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I’m drowning in tea and must take immediate measures to STOP BUYING MORE.

My new plan has as a requirement that I drink up twice as much tea as I replace. This requirement applies to full sized tins only. In the case of Kusmi or Upton sample tins, I must drink 2 to equal 1 regular sized (so I have to drink at a 4 to 1 ratio). For Adagio sample tins, I have to drink 4 to equal 1 regular sized (an 8 to 1 ratio).

It’s the only way I can get my house in order. I have more tea than I have room for. I’m shortly going to finish up my H&S samples and start on the American Tea Room ones, of which I have rather a ton. H&S is grandfathered in because I started sampling them so long ago, but to place an ATR order, which I no doubt will want to do, I must meet the requirements above. If I’m lucky, this will make my tea collection manageable by the end of 2010.

Green teas seem a good place to start enforcing the rule, particularly Japanese ones (though this isn’t Japanese) since I recently learned that they lose their punch after exposure to air and should be drunk with all due haste after opening. So I’m now on a mission to finish my Adagio green sampler up. I don’t want to open my Maeda-en Sinchas until I’ve finished up my open green samples, or I might not be able to drink them up before they lose their freshness.

I’ve had several cups of this, before, during and after dinner, including one that was at 200F because I couldn’t wait for the Zo to cool down. Believe it or not, that was, I think, the most successful attempt. The hotter water seems to have brought out more flavor without bringing out more bitterness. It still “tastes kinda like a plant” but there’s a little suggestion of butter, and some grassy or hay like note as well.

It’s a little unfortunate that I discovered this on the last serving of leaves, but at least I got to end on a positive note. Bye Adagio tin no. 1!

Ricky

I found a quick and efficient way to waste use up tea. Iced tea! You use about four times the amount of leaves! Well at least I do. I have two large glass pitchers so I fill them up with loose leaves. The more the merrier!

__Morgana__

I should make more iced tea. It has been hot here, but not unbearably and I haven’t been craving cold drinks. Maybe I can figure out how to make it using the Breville.

Ricky

Well, I bought a pack of those tea filters from Adagio a while back. I scoop enough tea leaves so it’s about 1/3-1/2 full and then I drop it into a pitcher of cold water and I leave it in the fridge. Cold brewed is a better term. I don’t really ice it. Well I add a few ice cubes when I pour it out to drink.

ashmanra

Oh my. I also need to institute a “rule” of some kind about bringing more tea into the house, but haven’t done so yet. I started with a tea tin pyramid, then had to make a second one, and now I am starting on another shelf. I mean to quit buying more, but then one sounds intriguing or I sample one and want a whole tin and…..well, you know what happens next.

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Ricky

I found a quick and efficient way to waste use up tea. Iced tea! You use about four times the amount of leaves! Well at least I do. I have two large glass pitchers so I fill them up with loose leaves. The more the merrier!

__Morgana__

I should make more iced tea. It has been hot here, but not unbearably and I haven’t been craving cold drinks. Maybe I can figure out how to make it using the Breville.

Ricky

Well, I bought a pack of those tea filters from Adagio a while back. I scoop enough tea leaves so it’s about 1/3-1/2 full and then I drop it into a pitcher of cold water and I leave it in the fridge. Cold brewed is a better term. I don’t really ice it. Well I add a few ice cubes when I pour it out to drink.

ashmanra

Oh my. I also need to institute a “rule” of some kind about bringing more tea into the house, but haven’t done so yet. I started with a tea tin pyramid, then had to make a second one, and now I am starting on another shelf. I mean to quit buying more, but then one sounds intriguing or I sample one and want a whole tin and…..well, you know what happens next.

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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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