing as I’m one of five people to get to ‘pre-try’ their teas I definitely opened that one up first. All the packaging looks beautiful, and they even sent me this super cool steeper shaped like a musical note! I took some pictures of things as I was opening the package up, so I’ll be sure to link them in my first review of their tea. It’s neat because I can definitely see how they picked teas for my to try out based on the flavours I told them I’m interested in! It feels super personalized and I’m incredibly thankful!

Now the only problem is what to have first…

My day started off so poorly, but somehow it managed to end in the best way possible! Catching Fire was SO FREAKING AMAZING (not gonna lie, I cried so much: I get way too emotional watching movies – and OH the sexy that is Sam Claflin had my heart racing the whole movie…)

Actually, earlier in the day right before leaving to go to the movies I got another parcel in the mail! This one was from LovelyLotus and I’m very excited to try out the teas in it: especially Coconut Grove. I’m kinda peeved though – Tre ended up trying that one before I got the chance (I’ll elaborate later in the note, though). Also, I wasn’t able to find the extra tea you threw in so I added it to Steepster myself, but if you know how it’s listed (and happen to see this) it would be awesome if you could point me towards it! I’m quite curious to try that one too…

After adding all that into my cupboard I went off to the movies with Robyn! Like I said earlier, the movie was SO AMAZEBALLS! Everything was perfect and everything hurt. I cried so much, I laughed so much, and I’m so excited to see how everything else unfolds (I have read the books though – I know how shit goes down, just excited to see it on the big screen). Debating rereading the series now…

I brought this tea with in a Timolino. I can’t resist David’s “challenge” on the tin to sneak this into the theatre (although I wasn’t too sneaky about it – I pretty much openly carried it in and I definitely openly drank it). Actually, this is the second time I’ve drank this AT the movies. First time was watching Mortal Instruments, coincidentally also with Robyn (but in Regina).

For prep. I used 1 tbsp. of leaf in my timolino steeped in near boiling water for about 4 minutes. It smelled heavenly: nice and buttery, just like it should be. At the theater, I actually downed half a large bag of buttered popcorn before breaking out the tea – and I can say having had both the tea and actual theater popcorn in close proximity (also having worked in a movie theater for over a year and eating a lot of/becoming very knowledgeable about popcorn) the taste is pretty close to bang on. Maybe it’s in part due to my over exposure to actual popcorn, but I think the tea form is actually better.

The blend I have is pre reblend where they included a butt ton of maple flavour – so it’s nice and buttery popcorn and very light buttery green apple tasting. It’s a GREAT flavoured green and one of few I keep stocked. I’m really hesitant to try the new maple version, though. Change is not always good…

On the bus ride home I was really shocked! I didn’t expect it at all, but Tre (my roommate) got on the bus at the same stop as I did, right after. Apparently he had gone to see Catching Fire too, and I’d just had zero idea. What was more shocking, he had a DAVIDsTEA bag with him too. I’d run into him on the bus after he’d gone Christmas shopping for me. I’m actually still laughing a little trying to imagine him in the store actually buying tea.

He said he tried a sample of Gingerbread and really liked it, and I pointed out that I have a 100g tin at home that I’ve been telling him he needs to try but he’s been refusing to because “it smells spicy”. Yeah…

Anyway, he said he might as well give me my present now since it wasn’t a secret. I think, considering he typically pays zero attention to what I’m saying in regard to tea, he did a pretty good job buying for me… He got me two coloured tins: the blue oolong one and the red rooibos one. If he listened he would have known I’m super specific about the tins I use: blends that are actually from DAVIDsTEA go in silver tins (if they’re blends I plan on restocking) with the DAVIDsTEA labels and the little coloured sticker tab that catagorizes them. Blends from any other tea store that I plan on restocking are labelled by hand and go in coloured tins associated with their tea type based on the DAVIDsTEA colour system. I’m sure they’ll get filled though – I have a large Butiki order on the way which includes rooibos and oolong blends and I’m sure there’ll be at least one of each I’ll want to permanently stock.

The other thing he bought me was 50g of Choconut Oolong: that means I now have about 190g of choconut oolong. Thankfully, unlike many others, I really like it. Hopefully I like it enough to drink 190g of it. It’s funny, he said he remembered me talking about how yummy it was (so it’s thoughtful he bought me some because of that) but somehow he doesn’t remember me specifically having him smell it like six times and each time having him proclaim it to be “the worst tea he’s ever smelled”. And, he doesn’t remember my saying that Robyn was coming over to specifically have it – or talking on and on about my excitement for “Nutella” tea, or my telling him about getting 100g for free after doing a random act of kindness and giving a to go tea to a homeless man outside the mall… Yeah, it’s a tea that gets talked about a lot at home.

So, I guess if anyone wants to try a bit I have some to spare?

Then when we got home I gave him his Christmas gift early (a Doctor Who calendar) and offered to make him tea. This is where the Coconut Grove from LovelyLotus comes in. Of course he asked for that one – and I haven’t had the chance to personally try it. But, I had said he could have anything so I made some for him anyway… He was patient enough with me to listen to me rant about the steeping parameters and to actually follow them. I think he felt my pain about not being the first in the house to try it. Dear God did it smell amazing… Can’t wait to try it tomorrow. Maybe in the morning for breakfast.

Anyway, this is a long tasting note and I stopped talking about Movie Night a while ago, so I think I’m going to end here…

So, my day started off really shitty but thankfully it seems to have full turned around! I’m so pumped for tonight and seeing Catching Fire with Robyn since (and I don’t want to jinx it, so knock on wood) everything seems to be going my way!

First, my unexpected shift at work went by SUPER quickly and I had a really, really good hour or so conversation with the manager at the yogurt bar near my kiosk. Turns out she’s a huge tea fan too, and not just the “I’m strictly familiar with DAVIDsTEA” and “OMG TEA CAN HAVE CHOCOLATE IN IT!?” type of tea fan either. It was super cool getting to talk to someone in person (other than Robyn, of course) about tea and use all the ‘lingo’ and not have to ‘dumb down’ the way I was talking.

And then, walking home, I thought about the possibility of there being one of the swaps I’m expecting in the mail today possibly. That cheered me up, and although I didn’t find anything I was expecting in the mailbox I did find something I wasn’t expecting! I didn’t even know she was doing anything like this, but the angelic Lala was SO super kind to send me a totally surprise holiday card with a tea sample in it! Gah! The kindness and generosity on Steepster is just too much, and I really really needed this unexpected gesture of kindness today to make my day better! Thanks so much Lala and Merry Steeping and Happy Sipping to you too (and PS. the card is SO FREAKING CUTE)!

Then, on top of the other things that are going good, the cut on my gums that’s been giving me so much displeasure it healing up super quickly and nicely – and I’m totally going to credit sticking these Lipton tea bags in my mouth as the reason! It’s really nice to be able to drink tea without it hurting me doing so.

Lastly, and maybe the best thing of all, my dear friend Renee talked to me today! This might not seem like a big thing, but she’s been my BEST friend since 8th grade, we worked at the movie theatre together for nearly a year and she’s just so special to me. Sadly, the last few months before I moved I was going through some really bad depression and we grew apart and then, after moving to my new town, we completely fell out of contact despite my spending my first month and a half hear trying to talk to her. I was told from several people (friends and former coworkers) that she had grown to hate me the last few months before I moved, was happy I was gone, and no longer considered me a friend. That was a huge blow, and sorta sent me back into a depression (which I’ve been doing so much better coming out of this last month). So, it’s a BIG DEAL that today she messaged ME out of the blue and actually started catching up with me (and we’re now making amends). I’m quite literally crying tears of joy. Pure fucking joy. This was ALL that I needed to completely erase every little bit of shittyness that it feels like has been dumped on me since moving.

It’s SO SO SO good to know that I haven’t lost my best friend. Everything feels good now, and I feel like I’m going to be ok and I just felt like I had to share that. Steepster has been amazing for me and amazing in giving me a group of truly caring individuals to talk to and share a passion with. Just, what a great turn around to an awful starting day. I truly feel blessed.

Urghhhhh…

I’m so close to snapping. I feel sorry for the next customer who dares do something stupid like interrupt me to ask some stupid question mid sale. I know that’s poor customer service, but you have to understand that today was supposed to be my first day off in fourteen days. Did you get that? FOURTEEN FUCKING DAYS. And, instead of getting to sleep in and relax and be lazy I got a phone call from one of my employees and SIX IN THE FUCKING MORNING saying she couldn’t come in today because she was sick. Of course none of my other employees have the damn availability to fill her shift so that leaves me.

I’m grumpy and super pissed – my nerves are fried and every part of me feels sore. I needed this day off. But I guess I’m not allowed to have nice things… The one thing I’m thankful for, though, is that at least the shift I had to pick up doesn’t overlap with my plans with Robyn to see Catching Fire tonight. I need me some Finnick Odair (mmm, sexy Sam Claflin) and time with one of my only friends in the city.

Anyway, obviously a mate was the tea of choice this morning. With how exhausted I am and all the frayed nerves (I swear my right eye keeps twitching every couple minutes, and then the rest of the time it’s taking all my effort to even keep my eyes open) and energy boost seemed like the perfect idea. And, this is my favourite Mate, atm.

It’s nice and tropical today, but especially “earthy” and mate tasting today too. For prep. I used 2 tsp. for my 12 oz. timolino steeping in boiling water for six minutes. I’m thinking maybe taste wise I should have opted for a shorter steep time – but ‘added energy benefits’ wise I’m happy I went with a longer time so as to leech out all the good mate energy I could.

I really wanted to make myself black tea, but it also happens to be nearly 1 AM so my options for that were really limited (didn’t want the caffeine). Thankfully I bought this decaff bagged tea not too long ago. I looked at the box, and my thought was instantly “Ooh! This will be perfect with a splash of milk: great for ending the night on”. It wasn’t until about half way through steeping it that I realized I don’t have any milk in the house…

D’oh!

I’m going through my cupboard right now, trying to figure out how many teas I’ll have after my 52Teas and Butiki orders come in (both of which are placed), I receive all the swaps I’m expecting, and I get my Black Friday orders. It’s gonna be a really significant increase. I am limiting myself in regard to Black Friday, though – the only places I’ll be making orders are Della Terra and Butiki (second half of what I was gonna order with my first order). If Harney & Sons would have had a killer sale that applied to Canadians, I’d probably be placing my first order with them though… That basically covers the bulk of what’s on my shopping list atm.

I’m wondering if I could get down to 50 teas if I REALLY pushed to sipdown the few samples I have left. Of course, that’d never happen if any of the swaps I’m expecting arrive before Friday. Hmmm…

Anyway, this tea is good tonight – though I am disappointed in the lack of milk. I’m trying to price out my Black Friday orders and it looks like there isn’t enough on my prepaid visa card to cover them both, which means I’ll be using Tre’s credit card. Usually I give him cash equivalent to what I’ve bought, but our deal this time is that what ever I spend goes towards groceries/rent.

I love the smell of this blend so much! It seems kind of festive/seasonally accurate too – though not totally sure why. The only other blend that’s REALLY put me into the seasonal mood scent wise as much as this is David’s Gingerbread. That one smells heavenly too. Taste wise, for whatever reason I’m getting apple notes buried under all the vanilla, cinnamon, and clove. I didn’t get that last time – but I’m not necessarily complaining about getting that this time either.

Also, I’m very thankful Tre wasn’t home from work sooner this evening: I was watching Supernatural and had this ‘totally smooth move’ where I got distracted by something going on in the show and missed my mouth taking a huge gulp of tea. I literally (and I mean literally) poured half a thermos of tea straight onto my chest and all over my lap and the couch. Thankfully, my laptop was on the coffee table next to the couch and not directly on my lap (that could have been a horrid electronics disaster otherwise), and the tea was iced and not hot. But not a totally fun experience.

Using this again not technically as a tea but just sticking the teabag straight into my mouth to ease the pain of my aching gums (which have been healing up nicely from being cut open since I started doing this these last two days). Eating plenty of sorbet helps too, I think.

Anyway – pseudo sipdown! Although, not on this tea. Tomorrow I’m gonna go see Catching Fire with Robyn and I’m also gonna take the opportunity to unload a whole bunch of unwanted teabags on her, which I’ve got all packaged up now. So, good riddance to Bigelow’s English Breakfast, Bentley’s English Breakfast, Earl Grey, and Raspberry, Anisa Tea’s Persian Tradition, and Lipton’s Lemon Lift.

I’d throw these bags in there too if they weren’t getting a practical use as a “gum healer”. God, doing this makes me gag. It’s like drinking sewage water and yet getting positive health benefits from it.

Maybe I’ll take going to the theatre tomorrow as an opportunity to sneak a Thermos of DAVIDsTEA’s Movie Night into the theatre (again)…

Decided to revisit this one today – and I’m also making it a sipdown since after making my Timolino full of this I sent the last bit off in a swap package. I figured I’d revisit it since I had relatively fond memories, but I doubted that I’d enjoy it enough to ever really get around to drinking up the last of it. I’m sure it’ll be better appreciated where it’s going…

For preparation, I steeped 1 tsp. in my timolino with 80 degree celsius water for two minutes. The tea liquor was a pale green yellow like last time – but this time for the quantity of water I used significantly less leaf so I’m expecting the taste to be a bit lighter than what I remember (thinking maybe that’ll ease up on any unwanted vegetalness). I can’t really judge anything from the smell: my timolino seems to have picked up a permanent “white chocolate” creamy type of smell from the White Chocolate Frost I had in it (although I’ve managed to get the lingering taste of that tea out).

Taste wise, I’m fighting through a little bit of bitterness. I guess the steep time I used was too much. However, once I fight through that kinda bitterness the result is a somewhat creamy kind of spinach/cucumbery taste. Not too bad. I think I’m gonna try and hold onto my initial memory of this though: I remember it tasting better that first time. The after taste here is quite pleasant though – and even though there’s vegetalness it’s not in a “seaweed” or “grassy” which so I’m not completely turning up my nose on this one.

I don’t drink straight greens often if ever so sometimes I forget you need to use a very ‘light touch’ with most of them – but over all I think both memories/tasting in mind (edit: I just went back and reread my last tasting note on this) I’m happy with my rating and satisfied with my decision to pass it on, though glad I took the opportunity to try it one more time.