What rubbish timing my body has! The last week I have felt increasingly worse, headache that won’t quit, increasing body aches, but then the coughing and fever started and all I could do was go ‘well crap!’ Every Autumn since I was a kid I get a chest infection, either sparked off by allergies or as a secondary infection from a cold or flu, and I am thinking since Ben has been snuffly that it is the latter. Stupid weak lungs, it is getting in the way of me setting up my tea room! Luckily baby Advil (because silly stomach hates pain killers) Robitussin, hot steams, and copious ginger and garlic have helped take the edge off, but I am still rather angry about it.
Today I am looking at a tea that has nothing to do with being ill, which is good, though I do admit when I am feeling really awful I tend to favor a giant mug of tea over gongfucha, and this tea is perfect mug tea. 52Teas’ When Doves Cry, yes, it is a Prince tribute tea, I love Prince and his passing was a punch to the gut, so drinking a tea created in his honor while listening to his music seemed like a great tribute. Though honestly, even if this were not a tribute to one of my favorite musicians I would want it, it is made from White Tea, vanilla bean, dried apricots, and Candied violets…many of those things are favorites of mine and the combination sounded awesome. The tea smells good, with notes of vanilla and honey, apricots, a delicate violet note, and a finish of hay. Just the right amount of sweetness, not cloying but certainly not mild.
Steeping the tea really allows the base white tea to shine, with notes of lettuce, honey, melon, and hay. There are also notes of apricot and vanilla with a gentle sugar cane note at the finish. The incredibly colorful liquid (kinda blue, kinda green, violets turn things fun colors) is sweet and crisp, notes of honey and apricot dance with a distinct lettuce and broken hay note, I am glad the white tea is really standing out, a LOT of blends I have had with white tea just drown it out.
So, it is very fitting that a Prince tribute tea be unique, and this tea certainly is that. The first thing I thought was that it tasted like vanilla ice cream with a topping of apricot jam, it is sweet and rich, doubly so with the candied violets adding sugary sweetness to the mix. After the initial burst of creamy fruity dessert the white tea steps in to say hello with notes of melon and hay with a crisp lettuce note. The end has a wonderful lingering wildflower and vanilla note, the vanilla lingers for quite a while. Usually I don’t like my tea sweet, I only add sugar to Masala Chai, Ostfriesen Tea, and the occasional sour herbal, but clearly I liked this one since I tore through my sample super quickly, because sometimes it is good to step out of my ‘norm’ and have a little fun.
For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/10/52teas-when-doves-cry-tea-review.html
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His death hit me hard too.
“How can you just leave me standing?
Alone in a world that’s so cold? (So cold)
Maybe I’m just too demanding
Maybe I’m just like my father too bold
Maybe you’re just like my mother
She’s never satisfied (She’s never satisfied)
Why do we scream at each other
This is what it sounds like
When doves cry”
His death was truly the most difficult celebrity death for me. I feel like part of me died when I heard the news. I cried for days and I still get weepy when I think about it.
His death hit me hard too.
“How can you just leave me standing?
Alone in a world that’s so cold? (So cold)
Maybe I’m just too demanding
Maybe I’m just like my father too bold
Maybe you’re just like my mother
She’s never satisfied (She’s never satisfied)
Why do we scream at each other
This is what it sounds like
When doves cry”
His death was truly the most difficult celebrity death for me. I feel like part of me died when I heard the news. I cried for days and I still get weepy when I think about it.