Magic Hour

Backlog from yesterday:
Looked forward to this one and wondered if it would be a variation of the Morrocan Mint blend I used to live by. The ingredients, though, had a lot of spices to put a more Middle Eastern flair and resembled a chai a little bit, so here it goes into my tumbler, no more than a teaspoon, and voila.

Very balanced and sultry. The green tea provides enough body for the spices to meld with the mint and add some fresh character, and none of the spices clash with the mint. There were times I’d be concerned about the cinnamon because it does have a little bit of a fireball smell in the dryleaf, but it’s cut out by the cloves considerably. The ginger and cardamom are also effortless and do not overpower the blend or the mint. I actually sat in my car, enjoying this tea for a good ten minutes before I went in. It felt amazing on my sore throat and had a great flavor. Oddly enough, it got smoother the longer it sat in my tumbler. The spices were more pronounced after a bout 2-3 minutes, but the clove and the green tea were more prominent later on as it steeped. No bitterness or astringency.

I brewed it up two, no three more times. Ginger and nutmeg were more prominent with the mint on 2, the cinnamon and clove were prominent again on 3 with much more action from the cardamom, and four was super soft mint, nutmeg, and cardamom with a little bit of a green malt from the green tea. I’m flossing out descriptions betwixt my teeth, I know, but it’s nice to have a green tea that has great body for a mint blend. It’s also got a kind of subtlety that you’d get something from saffron, which I know is not in this blend.

You can clearly read I like this one. I feel guilty for being the fanboy on here writing the glowing Magic Hour reviews, but I’ve been really impressed with the Astrology and Wanderlust teas. I think the Wanderlust are a bit too expensive overall, but I am impressed with how each of them has been distinct with some of the wall blends. Tulum was the most straightforward out of all of them, Ravello was luxurious and clever, and this one has a blend of ingredients that I would not think would balance each other out. I was worried that this would give me more chai vibes, but it didn’t. It’s my girlfriends favorite so far too of the Wanderlust.

Sipped on this one earlier in the week.

I enjoy this blend well enough. The almond notes are kind of light and delicate and the soft marzipan-like nutty sweetness plays in well to complimentary creamy notes of white chocolate and vanilla from the flavouring. It makes me think a bit of Chinese Almond Cookies. I’ll add a link at the bottom here of a photo for reference, since I’m not sure if that’s the name most people use for that kind of cookie.

The blend is very similar to DT’s Matcha Ice Cream, complete with slight fruity undertone from the currant and a hint of stevia in the finish. I’m not personally bothered by stevia (in most cases) so I don’t mind it here, but I know stevia is mighty polarizing. I’d say the big difference between this and DT’s blend is that this feels a little less sweet and a touch more matcha forward. If you put both in front of my blindly, though, not sure if I’d be able to differentiate – this might just come off like a slightly less strongly steeped version of that tea.

Cookie Photo: https://food.fnr.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/food/fullset/2020/11/13/FNK_Chinese-Almond-Cookies_H2.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.462.suffix/1605293190160.jpeg

I think, maybe, the cookies are also something called Italian Almond Cookies? But perhaps those are two different (but similar) things that I’m conflating.

Weirdest combo I can imagine, but it’s got all the things I like in a tea thrown together in a blend. It reminds me of a passionfruit infused chocolate I got from the Minnesota Institute of Art. Smelling it, it’s more passionfruit, brewing it, it’s got the vanilla and dark chocolate as a subtle background. The tea has a lot of resemblance to the Cancer and Diamond in profile and texture, but it’s complex. It’s heady floral version of passionfruit and lemon peel brushes against the tongue, and it ends in a creamy and silky bittersweet end with the dark chocolate without clashing. Unfortunately, it doesn’t last beyond three, or really, two steeps western.

I’m into the weirdness. If it were stronger I’d rate it, but I need some time to enjoy it.

Interesting combo, intensely fruity and floral. Depending on the ratio I get in my bag, the oolong makes the fruit and floral flavors absolutely sing while the black tea helps add malt and natural sweetness. When there’s more black, it hits more in oolong territory of flavor, but the black tea despite being Sri Lankan has the same notes I get from Taiwanese or “Honey” blacks. Honey does come up. The flavoring is a secret, but there’s vanilla and stone fruit in the profile. Both leaves are hefty, and this is no low grade mix of Tie Guan Yin and Ceylon. Heady, but not cloying. I can dig it. I wouldn’t want it everyday, but the texture is amazing.

I caved and went for a monthly subscription for the Wanderlust. I’m intrigued to see how each location is portrayed.

Trying it out, it’s in the vanilla rooibos chai realm for sure and typically comforting, but the coconut and rice make it better and cut back on some of the mate’s herbiness, creaming out the spices. It tastes better with cream and sugar, or almond milk cream and sugar, but it’s solid as a straight tea. However, it sings with additions. Even my mom liked it and she doesn’t enjoy chai.

I have very little of this one left. I don’t think I’d pay the price for it online right now, but I wouldn’t mind having more around in the future. I need to linger. I wish I had a little bit more to make a better decision. I like it and it’s just one spectrum above normal, and the idea makes it stand out from typical blends. This is also more of an afternoon tea, not a night tea…the Yerbe has sneaky caffeine.

Love, love, love the name of this tea.

The tea itself ain’t so bad either. It reminds me heavily of the typical Monk’s Blend but with a bit of a deeper and more “purple” fruit note from the inclusion of currant, and just a smidge of a stronger vanilla note than what’s usually present. In my head it’s kind of like if you turned the dial up by just one or two notch’s when making a Monk’s Blend. It works!

A weekend cuppa!

This was a well balanced trifecta of flavours: sweet cinnamon and vanilla, creamy coconut and rice pudding, and spicy/earthy ginger. Definitely channeling all of those wonderful and expected horchata flavours, but with that extra little oomph from the spices. Very smooth. Even more cozy.

Quickie tasting note (and last one for the night) because it’s 10:30PM for me and I’m tired.

Definitely enjoyed this one! It’s got a rich flavour and an equally rich and creamy mouthfeel to go along with it. The cinnamon is the star in terms of spices (as it should be) but the additions of ginger and ashwagandha really make this feel more Chai like and bring an interesting spicy addition to the thicker sweet coconut and rice elements. It feels like a boosted horchata and I can totally see it being delicious as a latte – especially with coconut or rice milk!

This was an interesting one – like a medley of different chocolate covered fruits, but all ones that would be a bit more unconventional to see coated or dipped in chocolate. The mango, in particular, seems strange to me paired with chocolate. There’s other stuff going on in the blend too because of coarse there is (all of these blends seem so busy!). The coffee leaf is a cool addition and I’m always excited to see it used since most of the time it comes from Wize and the work they do is just so good – but I think the taste gets lost here…

The chocolate flavour itself is nice though! Smooth and a tiny bit truffle-like but with a hint of that more liqueur type of element that some chocolate flavouring has. It just enough though, and I don’t find it cloying or overly boozy. Best of all, the liquor of the tea wasn’t oily and that was a huge plus for me. The fruits are strange because the blend is definitely fruity but I found it hard to say it tasted like any one particular fruit. I guess if I had to name something, I felt like the fig was sort of the clearest note? It’s not particularly bright/saturated in terms of the fruit profile – makes me think a bit more of a preserved or dehydrated fruit leather. And then, the whole cup has a soft floral undertone to it.

Overall, I liked it – but I wouldn’t jump out of my seat to go make myself another mug and I don’t know that I’ll want more when I inevitably finish off the sample either.

Iced!

There’s a lot of different fruits in this blend and none of them specifically stand out as, like, a singular flavour you can taste. It’s sort of just a more mellow and refreshing tea that kind of tastes “generically pink”. I guess maybe mixed berry if you wanted to get specific, and if I was blind tasting I could see a world where I interpreted the notes as a more floral lean and less conventionally sweet/tart strawberry note??

But to be super honest I really think that my brain would go to strawberry more so because the aftertaste is sooooo fresh and basil forward? Just a really good clean, crisp herbaceousness from the tulsi. Why would that make me think strawberry? Simply just because strawberry and basil are a much more common pairing that really any other berries/fruits. But all that said I enjoyed this a lot! I didn’t need it to have a really clear fruity flavour direction to still be refreshing and balanced feeling with the white tea base and tulsi inclusion.

Just finishing off a mug of this tea.

There’s a lot of ingredients in this blend and it feels a bit like Magic Hour sort of just tossed in every ingredient they could make some type of wellness claim for instead of developing something more concise and targeted. It also means the flavour is pretty scattered and all over the place.

Truthfully, I actually think it tastes really delicious. They call it a dragonfruit tea but that’s definitely not the flavour I’m getting. Though, it is hard to say SPECIFICALLY what it tastes like other than, like, sweet and berry-like. Maybe a berry fruit punch? It’s not cloying though (which I like) and there’s a sort of “plump” roundness to the more blue/purple oriented berry notes. It was very smooth to sip on without any off notes, and I got the impression it would be very, very refreshing as an iced tea or cold brew.

Persimmon tea blends are so uncommon so I got really excited when I saw that Magic Hour carried one, and I immediately knew I wanted to try it. Truthfully, I could have cared less about the butterfly pea flower – but I get that there’s still a lot of people who love the aesthetic/gimmick of it.

Smelling the dry leaf, I got worried – it did not smell good. Definitely like that bag of dried fruit “chips” that you get from the wholefoods store on an afternoon where you’re telling yourself you’re only gonna have healthy snacks – a little stale and musty. Add to that the less than appealing aroma of a lot of butterfly pea and… wasn’t looking good.

But, I drank a mug today and was kind of pleasantly surprised. It does steep up a gorgeous shade of blue, though maybe just a biiitttt more of a teal-ish colour. Definitely not as “deep blue” as I’ve seen a lot of BFP blends, and there were greenish undertones. Pretty though, nonetheless! But as I’ve already said, I didn’t buy this because it was pretty. I bought it because I wanted persimmon!

So, does it taste like persimmon!? Yeah! It’s not the sweetest and most juicy persimmon tea I’ve had, and definitely still has soooommeee of that “dried fruit” taste that’s a bit flat, but the key medley of floral and honey notes that make persimmon so distinct were both there. I think it would have been better without the more musty notes of the BFP. This blend eres on the more delicate side (white tea base def leans into that quality) and there’s a lot of butterfly pea so the flavour isn’t masked at all and, honestly, it probably contributes to that dried out fruit effect.

So, overall… Enjoyed the cup, doubt I’ll have problems finishing off the sample bbbuuutttt it’s not the 10/10 persimmon blend I was hoping it might be.

Cold Brew!

Though this wasn’t an unpleasant blend it was very different from how I had remembered it, and I don’t think it totally matched the mood I was in. I was looking for something a little more tart, juicy, and heavily sweet and instead this was more medium bodied with very fragrant tropical fruit notes like guava and a strong floral and rosy finish. Missing that rich hibiscus tartness I was wanting, and though it had some sweetness it wasn’t quite the saturated flavour I wanted. In fact, there was maybe as much bitterness as the was sweetness. Like a pithy citrus rind in the forefront and then a sweeter mellow tropical and floral finish.

I’ve been seeing this company pop up a lot of places recently (including here on Steepster) and, though I don’t personally care about horoscopes/astrology or agree with most of the really bold wellness statements the company is making, I did find myself attracted to the flavour descriptions of their blends and the really gorgeous packaging/photography…

So obviously I placed on order.

I just picked a random tea from my order to start with, and it ended up being this blend which is a mix of different tropical fruits, garcinia cambogia (which feels like a wellness fad from long, long ago at this point), and roses – sort of like a sparkling wine vibe according to their copy writing!?

Truthfully I didn’t like it much when it was hot – but I don’t think I could exactly tell you why. It did taste fruity in a more light and refreshing way with notes of bright and almost sour pear alongside some more citrus-y kind of vibes with floral undertones. It got much, much better as it cooled though and when it was fully room temperate it did start reminding me a lot of sweet prosecco. I would be very, very interested to try it cold brewed I think!

Very sad sipdown. Shared this with my girlfriend, and it was smooth, floral, juicy, and naturally sweet and with the right type of dryness at the same time. It was so sweet it reminded me of a strawberry pez candy. I’m really going to miss this one. Definitely a reorder. Unfortunately, on the the jars are sold for sample sizes and I already have one. They are very useful little things for transporting other loose leaf, though.

This is the GIRLIEST tea I have, and it’s for my birth month. Based on the reviews and site, it was likely intended as an iced tea or a mocktail alternative. I haven’t iced it yet, but served it only western for a few sessions typically beginning with 3-4 minute steep times, and then I keep reusing the leaves at length. The most I’ve rebrewed so far was 5 or 6 times.

The overall profile is very straightforward in having a champagne like pink hue, but the strawberry and jasmine really lead it downplaying potential dryness the champagne flavoring might have. Strawberry takes the lead for the most part, and the lemon myrtle serves to add sweetness and acidity to the strawberry. Silver needle and lower grade white tea were combined for it to both elevate the profile and fill it out to prevent the tea from becoming too thin. I enjoyed that the tea was delicate, but sweet with just the right amount of viscousness. Everything combines together in a blend that oddly works, balancing sweet, floral, acidity, and dryness all at the same time. Simple ingredients, but complex profile of dimension to three primary flavors.

I really liked this one and could see myself getting more if it weren’t so expensive. It’s more of a special occasion kind of tea, and I’m saving some for midnight tonight for the new year.

Got this for the oolong. This is the November tea, and uses a Tie Guan Yin for the base. Initially, I was kinda meh about the first serving since it was a cinnamon heavy oolong tea leaning partly into chai territory, but later sessions went into the opposite effect. The oolongs profile is actually very strong into the floral orchid territory of Tie Guan Yin, and the cinnamon with the flavors enhance the profile into something like a cider. This particular tea can rebrew often and is very forgiving. It kinda works gong fu with 30 sec increments to really push out the pear flavor, but the longer steeps bring out the apple and cinnamon more. I mostly stuck to tumbler steeping it or 3 minutes western.

The cinnamon can occasionally dominate the tea to much to the border of a fireball whiskey, but it provides a nice warming feeling and a cooling sensation in the aftertaste that’s really nice. The caramel really is not that noticeable and butters up the profile. The pear and apple flavoring are the best aspect of the blend enhancing the natural flavors of the oolong. It’s definitely a winter tea and I drank it more often in this cold December than November. Main criticism is price.

I thought I wrote about this tea, but I guess I wrote it in a random post or of another tea. I’m also sipping it down today.

This is the original staple matcha blend green tea for Club Magic Hour, and served as a template for Happy Heart. A lot of the customers on the company page and on youtube compared this one side by side to Happy Heart and most preferred that one over this one. I got this particular tea for comparison, so that’s how I’ll write a portion of the review.

Both teas were intended as a desert alternatives with the health benefits of green tea and matcha: Happy Heart was aimed primarily as a heart healthy vanilla blend, whereas this one is more of a sweet tooth satisfier. Both blends create the illusion of a chocolate profile by combining matcha and almond, with Happy Heart having more of a vanilla white matcha chocolate taste that leans into herby and grassy, whereas this one is noticeably sweeter due to the currant and stevia.

Initially, I preferred Happy Heart because of its higher grade matcha and vanilla profile, but I transitioned more into enjoying this one because it was less grassy. The black currant also highly enhanced the flavor profile into a more decadent category. My main criticism is the stevia because it can enhance the sweeter profiles, but add an artificial splenda tasting film to the tea that I’m not a fan of. Anyone who’s had stevia probably recognizes what I’m talking about.

Brewing it, I never go above 2 minutes to balance it out and get the full effect of a light creamy almond profile, unless I am tumblering it. It’s creamier as cold brew and doesn’t really over steep using one teaspoon in a 14 oz tumbler of ice and water. Hot brews, however, in a tumbler or in a traditional setting can cause it to over steep and taste like fruity old mowed grass. Doing it write, you can brew it for another solid two brews, maybe three if you have more currants in your serving.

Obviously, I like this one. I initially was going to rate it a 75, but it’s hovering closer to an 85 for me. I kept coming back to it over Happy Heart, and I’m happily sipping it down now. I wouldn’t get this one in bulk like I have some of the other teas, but I don’t mind having it around.

Sipdown of the Audacious Root Chakra tea. I decided to do it Chai stlye by boiling a generously unmeasured amounf of the carob tea directly in a Turkish pot. I slowly added some sweet cream as I boiled the leaves and water, lowered the setting to medium to let it heat right. I put in a cup, sipped it, then added a splash more of the sweet cream to cool it off. This is the best way I’ve had this particular tea, so I’m concluding the best way to have chai is by making it in a boiling pot .

This morning I only did it long in a hot water then added the additives, and good, but not as thick as the boiled version, hence my new conclusion about chais for now…until I get the Chaibot machine….if it ever comes in October. I’ve waited 2 years for that thing, so I hopes it will help me plow through some tea for work quickly in the morning. I’m open to see if anyone else saw that on kickstarter and was smart to not get into it, but you know me-I’m always curious to see what the new things go. I admit it is kinda fun reteaching myself Econ by using this industry, and then helps me teach that subject when I have to in the classroom.

I’m behind on my tea reviews, and unfortunately, most of them are new teas that aren’t on the site….again. So I’ll start easy with the ones I’ve got on hand or are already in the database, and then add the others slowly. Some of them are incredible, and there’s something new, and more, from Magic Hour, Liquid Proust, Steven Smith, Crafted Tea Leaf, and swaps. I’m half tempted to add them to random at once, but some deserve more attention.

As to these, I’ve sipped down Epiphany while camping, and made some Joyous today. Epiphany will be missed, dearly for its fruity vanilla combo and its headache relieving power.

Joyous hit me a little differently today. I’ve been reading the ACOTAR series by Sarah J. Maas with my girl friend for one of my summer reads. I’ve only finished six books so far, 2 nonfiction, and the rest fantasy. I’ve got some THOUGHTS on those books, and I’d be happy to see if there are any other readers. I’m enjoying it, but have a lot of reservations about certain aspects of character development and ethics. Anyway, the cirtus and salt description of one of the cities in the book series, Valeris, made me go for citrus and passion, so Joyous is my “teaparing” for it. Aries would have been great for the first book since it’s Beauty and the Beast, kindof, but the second and third, I’m not sure. Joyous has a very strong citrus, vanilla, and slight minerality to it that made me think it was a good choice. It’s also the passion chakra for groovy nerds, and the sensuality connection is also decent.

As for the tea, I’m enjoying it more than I initially did. I rebrewed it three times with roughly four grahams mug style, and it was a great balance of orange, bergamot, vanilla, and malt with no astringency or bitterness whatsoever. I can’t remember if there’s any spice to it, yet there was barely a hint in exchange for smoother flavors. The Epiphany and the Throat Chakras are still my favorite of this bunch of 7 teas, but Joyous is growing on me.

I"ve had the Epiphany Tea twice while playing Hogwarts Legacy. I boycotted the game for a while and failed. It does a better job with Hogwarts then the films did. JK Rowling is still blacklisted for me personally for all kinds of reasons, and I think that doing another adaption of Harry Potter so soon after a failed Fantastic Beasts franchise is a bad idea….I know there might be some that will disagree, yet there’s so many artistic issues that could come up. Are they going to reuse John William’s score, for starters? As for the tea, it’s helped with my headaches. The fruity combo with the pu-erh and the vanilla is really welcomed. I’m deeply regretting not adding this one and the throat tea to my last order.

I should do a proper review of each, but I’m buying a house, and I’m running out of patience to copy and paste from 7-8 tabs. So I’ll do a break down of each tea in order. Some I have much more to say than others. I’ll list ingredients when I can, and I’ll do it in order of chakra.

Audacious Root Chakra

Ingredients: Roasted Chicory Root, Saigon Cinnamon, Maca, Eleuthero Root Ginseng, Carob, Dandelion Root, Burdock Root, Extracts of Macadamia, Hazelnut, and Almond.

I only had this once western so far, and it’s one that needs some cream and sugar to umph it up. It’s definitely blended like a coffee alternative tea, and I really like the macademia extract in the flavoring, but it’s kinda weak. It’s nice that it is not overspiced, but it’s sold as a Mexican Hot Chocolate type of alternative profile. Otherwise, it gets overpowered by the carob and herbs making a dirt taste on its own. With cream and sugar, it’s a soothing tea. I think I’ll need more of the tisane materials in the next cup.

Joyous-Sacral Chakra

Ingredients: Black Tea, Orange Peel, Hibiscus, Rosehip, Marigold, Orange essential oil and Bergamot Essential Oil

This is a black tea that I might have already written about. It’s extremely similar to constant comment. The bergamot is not as noticeable as the orange, but it’s got a light acidity with a black tea that really doesn’t get to bitter. I like this one straight or with sugar, but it can work with a splash of cream. Otherwise, it’s pretty smooth yet straightforward and unassuming.

Salutation Solar Plexus Tea.

Ingredients: Green Tea, Ginger, Dried Pineapple, Lemongrass, Orange Peel, Turmeric Root, Pineapple Extract

This was an easy one to like for me. I’m a sucker for pineapple flavors done right, and I like the ginger used in the combo. The flavor is also very straightforward. Ginger tends to dominate, but the Pineapple and lemongrass are good combos. The orange peel can be a little bit distracting despite giving the tea more zest. Either way, it’s meant as a stomach soother and incidentally doubles as a throat soother. It’s great with honey, and warming and sweet on its own. My mom kept on coming back to this one, and this is an easy 80. The leaves are a bit hard to clean up, and that’s the only complaint. It rebrews nicely.

Happy Heart

I’m cheating on this one-I already wrote several reviews on it. It’s unusual for a vanilla green tea that almost gives a white chocolate taste and vibe, but occasionally gets overpowered by the green herbs in the blend. I either love this one, or get overwhelmed by its grassiness.

Quintessance-Throat Chakra Tea

Ingredients: Cinnamon, Ginger, Green Tea, Lemongrass, Marshmallow Root, Blue Cornflower Petals, Ginger Honey Crystals, Vanilla Extract.

Loooove this one. As described, it gives a apple pie vibe with a very nice vanilla whiff and creamy aftertaste. Vanilla+Apple+ Ginger+Creamy+Spicy= something I really like. It’s good with honey, but perfect and nuanced on its own. The balance between the ingredients and flavors is brilliant.

Epiphany Third Eye

I’ll come back for the ingredients on a 2nd edit. Surprisingly, it’s a pu-erh black blend with black currants, elderberry, and other berries and extracts in it. It’s got a bit of a candle vibe in it’s slight smookiness, but the flavoring is extremely fruity. I could gong fu or western it. I mostly get shifts of the berry, and it was very easy to drink with its vanilla accents. A good majority of Zhena’s teas have vanilla, but they are used to compliment creamy flavors. I’ve noticed it’s usually combined with black currant. Again, no complaints on my end. However, I have not decided on the rating, but I am very much into it. This is blasphemy, but it’s got the same vibes of the traces of Butiki teas I’ve tried. I’d be curious to see if there are any other Butiki parallels someone would notice here, at the risk of sounding like a seller for an already hype-marketed company.

Lotus Mind-Crown Chakra

It’s a jasmine white tea blended with butterfly pea flowers, lavender, and pear extract for flavoring creating a deep blue liqour. Gotu Kola is the medicinal herb in the blend. Describing the flavor is kinda difficult, because it really does not hedge on one ingredient for flavor. The smell reminds me of soap or incense, and my mom asked if the tea had Frankincense in it. I got the same vibes too, and drinking it straight, it had the same vibe. It’s herby, floral, and drying with vague fruit hints. Frankincense is related to holy matters in and outside of Christianity, so going for an incense vibe goes with the crown chakra divinity theme. I would meditate with this blend, but as for enjoying it, I’m not sure. I can see the incense qualities discouraging away some people, but it’s not nearly as soapy as the Libra blend and does have some nice qualities.

So, I’ve collected all of them and I recommend most of them. Root chakra was the least pronounced in terms of flavor, so it was my least favorite. The throat chakra might be my favorite in terms of ingredients and flavoring, but the Third Eye trails close behind in being an original pu-erh take on a third eye blend. I’ll likely have more to write about for these teas, but they are pretty original. I would only get some of them in larger amounts, and I think the jars are only worth it in travel sizes to reuse. They are surprisingly durable, and very pretty, so I’ll be ready to have some reusable mini jars for my other tea samples.

I pushed back opening this big bag, but as fall’s coming around, my cravings for something more level and spicy rolled in. It’s more than doing the job before I impulsively get chai teas. There’s a few others from Magic Hour I’ve eye balled yet again. The shipping and my need to budget have restrained me, and unfortunately, there are teas I have bulk of that I’m not enjoying nearly as much as certain samples I’ve ran out of or that I’m about to finish off. I’m half tempted to add bread to the notes for this one, making me think of an orange cranberry biscotti with just enough spice. Upping the rating for sure. 90 is a more accurate score for cost ratio and quality (nevermind the whole pieces of vanilla pods that land my pot), but I keep coming back to it, then I hold off so I don’t guzzle it in less than a month.

Now, it’s time for me to grade and watch some Wheel of TIme. I’ve weirdly enjoyed the series even though it’s not book accurate, though I had a hard time with Robert Jordan’s writing style. His alternation between a modern writing voice, contemporary religion, and fantasy tropes and cliches threw off my suspension of disbelief several times as I was reading. I know I’m a total hypocrite because I like Tolkien, Herbert, Weeks, and Gaiman, but the blended world building doesn’t sit right with my brain every time I read it. The TV show has issues too, but the blended cultural aspects are more cohesive to me. I’m thankful they just refer to the Dark One generally instead of lambusting you with the different names for Satan in Arabic, Chinese, and so on.

I wonder if anyone else on here has read Wheel of Time, and I’d be open to comments and debate about it. I know it’s considered to be on of the greatest fantasy series of all time, and a huge personal favorite for many people, so I know I may have upset a few people, but preferences be preferences.