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There’s spring rain and then there’s wet, damp, chill-you-inside-out spring rain. The latter was the order of the day. I had to go back out in it after church (volunteer day: kids made a Cinco De Mayo meal at our local Ronald McDonald House) and needed to preheat myself a little.

This fit the bill nicely. Could drink a bathtub-sized mug without a caffeine buzz that will keep me up tonight. Usually with genmaicha, the only thing I notice is the “popcorn,” but this has a nice toasty, grassy green tea base as well. (My first review of the same tea added “spinachy” to the description, but it’s getting a little old; the edge must have worn off a bit.)

(This tea break sponsored by our friend Martin.)There are so many different fruit flavors happening here—papaya, pineapple, strawberry, apricot—it’s a little hard to pick a single one out, but together, they make a cheerful little fruit punch blend. Fruity “mishmash” teas are generally very good iced down. I think I’ll try the rest of the sample that way.

Over the years, I’ve had a few neverending tea tins…leaves that, no matter how much you remove from the tin, seem to replenish themselves in equal measure. This is one of those; no doubt it is nearly as old as a few of you, or was at least around while you were watching the Fairly Oddparents and Kablam. And yet, it remains a decent, if not stellar, Darjeeling. Has lost a little strength, but is still gently fruity. It’s a good office companion—something pleasant to drink when you’re otherwise focused.

Don’t know if you’ve noticed the great big blobs of storms and tornados on national radar this weekend, but said blobs have kept us in clench mode since Friday, with a nice case of Stormus Interruptus about 1 a.m. (All is well; the bad stuff fizzled before it reached us.)

But lack of sleep and need for energy drove me straight to the chocolate this morning—cookie dough protein bar and this decent strawberry tea. The chocolate appears to come from artificial flavoring, which always tastes a little thin and chemically, but the strawberry is just about right. Not a fussy steeper, either, which, given my groggy morning state, was helpful.

Next time, I’ll see if a spoonful of cocoa nibs beefs it up a little.

Ahhh….tea with quiet on top! After a rather rowdy afternoon (more on that in a minute), I grabbed the first viable pouch of decaf in the bin. While I won’t repeat it, because the only pecan I’m getting is in the scent, the roo is mild and the additives are smooth, if not flavor accurate. I wrote in a previous review that it’s more fruity than nutty and I’m sticking with that.

Nutty—that was the afternoon. Field trip to a new local entertainment center with 11 preteens. Half bowling alley, half indoor playground for bigg’uns (I am going to walk like a gorilla tomorrow morning), I bowled, climbed, slid, and lifted a two-year-old (my teaching assistants’ little one). Probably none of that was advisable, all of it was just goofy fun. Come with us next time.

Rarely do I say anything is too sweet for me and normally this one is a very nice almond cookie-esque dessert tea, but it’s a little much first thing in the a.m. But I woke up whimsical and went halvesies with some Mr. Shepherd’s Blend (English breakfast). It toned down the pastry aspect a little and was just right.

I still miss CuppaGeek, and the green and lemon tea was my favorite. This comes really, really close. There’s a little orange and some apple bits tossed in there, which make the lemon a little less lemony, but the vanilla and marigold give it that pillowy, marshmallowy flavor that is really making me miss my mom’s pies.

Know those little cheapie wafer cookies with various and sundry artificial flavored cream between the layers? (Lemon and strawberry are my favorites, especially chilled in the summer.) Imagine a smaller, chunkier, version filled with matcha and not-so-sweet cream—that was my afternoon break today and a lovely little birthday treat from my son. The office HVAC is out of whack, which meant it was way too sultry to steep something hot to accompany them, but once the universe is in balance again, they’ll pair nicely with something nice and green or nice and lemony.

A thoughtful birthday treat from a friend, and a welcome one—it’s unseasonably warm today and a little stuffy in the house, so chilled tea is the order of the day. (Way too early in the year to kick on the AC. We’ll rough it.)

Normally I avoid bottled teas because of the nasty citric acid that hits you first. This one uses ascorbic acid instead, which doesn’t curl my tongue quite so much. Along with preserving the drink, it bombs you with some nice healthy Vitamin C. A healthy shot of anything is appropriate when one … is no longer 21. As to the flavor, it’s a solid workhorse green base that reminded me a little of barley tea—somewhat toasty instead of vegetal.

Gotta text the friend and find out where she got it locally…this is worth a repeat.

While this rich peaches-and-cream blend is tasty hot, I’ve been waiting for warm weather in order to try it iced. Stellar. My only regret is that I used it for a lawn mowing tea, which means I was getting mouthfuls of dust and leaf mulch as well.