87

I’m slowly, but steadily catching up on my reviews. This past week was an absolute killer for me. I have been put in a position where I am forced to put in extra hours at work, and to top it off, I have been dealing with an absolutely brutal heat wave that has rocked this area. It wouldn’t be such a big deal for me if I weren’t very sensitive to both light and heat, or if I worked a job where I did not have to spend so much time outside. I spent Friday on a mandatory outing with my vocational rehabilitation clients that required me to spend more than four consecutive hours outdoors in direct sunlight. The temperature was a little over 90 F, but with a high UV index and high humidity, it felt more like 111 F. Needless to say, I came home sick and exhausted. Saturday was about as bad. I already wasn’t in the best shape from the day before, but when I went out into 89 F heat that felt like 108 F to do my weekend errands, my body decided it had enough after only a couple of hours. I spent the rest of my Saturday curled up in bed, fighting off persistent nausea, stomach cramps, and an unbearable headache. Times like these make me wish I could move back to Canada, or at least a little farther north in the U.S.

Okay, so I got all of that out of the way. The conditions above have kept me from drinking much tea lately, and on the occasions I do allow myself the opportunity, I haven’t had much time or energy to write reviews. Just one more to go after this one though, and I will be caught up for the past week. I prepared this tea using a one step Western infusion. I steeped 1 teaspoon of this tea in 8 ounces of 212 F water for 5 minutes.

In the glass, this tea showed a brilliant gold. Mild aromas of straw, herbs, toast, malt, lemon zest, and Muscat grape were present on the nose. In the mouth, I detected well-integrated notes of honey, malt, cream, toast, herbs, straw, lemon zest, and Muscat grape. The finish was delicate and mildly astringent, offering lingering impressions of herbs, malt, lemon zest, and Muscat grape.

This is a nice, straight-forward Darjeeling. It is a little fruitier and maltier than I was expecting. I typically tend to associate first flush Darjeelings with grassy, spicy, herbal, and straw-like aromas and flavors, but this one is balanced and offers a somewhat greater Muscat presence than I was anticipating. As far as I’m concerned, this is another respectable offering from Steven Smith Teamaker.

Flavors: Herbs, Honey, Lemon Zest, Malt, Muscatel, Straw, Toast

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
Evol Ving Ness

The humidity here in Toronto has been so oppressive this summer that I think you need to rethink your escape to Canada plans. Truly relentless.

eastkyteaguy

I’ve heard it’s been awful up there this summer. Perhaps Yellowknife is nice this time of year? I would honestly go anywhere to escape the feeling of being cooked every time I step outside.

eastkyteaguy

To be fair though, the heat and humidity you guys are experiencing now is like an average day from May-October here.

Evol Ving Ness

We have had the humidex of over 40 degrees Centigrade.

Evol Ving Ness

Edmonton is nice this time of year. Little or no humidity.

eastkyteaguy

That is truly disgusting. I lived in Quebec briefly as a teenager and can only recall maybe 5 or 6 days like what we are both experiencing now.

Evol Ving Ness

Toronto tends to be far more humid than Quebec and far more often. The humidity here appears to be getting worse and staying for longer. Global warming is no serving us well.

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Evol Ving Ness

The humidity here in Toronto has been so oppressive this summer that I think you need to rethink your escape to Canada plans. Truly relentless.

eastkyteaguy

I’ve heard it’s been awful up there this summer. Perhaps Yellowknife is nice this time of year? I would honestly go anywhere to escape the feeling of being cooked every time I step outside.

eastkyteaguy

To be fair though, the heat and humidity you guys are experiencing now is like an average day from May-October here.

Evol Ving Ness

We have had the humidex of over 40 degrees Centigrade.

Evol Ving Ness

Edmonton is nice this time of year. Little or no humidity.

eastkyteaguy

That is truly disgusting. I lived in Quebec briefly as a teenager and can only recall maybe 5 or 6 days like what we are both experiencing now.

Evol Ving Ness

Toronto tends to be far more humid than Quebec and far more often. The humidity here appears to be getting worse and staying for longer. Global warming is no serving us well.

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Bio

My grading criteria for tea is as follows:

90-100: Exceptional. I love this stuff. If I can get it, I will drink it pretty much every day.

80-89: Very good. I really like this stuff and wouldn’t mind keeping it around for regular consumption.

70-79: Good. I like this stuff, but may or may not reach for it regularly.

60-69: Solid. I rather like this stuff and think it’s a little bit better-than-average. I’ll drink it with no complaints, but am more likely to reach for something I find more enjoyable than revisit it with regularity.

50-59: Average. I find this stuff to be more or less okay, but it is highly doubtful that I will revisit it in the near future if at all.

40-49: A little below average. I don’t really care for this tea and likely won’t have it again.

39 and lower: Varying degrees of yucky.

Don’t be surprised if my average scores are a bit on the high side because I tend to know what I like and what I dislike and will steer clear of teas I am likely to find unappealing.

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KY

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