2588 Tasting Notes
Well, hello there! First morning in at least two weeks the weather didn’t necessitate cold drinks first thing out of bed!
So I popped open my very first ever all-to-myself, bought-off-the-shelf tin of Paris. Also a celebratory purchase at the Wichita World Market for surviving the drive in 100 degree heat and a less-than-restful hotel night. (Was nice to see a slightly larger Harney selection than the usual Target assortment!)
I’ve had swap samples and liked it, so I knew what to expect, but the scent fresh out of the tin was delicious. Like lemon or apricot sweet rolls. I get more of the non-lemony fruit in the scent than in the flavor. And the bergamot behaves itself instead of pushing itself to the front of the line.
Years ago I had a tin of H&S Indian Nimbu and loved it (Darjeeling base, not black). This is similar. Would be fun to try them side by side.
Today’s installment (or last night’s installment, chilled until morning): Irish Cream. My first couple of sips just tasted like a creamy vanilla or bourbon vanilla tea, but after multiple swigs, the background mint/menthol built up and started cooling my mouth. I really hate to say it, but it reminds me a little of the candy cigarettes that we could buy at Horton’s 5 & 10 or the Rexall. They were right next to the wax bottles of pop and the Pixy Stix.
Oh, I remember those! Loved Pixy Stix, and had plenty of those wax bottles in my time. Candy cigarettes, too. We once fooled the mailman with fake cigarettes. He was rather cross and told us children shouldn’t smoke. If you care to recreate it, just roll up a piece of white paper the size of a cigarette and tape the side. Use a marker to color the tip red and the other end tan. Fill with baby powder. Put a small piece of cotton in the red end and blow on the tan end so the powder puffs out. Works maybe twice. DO NOT SUCK.
Oh, cotton in both ends. Still, don’t suck.
Creative, but I’m thinking I shouldn’t recommend that one as a craft project ;) (Some of my too-cool-for-school crowd would just about try it.)
This batch of flavored novelty teas have been a lovely surprise, and they are delicious cold-steeped in the fridge. Today’s selection was Scotch; straight up cold this morning (the day started on preheat and it’s climbed to broil this afternoon). Y’all know I love my unflavored, naturally malty black tea, and that may be why I like this one too, although I know some of that maltiness comes with the artificial flavoring.
This afternoon, I halved the rest with cold cider and it reminds me a little of an apple brown betty on ice.
The forecast for the next week is “120% percent humidity with a 90% chance of bug bites.” So…mason jars at the ready, I’ve got several batches of cold brew chilling in the fridge.
This is an especially pleasant one: hadn’t tried it cold yet. The strawberry flavor leans to the sweet end of the spectrum, but the green tea base adds a little garden freshness and it really does remind me of Mom’s homemade strawberry jam. Wish I had a jar right now.
Anybody have a clue where I got this? Me either. All the same, it’s a decent, low-fuss bagged green tea with a nice fresh-cut vegetal flavor. Today, when the AC choices (I use the term choices loosely—our environment is controlled remotely by capricious thermostat genies) at work are “hot soup” or “cold soup,” it worked well both hot and iced.
I haven’t tried this hot yet, but my first overnight steep in the fridge was mighty tasty! No dried peaches in the ingredient list (papaya instead) and no outright mention of vanilla, but that’s exactly what it evokes: Mom’s white peach cobbler. No spicy ginger or cinnamon, just fruity and sweet.
Tea that reminds me of a best friend, especially since she thoughtfully sent it to me. I’m nearing the end of the little packet and have enjoyed each cup thoroughly, especially since I figured out that the label-recommended proportion of leaf to water is too strong (tablespoon to 12 ounces—way too much).
When you back that off, it’s a light and lovely black tea that leads with sweet blackberry and just enough maple to provide a little contrast—not enough to make it taste like IHOP syrup. Today, I ended up playing half-and-halfsies with the rest of my morning tumbler and half a Sonic iced tea, and had a lovely chilled drink in the afternoon.
As to the friendship, it’s sweeter than the tea—one of those that can withstand inconvenient distances and long pauses and you can just pick up the conversation right from where you left off—mid sentence, even. Her birthday’s Saturday, so if you see Rhonda, tell her I said hey :)
If you have Sonics in your part of the world, are the people in your neighborhood rabidly crazy about their drinks? I am somewhat puzzled by that, as I am not. My sweet boss did a Sonic run on a particularly screamy day yesterday, and as I helped her hand out the goods, a coworker said, “In Missouri, a Sonic drink is a good as a hug.”
Here’s to good friends and inside jokes that can brighten any gloomy day by remembering the time you laughed so hard you almost spit out your tea.
Oh, it wasn’t just “almost spit…!”
