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Overnight cold brew for work! Something like 13 hours?

I missed the bus today, so I had to hustle to get to work on time (I just made it). Thankfully I live a reasonable distance away, but since I had planned to bus it and take advantage of my monthly pass I didn’t leave myself much walking time.

When I did show up I was really parched though, so the majority of this was chugged almost immediately after arriving. It was the perfect thirst quencher and, if I may indulge in a horrible pun, ‘absolutely’ amazing tasting.

Yeah – that really was horrible. Sorry.

But really, I love that this one is just simple, straight forward and delicious.

My second go at a “tea cocktail” type vodka drink, this time with adjusted amounts. Instead of 2 tsp. of tea, I used a tbsp. to cold brew and only about a shot and a half of vanilla vodka. I also let this cold brew for slightly longer before straining it.

The smell of this one is incredibly rich and delicious; seriously the almost pudding like caramel aroma is very intensely emanating from my cup – no smell of vodka at all. As far as the taste goes, I think this is more of a success than yesterday’s cup (but maybe that’s because I’m using a tea that I enjoy a bit more). The “burning” sensation of the vodka is less strong, and the vanilla/caramel is very rich and flavourful.

It saddens me a little how much leaf this used of my precious Creme Brulee blend – but I’m very happy with the results! Even Tre remarked that it smelled really good. I think the next one I want to try is Blueberry Jam in the Wildberry Vodka…

Made up for work! By the time I got to it, it had mostly cooled down in the timolino. I guess it was sort of “Lukewarm(ish)”.

Work went very smoothly today; no problems with anything during the shift or with cashing out/doing paperwork tonight. We even got out a little bit early. Morningstar, my coworker who is also a Keyholder, and I make a very good closing team (closers are always two keyholders); not that the other keyholders aren’t good at closing. It’s just that she and I have a rhythm and set of strengths/weaknesses that really compliment one another.

Anyway – this was super light on the bergamot, but that didn’t mean it was weak in flavour. The cream/fruit elements were very strong in this mug! Although, disappointingly, the fruit was mostly a generic “berry” kind of vibe – not expressly blackberry. Still, I very much enjoyed this mug and the switch up from the usual flavours I experience with it.

Cold Brew: I’m still trying to find a replacement for my beloved Coconut Grove and this was the next tea up in the list of potential replacements. All in all, I think it cold brewed for about 15 hours?

Going into this cold brew I knew this blend would have a place in my cupboard either way. It’s really good hot!

However, this actually made for a really good cold brew. It was weird, I really got the “pudding like” filling quality that made it almost believable that I was eating ‘pie guts’. And then the crust like, almost “graham” component was exaggerated as well. I really, really enjoyed this as a cold brew and I will totally have it that way again!

Now, down to the real business… Is it a good Coconut Grove replacement?

Well, both were/are amazing, but although they both include coconut as a main ingredient I really don’t find them that comparable. Coconut Grove is incredibly light and tropical and this was a bit heavier and much more dessert like. So, I guess my search still continues…

The other morning cup I’m enjoying with my extra, unexpected time. It’s nice having a few hours to kill before work. Usually I just get up maybe an hour before I start work for the day, and I typically spend that time getting ready for work; showering, making my lunch/supper for when I’m on break, brewing tea for my shift. And then I walk to work.

But anyway; I brewed this up extra strong and the resulting tea was extra good! It feels…

Serendipitous.

I woke up several hours before I needed to get ready for work today feeling completely rested, which was very strange. I swear, that never happens. It’s nice though; it gave me time to enjoy some TV, and to make a few glasses of tea – including this one.

I’ve been using this matcha for matcha soda, but I decided today to try it in cold milk instead. It’s not a flavour I would automatically associate with milk but I figured it’d make for an interesting enough drink, and I recalled that Keychange had tried it that way and not hated it – so why not?

Honestly; it was far from bad. The watermelon came through and there wasn’t any negative juxtaposition between it and the milk, which is always a concern pairing fruit and milk together. It was pretty candy like, honestly. Then again, this is also candy like as tea soda too.

I think, maybe, I prefer it in the soda form? However I’d drink it in milk again if I was looking the shake things up in my “matcha routine” – mostly what I have in cold milk are the dessert flavours.

Surprisingly good.

Mmm!

This cup is very refreshing, and super tasty. It’s like this perfect combo between refreshing, almost melon-y, cucumber and sweet mango! It’s definitely a “spring” tea – although today didn’t really feel like Spring; it was snowing really heavily all afternoon.

I think cucumber teas are something I’d want to keep exploring…

My first “tea cocktail” type thing. I think I may have used a bit too much vodka; it’s really strong! Though, I’m new to this so I know some experimentation is definitely in order.

Basically we’re looking at: 2 tsp. of tea (no bunny grahms; I thought it’d be weird to steep them in the vodka), two shots of straight vodka, and a splash of wildberry vodka.

And you know what, aside from the pretty intense/strong vodka (which is burning my chest a bit) this isn’t that bad. The Ruby Pie is surprisingly present despite the powerful taste of alcohol; if I were to serve this to my roommate I can pretty much guarantee that he’d taste the strawberry in it. Maybe the rhubarb? That’s a little less clear, though. I think the wildberry vodka in this maybe cancels it out?

Of course, he wouldn’t like it because he hates strawberries… But he’d taste it!

I feel so very “adult” drinking this.

I’ve tweaked my measurements a little, and I now have a cup of Vanilla Vodka and DT’s Creme Brulee going the the fridge. Maybe I’ll have that one later tonight?

Sipdown (169/171)!

Home from work it feels odd to be home this early, and I decided to take advantage of the fact that the only cold brews I currently have going are vodka shots. So I took my empty mason jar and made a pretty flowering tea!

Last time I had this one, I don’t remember being impressed with the aesthetics of the bloom – but maybe I just had a crappy bloom because this one is really pretty! It had a fair bit of colour to it, and the tea liquor itself has steeped up into this very pretty “blush pink” from the hibiscus.

The tea flavour? Well, it’s still pretty much very light hibiscus and a more vegetal “leaf” kinda flavour – which isn’t the best combo for me personally. That makes it easier to let go of this one. I think I’ll have to go back to McQuarries sooner than later though to nab a few more blooms to experiment with though; they’ve got a pretty fair variety to choose from.

I hope both Cavocorax and VariaTEA have success with this one!

Also I’m going to plunk this adorable video of fancy rats doing cool tricks, for anyone interested. It’s super cute! Although, it’s really making me miss my fancy rat, Eloise. I didn’t write about it when it happened because I was really upset, but she passed away about a week ago. It wasn’t totally unexpected because she’d been sick for a long time, but it still wasn’t easy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7g2rxtWu_FM

I especially like “Famous” – she’s just really precious, and her little beady red eyes are too freakin’ cute!

In a timolino for milk, with a tiny splash of milk.

I just could NOT resist having this one, again, so soon after trying it. I think I’m really falling in love with this Pu’Erh (a phrase I thought I would never say). I feel highly compelled currently to go pick up a nice tin for it, and another 50g. I want this is substantial quantity…

But I should probably wait until I have it a few more times before I make my mind up on that. I don’t want to rashly by a new and exciting tea in a large amount; I’ve made that mistake before!

I get the impression this would resteep really well; I hardly ever resteep blends because I want to enjoy as many teas in a day as possible, but I’ll probably make a special effort to try and resteep this one.