3029 Tasting Notes
Inspired by one of you fine friends who mentioned unflavored chamomile with milk, I scrabbled around and found what appears to be the last bag of straight-up chamomile in the house to try it. If I’ve tried chamomile with dairy before, I have long since forgotten, but I think it needs to work itself into my evening routine much more often. Ooh…maybe with a dollop of honey next time.
Another seasonal friend I can finally invite to my cup! The first of the nicely balanced flavors I noticed this morning was raisin, then a nice rush of cinnamon and cream. The only change I’d make if I were in charge of the world would be to add a base that is a little more bready—the base is pretty mild. All the same, it made for a lovely breakfast.
NO-vember is right. I am in denial that the year is slipping down the drain, particularly since we were cheated out of proper October weather. One should not have to wear short sleeves and flip flops at Trunk or Treat! Furthermore, what colorful foliage we did have (not a lot because it’s been so dry) blew away in a three-day gust fest. It’s all on the ground now.
Grump, grump, grump.
On the bright side, the weather has indeed shifted, we are looking forward to a cool, rainy, weekend, and I am able to enjoy a warm cuppa in the evenings. Case in point, this simple little mishmash from TeaMaze. Chamomile, apple, cinnamon. Nicely balanced, nothing else needed.
The only quirky thing about it is the crazy-long recommended steep time. Twenty minutes, seriously. I just started the cup well in advance of rocking chair time, nearly an hour, and heated it back up. Still mild and gently fruity.
I might be romanticizing it a little, but you know when you break out a seasonal tea that you haven’t enjoyed in months, and you think, “Well, hello, friend?” Enjoying a long-overdue catch up with this semi-sweet caramel treat, smiling with every sip. It’s not sticky sweet or sloppy buttery. More like a very light coating on a bowl of caramel popcorn.
I’ve only made one other note about this Yogi blend, but the box is nearly gone…the backstory is that our Walmart Neighborhood market had this crazily sale priced at 25 cents last winter/spring; a price like that made it worth the risk.
I truly despise most Yogi teas because they are loaded with way too much licorice. This one, however, uses stevia for sweetening, and while that’s still a little strong for my taste, it does give the peppermint a bit of a candy cane vibe. The peppermint is also helpful when you’re working off the effects of a Halloween potluck at work.
Bigelow does a holiday Peppermint Bark tea that leans to the sweet side; this is a close cousin. Will I buy it again? If I find a 25 cent price sticker on it, you betcha!
After months of drought, a summer’s worth of noisy storms and rain hit about bedtime last night, so I broke out the big guns this morning to propel myself out the door. This is really strong for a bagged tea, and maybe a little astringent for an Assam. (I haven’t steeped it enough times to land on what I consider perfect steeping parameters.) All the same, with milk, it’s doing its job.
I steep this 5 minutes or less. Two bags for a 16oz go cup work well for a strong wake you up brew.
It is definitely effective in that regard! This morning it was four minutes on the timer, plus an unmeasured amount of “hang on a confounded minute, my hands are busy with something else and I can’t get to you!”
Aside from the echinacea/vitamin C boost, this differs from Bigelow’s Lemon Lift by the absence of spice. (Lemon Lift has a little secret spice blend to kick it up a bit.)
Perfectly drinkable, and with tomorrow’s agenda in mind, an immunity boost can’t hurt. Trunk or Treat tomorrow afternoon. We’re expecting 1,000 visitors. Come join us. I’ll either be shepherding a trunkful of 11-year-old skeletons and x-ray technicians or corralling the other trunkful of Blueys and Bingos (I am not a Bluey expert, but one of our volunteers had leftovers from her 2-year-old’s birthday party).
After a week of sweating and sweltering (we broke record highs twice), the temps turned authentically seasonal overnight and I woke up craving one of the fall teas it’s been too hot to enjoy. This came to mind first.
Some tea blenders don’t make much of a distinction between chai and gingerbread. The spices in this blend are stacked in a way that does make you think of cookies and soft gingerbread. A little orange peel tugs it even more in the pastry direction. Drunk with milk watching the sun come up, it’s just right.
Do your less-tea’d friends make assumptions about your tea preferences? Mine often jump to the conclusion that “You’re a tea person, so you must like chai.” So I’m usually overstocked on gifted chai versions I might not select for myself.
(That said, the thoughtfulness of a coworker who brought me this little box was a pleasant surprise during a week throughout which I have been feeling like a cranky dragon.)
This dragon breathes cinnamon, and lots of it. But as that is my favorite chai ingredient, no harm there. It’s a nice counterpoint to the rooibos, and with a little concentration, you can pick up the remaining spices. A little milk and sweetener would have improved my first cuppa, but it was pleasant and drinkable without.
100% get this all the time from very well meaning coworkers in less tea related departments (ex. allocation, accounting, etc). Usually with Earl Grey and green teas – but also I frequently have coworkers leave boxes of random grocery store teabags on my desk because they saw it while shopping and thought I’d want to see/try it. Nine out of ten times it’s a tea I’ve had before/know quite well, and ironically I’ve had that happen with this exact tea too! But I definitely appreciate the thoughtfulness/intent.
I’m drowning in lapsang for the same reason :)
My family members refuse to buy me teas, sadly. Co-workers gave me teas only once for my birthday and probably for last time as we cancelled this “tradition”.
But the thoughts definitely count and I really like them.
Our official work birthday tradition is that when it’s your birthday, you bring the treats. That way, nobody’s special day gets forgotten.
gmathis: that is a great tradition, and that is how they do it in Germany!
Found this on crazy sale during the summer and set it back for nippy weather. The licorice and turmeric way overshadow the orange and ginger elements, so I’m not enjoying it much on its own. However, I can see this as an add-in to plain decaf tea or as a mulling agent for cider. Won’t give it up just yet, but I’m glad I didn’t invest a lot in it.
I need to give this a try…
Yayyy! I’m all out because I drink it allllll the time!
I found a tin of loose leaves shoved back in a cranny. More experimentation to follow.
Chamomile, moreover with milk? Probably not for me :)
Celestial Seasonings has (had?) a honey vanilla chamomile tea that I used to drink by the thermos with milk and honey in winter. Haven’t tried it with any other chamomile teas, but I should give it a go!