Antarctic Expedition Tea

sipdown yes with maple syrup. happy tea times rolled into crappy day :)

Why am I awake so early on a Saturday morning? …yawn…
Because Tony & his best friend Deer Hunter Dan are going to Cabela’s.
It’s bow hunting season, & Dan decided his 20 year old bow needs to be replaced. I was gonna loll around in bed alone, but I figured I might as well get up, work on my nanowrimo novel for a couple hours, treat myself to brekkie, & then I have a client coming at 2:00 to plan a wedding.

So I’m sitting here, bleary eyed, yawning, with bed-head, and the final cup of this tea, Sil’s contribution to the BBBB. It’s bold, with an almost coffee-like bass note. It is also fairly astringent, & this morning I can almost hear a trumpet playing revely in the frozen campground of my mind. I can also feel the caffeine rising in my bloodstream. Sipdown! I’d like to get down to 200 teas by the end of the weekend.

Another tea from the BBBB, this one courtesy of Sil. I was super excited to see this sample in the box as it was one I had read about on Silk Road’s website and wanted to try it. It is a nice black blend. There’s the faintest hint of orange or bergamot in it that I didn’t expect nor really want, but it didn’t put me off too much like most earl grays do. I got a couple good steeps out of it too. I don’t think I’ll order any, but I still have some more to play with that I will enjoy. Thanks Sil!

Sipdown, 139. Thanks to Sil for this sample. The history behind this one is pretty cool so I am interested to try it.

I have read tasting notes on this one that say it is “bold” and a little rough around the edges. I would imagine that is what you need when exploring the antarctic. I knew I would likely prefer this one with milk and sugar, but I didn’t want to try this one only with milk and sugar. So I brewed it two ways: one straight, and one with additions.

I also brewed it a bit cooler. Straight it’s not as rough as I thought it would be, but it does have a hint of bitterness/astringency around the edges. With additions, it’s a reasonable black tea but nothing that really jumps out at me. I mean, I guess that’s what it is, a sturdy black tea. But if I were exploring the antarctic today, I would bring a slightly more interesting tea with me. :)

This is another sample that Sil generously sent me. Thank you for sharing.

I don’t like this. Maybe it’s just too fussy for work, but it’s too strong, too bold. I don’t need to be hit over the head. I think it’s bitter and astringent. Thanks Sil but I’m really happy you only send me a little of this. Others may like it, to each their own, but this isn’t for me.

Edit I’ve re thought my opinion on this. Drank 2 more steeps of it in the afternoon. It actually got better the more I steeped it. It was just over powering on the first steep but did mellow out with in later ones. I still think there are much better blacks (for my taste) out there, but this might not be as bad as I initially thought.

One of my favourite teas, so sad that it’s discontinued as it was a limited edition tea based on tea drunk on an expedition to Antarctica (Was it the Scott expedition? I forget). I love the smokey, richness of this black tea. Really nice with some milk and sugar. Great bold breakfast tea. Not overpoweringly smokey, either. I’ve gone through two HUGE tins of this stuff and am sadly down to my last stash, which I will have to ration out. Any suggestions for something similar? Would this be like a Russian Caravan type tea? I’ve never had anything like this before.

Sipdown! Thanks Sil!

Interesting to try this tea, but I didn’t guess I’d be a big fan, and I was right. It’s bold and brisk (as would be expected from a tea intended for an antarctic expedition), and although my mug of it is not astringent, I prefer a bit of a smoother, mellower body. Taste-wise, I’m getting a mouthful of malt, and maybe a hint of chocolate, so it’s actually a profile I find reasonable, it’s just a little too bold and plain. Probably good with milk, though :)