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I’m not feeling particularly verbose today, but I just wanted to give this tea the shout out it deserves. It didn’t taste nearly as “zippy” to me this morning, although this is one of those teas that doesn’t need to taste identical to itself in order for me to enjoy it.

I have many things to be grateful for. I had a lovely weekend, it’s a short work week because of family day yesterday, today is my birthday and the past year has been pretty good, but instead I just feel tired and grumpy and listless. I just want to go home and crawl into bed (although I tend to feel like that pretty much anytime I’m stationary at a desk for an extended period of time, which I assume would provoke any person to feel this way ha). But yes, this tea is a perfect, sharp cinnamon heart, does well with very little in the way of additions, and is very warming as it goes down. it’s a no frills added cinnamon tea (with like no detectable base at all) but that fit the bill just right today.

How could I start this day off any better than to enjoy the queen with a bagel this morning. I’m so glad I’ve replenished my supply of this from h and s, and since I’ve decided to stagger-open the other teas I got from them, I knew I could not go wrong by starting with this one. Of course, it’s never going to feel like the first time, but this tea is just so reliable.
Sweet, smoky, thick, rich, a touch of malt, a bit of rain, perfection. I feel very evangelical about this tea, so I’m happy to share.

Ok, I need to get myself sorted out for bed, so this one’s going to be quick.

Since Mr. keychange was the one who opened this tea (for some reason, unlike other Harney teas, this one comes in a bag that’s sealed and then placed in one of their tins, while all the other teas I’ve ordered from them are loose in the tin—I wonder why? perhaps because the grains are tiny?), I let him have the first sniff of the dry…leaf? tea?
“It definitely doesn’t smell like tea.” he decided. I sniffed at it cautiously, and noticed that it smelled very roasty and savoury, and that got me a little scared because I don’t like teas like that. I’d heard so many people say it tastes like cereal, but it certainly didn’t smell like any cereal I’ve tasted.

I also let Mr. Keychange have the first sip.
“Definitely tastes like cereal.” he concluded, and I couldn’t agree more. Somehow it smells very roasty and toasty, almost like toast itself, but it tastes far more like a bowl of puffed wheat breakfast cereal. I added in some milk and a touch too much sugar (because the roasty smell scared me!), and enjoyed my cup to an episode of South Park.

Bottom line: I’m happy I have it, and will definitely have it again. It’s a very inoffensive tea, and I’ll enjoy trying it different ways. and yay for another caffeine free option!

Wow, so much catching up to do on all your tasting notes, although I tried to make a dent in them when we got back.

Mr. Keychange and I spent this long weekend at a cottage up north, and it was absolutely wonderful. The resort we stayed at had a main building/lodge area, with a spacious living room and dining room for meals. They even had a really old baby grand in the living room, so Mr. Keychange and I did some playing and singing to wind down meals.

The cottage we stayed in was a stone’s throw away from the main building, and was complete with a wood-burning fireplace, and I knew as soon as I set foot in the cottage and breathed in the distinct, comforting smell of the fireplace that I had made the right decision. It just smelled like a combination of many a fire having been enjoyed in it before, and, I don’t know-just the distinct impression that good memories were created here. I’d always really wanted to go to a cottage in the winter, not at all because I enjoy winter activities—I’m sure even complete strangers can attest to how much I hate winter—but because I wanted the experience of playing outside in the snow, and then coming in all rosy-cheeked and cold, only to hole up in front of a roaring fire with a mug of tea and a good book, and know that outside my windows, there was nothing but a plush and still silence. And our weekend getaway was all those things. Plus I also think it’s friggin awesome that the staff at the inn were very supportive of the fact that Mr. Keychange (who’s also blind) maintained the fire by himself. Often, and though well-intended, people hear of a blind person doing something remotely difficult and/or fun and immediately fear being sued and imagine a long, drawn out court battle, complete with ambulance records because the hapless blind fool was carted off to the hospital because they, like, sewed their hands together or dove headlong into the fire thinking it was the bathroom. But these people really trusted us to use our own discretion, and we appreciated that so much. I’ve always believed that if only people would realize that our self-preservation instinct is far stronger than their fear of being sued, this world would be a much better place. So yes, we kept the fire going all by ourselves (and by that I mean that Mr. Keychange did all the work while I basked in the warmth) and it was perfect.

I did, however, learn that I’m probably right in not bringing too much tea with me when I travel. Because I can’t typically control the steeping parameters as much when I’m away from home, I’m pretty much guaranteed to feel more irritation and less joy when I drink sloppy tea, and so I’m better off just drinking whatever tea is available and enjoying my good tea at home. Because somehow this tea, which is a long-standing favourite of mine, just tasted “off”—a bit thin, but no maybe a bit thick, and maybe a bit too strong or weak. It just wasn’t perfect like i’m used to it being. But that’s ok. At least I’ve decided what to do when I travel, so at least that’s been sorted out.

Ok, onto more catching up!

Oh man, time (well, the month or so I’ve had this tea) has been very kind to these leaves. Somehow, the hot mug of blueberry justice (haha blueberry justice! I mean juice) I had this morning was perfect in its balance between cream and intense blueberry flavour, with not a hint of throat-scratching tartness. It was weird, because often when I go to bed, I think about what tea I’ll have with breakfast in the morning, and somehow I didn’t turn my mind to it last night, but it seemed like a perfect pairing with my croissant.

Besides, it’s Friday. Things just never feel bad on a Friday.

Also, Mr. Keychange and I are going up to a winter cottage resort for the long weekend, and we can’t wait. For the longest time, I’ve wanted to hole up in a winter cabin, lying by a fireplace and sipping tea while reading a book and enjoying the thick, snowy silence outside. How wonderful it will be to step outside the cabin and not hear any traffic, and to breathe in that crisp winter air. I’m no winter person—there won’t be any hardcore winter activities, but it’s more the concept and the indoor response to winter that I’m going to love this weekend.

That, and it’s a half day at work today!
Happy Friday, all!

This tea is likely going on my shopping list. have no idea how on earth Canadians acquire DF teas, but in the event that I have the opportunity to acquire this without paying insane shipping costs, I’ll do it. Either that or wait until I go to France and get some myself! ha. I like it a lot, but thankfully am not dying to get my hands on some this instant.

I was really cautious with the steep time here, because somehow I’ve been getting a lot more base than I’d like recently. I set the timer for four minutes, but lifted the basket out at about three and a half. I was greeted with the smell of cherried almonds, with a backscent of a really creamy, milky base. It reminded me of the tea my mother used to make chai with when i was little.

The taste is fairly similar to the scent, although the cherried note makes a more understated appearance at the end of the sip, giving the taste a very slight and pleasant tang. I’d started out with only a bit of sugar, and added a bit more for the second half of the cup. I’d say this tea was fine either way, although the sugar helped bring out the marzipan flavours a bit more, I think.

Thanks again, JustJames, for sending this along. Three dash-shaped stickers along the left side of the packaging let me know that this was the tea for the afternoon!!

I still quite enjoy this tea, although either it’s lost some of its freshness or I’ve simply become used to it. I think I’ll always want to have an EGC on hand, and this does travel well, but I’m not blown away. Which is fine, I suppose: I don’t think the purpose of this tea is to sweep you off your feet.

Well I definitely have an obsession. Last night, I dreamed that I drank this tea and didn’t like it, and I was so disappointed for not liking it because I’d wanted to like it so badly. Then I woke up and realized it was a dream LOL.

I poured the entire sample the ever so wonderful and generous JustJames sent me into my basket, and steeped for four minutes. I took some time to smell the tea after it had brewed. I could definitely pick up on the fruit, and although I don’t know that I would have immediately identified it as red current and raspberry, it definitely didn’t smell like the typical cacophony of fruit you might find in French tea (stone fruit etc). The raspberry is very clear in the sip though, and so is the base. I can’t say I’m terribly familiar with the taste of red current, although the fruit didn’t taste entirely of raspberry to me, so I imagine it was there. I got a bit of a generically sweet and vanilla end-sip before the relatively strong flavour of the base, which sort of suggests to me that I should have shortened the steeping time by a touch. I’m not sure that I necessarily got caramel though, but that might have been my own rock sugar obliterating that a bit.

I can really imagine myself enjoying the sweet raspberry deliciousness during the summer months. I still think I’m slightly more wowed by Pour Maman, but this would probably make it into an order. That order will probably be placed soon though, but I need to get through some of my h and s teas first. But yeah, definitely a winner here.

Thanks again, JustJames, for not only very generously sending me these samples, but for putting differently shaped/different variations/patterns of raised stickers on them so I could tell which tea was which without any sighted assistance at all! The world is a better place because you’re in it.

Oh yeah baby, getting down with my h and s samples before busting open the tins. I still don’t have a system of attack regarding how I’m going to open them-I don’t want to savagely tear into everything simultaneously (despite the temptation) because freshness problems, but then how do you decide what to do and all that stuff? man, problems!!

I’m always on the hunt for a vanilla tea, and vanilla Comoro was a pretty significant let-down for me, because I could barely taste anything. I read reviews for this tea while I was at work today, and got kind of excited when I read a few people say it was like a smoky vanilla, because that sounds like a perfect combination (someone needs to do a vanilla keemun one of these days). Anyway, when I opened the package, my nose was immediately assaulted with the sweet scent of baking vanilla, but also a hearty dose of something chemical and distinctly alcoholic. It was like unscrewing the lid to and inhaling the fumes from a bottle of vanilla vodka (which don’t get me wrong is wonderful, definitely soothes the soul and all that sort of thing, but I don’t want that shiz in my tea). But whatever, I set to work and steeped it-a teaspoon for eight ounces of water, four minutes.

When I lifted the basket out of the mug, I instantly thought “I’ve smelled this before! where have I smelled this?” and then I realized that it smelled similar to many of Frank’s banana blends (butterscotch banana, and banana pudding). definitely not a bad association, but definitely a bit of an unusual one. A few seconds later, however, the intensity of the scent dissipated and I could smell gentle vanilla paired with a fairly noticeable but nondescript black base.

My thoughts as I finished the cup:
1. Hmmm. Not what I was expecting. Too much base, and somehow it doesn’t work well with the chosen vanilla, but I can’t quite say why. No smoke, though.
2. I should put this in my swap pile. I wonder who’ll want it. I’m sure there’s someone.
3. Mmm this is pretty good, actually. I’m going to have another cup tomorrow, perhaps.
4. This would be terrific with a bit less sugar in it, you know.
5. Ugh. There’s something cloying about this one. The vanilla is too…something. Cloying. I should give this away.
6. Great cup! last sips were excellent!

I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s had an experience like this while drinking the same cup of tea. Oh, the internal dialogue. It’s probably not a bad thing though, ultimately. I think it speaks to the fact that we’re determined to give the tea a fair shake, are appropriately self-deprecating when there aren’t fireworks at first steep, and generally want to like a new tea we’re trying because liking things is a good feeling.

So yes, definitely glad I didn’t purchase a tin of this, and as to whether or not I’ll finish the sample pack, it just depends on my mood in a given second. ha.

Also, I received like nine million swap packages in the mail today. Thank you to all of you who sent something. I don’t have access to functional eyes at the moment, but as soon as I do, I’ll set to work labelling samples and thanking those of you who sent them along! but unlike me, you know who you are, so thank you!

I’m in the midst of frantically putting together a memo for my boss at work, complete with trying to state case law eloquently and succinctly, with an attempt (note the word attempt) at mildly intelligent analysis thrown in in an effort to justify my career choices, and then…then I began sipping this tea. The work on my memo faltered, then I wrote sparingly, and then everything kind of came to a grinding halt because I’m overcome by how awesome this tea is. You see, I’ve had this tea with milk before, and I always felt as though the flavour was somehow muted, or weighed down some, and so this morning, I thought i’d try the tea with only a bit of sugar and no milk whatsoever. And now i’m being hit in the face with an intense blast of warm, tingly cinnamon that burns in the gentlest way possible as it slides down my throat. Who knew there was so much power lurking in the depths of these leaves? I know for sure that this “recipe” won’t hold true for many of my favourite blacks—I like most of my breakfast teas sweet and creamy, but this tea absolutely does not benefit from it. If it was a winter staple before this morning, it’s now pretty much on the instant reorder list. Having said that, I’m glad that I order 4 ounces at a time—any more than that and I’d worry that I wouldn’t cycle through my teas quickly enough to guarantee freshness. But man, this tea is so damned zippy and perfect! whoa!

Ok, now back to trying to sound smarter than I feel.