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A sipdown and my “something blue” for A June Wedding. I really came to enjoy this tea over time. I wasn’t too sure about it at first, but by the end I really loved it.

There is something about this tea that feels nostalgic. I’m not sure what it could be.
Anyway, this is my pick for National Waffle Iron Day. Maple will come later, but I must admit that, for me, the butter is what makes a waffle so great. What makes the waffle reign supreme over the humble pancake. Sure, I put butter on my pancakes too, but there is just something about the way the butter melts and pools into those little square pockets on a waffle. Oh goodness.

I don’t taste the butter as much as I remember here, but this is an older tea (especially for a green tea). I’m still enjoying the flavor even so.

Unfairly comparing this to Plum Deluxe’s Gratitude Blend. The Gratitude Blend wins in the end. This was too light, in my opinion, and my husband said the same. Next time I’ll add an extra teaspoon. Maybe that will make all the difference.

This caught me off guard with its nutty aroma! I get it now, after thinking on it – the nuttiness I think is supposed to represent the cake flavor here. Unfortunately, I don’t taste anything else. No apple, no cinnamon. I have a pretty large bag of this one, so plenty to play around with.

A new Plum Deluxe favorite! This is a delicious blend of bergamot and fruity strawberries. I love everything about it. It steeps a strong, dark brew with bold flavors. Not too overwhelming on the bergamot either, which I appreciate. I love bergamot, but if it’s too strong I’ve noticed it gives me a bit of a headache.

Second Steep
8 ounces water + 212 degrees + 20 minutes

Unfortunately, this didn’t make for a satisfying resteep at all. It’s very lightly flavored, very lightly flavored, and isn’t really worth the extra time when I could be drinking a fresh cup of something else. But now I know!

This is my “something new” for Mastress Alita’s A June Wedding sipdown prompt.

Side Note No. 1 – I’ve been spending some time over on Litsy and Goodreads this week. Does anyone have accounts there? I’d love to follow to see what everyone’s reading with their tea.

Side Note No. 2 – I’m having a conflict of conscience. All my life I’ve added two spaces after each period. That’s the rules! My fingers automatically hit the spacebar twice but lately the two spaces look so weird. So I delete a space. But that looks weird too. Why is this?! So now all my paragraphs and sentences are inconsistent – one space here, two spaces there. It’s making me uncomfortable. I did look on trusty Google and apparently the APA (which is the formatting/style guide I learned and used growing up) was the only one that recommended, nay demanded, two spaces after a period. Even they gave it up in 2019 and said that one space is sufficient. How do I retrain my fingers after over twenty years of double-tapping that spacebar? A challenge, indeed…

Side Note No. 3 – Is Steepster broken again? Good grief.

Edit – My note posted to the dashboard, so maybe it’s just that I’m the only one having tea today.

This wasn’t as good as my first cup, but then the bag had been freshly opened at the time. Maybe exposure to air took away some of its nuance. The aroma is heavy maple syrup with some spicy cinnamon alongside. Not the sweet cinnamon I prefer. It’s probably a good thing I went ahead and finished it off. Better to remember it as it was.

I have been trying to get my hands on this tea for months. Not exaggerating. Cedar Hill Homestead only does releases once every month or two, and apparently this particular tea has a following. I finally got a 4-ounce bag in my last purchase and saved it for tea night with my brother. It’s the first time he’s been able to come over for a visit since probably January. He and I both love smoky teas, so it was the perfect pick for the evening. Well, aside from the caffeine, which I wasn’t too worried about on a Friday night.

This tea is all smoke, wow. It definitely lives up to its name. I didn’t really notice any of the chai spices or other ingredients, but I was visiting and chatting while drinking. Next time I’ll pay more attention to the flavors. I have plenty of this left to experiment.

Don’t ask me why since it’s the middle of June, but today feels like one of the first days of Autumn. Not temperature-wise, of course. I do live in Alabama after all. I don’t know, maybe it’s less humid or it’s something to do with the birds and early morning noises outside my open window, but today feels like fall in my mind and I’m leaning into it. This chai wasn’t what I wanted yesterday, but today it seems perfect. Another I must have saved because I loved it so much. Delicious.

I can see now why I saved such a small amount of this for such a long time. I think it was a favorite! I wish I’d remembered for the 52Teas poll – maybe next year. It’s smoky and spicy (and also well-spiced) with a solid, dark base.

My “something old” for A June Wedding.

Going through some older teas that only have a sip left in the bag. This is from an Amoda subscription several years back and surprisingly still has great flavor. I enjoy the combination of black tea with rooibos. The tea has body and richness. I don’t taste hazelnut but the caramel is delicious.