Cory Ostermann Send Message

I’m sure I’m going to try and give this away—I didn’t even drink 1/3 of the cup I made last night. What a shame!

I’ve been drinking only Harney & Sons tea for the past week—because I’ve been so lazy. I have 3 and a half weeks left of summer, and I have made it my personal goal to finish five major canvas (bigger than 36 inches on any side) and six very small ones. So far, I finished the canvas that is somewhere around 60 inches by 48 inches—in three days time. I also finished a very small canvas. All I did was go on walks and paint. I’m tired!
This tea tastes MUCH better when it is steeped the second time than the first—the first is overpowering with the cinnamon. Wish me luck that I get the guts to work on my next canvas and also the guts to move on from my tea bags back to my loose leaf.

Yesterday I travelled to the Milwaukee Art Museum, because I’d never been there. Of course, it’s the middle of summer, so they cranked up the air conditioning as high as they possibly could. I had left my sweater in my locker and I was freezing. We were having lunch, and this was on the menu, so I figured I would try it. I never had Pu-erh tea before.
The problem with museum food is that once you’re in there, you’re stuck in there to eat whatever they have to offer. As a vegan, I’m often delegated to salads—which are fine, they just don’t warm you up. So, thus the tea. I really liked it! It reminded me of a lentil soup I make with ginger, one that I had been craving. This tea warmed up up right away, and I had the energy to keep going and check out the modern wing upstairs. (Can I just say: Helen Frankenthaler and Richard Dierbenkorn? I’m surprised that I fell in love with their work so thoroughly yesterday, when I had paid them no heed before.)
This Pu-erh might not be the best, but it certainly is tied to a lot of memories of yesterday. I might have to try this for myself at home. And while Pu-erh is warming, does anyone know about a tea that is ‘energizing’? I have canvases to begin and I’m dragging. Canvas+dragging=Tea.

Finals week for me—seeing as how I’m the type to plan ahead and freak out, I made a cup of tea, studied, and planned out the rest of my weeks after classes before I get back to school. I have so much stuff to do! I think I might have one serving of this left—I’m looking forward to reordering, and possibly trying the chai sampler that Adagio offers. (As soon as it’s back in stock, of course…) Maybe when the new store opens in Naperville, I’ll take the train over and buy tons of tea—if I have time.

My brother is a senior in high school and he has no idea what he’s doing, but he has big plans. So, I sat with him today, and gave him the bad news—that he’s going to have to spend a ton of time doing stuff he doesn’t want to to do to get into a decent college. We worked on paperwork all day. I cheered him up later on by baking him banana bread, and watching “Ratatouille” with him. Sometimes, he’s easy to please. That movie always makes me reach for a cup of tea, and I needed something french—something to go with the theme for the evening. Hence, this French Vanilla tea, which brewed something a bit more pleasurable than usual.
Oh, I wish I had planted that zucchini plant so I would have the one ingredient I’m missing to make ratatouille. Until then, I have a nice cup of french vanilla to cheer me up, and help me forget that I have finished nothing for myself all day.

:( This didn’t work. Go figure! Not only that but I was a bit put off by the peppermint taste. (I know peppermint is supposed to help with stomach issues, but it didn’t.) I will not be repurchasing this tea.

Oh dear me, it appears I only have a little more than one serving left of this tea! :( Time to reorder.

Tasted especially delicious tonight. I’m going to have to bump my rating up a bit. Gotta love a gift, especially when it’s tea! :)

So, I’ve taken a break writing my paper on food and feminism in order to have a taste of this Darjeeling. When smelling it dry, you can smell the muscatel notes in it—once brewed, notes that are hidden behind the other flavors. I’m enjoying this cup with a little stevia to sweetened it up. This is much better than the other darjeeling I have had in the past, with exception to the darjeeling from Adagio.
This is an average cup of tea, to sum it up. Maybe someday I’ll purchase it again, but I feel like if I’m looking for a darjeeling, I’ll have to find a truly knock-out version elsewhere for the time being. I was hoping for much better, but alas, the muscatel is buried among other notes. BUT—it makes for a lovely companion to write a paper that I wanted finished the first time I wrote it. And maybe i’ll bring it to my evening class tonight. We’ll see.

Picked up a bag of this stuff when I was passing by The Argo Tea in Chicago. (I’d always wanted to go in there, but to no avail. This time, my mother was with me and she wanted to try the teas too.)
This is a FABULOUS savory tea. I have never loved green tea much, and although I’m new to the green teas, I really enjoy this. This tea does not shy away from a nice full bodied flavor. Very, very tasty. :)