3553 Tasting Notes
This is one I have to buy by the pound! It is one of the few teas that nearly everyone in the house loves, and guests love it, too. The tea base is very smooth, there is plenty of tea taste, and the vanilla isn’t artificial tasting. There is a nice balance of flavor here. This is not as sweet as Vanilla Comoro, also just called Decaf Vanilla at Harney and Sons, but the tea base comes out more. I love Vanilla Comoro but even the voice of love must confess that there is less flavor in the decaf tea base, though you can get around that by increasing the amount of leaf used.
We served this at tea party today, and I must say it was not very well received. I ended up drinking most of it just to get rid of it and to allow the guests to have more of their favorite teas! I added a good bit of milk to smooth out the astringency of this tea. I didn’t do the steeping of this and the person making it didn’t know to cut the time down a good bit. I had really loved this at one time, but I am just not feeling it anymore. SimplyJenW, would you like to take in about four soon to be homeless ounces of this? I think it is one you liked.
I could not resist serving this one for tea party again today. I thought it would pair wonderfully with our low fat pumpkin dip and cinnamon graham crackers. It did! This tea evokes the holidays for me more than most teas that are trying to be holiday teas! It was the hands down favorite today at tea party. The tea base is so smooth, and the flavors are so well balanced and pleasant.
Ooh boy, did I ever need a good cup of tea today! Only four hours sleep because hubby is having acute sciatic pain and pain meds are not relieving it. He awoke at 2 am saying he hadn’t been asleep and then just talking nonsense, such as repeating “ten fingers, ten toes” over and over.
That meant back to the doctor at 8:45 am (he had gone to the hospital Wednesday night) and then the inevitable trip to the pharmacy as well as grocery shopping. A bonus there…my local grocer had Stash Holiday Chai and it was on sale. Yay!
Chilly and gray, the bottom fell out and rain started to pour. I now have a cup of Tower of London made by darling youngest, who is also reading James Herriot to me as I sip tea and munch on Pepperidge Farm Brussels cookies. I am soooo glad they sell this loose leaf now. I know you can get it by the ounce from the Millerton store, but I think if you call you can probably get it that way from the web store.
This is lightly fruity and absolutely delightful, just what I need before I hit the sofa for an afternoon, rainy day nap.
Sciatica. Accupuncture!!
Praying for rest and relief for both of you. Soon!
Thank you, gmathis! And Charles, I have already considered that. My MIL’s neurologist performs it in his office. When you see nerve pain this bad, the thought of a few needles doesn’t scare you at all! This is the first time this has happened.
I forgot to mention inversion….
This is one of our first truly chilly mornings. There was a fire already roaring when I got up and the house is quiet because this is the last weekend before Sandy returns to her house so my girls were having one last sleepover bash with her dogs. Oh my, they are going to miss that!
I am also reading Snuff, the new book by Terry Pratchett, and Vimes just had to mention bacon sandwiches again, so being impressionable as I am, guess what I am having for breakfast? I had one unopened sample of this tea and thought it would be a perfect accompaniment.
The leaves smell awesome – pure tea plus a fruity scent. The tea itself is as I remembered – honeyed just a little, a little yummy fruity taste, sweet and smooth, but not as hefty as Harney’s English Breakfast. I am glad I have had this, as that fruity taste is beckoning and insisting that I put this on my next order. We shall see what happens as I make my way through this pot…
I have mixed feelings about this tea. I didn’t realize it was peppermint…I had Harney and Son’s White Christmas in mind and was looking forward to a deep, warm flavor. Still, if one has had a tough day and feels a bit bruised in the brain, I can see this tea being very comforting.
I drank the first cup plain, and got mostly plain peppermint, not too aggressive. The package recommended a bit of sugar to bring out the flavors so I tried that, and it is okay but not amazing.
I liked their Holiday Chai better, and will probably use that, Cranberry Autumn, and Boston as my holiday teas.
Yes, it is that kind of day! I need fortification, so QUEEN TO THE RESCUE!
Hubby is still on couch, but yelling less. This is improvement. A herd of teenagers will be at my house tonight to dress for a zombie walk and then carve pumpkins. ( They take their zombies quite seriously and conversations around often involve planning the details of our preparations for a zombie apocalypse. ).
For all this, I need the Queen at my side. The first two cups were taken with milk and sugar but when the bagel was gone I switched to plain with no additions at all. The Queen is versatile, and my next pot of tea today will be Queen Catherine with one teaspoon of Rose Scented thrown in.
This was especially good today for some reason. Maybe I just needed a good cuppa since yesterday my hubby came home from work early with severe back and leg pain that even a trip to the Hospital didn’t do much to alleviate. We are keeping him knocked out as best we can and trying to be very quiet!
My first tea loves were Ceylons before I fell in love with fujian province black and oolong teas. This one is very nice. It has great body and just the tiniest bit of assertiveness that lets you know you are having a cup of REAL TEA, but it isn’t astringent. I can drink it plain with no problem. I prefer this one over both UVA Highlands and Lovers Leap.
Yikes, I hope your hubby feels better soon!
My husband through his back out once and he refused to let me call an ambulance for two hours. He was in so much pain. I hope your hubby feels better very soon :)
I hope he feels better soon! I went on Tuesday w my husband for his MRI of the back and leg. He is having problems from a fused bone & he also has one leg shorter than the other from when he broke it in high school. Now that he is in his 40s it is all catching up to him. I hope the MRI lets the doctor know something to do to relieve the pain. I hope the same for your husband!! Are they doing tests or seeing if rest puts things right?
They did X-rays and said there was degenerative disc disease, but they saw that many years ago. He goes to the doctor on Tuesday and I hope he can start physical therapy very soon after. His hips were very out of alignment, causing to walk and stand like someone with one leg much shorter, even though it isn’t. They also said these problems are worse for taller people, and he is nearly 6’4" tall, with a long torso and shorter legs in comparison to most. Hope your hubby feels better soon!
I love this Pure Keemun tea! Light cocoa notes with plenty of roasty warmth, it is a nicely fortifying first cup of the day. There is no pucker at all.
Today it is paired with Pumpkin Walnut muffins. The recipe is from The Fort restaurant in Denver where Clinton held his summit, the event for which Harney and Sons was requested to create a special blend. They made Eight At The Fort in honor of the occasion, a delicious tea! Be warned, this is double pumpkin compared to many recipes, but you get about sixty muffins. We used sixty ounces of pumpkin and over five cups of freshly ground soft white Southern wheat flour. I hope they freeze well! I knows the recipe says they reheat well, so…here is hoping!
yum yum!