Cuppa Geek

I cold brewed this in milk and the first sip was sooo familiar. The chai latte from Starbucks is what comes to mind, though with less sugar, which is preferred. However, that’s not quite accurate because it has the pumpkin vibe too. I like it and will be writing a more through review sometime in the future. Until then, thank you for sharing, CuppaGeek!

Very sad sipdown. This is an eminently drinkable tea. Good with a meal, good with a snack, good by itself, resteeps like a champ, needs no additions.

Though it is modeled after a sweet treat, it doesn’t taste like cheap candy. This was lovely black tea, honeybush, smooth happy orange, and creamy vanilla.

I miss you already.

For the November sipdown prompt – a tea from a small business. Many thanks, Mastress Alita, for making every month as special as an advent calendar month tea-wise!

For the third day in a row, we had heavy cloud cover. I decided to find a tea that would be cheering, and orange is supposed to be one of the most uplifting scents. As I poked theough my stash, I found a hidden treasure trove of Cuppa Geek teas. I thought I had finished them all! But they were in an opaque container – the tea book tins from Basilur.

Even though this is a little out of date, it stills tastes amazing. I love orange and vanilla or cream together. The honeybush softens the black tea but it was still an excellent breakfast choice, since I don’t need a caffeine kick to get me going. It is also a marvelous afternoon tea.

Second trip through the May prompts – a soda tea.

I made this extra strong and extra sweet so it was a syrup and added it to cold Perrier. It made a nice enough tea soda but I love it hot and also flat and cold. I think there is only enough for one more big pot. The black tea base is nice and doesn’t get drowned out by the orange and cream flavors. This was a really great tea. I MIGHT be slightly more in live with Jaffa Cakes.

Scavenger Hunt “Tea from a Woman-Owned Company”

I opened my last pouch of this today! I have made it iced and sweetened and hot with no additions, and it is great both ways. Today it was hot and plain.

The base was more prominent today, and had the perfect punch for breakfast for me. Not belt you in the face like an Assam, but nicely rich and bold. The orange cream part did not drown out the base for me, perhaps because I used a smidgen over a teaspoon because I wanted it a little strong today. I did do three steeps as recommended and combined them all in one pot for drinking throughout the morning.

I am going to miss this one when it is gone!

Raging hot here, and lots of outside work to do with the garden going strong. I made a pitcher of this iced and sweetened and it is so good I might cry. Definitely one I need more of, and I think I have ordered it twice already.

Orange is so refreshing to me and the vanilla creamy aspect makes it so smooth. I think I could chug the whole liter with no problem.

On Saturday my husband finished our backyard patio of pavers beside the carport where I have my rockers, and it looks awesome! So today, for the first time since March, I was able to invite someone over for tea! I texted my next door neighbor and asked if she would like some socially distanced tea and cake and she said she would take me up on the tea!

I told her to go through the side garden, through the gates, and meet me out back. We have a big glass table and I set our chairs sufficiently far apart and brought out the tea stuff. When she heard it was a French Grandmother’s Lemon Yogurt Cake, she changed her mind about not having cake.

This neighbor has only had tea with me once or twice so I felt a lot of pressure for the tea to perform. I offered milk and sugar but she said that the tea we had before didn’t need any sugar even though she usually adds it, so she just wanted milk.

I had steeped three teaspoons in a stump pot and resteeped, adding both steeps to my big tetsubin to carry outside. The first steep went a little over so I was nervous that it would be bitter, but it wasn’t. It was awesome, and went wonderfully with the cake.

The black tea base was nice and strong to pair with the sweet cake, the orange warmed and softened by vanilla was beautifully sunny and the fresh citrus flavor was nice with the sharper lemon of the cake. (There is lemon zest in the cake and a lemon and sugar glaze brushed on the cake that soaks in.)

I was very happy that she loved both the cake and the tea and drank many cups of tea. She told me that she usually isn’t a big fan of lemon but was intrigued by the yogurt in the cake and that was why she wanted to try it.

Another neighbor came later to borrow a yard tool and rocked in my socially distanced rockers for a while, and was given a bowl of mushroom and rice soup to take home, so all in all, it was a really good day with nearby humans that I have not been able to see much since March! I am somewhat of a homebody and a loner at times, but I am missing warm people and good conversation.

Not sure what I did today other than pay better attention, but this was a lovely morning break. I played “hidden pictures” with the list of ingredients and found them all in plain sight except the cardamom, but then, I was never very good at Where’s Waldo, either. This is good stuff. Would be lovely for late winter tea parties or Easter breakfasts, for you fancy pants people.

If you have this under your roof, try it with milk! It turns into a cup of creamy, cinnamon sweet roll goodness. And if that isn’t enough, sip it alongside a freshly warmed pumpkin pie Pop-Tart. Best post-Halloween snack ever!

I’m not sure whether to lead with the tea (which was delicious) or the setting (which was equally delicious).

Aw, tea first. Delicate and delicious. It leads with sweet cinnamon, then the maple and cake batter essences catch up with it. Light and sweet and delicious. (I don’t normally associate waffles with cinnamon, but maybe you do.) A very nice pairing with oolong. Reminds me more of breakfast rolls than waffles, but we’re splitting hairs over a lovely cup of pastry goodness.

Setting…sunshine, mid 60’s. Backyard glider; quiet neighborhood; not an AC or lawn mower to be heard; just breeze rumpling the leaves and what’s left of our container garden. Book on my lap untouched. Can I have about a week of this?

It’s a good afternoon to celebrate small things. The snow is melting. I submitted a finished writing project. For a few blissful, silent minutes, the furnace wasn’t running. The laundry is folded and for the next ten minutes or so, the living room carpet will be free of cat tufts. (Hey, I said small things!)

And after two weeks of heavy, spicy, just-shut-up-and-hand-me-caffeine teas, a change was in order. Sweet Strawberry Rose is a light, lilty, cheerful cup of flowers and fruit. It leads with the rose (but not your grandma’s guest soap sort of rose), with a fruit punch finish. From a personal preference standpoint, I’d welcome more strawberry, but that’s a minor quibble. A lovely tea to sip in a sunbeam while you dream about spring.

After surviving a road trip that required us to endure every conceivable road delay short of an armadillo stampede (which was plausible…it was central Kansas), we declared it a Light Duty Saturday. So here I am, rocking in my glider, listening to the neighbor’s wind chimes, watching a bee investigate my dwindling marigolds, getting bonked on the head by an occasional falling maple leaf, and enjoying this sweet and civilized tea from Cuppa Geek.

What initially drew me to it was my perpetual quest for the perfect strawberry tea, which I’m beginning to think exists only in my imagination. What I am enjoying about it, however, is how nice a carrier the bao zhong is for the fruit and flowers—-no, make that flowers and fruit. You get the rose first, then a really nice amalgamation of the apple, pear, and strawberry. Good stuff; just expect general non-specific fruit punch fruitiness rather than identifiable strawberry.

After the disappointing cup of Banana Bread Chai that I had this morning, I decided to venture back into banana territory for the second cup of the day. This one is much more pleasant! The banana flavor is present, with some toffee notes as well. Very rich and decadent.

Advent Day 17, From the Depths of the Grab Bag.

A few swigs of vodka straight from the bottle and a light dinner. Kiki’s mellow tonight. As usual, the cat’s on her lap.

“You know, I think she has a few more years left in her.”

sniffs packet “Ahhhh…. sniffs again Yeah. and again That’s smells niiice. Apple?”

“It smells good. smile It smells like apple cider. Cinnamon? sips Ahhh. Star anise. loud laughs, sips And aaaah… red clover. It tastes like that Celestial Tiger tea.”

<me, curious> What does that mean?

“Warm and candy. sips Ahh. Yeah like apple cider with a cinnamon stick in it. sips and loud noises I like it. it’s good. pleasant. Kitty likes it, don’t you. It’s subtle but nice. Makes a statements. cackles I give it, uh, I give it an 8. I recommend it smiles It doesn’t have that clove thing in it. That clove thing, that’s bad. I think it’s good to have a bag full of stuff to try. I think we should continue this through the year. I do. An assortment. Are you typing while looking at me?”

<me, nonplussed> Yeah I do that.

“You could be a stenographer.”

<me, drinking my own tea> Oh.

sips “Good to the last drop!”

Smells and tastes like some autumn-themed Yankee Candle in the best of ways. Really. I’m getting a major hit of chamomile in the form of apple, not in the pollen-sweet way and certainly not dusty. Mildly sweet, plenty of cardamom, which in the case of cardamom means there is probably only a sprinkling. Then I notice the warm spiciness and slight drying of woody cinnamon and ginger. The appley taste brightens up in the back of the mouth becoming tart, where it morphs into what I’m guessing is the pumpkin spice flavoring? Some grounding sweet cocoa taste lingers in the aftertaste. Then a bit later comes the returning sweetness of a lightly bitey honeybush in the throat. And lastly, the marshmallow root gives a touch of body. This is blended very well. Smooth flavors! And it can’t be oversteeped! What more could you ask for before bedding down?

The normal low 80s of this week will give way on Sunday to 5 or 6 days of 90s and 100s. At least it will still be in the 50s at night, so this herbal tea will remain in rotation.

Book pairing: The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis

Really enjoying this one; particularly on those evenings when I’m tired and whiny and want to curl up in a ball instead of being a grown-up. Of the butterfly pea flower blends I’ve tried, this is my favorite. I’m not sure what the flower contributes other than a beautifully comforting color, but the honey granules soften the sharp edges of the lemony, minty stuff and turn the whole blend into a beautiful cup of “unwind.”

After two days of too much good food and too little physical exertion, I was feeling a little like an overstuffed piece of furniture last night. Needed a nightcap that would help with the bloated, bloodgie feeling. This did the trick.

This little herbal blend is lovely on the eyes—blue like my beat-up flannel bathrobe, a titch minty to soothe the stomach, whole chamomile flowers, and a little honey to soften it and distinguish it from other nighttime blends. Normally and unfortunately, chamomile doesn’t have much of a sedative effect on me, but I slept better and woke up lighter and brighter…so the tea was at least part of the cure.

I have already been introduced to blue pea flower via Adagio’s Bella Luna, which has a lemon/blueberry personality. Parker’s Evening Blend steeps up with the same gorgeous deep indigo tint, but the first flavors I detected were cream (must’ve been the honey) and chamomile. I am at a loss to say which I like better: Bella Luna is the sparkly sapphire; Parker’s Blend is a blue plush comforter. Depends on whether you need to twinkle or cuddle.

This is my final tea for the third pass through the May sipdown prompts. This is one of the saddest sipdowns ever. This was our “chilly evening sipping on the patio” tea.

So. Much.Flavor. Look at all those ingredients. It doesn’t begin to reveal just how tasty this was. And what a resteeper! This pouch is now empty, but I did make a lot at once and put a quart in the fridge.

The rest was enjoyed hot tonight on the patio with a piece of buttermilk pie topped with nutmeg.

Best evening tea I have ever run into.

Welp, I guess I will do another run through the May prompts! I am on a roll.

May prompt number four! An herbal tea….

I got the hungries last night so we had tea and toast, but I can’t do caffeine at night if I hope to sleep. This is my last pouch and I have maybe enough for one more big evening pot to share with Ashman.

This is very apple-y, and the spices build as you drink. Cardamom and cinnamon are taking the forefront tonight although when you drink this without something to eat the ginger becomes more noticeable but never really hot.

I am using this as my “no longer available” tea for the March scavenger hunt. I am really happy with how many teas I got squeezed into the bit of February after I found the list even though I didn’t finish it, but I think I can ace this month’s hunt in a week. This tea alone could fulfill three prompts, but I will just use it for one.

SAD! I have opened my last pouch. This was one of my favorite teas to drink late in the evening, and especially sitting in the rockers on the almost-warm nights.

The spices are perfect and so nicely balanced. It is easy to forget that this is caffeine free, and I love that about it. So many evening options lack flavor, but you can not say that about this tea.

Served with pound cake and chocolate covered strawberries that I made as a surprise for Ashman.

I just ordered my Cuppa Geek Advent Calendar! It is only my second ever advent calendar, the first one having been a David’s Tea one that was a gift from my daughter a few years ago.

We had two days that really felt like fall and we enjoyed using the fireplace. Now we are back to needing a shower every time we walk the dog. This evening has been fairly cool, though, and I decided to sit outside with a throw over my lap and rock.

Also in our little backyard are rabbits – not the usual Eastern Cottontails but some European domestic rabbits that escaped quite a while ago from a neighbor who was trying to raise them but gave up after several cat attacks. My backyard is full of pines and dogwoods so hawks can’t swoop here and cats don’t really come because I have a dog.

A black rabbit with a white heart shape on its right shoulder lives here pretty much full time, and was joined by a white rabbit with black spots. The white rabbit let me pick him up today. The others will take food from us but don’t like to be petted or held. They have been hanging around since spring and all the neighbors help look after them. Organic spring mix, apples, timothy hay, rabbit yogurt drops, carrots, strawberry tops…all kinds of goodies. There are frantic texts when someone doesn’t see “their” rabbit for a day or two. (We lost Bun Jovi to a cat attack six weeks ago. He is buried with dignity and a headstone of sorts across the street.)

With this menagerie about, I carried out my tea and two vanilla cream Speculoos sandwich cookies. May I say this was a WINNING combination? Because this was a WINNING combination.

I bit the lightly spiced cookie and then took a sip of tea – pure heaven. At first, I mainly tasted cardamom and cinnamon but the ginger warmth grows very pleasantly as you sip and sip.

I had to go for a third steep and it is really nice. Plenty of flavor remains. I will be sad to see this go and may have to re-order. I used to drink tea at night instead of tisanes, but I am really enjoying these caffeine free relaxing options. I look forward to them, instead of “settle” for them so I can sleep.

I got three steeps from this blend tonight and man, was it good!

My husband and I decided to play Rack-O and have tea and snacks. Our Rack-O game was made in 1966 and belonged to a dear neighbor three houses down who was like a grandmother to me when I was a child. Her daughter gave us this game when my neighbor died, and Scrabble and the cookie tin that always held Opera Creams for MY children when they went to visit!

The first two steeps were mixed together, but the third steep stood alone and was still strong enough to enjoy. The chamomile is really perfectly framed by the spices and I enjoy the honeybush.

I actually finished one pouch which had a teaspoon of spices and honeybush left in it and opened the new pouch which was all chamomile at the top. Every pot I have made has been good, but having seen first hand how the ingredients settle in blends when the weights are very different, I think I will start pouring my blends into a tin or container to keep them well mixed for consistent flavor.

I think this may be my favorite so far of the Cuppageek blends I have tried, but I do have some fall chai blends waiting for a taste test that may take that title!

At last we have another truly cool evening with low humidity! After broiling through days with a heat index of 104F as recently as a week ago, we are going to dip into the 50’s tonight! I have been waiting for this all day.

As soon as we dipped below 65F, I suggested to my husband a bit of rocking chair time on the back porch with a cuppa.

I made this latte style, heating the milk first and continuing to heat it for about one minute with the leaves added, then off the heat and steeping for another three to four minutes. I usually sweeten my lattes and I did add sugar to this one.

I get a lot of chamomile in the aroma but mostly taste the spice – pumpkin spice and cardamom. Oh, I love cardamom in blends like this!

Drinking it, I noticed a tingling warm sensation in my mouth from the ginger. I can imagine how delightful that will be when the temperatures are truly cold!

I am so glad this has honeybush as the base instead of the ubiquitous red rooibos which is not a favorite of mine. I greatly prefer honeybush or green rooibos in its place. This carries the spices so much better and lets them shine more, in my opinion.

It passed the husband test and was deemed as a worthy bedtime treat. And now the warm milk and chamomile combo have made me sleepy, so off to bed!