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__Morgana__ drank Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Honeybush by 52teas

2036 tasting notes

Sipdown no. 135 of the year 2014. It wasn’t the only thing I drank today, but it’s the only thing I’m recording because it’s a sipdown.

Today was one of the more brutal work days I’ve had in a while, probably made more so by the fact that I’m planning to take tomorrow and Friday off to work on gathering up my tax info and if I have time after that do some writing without having to snatch 15 minutes here and there. In any case, it was pretty much back to back stuff and I’m exhausted.

That accounts for the non-recording of my teas, and also for the non-reading and liking and commenting of notes. I will try to catch up but I might just have to jump in where I left off, and if so, apologies all around.

In any case, I’ve decided to bump this down just a bit. The more I drank it, the more the honeybush became one of the main flavor components, and it was a sort of a woody, cedar chippy one that distracted me from the cherry/pineapple/cake flavor of the blend.

So while I give it many points for nailing the flavor, I have to mark it down on the overall experience, because although I don’t mind honeybush having a bigger role than rooibos (as in general I prefer its flavor), this one was less of a sweet, mellow flavor base and more of a reedy, woody one.

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I got obsessed with tea in 2010 for a while, then other things intruded, then I cycled back to it. I seem to be continuing that in for a while, out for a while cycle. I have a short attention span, but no shortage of tea.

I’m a mom, writer, gamer, lawyer, reader, runner, traveler, and enjoyer of life, literature, art, music, thought and kindness, in no particular order. I write fantasy and science fiction under the name J. J. Roth.

Personal biases: I drink tea without additives. If a tea needs milk or sugar to improve its flavor, its unlikely I’ll rate it high. The exception is chai, which I drink with milk/sugar or substitute. Rooibos and honeybush were my gateway drugs, but as my tastes developed they became less appealing — I still enjoy nicely done blends. I do not mix well with tulsi or yerba mate, and savory teas are more often a miss than a hit with me. I used to hate hibiscus, but I’ve turned that corner. Licorice, not so much.

Since I find others’ rating legends helpful, I added my own. But I don’t really find myself hating most things I try.

I try to rate teas in relation to others of the same type, for example, Earl Greys against other Earl Greys. But if a tea rates very high with me, it’s a stand out against all other teas I’ve tried.

95-100 A once in a lifetime experience; the best there is

90-94 Excellent; first rate; top notch; really terrific; will definitely buy more

80-89 Very good; will likely buy more

70-79 Good; would enjoy again, might buy again

60-69 Okay; wouldn’t pass up if offered, but likely won’t buy again

Below 60 Meh, so-so, iffy, or ick. The lower the number, the closer to ick.

I don’t swap. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I have way more tea than any one person needs and am not lacking for new things to try. Also, I have way too much going on already in daily life and the additional commitment to get packages to people adds to my already high stress level. (Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does.)

That said, I enjoy reading folks’ notes, talking about what I drink, and getting to “know” people virtually here on Steepster so I can get ideas of other things I might want to try if I can ever again justify buying more tea. I also like keeping track of what I drink and what I thought about it.

My current process for tea note generation is described in my note on this tea: https://steepster.com/teas/mariage-freres/6990-the-des-impressionnistes