This is a queued tasting note.
Earlier near the beginning of the month we had the monthly ‘engagement meeting’ at work which of course, as my departments rep, I had to attend. Despite the content discussed at the meetings themselves, they’re actually fairly low-key and I love getting to learn about the different departments and how they’re run, as well as just hanging out with all of the department reps each month. It’s a fun time. Genuinely.
Each month one of us brings food as well – generally something relating to our department. This month Jillian, one of the two dietitians, provided food: a lovely mango/cucumber and red onion salsa and chips made out of beans. “Dietitian approved”. While it’s no cheesecake (which is what I brought last time) it was delicious.
And speaking of food/beverages – each meeting we get free coffee made for us by the coffee bar but I don’t drink coffee! Not a drop – the last time I had an actual cup of coffee was (I’m pretty sure) my 20th birthday when my manager bought me one as a birthday present and I drank it so as to not be rude. So I decided to ‘one up’ the coffee drinkers and bring tea. I brought some of DAVIDsTEA’s Movie Night for anyone else who wanted some – there were a few takers. This is what I brought for myself – and I have to say I had a fun few minutes talking to people and explaining why it didn’t look like any tea they’d ever seen before.
I did enjoy two good infusions of this during the meeting; I could have made more but getting up multiple times to do so probably would have been at least a little frowned upon despite the ‘casual’ feel of these meetings. Even though everyone’s having fun there’s still lots of work to be done!
Sadly, I couldn’t devote my full attention to the tea as I was taking minutes in addition to just contributing – so there were moments I was sipping without noticing anything. At the end of the meeting I had that feeling of drinking really good tea but not recollecting anything about it. Thankfully, my tea obsessed self made time to write a few things in the margins of the meeting’s minutes. So, in order of what I wrote and word for word:
- Apricot notes
- Honey finish
- A nice ‘fog’/malt/cream to it
- Taste & mouthfeel
- Reminds me of a good white tea; White Rhino?
- (A drawing of ‘The Rhino’ from Spiderman)
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What sort of explanation did you give them? I’m curious about how you described it to tea newbies and what their reactions were.
I started by explaining the basics of oxidization being the main thing that differentiates general kinds of teas, and then told them that because of the unique way this tea is tied together that affects the oxidation and causes traits characteristic of several types of tea to be present. I think it went over some people’s heads – others were much more interested but because we had to move the meeting along I didn’t go into much more detail.
I love this note! I really enjoyed how you described your surroundings alongside the tea so I could put myself there with you. Also, writing your tea notes in the margins makes this feel intimate and so real. Thanks for sharing with us.
Very nice! I’ll have to check out the page for this, as I remember liking White Rhino, so if this is a suitable replacement, I may need to have some. :)
@Plunkybug, which I was certainly reminded of aspects of White Rhino I feel like I should definitely point out that this is an oolong blend, and has lots of traditional oolong notes as well. It is delicious though, and I definitely recommend trying it!
Oooh, you just said a magic word…oolong! :)
What sort of explanation did you give them? I’m curious about how you described it to tea newbies and what their reactions were.
I started by explaining the basics of oxidization being the main thing that differentiates general kinds of teas, and then told them that because of the unique way this tea is tied together that affects the oxidation and causes traits characteristic of several types of tea to be present. I think it went over some people’s heads – others were much more interested but because we had to move the meeting along I didn’t go into much more detail.
I love this note! I really enjoyed how you described your surroundings alongside the tea so I could put myself there with you. Also, writing your tea notes in the margins makes this feel intimate and so real. Thanks for sharing with us.
Very nice! I’ll have to check out the page for this, as I remember liking White Rhino, so if this is a suitable replacement, I may need to have some. :)
@Plunkybug, which I was certainly reminded of aspects of White Rhino I feel like I should definitely point out that this is an oolong blend, and has lots of traditional oolong notes as well. It is delicious though, and I definitely recommend trying it!
Oooh, you just said a magic word…oolong! :)