With my not-buying-teas ban, I will eventually run out of new-to-me teas to write notes on, so it will also seem like I’m not on Steepster as much either (I’ll still be around!). Maybe everyone is just drinking older teas they’ve written about before?
Thanks for sharing this, Cameron B! Only one of the seven B&B shop blends left to try. This is my first tea with bee pollen. Cameron was not loving the bee pollen. I thought it couldn’t be as bad as she described… But no, it’s not tasty. What is the purpose of the bee pollen? Google tells me it’s a brain booster, helping focus, and lifting brain fatigue. Those are nice qualities anyway. And I have no idea why I brewed this particular tea today, a tea with anything called ‘POLLEN’ in it. My allergies were driving me batty last night, even though: 1) it rained tons, 2) wasn’t windy, 3) no one around here mowed I don’t think nearly enough pollen is out yet. I have chronic dry eye, so with allergies, it’s not fun. Believe me, my pollen allergies are torturous all summer long. Anyway, the flavor here just seems like bee pollen. Bee pollen does smell and taste like wet dog hair, as Cameron mentioned. Not a flavor I want to be drinking. I was really looking forward to a fruity green tea. I wouldn’t say this is very spectacularly fruity. But wow, there were clouds of bee pollen in this mug. They go from bright yellow pellets in the pouch to wispy pollen dust in the mug. It looked like a tiny hurricane. The second steep is less bee pollen and slightly more tart from the hibiscus and rose hips. Not a golden mug like the first cup, but pink. Not my favorite from B&B. At least I know to avoid their bee pollen blends.
Steep #1 // 1 1/3 teaspoons for a full mug // 30 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 32 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
This is You :-D
Profile
Bio
Hi! I love tea and trying new ones – it adds a bit of variety to my day! Books, music, TV & movies are my thing… and tea, of course.
Some of my favorite tea shops (still operating):
birdandblendtea.com
teavivre.com
52teas.com
svtea.com
whisperingpinestea.com
justea.com
harney.com
Dammann Freres
fusionteas.com
Javateaco.com
Lupicia
Octaviatea.com
Davidstea
eco-cha.com
what-cha.com
singleoriginteas.com
teasenz.com
tealyra.com
Mandala
verdanttea.com
Favorite tea shops (RIP):
butikiteas.com
steapshoppe.com
steepcityteas.com
aquartertotea.com
dellaterrateas.com
zentealife.com
angrytearoom.com
theteamerchant.net
joysteaspoon.com
tealiciousllc.com
Rivertea
Specialteas
My icon photo is Richard Mayhew from the graphic novel ‘Neverwhere’ by Neil Gaiman, Mike Carey & Glenn Fabry.
Most of the teas listed in my cupboard are actually sample sizes. I don’t really have 2,000 ounces of tea around here! Many of my teas have only one teaspoon left… maybe two. But I like keeping them in my cupboard list for reference to what I could be sipping. Usually, I write tasting notes once for each tea. I’m still drinking them, just not writing tasting notes each time!
I’m always in search of: Hattialli, Qu Hao black, Jin Jun Mei, teas using marshmallow root.
My dislikes: hibiscus, ginger (unless in chai), turmeric, bee pollen, charcoal type flavors
My ratings:
95-100 – Super awesome deliciousness favorites – cupboard essential
80-95 – Also pretty delicious
65-80 – Pretty good
50-65 – Okay
1-50 – Probably won’t want to sip it again
I’m planning on being a Steepsterer as long as there IS a Steepster, so if you’re not hearing from me, that means something happened to my health… if you know what I mean. (Or as evidenced by the great computer hiatus of 2019, something happened to my computer… I have a dumb phone so can’t access internet on that. As of 12/20/21 my wifi might start getting unreliable.)
Happy sipping!
Location
USA
I definitely write notes on every tea I drink, old or new. Often the teas I’ve written about previously get a more cursory note; first-time reviews may be more detailed, but it’s hit or miss as to whether I remember enough to write more!