Stash Tea

Resteep, 3 min 190F. Sweet rose or lilac fragrance. Flavor leaning more toward lavendar, smooth as silk on my taste buds. Such gorgeous things, often unexpected, a white tea can have in its bag of tricks!

Beautiful multicolored, clean, rather large dry leaf with a sweet, nutty scent. Used 2 tsp to 10 oz water at 190F, steeped 4 min. The liquor is thin, bright gold, with floral and caramel flavor notes, little to no astringency.

A nice, refreshing mint tea. I’m notorious for not drinking my cup of tea in it’s entirety but I did finish every last drop of this one.

I really like this one, and it truly does taste like Christmas Eve to me. The dominant flavor is the mint (though it’s not overwhelming) and it’s backed up by bits of spice and citrus. Mmmm.

It’s nice, one that I take to work with me sometimes. Very minty.

MY LOG ENTRIES WILL BE VERY SPARSE FOR THE NEXT 3 WEEKS — I’M GOING ON A TRIP! G Now, this cuppa is good, but I like the coconut mango bagged oolong by Stash better. Next cup will be yerba mate or ginkgo, to get me going on chores with an actual functioning brain. Adios!

Because the fan is on and I’m freezing. What a treat, though! Just enough bergamot.

South Texas Summer ~ craving all my cherished teas ~ turn the A/C up!

Opening the envelope, taking out the bag, is like removing the lid of a box of chocolates. Hmmm…. haven’t tried this with milk before…. “More calcium!” I think, as I splash soymilk into my steaming cup. It turns out to be just as good, maybe even better, than without.

This iced tea tastes better after it has been refrigerated overnight. It seems to mellow out. Then I have several glasses of fast, easy refreshment on hand. I brew and store in glass for best result.

I prepared this in a big glass jar in the Texas sun for 4 hours. Cleanliness, hot sun, and quick refrigeration is essential in making “sun tea,” to prevent bacterial growth. Put in a little sugar, some Splenda, and fresh lemon, and it tastes pretty good.

Very hot water, 6 min brew for a cup of golden relaxation. The mint, lemon and citrus flavors mask the passiflora and hops better than chamomile would do on its own. For flavor, I almost prefer plain chamomile, but this is nice for a change and, perhaps, even more soothing.

Looking for soothing here. Boil water, heat the cup, cool water, fill it up. 2 min steep of the bagged form of this tea gives me a light green hazy liquor with thin body. It could have used a 3rd min to steep for stronger flavor. Good and smooth, though, and the ginger is definitely there.

4th steeping, I let it go 8 min this time. The astringency of the first 2 steeps has been replaced by a woodiness which is greener and sweeter than the 3rd steep. Without multiple infusions of this tea, I’d never have known how good it can be.

3rd steep, 3 min. I’m liking each successive steeping a bit more. This time there’s a hint of wood and sweetness, but not actually flowery. More flavor with less astringency. Smoother and richer, and finally, a thumb up.

On this 2nd steeping of 3 min, the leaves released some sweetness, with smoky undertones. I finished the cup without adding anything. Next time I do a first steep of this tea, it will be only 1 min, so it will be less harsh. As I learn how better to handle it and my palate develops, this tea might still get a thumbs up!

The dry tea is darker than it looks in the picture. First steep 2 min, light amber liquor with light mouth feel. The scent and flavors are, to my uneducated palate, more like a good Darjeeling than the richer, more floral oolongs I favor. Smooth yet pungent. An enjoyable drink, but not what I buy oolong for. The last half-cup I added milk and stevia, which went well.

Irish Breakfast, strong; / call it Super, yet it seems — / so Superfluous

an average bagged green tea nothing special but it’s not bad

Prior to steeping it smells like…kitty litter…ick! Little to no scent while/after steeping. It’s gloomy green tea color. I wasn’t sure if I would like this based on the smell and some of the reviews that I have heard about green tea and chai’s especially some of the bagged tea brands…but this isn’t terrible! It’s not super strong which some people may like especially if they are new to Chai and/or Green Tea. If you are looking for something overly spicy this isn’t it. All and all I think I will give it a thumbs up.

late on this Spring night / windows open, book in hand — / mint tea pleases me

It’s very rare that I’ll brew a cup of tea after 4pm at work, but I had a bag of this sitting in my drawer and it was just calling to me. Today has been a day of old staples (this, Orchid Oolong) and new favorites (Organic Black with Coconut).

This tea will never not be delicious.