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Sloppy Gong Fu.

Darjeeling isn’t something that I’d normally Gong Fu – but I was kind of curious about this one, and I was craving white tea so I thought it might work for something a little more informal before work today.

5 Seconds – 1st Infusion
- Sweet, thick mouthfeel
- Notes of hay, cream, malt, fresh flowers, and hazelnut
- Kind of a “sugar cane” top note

8 Seconds – 2nd Infusion
- Same but with astringency in the finish
- And more of a grassy body flavour

8 Seconds – 3rd Infusion
- A little brisker/more full bodied
- Dry hay, hazelnut, almond skins, grass, malt
- Some floral undertones
- Same astringency in the finish

10 Seconds – 4th Infusion
- Significantly lighter coloured liquor that prior infusions
- The taste was much the same, though
- Honestly? I’m not super into it but that could just be because I feel ill today too…

15 Seconds – 5th Infusion
- Got a little of its initial sweetness (sugarcane and hazelnut) back at the top of the sip
- But the body is very grassy
- And the finish REALLY astringent
- Reminds me of cough syrup; not in flavour, but in the mouthfeel of it after a spoonful

So, on that unpleasant note… I’m actually going to end the session.

To be completely fair to the tea, I feel pretty sick today so I don’t know if my palate is where it normally is and I’m definitely not in the same head space as I generally am, either. So, it probably wasn’t the world’s best day for Gong Fu. I really thought it might make me feel better though.

It just… didn’t.

Well, after I had measured out the leaf for this cuppa I moved over the rest of this tea out of the tin and into a sample baggie – which means a sipdown will be coming soon.

Today, it’s reminding me a lot of those Sweet Tart candies but with a very floral/rosey edge to the flavour. I think it’s likely the combination of hibiscus and lemon in the blend that reminds me of those candies, though. I do enjoy them though in moderation, and so as a fun, midday cuppa this ‘refined and elegant’ candy flavour IS working for me.

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozv4q2ov3Mk&index=1&list=LL1M1wDjmJD4SJr_CwzXAGuQ

Maybe you guys wont relate to this – but I think every summer you sort of just have that one song that really sticks out that you could play on repeat a dozen times and never get sick of. It’s basically your ‘Summer Anthem’ for the year, right?

I think last year my summer song was probably either Jenny or Bouncer by Studio Killers and this year I was kind of feeling The Hunna’s She’s Casual but it wasn’t sticking the same way that summer anthems usually do. Then my brother showed me this one, and fucking hell this is SUCH a good song. Like, it’s a fucking bop.

This is it – summer anthem 2017! (I just wish Big Sean’s verse was a little better)

Anyway; right now it’s REALLY suiting this tea. Particularly I think Katy Perry’s voice is really resonating with me and the candy like, fresh fruity flavour of the tea. Mmm!

From my mom’s BC vacation haul.

So Cloud Mountain is one of the places I personally requested that my mom check out, however unlike the other places I asked her to stop at this time I told her just to let the owner pick out a few of his favourites for me – I knew pretty well anything I ended up getting would be good quality, so I was open to trying whatever.

She got me a few things, but this is what she brought home the most of/what the owner has recommended the most, I guess? I was definitely excited when I saw it though! I love a good Sun Moon Lake; they’re always so smooth and delicious, and a perfect example of a straight black tea that’s really sweet and perfect all on its own: zero additives. I’ve yet to make one for anyone and have them not enjoy it.

Unsurprisingly, this was delicious.

I think it has a lot of the characteristics that I’m come to associate with Sun Moon Lake/Taiwanese Assams and my first few sips took me right back to my very first time experiencing one – from Butiki! Any tea that reminds me of Butiki is certainly magical in its own right…

Top notes: Honey, Raisin, Caramel, Sweet Potatoes, Vanilla/Tonka

Body notes: Malt, Dried Fruits/Stewed Fruits, Plums, Cinnamon, French Bread

Finish: Cocoa, and a bit of light and pleasant astringency…

I love these kinds of blacks because they have SO MANY different flavour elements to them; like literally more than a dozen unique flavour notes. All of them are distinctive, but they’re not competing with one another. Instead, they smoothly transition into one another and form this beautiful, fluid flavour that overall is really rich and sweet but with notes that are almost borderline umami. It’s so well balanced and put together!

Fuck, this was SO good.

Almost done with this one; which I guess is good because I’ve had it for a LONG time now.

For the record, even though I like the tea overall I don’t think I’d order it or any of the other sticky teas from Blue Hour again – I just find them really messy to work with, and there’s no way I’d want to move them into tins either: it’d be so bad for cleaning out when I inevitably finished them off. This has remained in the original bag I purchased it in since I got it…

Also, one of the things that’s mentioned is that over time these sticky teas can harden and that’s perfectly normal/common – BUT I’ve had this for well over a year, and it’s definitely NOT hardened. I almost wish it would, I kind of feel like that would be a little easier to work with?

Anyway – this cup was with a bit of added Butter Pecan Creamer, because I’ve just found this is a little too brisk and astringent for my personal tastes unless I soften it with some kind of milk based… thing.

I was perhaps a little too generous with the creamer though; with the agave already in here, this was REALLY rich/sweet. It did taste quite good though; like a spiced butter pecan. Tons of cinnamon and clove, and maltyness from the black base were all good compliments to the flavour of the cream. Normally, I think creamer is supposed to compliment the tea though and not the other way around.

Oh well.

I think since we’ll be heading into fall soon(ish) I might find it easier to finish this off; I don’t really love spiced teas, but I certainly drink much more of them in the fall/winter seasons.

Big thanks to VariaTea for passing more of this along my way, I really enjoyed it the first time I had it so it’s nice having it back around again! I think it may have even been my favourite of all the NecissiTeas blends that VariaTea sent my way?

I actually ended up sharing most of the sample that she sent though. I mean, I BIG part of me was just like “hoard it all; it’s for you and only you”, but it’s also one of those ones that’s so enjoyable that you just want others to experience it too.

I went over to my Dad’s for supper last week; my mom and siblings all went on vacation without me, and he thought it’d be nice for us to do something together even if it wasn’t as large scale. I don’t disagree – it was a really nice evening. Honestly, the best part was spending the afternoon hanging out in his massive garden. I know that I’d never have the patience personally speaking to maintain a garden but I feel so happy and at peace in them: they’ve got a huge vegetable garden where they grow their own tomatoes, green onion, beans, and cucumber, a MASSIVE raspberry bush, and a giant flower garden – all of which is on top of a fire pit and gazebo. It reminds me of my childhood growing up in Eyebrow, and many MANY summers spent in my Grandma’s garden.

And man, I picked so many raspberries. Both as a kid – but also last week. Enough for me to eat, to bring to the not-boyfriend, and give to some coworkers as well. Raspberries for days. After time in the garden, we had nachos with some of the veggies we’d just picked from the garden which was really awesome too. I just… The amount of time both my Dad and Step Mom put into that garden is insane, but the fruits (and veggies) of their labour? Well worth it.

Finally, it was time for tea! We had a really good Tuxedo cake, and I knew the cake was coming which is why this is the tea I picked for us to drink: I thought it would compliment the vanilla, chocolate (white and milk) and cream cheese in the cake super splendidly, and the whole thing would feel very decadent and well tied together. Which it did.

This tea is very rich and sweet; there’s just think really decadent and almost in your face vanilla and creamy white chocolate taste to it that reminds me of a mix of white chocolate bark from Christmas and also white hot chocolate – two things I kind of associate with the winter, but are just very good in general. I think though that despite being very sweet and full bodied/rich it doesn’t cross to a point where it’s cloying/too much: the whole thing is just really well balanced. The peppermint is of course a large part of that though; it’s really crisp/cooling in the finish and that cooling element of it cuts off a lot of the potential for it to be a little too sweet. Vanilla and mint is such a nice pairing in general too; so creamy, silky and smooth.

All of that stays true when you combine it with the cake: the chocolate of the cake meshes with the chocolate in the tea and they kind of become one big, synonymous flavour. The peppermint continues to be a cooling element/refreshing finish halting would could be interpreted as too much sweetness, and the cream cheese filling is just this nice little touch of flavour that differentiates the tea and the cake, and off sets the sweetness a bit in a different way.

Everyone loved it. It was a really great day, and great experience. Sharing tea with others is almost always just really pleasant…

Had a big, hearty mug of this last week – not coincidentally it was at the same time as I was making a pasta dish in which I had incorporated a broth made from a few of these mini bricks. The note for that will come at a later date, though…

This was good, as it generally is. I found it a little more salty/umami overall that it usually brew out but I also steeped it much longer than I have in the past because when I’m cooking I’m not a great multi-tasker, and things get forgotten about.

Aside from that more intense salty/meaty kind of flavour this was sweet as usual: a mix of more dark, indulgent black cherry, date, fig, and molasses notes with some raw cocoa tossed into that mix too. I know if I tried to explain to pretty well anyone other than the Steepster community the lovely, delicious combo that is wet earth, mushrooms, salt, and black cherries they would look at me like I was insane. It really does work so well though!

I’m glad I’ve grown enough, largely thanks to Steepster, that my palate has expanded to the point where I can appreciate that.

Iced, with a bit of honey just to brighten it up a bit.

So, I played a bit of a guessing game with this one. The not-boyfriend comes and visits me at work for 1/2 and hour on the days when I’m working in the evenings since it overlaps with his work break – and often when I’m drinking something that wont kill him I’ll let him try what I’m drinking. This time I wanted him to guess the flavour though, since this is primarily just the one taste note.

He absolutely could not identify it – which I mean, I wasn’t shocked by given the fact he just physically can’t taste well in general, and his palate is very… unrefined.

Finally after drinking like half my fucking cup of tea he decided this was “mango” and he would NOT believe otherwise when I finally told him what it was.

Anyway, our guessing game attracted over two of my coworkers who wanted in on it too. Both of them also failed to figure out that this was strawberry. Stirling was convinced it was some kind of green melon, and I think he was probably the closest overall. Not that strawberry tastes melon-like BUT the way he described the ‘green melon’ was maybe more in line with what I taste: “Like, a sort of underripe green melon – you know, the bit around the rind maybe?”. Since, to me, this tastes like under ripe strawberries with a lot of greener, floral flavour from the oolong base I think that’s kind of close.

Dani however was on the same page as the not-boyfriend and was pretty sure that it was some kind of tropical fruit: she threw out things like pineapple, lychee, starfruit…

I don’t know – it’s just strawberry, guys…

Hot, and Western again…

Even though I’ve only had this tea one time prior to this cup, when I brewed this up it had such a strong familiarity to it – the kind of familiarity that definitely extends past trying it one prior time.

The taste was nice; very smooth with a surprisingly thick and viscous mouthfeel. The taste was a mix of hay, delicate malt, stonefruits (peach/nectarine/apricot), and autumnal leaves. If I had to pick a more abstract way to summarize the flavour I’d say it tasted the way that jumping into a pile of freshly raked, crisp orange autumn leaves feels…

I liked it a lot.

Iced!

This was actually amazing as an iced tea! Like, easily twice as good (if not more) than it tastes when you brew it hot. Which is funny, because this flavour of teabag came out around Christmas and I can almost guarantee that the last thing they were expecting people to do with it was ice it…

It’s more maple-y as an iced tea, and a little smoother as well I think. I still has that kind of raw/unrefined maple and sap like quality to it too though; just not as strongly. The apple is really pleasant too; after that initial wave of sweet maple it comes through in a very refreshing, crisp way. Since there are spices in this, the ‘cider’ element still isn’t lost but it’s also just a nice clean apple flavour too. You know, a balance between.

It’s kind of funny – I was SO into this one that I very nearly passed it to the not-boyfriend so he too could experience it. It was only when I went to tell him the name of it that I realized the problem…

“It’s Maple App- Never mind… It’ll kill you.”

Stupid allergies.

Drank this one yesterday at work.

It tasted exactly like it normally does to me, which is to say it tasted delicious. I’m close to needing another restock of this one – again. It feels like no time has even passed since I last ordered it!

Somewhat funny story though; some customers overheard a conversation between myself and a coworker where I was talking about this tea and describing the rice flavour. They looked so turned off by the idea of rice in tea…

If they only knew.