Orange Pekoe (Organic)

I think I blocked this one from my memory out of sorrow. I had it yesterday, the last of my little pouch. My timer was in use at the moment, so I tried to eyeball the time. Turns out, I need something to make noise at me. I got distracted loading the dishwasher and next thing I knew, it had been steeping for a full 10 minutes. I only got a single sip out of it, but it was too bitter and down the sink it went. We’re trying not to buy tea at the moment, so it will be a while until I can replace this one in my cupboard.

Farewell, Orange Pekoe. I’m sorry I wasted you! Not going to adjust my rating because I still love this tea, the poor taste was my own darn fault.

do any of you like to read memoirs?
i especially like to read memoirs about depressed or abused or mentally ill girls. is that wrong to admit? well, it’s true. Unbearable Lightness, The Glass Castle, Wasted, Anais Nin’s Unexpurgated Journals, and every single version of Sylvia Plath’s journals that have been released. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, but the point is i keep searching for more but i think i’ve read all the really good ones? i’ll keep looking and let you know what i find. i might have to broaden my focus to include men and drug addiction stories.
i do see these books as my equivalent to a trashy romance novel. sensationalized and dramatic and easy to read. but if i’m in a reading funk, one of these books always helps get my reading flow started again. or it works as a balance against the heavy and dense writing of the political non-fiction i’m usually chiseling away at.

this pekoe is boring.

I didn’t realize I never posted a review of this one – I bought it probably a year or so ago when I went on a bender of trying all of Davids’ unflavoured teas. Now, of course I know what a typical orange pekoe tastes like from the bag – this takes that to a more refined level. It does remind me a lot of Red Rose or Tetley, but without the gritty bitterness I find typical of those bagged teas. It could stand up to additives, but when steeped carefully you don’t need them. There is a natural sweetness in the tea which is very nice on the sip and helps take this from standard fare to something nicer.

All that said, for a LOOSE tea, this is extremely standard. This is what I would use to convince bagged OP drinkers that there is more in the world – baby steps! It makes a nice base for a chai and is okay on its own but I don’t drink loose leaf for “okay.” : )

I’ve been drinking a lot of regular ole’ black tea lately and decided to pick up an ounce of this on my way out of the mall (after I snatched up a Lupicia happy bag). My favorite for awhile now has been Harney’s Malachi McCormick, to the point where I’m thinking about just owning up to my love for that tea and getting a pound of it.

This is nice and unfussy, like basic black teabag tea but just not ground up and put in the teabag (which is probably exactly what this is). It’s got a nice astringency to it without being overpowering. This is not a kapow malt monster (which I like) but there’s a wee bit of malt to this as well. It’s good, but not something I’d drink on a daily basis for the price.

In other news, my boss offered me extra hours at the library this month until school starts again, and I’ll have TA work starting the 7th grading 25 papers a week until late March. It’s a nice start after the towing bill!

Finished up this one today while on the bus for an appointment. Definitely lost some notes since I was drinking out of plastic. Even when it comes from a tea company, plastic cups can suck. :(

I cold brewed a cup of this for almost 24 hours and it’s nice and refreshing. Kind of mild. I feel like this would be a good base tea to mix with other teas and cold brew… hmmmm..

Darnit!! so I got that “hibiscus” taste in this tea! even with milk!! and besides that, it was just boring. Better than the Tims tea I had the other day, and definitely better than Red Rose of course. Atleast there was that!
So I guess my buds aren’t up to par yet… that is what I am guessing. Black tea seems to be the only one that is really affected though. It’s a shame because I really do (normally) love black tea!
Patience m’dear! she says to herself over and over… be thankful they’re atleast partway back!
Besides, I have a specialist app scheduled in January to figure out the issue. Maybe then I will finally get some answers!
Or maybe it was just that this sample was from ages ago, dug out of the cupboard on a whim that really shoulda been brushed aside! bah. Old tea, why did I not drink you sooner?! I still have one serving left!
Well, now I know to avoid the non Asian black teas now! lesson learned :)

Well, today brought heavy rain, heavy snow and sleet.
So naturally I took the opportunity to clear all of the winter gear out of my closets and brew some fresh iced tea.
Screw you, Nature. I’m going to enjoy my spring!
I didn’t use the recommended way of brewing iced tea (brew double-strength and pour over ice) because I had time to let it cool, so I just brewed up a 4C batch of Orange Pekoe, mixed it with two and a half ounces of simple syrup and sliced up a lemon to throw in the jug. It looked a little strong to me, so I also added a cup of cold water, but it turns out that it didn’t need that at all, because it’s the tiniest bit weak now.
Otherwise, it is DELICIOUS. My husband is a Good Host iced tea die-hard, so I don’t think he’d enjoy this as much as I do, but it is absolutely perfect. I can see brewing up a jug of this to drink on the deck with my daughter after a nice morning of gardening. The lemon is critical, I think. It adds interest to what could otherwise just be cool tea. But it mixes really, really well with this orange pekoe.
The tea itself has zero bitterness to it (which I’ve found sometimes icing tea can tend to bring out) and is just refreshing and zippy.
Yum! Perfect for drinking while sitting at the dining room table, looking out on the diagonal bombardment of snow on April 3rd…
(Stupid Nature…)

Received a free sample of David’s Orange Pekoe in a recent order.

Dry leaves: zero scent, but they look intriguing. Unassuming, perhaps, like that quiet guy who excels in art class in high school and hides behind his hair.

4-minute steep, boiling water, 1TB for 500mL, no milk or sweetener … classic ‘normal tea’ taste. Some depth and sweetness from the Assam, brightness from the Ceylon … very good. No bitterness. Yet still finishes a bit hollow, like it lacks something … more punch from the Assam, maybe? I find myself bracing for a malty pucker, some astringency on the back of the tongue, but it doesn’t arrive.

I’d confidently serve this at a big dinner or a tea party as ‘normal’ tea offering, but I’m not sure I’d go out of my way to get it for myself, not when David’sTea alone offers so much more. And my old fave, the fair trade English Breakfast from my local teashop, Britannia, leaves this eating yesterday’s dust. Perhaps I’m being a snob.

This was a free sample I received in a recent order.

The tea has a sweet, clean, traditional “tea” fragrance. For a majority of Americans, this is probably what they imagine when you say “tea.”

Prepared, it’s slightly sweet and vegetative with a moderate amount of astringency. This would be a good everyday and all-day-long tea. If I get a chance to make another purchase from DavidsTea, I’d probably throw a bag of this in as a staple item.