Pickwick

Pickwick used to be my grandmother’s tea of choice, so there is a sentimental element to my opinion.
Good with some milk, if you are into that sort of thing.

O HAI THAR SNOWSTORM!

The very day I decide that it’s no longer necessary to check the weather situation before leaving for work, we get a snowstorm that I, obviously, didn’t know about. Lovely. Left 1½ hours earlier from work and it took twice as long as ususally to get home. Luckily I have tomorrow off, but I’m not really sure how easy it’ll be to get to my parents’ house on thursday… We’ll see. No amount of snow can get between me and a roasted duck without having to put up a fight!

I’m pooped now, so I’ve been spending an hour debating with myself if I was too lazy to make a proper pot or not. Eventually I decided on a compromise. I’ll bag it first, and then make a proper pot afterwards when I’ve got some energy back. (I hope!)

I just added this ancient little forgotten thing to my cupboard. I must have forgotten it when I added everything else. And hey, look! I did have something with oranges!

It’s a bit oversteeped because I nearly forgot about it, but the smell doesn’t reveal any damage. The colour is a kind of murky yellow, and I can sort of smell both orange and peppermint. Sort of, because they’re both very synthetic smelling smells.

Wow. Even oversteeped and with one bag in a relatively small cup, it still tastes kind of watery and thin. It’s totally drinkable, but it’s not something that I would ever recommend.

It’s kind of strange because when I take a sip, I either get the two (still synthetic) flavouring agents, OR I get a substandard green tea flavour. But never both at once. It’s a guessing game in a cup. I got peppermint on this sip. What will I get on the next sip. Hands up those who think substandard green tea!

Backlogged from this morning’s travel mug. My, my. I do believe the Drama Llama visited Steepster last night. Complete with Martyrian Exit and everything. I will outright admit that I might not have handled it too well. Wank makes nobody look good, and I’m no exception. A better approach would probably have been to show them how to write a discussion prompt without being hurtful in the process, but I was too angry at the time to realise that. Again, my apologies to the admins for not having managed to contribute in a constructive way, but it doesn’t change the fact that I stand 100% by every single word I said. Or wrote, if you prefer.

One good thing did come of it, though. This morning I enjoyed my cheap-as-dirt and supposedly-white bagged tea IMMENSELY. Spite can make the mediocre occasionally exceptionally awesome.

Cheers, all!

Backlogging, yesterday morning.
I had this in my travel mug yesterday morning and right now I’m working off some scribbled notes in my notebook. it’s the last variety from that sampler box I bought and this one is just (supposedly) white tea. I’ve taken all the bags out of the box and put them in my pretty little wooden teabag box, so they’re all a little further away from each other. It should keep the contamination of flavours down at least a little bit. Of course that’s probably too late, but there you are.

Anyway. The aroma was nutty, but the taste was rather boring. That said, at least it actually tasted white and it didn’t seem to have been contaminated by the other flavoured and more smelly varieties in the box.

It’s not by any means an outstanding white tea, but out of the four in the box, it was by far the best and it would be excellent for use in the travel cup.

Another one from that sampler box. Apple and lemon. Slightly odd combination if you ask me, but on the other hand I was also surprised at how well vanilla and mint went together so you never know.

The bag didn’t smell of anything at all, really, but when I poured the water on, I get a strong scent of lemon and underneath it apple. So that bit checks out. (Can you tell I’m biased?) It’s just that it’s so perfumed. It smells more like something you might dab behind your ears rather than something you would drink.

I’ve tried their green lemon tea before and found it wildly synthetic in flavour so I’m not getting my hopes up about this one. I was right. It is indeed the same perfumed lemon that they’ve used for this one. I can barely find the apple underneath.

I’ve been through three out of five varieties in this box now, and I’m reaching the conclusion that I kinda already new. This sort of thing is NOT the way to introduce yourself to the world of white teas.

I’m saving the pai mu tan I got the other day for a special occasion (and I’ve got one in mind) and this sampler box is seriously making me look forward to it.

I’ve had nothing but water and peppermint tisane to drink since mid-morning saturday. I am absolutely dying for a cup of proper tea now. I was already yesterday, but I was still feeling delicate enough that I didn’t dare have anything with caffeine in it. The only decaf I have was given to me in swaps and they deserve more attention that I would be able to give them while sick. Today I’m down to the monumental headache that always shows up post illness, so I’m having a tentative go at a small cup of tea.

Just in case, though, I’ve chosen a cheap and mediocre one. It wouldn’t feel as much of a waste.

Mediocre or not though, you lot have NO IDEA how good this is right now!!! This could have been the worst quality tea in the world and it would still have been lovely. If this had been the first time I logged this one I would have given it a 100. I don’t care about the semi-synthetic melon or the way that the tea is only barely present underneath. Just having a cup of tea is enough, and any tea will do.

Maybe I can even have some real food today too…

I’m bagging it this morning. Just to be provocative.

That is all.

Still snowing. Still bagging it.

I can’t get warm. Brrrrrrrr! Just trying for a bit of variety here. Seeing as I log everything in my OCDness, you can probably expect a load of quick bag-logs like this while I’m trying to make my body temperature normal again. I’m already cuddling up under my duvet in the sofa.

This one always surprises me a bit when I taste it. How melon-like it is. How dry a sort of flavour it is. How clear a picture I get in my head of melons when I taste it. Hopefully it can also warm me up.

Backlogging. Had this in my travel mug this morning. Wasn’t something I was really drinking quickly and I found the melon flavour very pronounced.

It was relatively okay for a morning tea, I suppose. Mostly I’m kind of indifferent to it.

The bag was okay for the morning though where I didn’t really care all that much about anything else than caffeine content.

This is another one of the bags I got today, although it’s not from the white sampler box. (There was a special offer on two boxes and I couldn’t not get two! Shh!) This is just ordinary black with fruit.

The smell of the dry bag is overwhelmingly melony. You are not in doubt for a moment what sort of additive we are talking about here. It’s the same thing while it’s steeping although it does turn a little more synthetic in nature.

The brew is dark and it immediately gets that oily layer on the surface. Any good quality loose leaf tea gets it too after it’s been standing around for a good while but in this one it’s instant. I assume it must have something to do with leaf size.

The melon is very pronounced in flavour, but it’s not sweet. It tastes rather more like the skin of a melon rather than the actual flesh. Or a melon that isn’t quite ripe yet. Not sure what the drawing on the box is supposed to be, but I’m assuming when we say ‘melon’ here we’re talking about cantaloupes.

The tea at the base is completely uninteresting, and really it’s not actually meant to be interesting at all because all you’re ment to get is the melon. And that really is all you get.

All that aside though, I’ll inflate my opinion of it a bit in rating, mostly because I do find it an interesting flavour in tea, and one I wouldn’t mind trying on for size in a better quality loose leaf.

I shall try my hardest not to prattle on pretentiously about everything else but the tea I’m drinking with this one. Promise.

When I tried the Soft Fruitea, I mentioned that it had been contaminated rather a lot by the jasmine of this one what with the bags not being air tightly individually packed. I also mentioned that I expected this one to be better, so let’s see if it is.

It smells pretty floral and mostly of jasmine, and that really seriously comes out when pouring the water on it. Like with the Soft Fruitea, it does get extremely dark for a white. Really it’s like a light black tea.

I can taste blossoms of both kinds, especially and not surprisingly especially jasmine, and very little tea. It’s not as cloying as the other one was and while it’s not by any measure great, I was definitely right that this one was better.

I’ve napped, so I don’t know if it’s still snowing or snowing again either way, it sure is adding up out there. Good thing about naps though is that you get warm! Finally.

This is just another one for the sake of variation, and I’m still lazy so I’m still bagging it. On top of that it’s pretty oversteeped because I forgot about it. Apart from it going somewhat lukewarm, it hasn’t been damaged though. The cardboard flavour is fully intact

It’s an addiction, buying tea, is. I can quit any time! wild eyes
I have my prejudices and snobby opinions about the sort of tea you buy at the supermarket. The cheap mass produced teabags containing second grade tea at best. It’s very rare that I actually get some, but every once in a while I find myself in front of that shelf in the supermarket just to see if there’s anything new. A flavour or a combination there of that I haven’t seen before and I suppose it’s an okay way of checking if it’s worth trying it out at a better quality. I don’t know where in the world this brand is available, but it and Lipton are probably the biggest supermarket brands here in Denmark, and not one I’m usually all that impressed by but good enough in a tight spot. My main peeve with them is that if you read the brewing instructions on the box they insist on boiling water regardless of the type of tea. I don’t care what they say, I absolutely refuse to pour boiling water on green or white, the end.

Anyway, they had this sampler box of whites. And curiosity overwhelmed me. How much of a mess have they managed to make out of the delicate, valuable white tea? I figure if it’s awful, it’ll be good enough for the travel mug in the morning (and easier to prepare in a hurry) than my more expensive but better quality whites and greens.

It smells heavily perfumed and a lot like jasmine actually, which prompts me to see if there is a jasmine variety in the box. Guess what, there is.
Dear teabag producers. Jasmine scented tea is NOT a good choice to put in a sampler box, as it will turn everything in the box into a jasmine scented tea. -Me.
I can find the smell of grapes and pear, but it seems sort of synthetic.

I can pick up the pear in the flavour and it tastes natural. I can’t really find the grapes and the tea on which it was based does taste white, but also very bland and dull. I should like to know exactly which white tea this is supposed to be. It doesn’t help that these bags are not packed individually in an air tight way so it has picked up some of the jasmine from that other one in the box. I expect the variation with jasmine and orange blossoms will work a lot better than this one.

I have to say that it’s possible that I feel about pear the way I do about peach. I love the fruit, but I don’t much care for them in tea. Still, the tea as a whole totally lived up to my expectations.

ETA: I just added this tea and rated it 41, but on the tea’s profile it says 61. How does that work?

this would be the sort of tea I get at my parents’ house unless I bring my own. Teabags of comparatively okay quality. I haven’t in teh past been all that impressed with the green teas of this brand, but I can think of stuff that are significantly worse quality.

I’ve never had a green earl grey before and I’m not really sure what to expect. It’s steeping right now so I haven’t tasted it yet.

It doesn’t really smell at all like earl grey as I know it, but I can definitely pick up the citrus.

Tastewise it’s a bit of an O.o experience. I could have sworn I picked up a hint of chamomile! It’s drinkable, sure, but I don’t think it’s a flavour I’m feeling inclined to go seeking out. There is of course the possibility that it has become perfumed by other teas as it came from a variety sampler pack.

It’s just that I have a very fixed idea when I think ‘earl grey’. And this is not it. This isn’t even remotely anything I consider earl grey-ish.

A black tea I can drink without milk without gagging.

Not great. Borderline unpleasant. Think I’ll bin the rest of the packet.

strong energetic slightly bitter, in a good way

I consider Pickwick a sort of average quality when it comes to bagged tea. You can get better but you can definitely also get worse. Much worse. This is a pretty old one, because I tend to forget that I have it, but if you consider the level of quality it’s pretty good. It’s not an outstanding tea by any definition of the word, but it’s definitely drinkable, refreshing and the elderblossom flavour is there without being synthetic.
Let’s not talk about the appearance though because it’s very unclear and murky to look at, although this might have something to do with the bags being several years old and probably past their prime.
I think this would work nicely for an iced tea. Perhaps with a dash of something sweet and fruity.