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So, I was emptying out my purse today and guess what I found? An English breakfast teabag. Perfect to go with my dinner.

Plucked this out of my teacher’s tea basket to have with dinner. She apparently had the same idea that I did last Thursday because there was more of this tea in the box today.

Had some with dinner today. I think I was craving some Earl Grey.

I thought this would be a good tea for the afternoon. It reminds me of vanilla and carmel. But there is a really bitter aftertaste and the flavor is really light. There was quite a bit of dust that escaped when I was putting the tea in my teaball. I wonder if that was the reason that the flavor was really, really light. I’m not going to rate this one until I can try it again. Luckily, I still have one more sample, but it is at home.

I recently found out that one of my friends E. is into tea. I didn’t know this about her and she didn’t know I was a TeaGeek either. She gave me two of these little rosettes to try out.

This was my first Yunnan tea and one of the only natural teas that I have ever had. I made it in my little red two-cup teapot and steeped it for about four minutes, leaving the water in the pot to steep some more.

The first cup was a tawny brown in color and didn’t smell like much. It smelled like tea to me. The first sip was good, but I wasn’t that impressed until I kept drinking. It became smooth and rich as I adjusted to the flavor. Another four-five minutes later I poured the second cup.

This cup was a deep brown and looked like a cup of coffee. I took a sip and immediately realized that it wasn’t bitter like I had feared. The cup here had been steeping for about 8-10 minutes. I think I understand what the word “malty” means now. It is what I imagine a malted milkshake l would taste like if you removed the chocolate, the sugar, and the milk. Which leaves everything that I love about malted milkshakes. I thought I tasted something that I registered as chocolate, but I wasn’t sure.

Not wanting to leave this cup of tea since the first two cups disappeared way too quickly for my liking, I decided to try to re-steep the urchin. I wasn’t sure on the amount but I knew I boiled enough water for two teapots full. I poured another half a teapot and steeped that for about six minutes. Wow! Here is the chocolate I thought I tasted before! I am impressed. I didn’t really understand how a tea could do that when it didn’t have any chocolate flavoring added to it. The maltiness was still there but not as present as it was in the first two cups.

Overall, I think this is a very good introduction of a Yunnan to the uninitiated. Of course, I am still newer at this, but I thought it tasted really good. I am stopping at three cups tonight because I am full! I still have one more rosette, but I am going to wait to have that until I get home for spring break so I can share it with my fiance.

I looked for this at the Teavana website to see how much it would normally be but I don’t think they have it anymore. I would like to see about saving up some money and picking up a tin from somewhere over spring break. Would anyone care to share any good Yunnans that they like that aren’t that stupidly expensive?

It figures that all I want on a blustery winter’s night is a tall glass of iced chai. So, I made one to have with dinner. Instead of doing a long brew time, I tried using a shorter brew time to see if I was just over brewing the tea to make it taste entirely of pepper.

Nope.

To misquote one of my favorite quotes: There is too much pepper in the tea! Black pepper was one of the only spices I could taste. I was getting a little bit of black licorice from the star anise, but not much. I could barely taste the cinnamon or cloves. Just pepper.

Luckily, I gave most of this tea away and I think I have two or three teabags left. So after that is gone, I will not be re-buying this tea.

I haven’t had this for a couple of days, so I had it for lunch.

I like this the best with a little splash of milk.

I decided to do something different with my Irish Breakfast today. I used two tea-bags and brewed it up strong. Then I added my very vanilla soy milk. What do I get? A milk tea that still tastes like Irish Breakfast with the creamy milky goodness with a hint of vanilla. Good for relaxing in the afternoon before my second work shift.

Edit: Ok, apparently I have a massive sweet tooth today. Drank half of my cup then added a full tablespoon of honey to the other half. I’m spoiling myself today apparently.

This is a blast from the past. I was getting tea bags from my teacher’s tea basket for the weekend and I decided to pick up Lady Grey today. I kinda wish I had emptied the tea box of the last four packets now instead of only taking one.

My taste must be developing because instead of being really weak, this was pretty tasty. It was nice and light. I could taste that hint of lemon in the cup along with the citrus from the bergamot. It was very nice and delicate. Lovely for when I want a lighter Earl.

I have learned today that I really need to let my tea cool down some before trying to drink it. It makes it taste better and it makes me relax.