Shae Send Message

This is quickly becoming one of my favorite black teas. I love the chocolate aroma.

I haven’t been logging as many teas lately because I feel like I’ve been drinking the same ones over and over. It’s my first time to try this particular tea though so here we go. This is the first Yogi tea I’ve seen that actually has tea in it. My husband had a cup and absolutely loved it so I’m trying it today with a little honey and cream. It’s bitter but I let it steep too long so I’m sure that’s on me. The honey helps to tame it. But it’s more like a bitter root than a bitter tea so it may just be one of the ingredients. The flavor is good, though there is not as much chai spice as I had hoped. The description says this tea energizes without the jittery side effects but I actually do feel a little jittery.

Yogi Thought of the Day: Live through consciousness, not through emotion.

Consciousness: the state of being awake and aware of one’s surroundings; the fact of awareness by the mind of itself and the world.

This Yogi quote is actually quite relevant at the moment. We’ve started doing yoga these past three weeks (our yoga “practice”) and our teacher has really been stressing being mindful of our bodies and staying connected and grounded. I’ve also been reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin and thinking not only of what will make me happy but also of what will make me a better person. Yoga is one of these things. Taking care of my body through yoga, eating healthy (green smoothies!), and basic care is becoming more important to me as I get older. Also on my list, learning patience and finding kindness again. Reconnecting with my faith and my church. I think it’s just coincidence that this falls around the new year as I’ve been working toward these goals (one at a time) for the past few weeks. I want to be a good person, the wife my husband deserves, and a kind and supportive friend to those around me. I’m being mindful and making it happen. Words have weight and I am trying to focus on speaking them with awareness and not just mindlessly.

My first thought when I opened this pouch was dark chocolate. It actually smells just like chocolate syrup! I just placed it. That is insane! The leaves are long and twisty and varying lovely shades of black and gold. The steeped liquid has turned a beautiful deep red color. There is a little bitterness to it but also creamy chocolate.

Second Steep
8 ounces water + 205 degrees + 19 minutes

This cup is just as dark as the first. It’s not quite as flavorful but it’s still a decent second cup.

I made several bags of mixed Christmas teas last week for a work potluck. This one was included in the bunch. I had a few of these leftover so I put them in a bag and threw them in my purse to drink later. I obviously wasn’t paying attention because when I opened the bag today it smelled of peppermint! I must have gotten my bags mixed up because I also had white chocolate peppermint tea bags last week. I went ahead and steeped it today and now it seems fine. I was worried I had ruined it. I won’t rate this one based on today’s cup since I contaminated it, but I will say that it tastes lightly smoky. I had a cup of this before, when it first arrived, and thought that the flavor was far too light. I steeped longer this time I think so it is more flavorful.