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This was in the sample bowl and there was enough for one cup, thanks Stephanie!

There is a lot of value in finding both what you like, and what you don’t like. Unfortunately, this one fell into the latter category. The leaf smelled ok, so I went through with it. But then as I was carrying the mug down the stairs, I kept smelling smoke and I kept thinking that I should have known better. With a name like “Caravan” it was bound to be smoky.

Then I started sipping and to drink it wasn’t as bad as to smell it, so I kept at it for a while. But around the halfway point I just had to dump it. If you like smoke though, this is probably great!

From Pass the Stash TTB 2

This really wasn’t for me. I had high hopes since there were some good reviews. I made it iced, but the end result was just some tart stuff with an underlying chalky taste, like it was made from a mix.

I could swear that I reviewed this before, but I couldn’t find it. It’s majestic. For some reason that’s the first word that came to my mind. It is strong, proud, malty and just a big old ball of yum. The second steep is as strong as the first one, and I think I will try for a third. It’s quite delicious.

From Pass the Stash TTB 2:

This is the first tea I picked to try from the box, and I quite like it! I don’t know how to describe it really, it’s not a wimpy black, it’s not a malty black, but it is pretty multi layered and very satisfying as a first tea of the day today.

I still love this. There is no other tea that tastes similar to this.

You guys will be so proud of me, I chained myself to my desk and did all of July’s invoicing. I think tomorrow we should get a chat room and hang out. What do you think?

I bought this when we visited Chicago earlier this summer, and realized today that I hadn’t tried it yet. I put it front and center on the kitchen island so I wouldn’t forget it. I have a metric crapton of it, which is a shame because I am pretty underwhelmed. If you hadn’t told me it was passionfruit, I don’t know that I could have identified it. I think I just might be over Adagio.

The funny thing is, Earl Grey is what got me into a different level of tea (post teabag). I realized when I picked this up out of the sample bowl that I haven’t had one in months.

I liked it, although I’m not sure I like EG as much as I used to. I didn’t dislike it, but it didn’t elicit any MMMMM feelings from me. It was more of a utilitarian cup. And I don’t think it’s the tea, I think it’s me and my changing tastes. Interesting!

So yesterday we went to another board game thing. It’s an every Sunday afternoon thing, and we have met some nice people there. The people who run it are a married couple and very likable. Not the weird unwashed gamer stereotype. But, there is this other couple that is just weird. At our first interaction, the guy sat down and burped super loudly, and then he spent the whole game making inappropriate noises and doing gross things. Fine to see a couple of hours a week, but not really our preferred game partners at these events.

Yesterday we had 9 people, and had to split up into 4 and 5, and we ended up playing with the weird couple. Turns out the girl isn’t that weird. But the guy was sitting next to me and my skin was just crawling the whole time. ESPECIALLY when he took his fingernail, scratched inside of his ear (the ear next to me), and then scraped that nail off on one of his lower teeth. I. Just. About. Died. So there you go.

I rather liked this iced! Tomorrow I will try some of the other flavors. It was still really strong even after ice was added, so that was a plus. I hate wimpy tea!

I spent the afternoon making Anne Burrell’s lasagna recipe. It was labor intensive but really good! I made one with a ricotta/Parmesan mixture and one with mushrooms and zucchini. Both had beef, sausage and mozzarella. Both were a hit with their targeted family members. I love it when that happens.

I share with you:
The lasagna: http://imgur.com/PkBnCqR
And a bonus pic of my cat in a funny position: http://imgur.com/E07ZjFI

Being totally honest here.

I got this from Stephanie two weeks ago. I can’t bring myself to drink it. It lives on my kitchen counter and I always walk through, pick up the bag, and smell it. Then I put the bag back down for the next time. If I drink it, it won’t be there for me to smell anymore and it smells like the best thing ever. That probably makes me weird.

I want it in hand soap and body wash and candles and…well you get it.

I picked this out of the sip down bowl this morning because I’m a good girl. The sip down bowl sits on the counter to encourage me to finish off the little bits of things and clean up my collection.

This was the last of a sample from Stephanie and I liked it. I don’t think I like it as much as Malty Irish Breakfast, so if I had to pick a black tea to order from Butiki it would be MIB, but it was nice. I’m certainly enjoying it this rainy Friday morning.