Evol Ving Ness Send Message

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drank Pear Chai by 52teas
1403 tasting notes

My tea tastes are so fickle.

Throughout most of the year, I am all over the black teas—the maltier, the better—with the occasional oolong thrown in. Then, come Spring, or what feels like Spring, boom! And I begin with one or two cups of white or green and suddenly, I am on a white and/or green roll. For as long as that lasts.

So here I am with this delight. The chai treatment on green bases doesn’t usually speak to me. Here, however, the flavouring is all nutmeg and allspice, eggnog-like, with the subtle real pear peeking through. A bit of cream. I detect the slightest bit of citrus too. The green base is present, but gentle. Gunpowder works for me, really and truly. Really a lovely thing, this.

edit—Just checked Anne’s note on the tea and ooops, no nutmeg here despite what I thought was here. To me, the nutmeg came up with the eggnog feeling of this tea. Also, the base is gunpowder and Chun Mee. Well, that apparently works for me too. :)

Another rainy day and I am grateful. The rain muffles the neighbours and calms me, a more ideal combination for sleep. Our team won again in hockey. Hurray! Less in city pride, though go Leafs go, than miraculously I did not hear the neighbours shrieking in the street all night. So YAY!

Also, their kids don’t seem to be home, so blessed quiet instead of jumping, wailing, fussing, and crankiness. And I was able to sleep in a bit this morning too. YAY for that! Since these people moved in three years ago, my home has not seemed my own. Someone is there and someone is making noise all. the. time. And if not, then there is the expectation that whatever I begin doing will be interrupted by their noisy intrusion on my life. There, I’ve said it.

And thank goodness for fine tea. Really.

I apologize for my rant. Having said that, ranting, rain, and a fine cup of tea, nothing like it. At the appropriate time, a stellar combination.
2 comments
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ashmanra
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I am sorry. That sounds horrible! I am glad you are getting some peace and quiet now, and I hope you will have much more to enjoy in the future!

Evol Ving Ness
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Thank you, ashmanra. It has gotten better since they first moved in though as a result of patient and tactful communication, on my part. And many many unslept nights, also on my part. And then I snapped and began blasting old school R & B for several hours at a time—I have great speakers. The combination of these approaches has helped, but mostly they are oblivious.

We’ll see how things go.

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ashmanra
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I am sorry. That sounds horrible! I am glad you are getting some peace and quiet now, and I hope you will have much more to enjoy in the future!

Evol Ving Ness
Delete

Thank you, ashmanra. It has gotten better since they first moved in though as a result of patient and tactful communication, on my part. And many many unslept nights, also on my part. And then I snapped and began blasting old school R & B for several hours at a time—I have great speakers. The combination of these approaches has helped, but mostly they are oblivious.

We’ll see how things go.

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A monk sips morning tea

A monk sips morning tea,
it’s quiet,
the chrysanthemum’s flowering.

- Basho

(1644-1694)

Note to self—-you do not actually need any more tea.

My real tea obsession began in February 2015.

Not, sadly, when I had been living and working in China, though I very much enjoyed sampling a variety of teas during my travels there as well. No, no, that would have been far too sensible.

I am a reformed coffee drinker. I still enjoy a long double espresso with a good quantity or milk or cream from time to time, but for now, tea is my thing. All day.

*note—this is way out of date, so if we are doing a swap and you are checking to see what I like and dislike, mostly never mind what you find below. One of these days, I will update this. In the meantime, check what I’ve been drinking and use your own judgement. I like all the teas. Well, I am open to trying all the teas.

I tend to drink black, green, or oolong tea in the morning to early afternoon. Rooibos or
Honeybush or herbal in the evening. And perhaps some sort of sleepy-type tea in the wee hours.

This year, I’ve been discovering flavoured teas, so it may look like that is all I drink although that would provide a false impression.

Not a big fan of chocolate or mint in teas, but I will try them and, from time to time, have been pleasantly surprised. Also, usually I dislike a prominent cinnamon flavour, if untempered with other things, in teas. Again, I say usually, because there are exceptions.

Also, please note that haven’t quite gotten into the habit of updating my tea cupboard on Steepster, and it is unlikely that I will do this on any kind of regular basis.

I drink my tea black and unsweetened. If there comes a rare moment that I add something to it, I will mention it.

Finally, while I thank large and successful tea companies for tantalizing and beckoning me to the world of tea, I prefer to support independent ventures with real people, real enthusiasm and commitment, and real dreams.

Currently, I am researching monthly tea subscriptions. Perhaps it will keep me out of tea shops.

And here is Shae’s rating scale— which I am using with permission, of course— which more or less describes the way I have been rating teas. I am going to make more of an effort to stay very close to these parameters now.

Rating Scale

1-20: By far, one of the worst teas I’ve tasted. I most certainly will not finish my cup and will likely “gift” the rest to my sweet husband who almost always enjoys the teas I dislike (and vice versa).

21-40: This tea is not good but if I mix it with another tea or find another steeping method I might be able to finish it.

41-60: This one is just okay. I might drink it again if someone were to give it to me, but I probably won’t be buying more for myself.

61-75: This is a consistently good tea. It’s reliable but not necessarily special.

76-90: This one is a notch above the rest and I would gladly enjoy a cup of it any day of the week. I’ll likely be keeping this in my cupboard, but it isn’t one of my all-time favorites.

91-95: One small change and this tea would be perfect. I’ll definitely have a stash of this in my kitchen if you come over for tea.

96-100: No words can describe this tea. It’s an experience, an aha moment. Closed eyes, wide smile, encompassing warmth. Absolutely incredible. Perfect.

Location

Mostly, but not always, Toronto, Canada.

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