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Two yummy cups of Napal this afternoon. I think I’ve decided that I like the Napal better than the Ceylon among the Series 1 teas, with the Dragonwell being my favorite by far. Green teas used to be my least favorite before the tea thermometer.

Like yesterday, 1st steep while planning my day, 2nd steep while studying. I used a little less fresh leaves in my 2nd steep, about 1/4 tsp maybe, then yesterday’s Ceylon and found this worked quite well for perking up the flavor of a 2nd steep of black without making the tea bitter due to the longer steeping time (6 min today).

I enjoyed a cup of Orange Rooibos tonight while watching The Return to Cranford on PBS Masterpiece Classics. I am finding it a bit more lacking than Cranford, not sure why. I had seared scallops on grits with a sweet fennel broth at The Glass Onion for dinner. The Orange Rooibos with a bit of milk was my dessert. I was also really cold and couldn’t get warmed up.

2nd steep: 7 min. No milk. Not as strong. Still plenty of flavor.

Somehow this has become one of my morning teas on those mornings when I drink tea. Several tealogs suggest this is better as an afternoon tea. I need to try it during the day (again – I think I did when I first had it). I like it in the morning cause it’s a simple tea to drink and not too strong. I steep with 30 sec less this time. Still good.

2nd steep: +1/2 tsp fresh leaves. 6 min.
I added a bit more fresh leaves this time thinking that it would increase the strength and let me decrease the steeping time, however even with the steeping time decreased by 2 min, the tea was a bit too strong. Next time 2nd steep will be less fresh leaves at 6 min.

I drank the 1st steep while reading online and getting organized for the day. The 2nd steep while studying.

I’m drinking Dragonwell today, per last night’s tea randomizer recommendation – I didn’t end up having any tea last night. With my new ownership of a thermometer, I steeped this cup at the recommend 160 and surprise, all the yummy tea essence of before with absolutely none of the bitterness. I think I can safely come to the conclusion that I’ve been steeping my green teas in too hot water. The Dragonwell is now smoother, but the flavor seems stronger. Most enjoyable.

I love smelling tea. Both the tea itself and the tea leaves. Sometimes I just sniff at it. It might be weird. But I bet other ‘steeps’ here do it.

This was a lovely, light, slightly dry cup. So good that I immediately started resteeping it. It’s steeping right now actually.

GreenTeaSteve pointed out that white tea actually has more caffeine that green after I lamented to him that I had a hankering for green tea but needed a pick me up and felt I should have a black instead.

Edited to say that Steve disproved himself with Google. Green tea does have more caffeine than white.

Three lovely cups of Napal today. One this afternoon, first steep. Two this evening, second steeps – one was from the husband’s cup earlier. No more tea tonight, although I still want some.

I brought my second steeping of Rooibos Chai back to my desk to drink while I made of 1010 Challenge thread on LibraryThing. Alas, I’ve already consumed the whole thing while reading Tealogs here on my way there. The tea was steep for 9 min and drank without milk this time.

After a lovely dinner of beef stroganoff and a glass of red wine whose name I can’t spell at the Glass Onion, I am having some tea at home for dessert. A bit of milk and sugar have made this Rooibos Chai a lovely drinking experience tonight. I plan to steep a second cup as soon as I’ve finished this one and feed my cats.

This is a second steeping from a cup I had earlier this afternoon. I added about a 1/4 tsp of fresh leaves to see if it would make the steeping a bit stronger and steeped it for about 10 min. It’s still too hot to sip much into my mouth right now since I burned my mouth on too hot food yesterday, but I think the addition of fresh leaves helped. This tea is an enjoyable cup.

The husband and I started this morning off with a cup of Napal each. A&D DFT Napal comes in a bold orangey-red and brown tin. The tea leaves range in colors from greeny-white-brown to light-yellowy-brown to medium reddish brown to a predominating deep brown. They smell musty strongly tea. The tea is a light-medium yellowy-amber. It smells warm and tea-y. The wet leaves smell a bit of smoke, sweet, and slightly spiced. This tea tastes more strongly than the Ceylon and has more depth of taste as well. I like it a bit more too. DFT is three for three for me. I plan on ordering Series 2 before it sells out. The husband quite like this tea too, saying it was damn fine and he could get used to drinking more tea (in his robe on a rainy morning). The second steeping was weaker but still flavorfully drinkable. I do not think it would take a third steeping.

2nd steeping: 8 min.