Tea Cozy

Yesterday was the local Scottish Games. I am of Scottish decent, and I always love going. And I love a theme, so I brewed this up.
Whammo. This is quite the breakfast tea. This is going to wake you up weather you like it or not. I added some milk, and it took it beautifully. It was strong enough to shine through with no problems.
I’ve always heard that Scottish Breakfast blends are the strongest Breakfast Blends, and that makes sense to me. And, as a proud Scotswoman, it makes me pleased.
Cue Bagpipes!

My boss, who is a very nice person, has been fighting a cold all week. Which is is now my turn to fight.
Damn it all, boss. Keep your germs on your side of the office.
Anyway, I have no idea if this tea helped, but I’ve successfully fended off the cold, and sipped down this tea in the process.
It tasted like wet hay, which is how I know its medicinal.

So the dreaded Summer Cold is back with a vengeance! Ugh. Its really not fair to have a cold when its a hundred degrees outside, but what can one do?
Drink tea, thats what one can do!
I had a giant mug of this last night, and tucked off into bed early, and feel better for it this morning. I suspect I will drink more of it today.
It tastes, honestly, like wet hay, but there is a solid part of me that believes good for you things must taste somewhat unpleasant. Otherwise how would they work? I mean really!
But if nothing else it is hot water to help a sore throat, so that is good news.

Yesterday I felt the beginnigns of a tickle in my throat. As I’ve got stuff to do this weekend, that was not going to work.
I bought this from a local shop in the autumn, and I think its their own blend. I don’t know if it actually helps fight colds, but I feel much better today.
It tastes a bit like wet hay, which only adds to its medicinal appeal. I find myself more inclined to believe its good for me if it tastes like wet hay.
But its not a horrible wet hay flavor. But its really only going to come out when I feel the need to chase a cold away.

And a pot of this has brought me one closer to my sipdown goal!
This was a nice Lapsang Souchong, smokey without being overwhelming. But its the sort of nice thats also a bit forgettable, so I’m not sure it will come back to my cupboard or not.
But today, a Sipdown!

Tea of my morning.
This smells smokier in the dry leaf than it does in the cup, though its still a fairly bold flavor.
I keep waking up during the night, so the presence of a strong cup of tea this morning was a very good thing.

It is going to be one of those days I think.
I got home from work last night to discover my side gate standing open, and a package that UPS said was delivered not actually delivered. I suspect mail theft, as its happened before. And it was tea in that package! Argh!
A few nights ago as well I think I heard someone creeping through my side yard in the middle of the night, also not the first time that would have happened.
Hmm. Maybe time to think about moving.
This morning I woke with a headache, and decided this would be a good brew. And it was, but my steeper basket came open, and all the leaf got loose in the cup.
So, yay today. Grumble.

I drifted into consciousness at around 5 a.m., confused. Why had I woken? What was going on?
It took me a minute, but I worked it out. It was raining.
This is practically unheard of for this time of year. Rain? In practically June? Madness? I went and looked outside, just to make sure I’d not broken a pipe or something. Nope, rain.
So, in greedy celebration I drank this tea. I always feel like Lapsang Souchong is best when its raining, and I intend to take advantage!
Om nom.

Suddenly all thoughts of spring are gone, in a torrential downpour of rain. The world is dark and grey! I’m personally loving it, though it would be better if I didn’t have to go into work and could instead sit cozily at home. Ah well.
A perfect morning for a Lapsang Souchong. And this was a nice sample of the breed, I must say. Not quite as smoky as I like them, but not heavy either. A good balance, I’d say!

There is a certain thrill in polishing off a container of tea. As I brewed my final cup of this this afternoon I was very pleased.
Not that this tea did not do its job. It was a perfectly serviceable Earl. But it was nothing particularly wonderful, and I have so many neglected teas in my cupboard. I am excited to have sipped this down, and to bring new teas to the office tomorrow.
So, farewell, Earl Grey Cream. I liked you just fine, but there is no need for a repeat performance.
Sipdown!

And a celebratory “my boss now has to deal with the grumpy people” cup of tea.
I feel much better about everything, let me tell you.

What a frustrating day at work. Ugh, it was just one problem after another, including some very rude people. (Why do people do this? We are all working! The circumstance is frustrating for everyone! Argh!)
So, after a particularly frustrating interaction I made up a cup of this, which tasted nice and helped refocus to the good things in life. This day will end, all will be well, and I will probably forget all about this in a month. Probably, anyway. Argh. Is it only Tuesday?

I feel unable, some days, to drink breakfast blends in the afternoon. Some days I can fill my cup with whatever happens to catch my fancy, other times I’m struck so soundly by appropriateness that I have to make another selection.
Thus, today, an Earl Gray in the afternoon. I don’t think anyone could fault me for that.
(What do I think, that there is some for of High Tea Counsel, who will come and pry the cup from my hands if I don’t drink them at the right time, the right temperature, or show an appropriate fondness for the blend? Well, yes, I do sort of believe that. Just because they haven’t found me yet does not mean they do not exist. I imagine they must have a very small budget, and haven’t gotten to the line item that is taking my tea cup away by force.)

I wish I could detect any of the promised cream flavor. I do not.
I get a very sweet, almost candied bergamot, but that’s not quite the same thing. I can not get any vanilla out of it.
Its doing just fine for an Earl Gray, but its failing a bit at the cream portion of its name.

My newest “haul along to work & drink in the office tea” is this fellow. I thought it would be a good fit, as an Earl is a nice, basic blend that I can work while drinking, without falling into little rapturous sighs. That sort of thing is frowned upon in the workplace.
And I made a good choice! Its got an almost candied bergamot smell in leaf form, but brewes up to a pretty standard Earl, perhaps a touch mellower than the un-cream version. I don’t particularly find this “creamy”, but nor did I find it bitter or unpleasant or tasting like soap. All good things.
So, its gonna be a good work tea! I can tell.

I brought some tea filers from the stash at home, and boy am I glad that I did. I am exhausted today, and need all the tea help I can get.
That also made todays decision easy- I had slightly too much tea for one cup, slightly too little for two. What to do? Overleaf? Underleaf? Today we chose overleafing, and I am pleased.
This tea improved, somehow, when I took it out of my home and to the office, but it never did exactly what I wanted it to, so I am not going to bring it back.
Sipdown! Farewell, Morning Sunshine!

I have made a tactical error! I arrived at work today to discover I was down to my very last paper filter. Eeek!
I have some at home, so I will raid the stash and bring some to work, and when I can I will go to the one place in the area that carries them. They can be a little spendy, but so vital!
I spent the final filter on this blend, which lightened my afternoon considerably.

Black tea is a wonderful thing. I am seriously dragging this morning, but even the thought of a cup of black tea peps me up more than I can say.
I am liking this so much more as a work tea than as a tea in my home cupboard. No idea why, but there you are!

This tea got the honor of becoming a new work tea today. Its not exactly one of my least drunk blends, but I wanted a break for more traditional breakfast blends, and this has not been getting tons of love at home, so I thought it best to use it productively.
I’ve found it bitter in the past, but somehow it was not today! What! A change of scene, (or perhaps my current state of exsaustion resulted in a lighter steep? Who knows. I just hope it bodes well for the future of this blend!

It will be cooler today, only in the 80’s. for which I am exceptionally grateful. Its too early for the summer weather!
Once again this is more bitter than I would like. Boo! I must remember to steep it lighter next time, and see if that helps.

I could not, for the life of me, get to sleep last night. I tucked up in bed and then just stared at the darkness, thinking about how tired I was going to be today. And lo, I am tired.
I am eager to get the steep time of this right, as a citrus black tea is a thing of great joy. But this turned out bitter once again, making the whole blend feel heavy instead of the lightness that citrus can bring.
Blerg.

Its beginning to feel like spring around here. The spring in these parts is truly gorgeous, before the weather turns into the baking, mysery filled world of a California summer. So I’ll try to take advantage of it while I can.
I thought it would be good morning to try this one, which is a very citrusy blend.
The trouble is that I’m going to have to watch the steep time like a hawk. It was a bit too bitter for me. The base should be milder, ideally, to stand up to the tart citrus in this blend.
So, an uneven beginning.

Do you have those weeks where you don’t want to drink favorites? That is this week- it’s a busy one, and I’m alone in the office this week, and my attention span for things is shorter than that of something with a very limited attention span. Also my ability to compose metaphor is shot.
So, onto this blend, which is serviceable, but not beloved. Hitting just the right note for this week.

I never can entirely make up my mind about this one, but as it’s made it into my cupboard more than once, I feel like I should just admit it has it’s place with me.
A friend made me a bunch of dehydrated citrus slices, especially for putting into tea, so I tried one here. It was just a little too tarte, so the lemon slices will be saved for something else.