75

Sipdown no. 128 of 2018 (no. 484 total).

I’m back from my business and pleasure trip to Sweden, which was both very interesting and very dark this time of year.

This tea had the distinction of being the lowest rated cold brew eligible tea in my cupboard (I can’t face the idea of cold chamomile), and so that is how I enjoyed it until it was gone.

Greener oolongs make unexpectedly good, unusual, cold brews in my experience. I enjoyed this as a cold tea.

derk

I have dreams of traveling to that region. The envy! What was most interesting to you?

__Morgana__

I was only in Stockholm, but I would have liked to go to the archipelago. Most interesting: everyone drinks lots and lots of coffee, the city is basically cashless (so you don’t need to change much money which I didn’t know before I did that at the airport, so I have a ton of krona left), it’s not as cold in Stockholm in December as you might think — it’s a city kind of cold, like in NYC, not a bitter cold, and it gets dark at 2:30 and light at 9 a.m. this time of year. Not kidding. Oh, and the subway is excellent — very easy to get around on and the trains come every five seconds. The ABBA Museum sounds corny and it is, but it was also fun, as was the Vasa Museum - big warship from the 1600s sank on its maiden voyage when a gust of wind blew it over in the harbor. It sat at the bottom of the harbor until the 1950s when they pulled it up, restored it, and built an entire museum around it. Beware of the licorice. It isn’t sweet, it’s salty and smoky, so be prepared. :)

derk

Those are some good pointers, thanks. I’m actually a fan of salmiac licorice, yum.

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derk

I have dreams of traveling to that region. The envy! What was most interesting to you?

__Morgana__

I was only in Stockholm, but I would have liked to go to the archipelago. Most interesting: everyone drinks lots and lots of coffee, the city is basically cashless (so you don’t need to change much money which I didn’t know before I did that at the airport, so I have a ton of krona left), it’s not as cold in Stockholm in December as you might think — it’s a city kind of cold, like in NYC, not a bitter cold, and it gets dark at 2:30 and light at 9 a.m. this time of year. Not kidding. Oh, and the subway is excellent — very easy to get around on and the trains come every five seconds. The ABBA Museum sounds corny and it is, but it was also fun, as was the Vasa Museum - big warship from the 1600s sank on its maiden voyage when a gust of wind blew it over in the harbor. It sat at the bottom of the harbor until the 1950s when they pulled it up, restored it, and built an entire museum around it. Beware of the licorice. It isn’t sweet, it’s salty and smoky, so be prepared. :)

derk

Those are some good pointers, thanks. I’m actually a fan of salmiac licorice, yum.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

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Bio

I got obsessed with tea in 2010 for a while, then other things intruded, then I cycled back to it. I seem to be continuing that in for a while, out for a while cycle. I have a short attention span, but no shortage of tea.

I’m a mom, writer, gamer, lawyer, reader, runner, traveler, and enjoyer of life, literature, art, music, thought and kindness, in no particular order. I write fantasy and science fiction under the name J. J. Roth.

Personal biases: I drink tea without additives. If a tea needs milk or sugar to improve its flavor, its unlikely I’ll rate it high. The exception is chai, which I drink with milk/sugar or substitute. Rooibos and honeybush were my gateway drugs, but as my tastes developed they became less appealing — I still enjoy nicely done blends. I do not mix well with tulsi or yerba mate, and savory teas are more often a miss than a hit with me. I used to hate hibiscus, but I’ve turned that corner. Licorice, not so much.

Since I find others’ rating legends helpful, I added my own. But I don’t really find myself hating most things I try.

I try to rate teas in relation to others of the same type, for example, Earl Greys against other Earl Greys. But if a tea rates very high with me, it’s a stand out against all other teas I’ve tried.

95-100 A once in a lifetime experience; the best there is

90-94 Excellent; first rate; top notch; really terrific; will definitely buy more

80-89 Very good; will likely buy more

70-79 Good; would enjoy again, might buy again

60-69 Okay; wouldn’t pass up if offered, but likely won’t buy again

Below 60 Meh, so-so, iffy, or ick. The lower the number, the closer to ick.

I don’t swap. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I have way more tea than any one person needs and am not lacking for new things to try. Also, I have way too much going on already in daily life and the additional commitment to get packages to people adds to my already high stress level. (Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does.)

That said, I enjoy reading folks’ notes, talking about what I drink, and getting to “know” people virtually here on Steepster so I can get ideas of other things I might want to try if I can ever again justify buying more tea. I also like keeping track of what I drink and what I thought about it.

My current process for tea note generation is described in my note on this tea: https://steepster.com/teas/mariage-freres/6990-the-des-impressionnistes

Location

Bay Area, California

Website

http://www.jjroth.net

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