Donovan Blend

what a clever blend.
both sweet and strong at the same time.

i drank this on friday evening, right before leaving work. so i’ll admit it was days ago and i was a bit distracted at the time.
so hopefully i’ll add more notes later when i drink it again soon.

as of yesterday my very good friend has finally started watching Sherlock. she’s only watched the first episode so far…

[text from bff:] did you slowly develop a crush on benedict cumberbatch as you got more into sherlock?

[my response:] you just described everyone who has watched bbc Sherlock. Ever.

[my PS:] what’s martin freeman? chopped liver?!?!?

then i proceeded to send her every picture of martin freeman that’s saved to my phone. (fyi. it’s a lot a pictures. and a lot of dapper suits.)

An Ode to Tea challenge #2– D

additional notes:  I’m not sure why I went with a chai on this hot day.  Probably because it started with ‘D’ I guess.  It was a nice comforting last steep session – LOTS of nutmeg, which I’m not sure I noticed was even here before?  Warming and sweet, not chai really.  Definitely a lot of that roasted wuyi oolong here, but it’s probably faded more now with age, so I probably like it more now. Reading my older note, I think it’s a completely different tea now. Great, now I’ll miss this blend when I didn’t even rate it that highly.
2021 sipdowns: 93

The second Sherlock chai of Friday. This one is more suited to my personal tastes, so I felt more confident brewing up a cup of Donovan. As ever, I used 1 tsp of leaf, and gave it 4 minutes in boiling water. I added a splash of milk, because that’s how I roll when it comes to chai.

The initial flavour here is chocolate, with an undertone of chai spices (clove, cardamon, and a hint of cinnamon?) The spices are by no means strong, but they provide a nice background flavour; the combination reminds me of spiced hot chocolate! The black tea base provides a nice sweet maltiness, which combines well with the mild, creamy vanilla and almond notes that come out towards the end of the sip. It’s just like the description says, really – this one starts off with a spicy kick, and then slowly mellows out.

As blends go, I think this one is pretty suited to Donovan’s character. She seems to attack first and ask questions later, in the same way that this blend starts off spicy and then mellows out. I’d rate this blend equally with Mycroft in terms of flavour, and it’s definitely one I’d consider repurchasing in the future.

A little in your face like Donovan, but deep down you know she’s just a little bit sweet on the boys….ok maybe not! Lovely chocolate chai flavor in this tea. I also love that the chocolate isn’t lost to the chai spices in the tea. I like this one as a mid-morning pick me up.

Wow. This is surprisingly good. Okay, yes, I know it’s an Adagio blend just from the flavor. It’s still a hearty, creamy chai, smells strongly (and tastes strongly) of cloves and… cardamom? Something else? I also definitely get the chocolate in here, which is (I think) a first for a chai with chocolate in it.

I agree with Shmiracles! This is a really clever blend.

Strong and sweet really does sum it up. And works perfectly in taste and for the character. Those make for the most fun blends too.

This starts with just the tiniest bit of smoke and malt then quickly turns into almond and cocoa and cinnamon — cookies really.

These blends are also making me want to marathon it again. Gaaaaaaah.