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I was originally planning on grabbing the orange matcha I have to make into a tea soda, but after seeing the mess that Tre made with my Eggnog matcha I ended up pulling that package out to try and clean it up, and just winded making myself some of this instead. Part of it, I think, was that I realized I had already enjoyed two orange teas today so I kind of wanted a switch up anyway.

So, I made this into a tea soda! Weird, I know. I’ve never heard of an “Eggnog Soda” but something in me was sure it’s be worth trying. So, I used a tsp. of matcha dissolved into about an ounce of hot water. I then poured a can of club soda into the water bottle I was dissolving it into (I have issues drinking matcha when the flavour is something that isn’t meant to be green, and eggnog definitely falls into that category).

The smell is very strong. A distinct eggnog smell. Taste wise, it surprisingly works. The only thing that’s especially weird (you know, other than the carbonation) is that is doesn’t have the thick, creamy mouthfeel that I associate with eggnog. The taste is pretty bang on for eggnog though (albeit with some green tea taste in the aftertaste that is a little undesirable).

But no, I think this was a good experiment. I’d actually very likely drink it again – especially if I had Christmas baking to go along with it like I currently have next to me (eggnog soda and gingerbread!). I really, really enjoy using matcha for tea soda! Once I figure out some flavours that I just can’t do without, I’ll have to make an order so I can make this a more regular thing (I still have pineapple matcha to try out using this method – so I’m quite hopeful about that)!

Urghhhhhh! Tre’s out right now, but I’m really fighting the urge to tear into him when he gets home. I went into the freezer to grab some orange matcha, and noticed that all of my matcha had been moved around from where I was storing it. It took me a second to notice, but apparently Tre decided to make himself something using the Eggnog Matcha that I have.

How do I know? Well, I cut a very small corner of the sample package the first time I used it and then tightly rolled it up and put the sample package inside a second air tight bag. However, upon checking the matcha sample pouch is now widely torn open inside the second bag which has been carelessly sealed and has tons of air in it. The matcha itself is also all over the bag and it looks like about half of what I had left in it is now gone. That’s about a tablespoon. HE USED A FUCKING TABLESPOON OF MATCHA FOR A CUP OF TEA.

Like, I wouldn’t have minded if he’d made himself some – I typically welcome him to drink whatever he wants in the house (Lord knows there’s too much for just me), but clearly he was careless in doing so. I don’t even know if he gets how to make matcha. Clearly he doesn’t know the measurements. And what really bugs me is that he doesn’t even LIKE eggnog. I bought a whole jug of the real stuff for Christmas and he wouldn’t touch it.

Anyway, this is the second tea sample that TeaTiff included with Day #2 of the 12 Days of Christmas exchange. It’s from a shop local to her, and dry it just smells amazing. It’s juicy and clearly smells like tangerine, and there’s a lovely floral quality to the smell too. I just love trying things that are local to people, and lately I’ve tried to include things from my local shops in swaps. Anyone can place an order online, but it’s really neat get something that would be very hard to acquire outside of in person at the store. Does that make sense?

For preparation, I used the whole sample (Teatiff’s brewing guide said between 1/2 to 1 tbsp. so I went with the large amount for a large cup size) for a 10 oz mug, steeped with boiling water for 1 minute. It’s quite odd looking at the tea because visually it looks like a black tea, but really it’s made with fermented white tea leaves. That’s really interesting to me, and I think the first time I’ve tried anything like that. In so far as the smell, it’s it’s juicy, floral oranges. Yum!

Taste wise, I was expecting to taste tangerine first, but was actually hit with notes of nut and a sweetness; honey perhaps? Natural, unrefined honey that is. Don’t worry though, I got the tangerine right after that! It’s very natural, and the floral quality translates beautifully into the taste without tasting chemical or perfumey or anything negative like that. It’s truly lovely, and very relaxing which is a feat considering how pissed I am at Tre and the present moment.

I’m so, so sad this is a sipdown! That’s the downside to trying hard to acquire local things I suppose – if you fall in love it’s hard to get them back. Seriously, this tea is stunning and manages to flood your whole mouth with an array of flavours that are delicate but full! Thanks so much TeaTiff! The two teas you sent were stunning!

On the 2nd day of Christmas Steepster gave to me two turtle doves…

Ok, so it’s not the second day of Christmas, it’s the third – but alas this one didn’t make it in time for me to drink it on the 2nd, so I’m happily enjoying it now! It’s been a while since I had a basically straight up orange and cinnamon tea!

I really love TeaTiff’s explanation for why she picked this one: basically it was that the two turtle doves is significant of a long lasting relationship/couple (she explained it much better, but I don’t have to piece of paper with me), which is super cute!

For preparation, I’m using 1 1/2 tsp. of leaf for 8 oz. of tea, steeped with boiling water for five minutes. TeaTiff suggested adding a bit of sugar, but I typically try my teas straight the first time, so that’s what I’m doing now. I do have enough leaf left for another cup so maybe I’ll have the second cup with sugar, whenever that winds up being. The steeped smell is a nicely balanced cinnamon and orange combination. For the orange, it’s a bit more like an orange rind than a juicy orange. I sort of smell cloves, as well.

The taste is a decently balanced cinnamon/orange/clove combinations. Orange rind is definitely the right descriptor for the orange. It’s just a little astringent, but altogether not that bad. It definitely seems a little seasonal; I can’t see myself reaching for something like this in the summer. Maybe in the fall. I like it though! It’s not something I’d personally keep stocked, but I wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to try it again, and I’m really glad I have enough left for one more cup!

Thank you TeaTiff!

Sidenote: It’s been a little over three weeks since my Della Terra order from Black Friday shipped, and I’m still waiting for it. The wait is killing me! Is anyone else in Canada still waiting for theirs? My first Della Terra order made it to me in about two weeks, so I’m getting a little bit impatient. I just hope it gets here before I leave to Regina – there are a few things I wanted to take with me on my trip…

Another sipdown (146)!

I actually only got this one today, in a package from VariaTEA! She had it in the “take it away” thread, and I took the plunge to try it out since it’s something I would never buy myself due to the raisins in it, and a one cup amount of it wasn’t making a “big commitment” to it if I turned out to hate in.

So, I made a timolino full of it using the whole sample: boiling water, steeped for 5 minutes. The liquor was a very bright, vibrant red! The smell went from a lightly fruity cinnamon kind of smell (similar to Forever Nuts) dry to a very fruity smell with just a touch if cinnamon.

Taste wise: Holy tartness! This is really sour, which is not what I was anticipating. Honestly, it was mouth ‘puckeringly’ sour. Once you get over the sourness of the liquor, there’s a cinnamon taste and a nuttiness reminiscent of Forever Nuts. But balls, so much tartness.

It’s not even the raisins in the blend that’s getting to me; just the hibiscus overload and all the the other tangy fruits. There’s no balance, at all. Glad I tried it, but probably not ever again…

Thanks anyway VariaTEA. You were super kind and included some other samples anyway, so one of those will probably be more to my taste.

Sipdown!

This one came from the samples I bought from Janelle! The first time I had it was hot, and I really didn’t like it too much, so for my last cup of it I decided to try it cold despite my not really liking Earl Grey teas cold.

So, the last little bit of the sample (just over 1 tsp.) in boiling water, steeped 6 minutes or so. This was poured into my water bottle, and now I’m drinking it cold. Honestly, it does taste better cold despite my thinking it probably wouldn’t. The Bergamot is very light and there’s a cacophony of floral notes, Jasmine being the foremost. It’s perfumey, but less so than it was hot.

Thanks Janelle for the chance to try this, though I’m not disappointed this is a sipdown. I am happy I found a way to enjoy this just a bit more than my first time having it, though!

Sipdown (143)!

I’ve transitioned to teabag mode. This one was an extra add in from the oh so generous VariaTEA who noticed that I have a thing for Stash brand teabags! I was a little hesitant about trying this one, to be honest. I had a really bad experience with DAVIDsTEA’s Red Velvet Cake: it just tasted horribly artificial and generically sweet and yucky. This one looked like it had good ingredients though, and I have faith in Stash – so brewed this one up tonight with decent enough hopes!

So, 1 teabag for 8 oz. of boiling water, steeped for three minutes. The smell is divine: chocolate, and caramel, and cream cheese icing! Mmm! I took an extra long time just smelling this one before sipping, just in case the taste was awful. However, it’s awesome. I get lots of Cream Cheese icing with a rich chocolate and caramel layer of notes underneath. I bet it’d be super good with milk, which of course I don’t have at the moment… Boo.

Anyway, thanks so much VariaTEA! I’m sad this is a sipdown now, because my faith in Red Velvet tea has been pretty well restored. I’m gonna have to go hunting local grocery stores for this: it’s one of few Stash teas that my local Safeway doesn’t carry.

Sidenote: Does anyone on Steepster play Cards Against Humanity? I really want to play it right now, but all the games currently running on Xyzzy have really weird expansions added in…

Back to my Butiki teas now that I’m feeling much better! I’ve been trying to figure out which ones I just ‘need’ to take with me to Regina for my trip. It’s gonna have to be a balance between taking what I want to drink and taking stuff I feel comfortable sharing, since I know my Dad is gonna want to try new things (especially from companies other than DAVIDsTEA). Ugh…

I think I’ll need to bring at least 30 teas, in varying amounts.

Anyway, dry this smells rich and creamy, with just a subtle vanilla cheesecakeyness to it. Very sweet and smooth, with just a touch of chocolate notes. I’m very excited to try this one out!

For preparation, I used 1 1/2 tsp. of leaf leveled for just over 8 oz. of near boiling water, steeped precisely three minutes. Tea liquor is a nice amber colour, and the smell is a mildly earthy black base with some creamier vanilla notes; nothing profoundly “cheesecake”.

Taste test! First thing I noticed was a bit of astringency, and the dry feeling it left in my mouth. However, right after that I took a few more sips and got more of a sweet taste; kind of generic. It took some hunting, but if I take a big enough sip and let the liquor sit in my mouth a while, then I get pretty close to a simple vanilla cheesecake flavour in my mouth as part of a short lived aftertaste. I get Irish Cream a bit easier than cheesecake, though.

I’d really like to try this with milk or cream, but all we have in the house at the moment is eggnog so I’ll wait until there’s milk again before I have it next. My first impression, though, is that this is a nice enough black tea with some sweetness to it, but not something I’d jump at the chance to order again, so likely not a reorder. I’ll continue experimenting, though.

Second work tea! Drank it at work, but logging it at home now.

I brought this one with to give me the needed energy boost for Boxing Day sales! It definitely did its job since I managed to stay alert and focused all day. In fact, the day even seemed to go by super quickly too, despite my being there for over nine hours (though I guess constant texting probably helped keep my distracted too).

Just average as far as taste goes: nothing new to report.

Also, Tre’s home now! He came back with enough money to pay rent which is SUPER good since he took time off work for his trip. He also brought me back some food! A bag of black jube jubes, a Terri’s Mint Orange, and some other stuff too! So yay for that!

Also, since we had our Boxing day sale today, I bought a teapot themed calendar for 2014! So, I guess we have two calendars now in the house: Doctor Who and Teapots! I really want to take pictures of mine to show you guys though, they’re just beautiful and elaborate tea sets that I desperately want.

And now I’m starting to plan out what teas are gonna come with me to Regina. I’ll be there two weeks, so I want a good variety of things…

EDIT: And day two of the Christmas tea exchange never made it to me. I’m kinda disappointed about that, but fingers crossed it shows up tomorrow along with Day #3 and I can do them both in one day. At least I haven’t seen any ‘spoilers’ about what the day was, though!

Making a note for myself to drink this on New Years; it’s the only “themed” tea I really have for the day! Maybe I’ll try it as a tea soda so it’s more ‘bubbly’ (laughing at my own horrible, horrible joke). I honestly think that might be good, though!

Anyway, made this for the day to take with to work! It’s Boxing Day, which means plenty of self centered shoppers and returns and refunds and the like. Ick – no thanks, I’ll pass. Except, I’m the manager so I can’t pass – instead I have to be here all day. This was my sweet treat and comfort tea to myself, to make it all better.

For preparation I made two separate cups with 1 1/2 tsp. of new leaf for each. Cup one was steeped in 80 degree Celsius water for 1 min. 30 seconds – and that was the plan for cup two, but instead I got distracted by the fact my rice was burning and this steeped for about four or five minutes instead. I poured both cups into my water bottle hoping they’d even out, but they only kinda did.

Taste wise, it’s the normal sweet currant taste but there’s just a hint of “cough drop” taste to it that’s not normally there. Of course, it’s totally my fault and not the tea’s. It’s not a horrible medicinal taste: more like the sweet cherry Sucrets which I always hoped my mom would buy me when I was sick instead of Halls. Those things were good, as far as cough medicine goes.

So ultimately, not so bad and still pretty good – just not the normal hundred I typically feel with this one. More like a high seventy or low eighty. Totally my fault, though.

Backlog?

I made a timolino of this early this afternoon to take with to my Aunt Nancy’s for Christmas dinner (hoping it wasn’t rude to bring a thermos of my own tea). I wanted to continue the pear teas so this one was next up!

I’m so glad I wasn’t feeling sick today, because my Aunt is an amazing home cook and I didn’t want to not be able to eat anything especially after she’d thought of inviting me over for Christmas so I wasn’t alone, even though we’re not too close. Turns out I did end up passing on a lot of the main meal. She’d forgotten I’m strictly vegetarian and made turkey…

But not to worry! She also made a totally vegetarian meat loaf dish, so I could have that! Except, the main ingredient in it was mushrooms and I have a severe mushroom allergy. The evening kind of went off and on like that: we’d be having a great time and then something would ruin it.

She invited me over for Christmas, but then the meal was something I couldn’t have. But not to worry, she’d made a delicious dessert and plate of home baking to take home with me! She went on for a solid HOUR gossiping about my mom’s failed relationships (and having no sensitivity) and my other Aunt’s, but then she Skyped them and I got to talk (sorta) face to face with everyone whom I haven’t seen in months! She wanted to play Jenga some other games, but then she kept this up for hours and I couldn’t leave. See, I don’t drive so my Uncle had picked me up to bring me over, and was also my way home: but you can’t just walk out when your host who is having so much fun adding things on to the evening is the one bringing you home…

And then, finally the evening culminated with hers wanting to watch The Devil Wears Prada, which kept me there several more hours. It’s a really good movie, though & everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves throughout it which I was surprised about because my Aunt and Uncle are decidedly and painfully homophobic and there’s an assumedly gay character in the movie. That’s a bit of an uncomfortable area for me to be stuck in, given that I’m not straight. I thought things were going well, but as soon as the movie was over they just went on and on about the “faggot” character, and I just had to silently sit through it.

It’s mostly a generational thing, I feel. But anyway it all worked out I guess with (mostly) no harm, no foul. They did keep me there so long I didn’t have time for my last pear tea of the day, so I’m a bit disappointed about that. I’m home now though, and can finally sleep and I still appreciate the effort to make a nice home cooked meal for me, and the games, and the fact they’d thought enough of me to have me over so I didn’t have a lonely Christmas. Family can be stressful sometimes, though. I hope everyone else here on Steepster (really, just everyone in general) had a lovely Christmas and no dreadful family situations to contend with.

EDIT: OH! The tea!

This was the first time I’ve ever had this blend hot (normally it’s a cold brew, for me) so I figured it’d be quite different. And I was correct in my thinking. For preparation I used 2 tsp. of leaf steeped in my 12 oz. timolino with boiling water for eight minutes. There were two whole rosebuds in the leaf I used, and the steeped colour was a pale pink.

Taste wise, it had very tart and kind of sour notes initially. There was a strong presence of kiwi and what felt like sour watermelon candy in the initial bit of the sip, and then that kind of mellowed out to a sweet and juicy pear/kiwi tastes with floral rose notes for depth. It was good, but a little “high strung” in the initial sip for my liking. Glad I tried it hot though, because now I know that the best way for me to enjoy this one is cold brewed like I’ve been doing: it’s got a whole different taste profile that way.