99

My last remaining Rishi tea! This was another one that Todd asked me for a “top up” after his “Sara’s Old Tea Advent Calendar,” so a) I have a lot less leaf to work through for sipdown and b) I expect it to go fast because the last tea that Todd really liked and requested a top up of was really freaking good.

The package instructions suggest 8g for 8 oz of water?! Do they expect me to clean rust off my intestines?! For me, a “stronger” than normal cuppa is adding a gram to my typical 2.5g for 12 oz. Yaaaaaaa… I think I’ll just make it my way, Rishi. 2.5g leaf, 350ml water (boiled to 205F but had cooled to 195F when I realized the kettle was ready… I just decided to use it as was), steeped for 3 minutes(ish).

The steeped cup smells like roses, which immediately has me excited! Also a fruity scent that is somewhere between lychee and orange zest, and a very sweet aroma as well, reminding me of cream. On the sip I’m definitely getting the purported lychee and rose, as well as warm baked bread, honey, and a strong lingering orange marmalade taste after the sip. The tea has a very mild drying sensation after the sip, but the flavors are smooth and lacking any bitterness.

Dare I say this is a Chinese black that is up there with unsmoked lapsang for me?!

During my staycation, I really have to get out of the house some (just too much stir crazy/cabin fever vibes going on), so I’ve decided to visit at least one or two “new to me” local, independantly/family-owned businesses in my community that I have never been to. Today I found a cupcakery I didn’t even know existed! I got a Cookies & Cream, Apple Cinnamon, and Lemon Blueberry cupcake, and am enjoying this cuppa with the Lemon Blueberry one for teatime. It is wonderful paired with the bright, tangy and sweet citrus notes of the cupcake!

Flavors: Bread, Cream, Floral, Fruity, Honey, Jam, Lychee, Orange Zest, Rose

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec 2 g 12 OZ / 350 ML
AJRimmer

Those cupcake flavors sound delicious! We’re considering checking out a doughnut shop near us this week. Their doughnuts are $3.50, so if they’re not 3.5 times better than our usual place, we won’t be back :P

Leafhopper

Agreed, those cupcakes sound tasty. It’s always fun to check out local businesses, especially if treats are involved!

derk

Cupcakes! Sounds like a good day overall.

Mastress Alita

I was highly amused that my cat took interest in the Apple Cinnamon one. She tried eating the wrapper, haha. Testament to their tastiness.

Martin Bednář

Oh those cupcakes sounds super great!

gmathis

We lost our Smallcakes (fancy pants cupcake boutique) about a year ago and I am sorely missing it.

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Comments

AJRimmer

Those cupcake flavors sound delicious! We’re considering checking out a doughnut shop near us this week. Their doughnuts are $3.50, so if they’re not 3.5 times better than our usual place, we won’t be back :P

Leafhopper

Agreed, those cupcakes sound tasty. It’s always fun to check out local businesses, especially if treats are involved!

derk

Cupcakes! Sounds like a good day overall.

Mastress Alita

I was highly amused that my cat took interest in the Apple Cinnamon one. She tried eating the wrapper, haha. Testament to their tastiness.

Martin Bednář

Oh those cupcakes sounds super great!

gmathis

We lost our Smallcakes (fancy pants cupcake boutique) about a year ago and I am sorely missing it.

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Profile

Bio

Hi! I’m Sara, a middle-aged librarian living in southern Idaho, USA. I’m a big ol’ sci-fi/fantasy/anime geek that loves fandom conventions, coloring books, simulation computer games, Japanese culture, and cats. Proud genderqueer asexual (she/they) and supporter of the LGBTQ+ community. I’m also a chronic migraineur. As a surprise to no one, I’m a helpless tea addict with a tea collecting and hoarding problem! (It still baffles me how much tea I can cram into my little condo!) I enjoy trying all sorts of teas… for me tea is a neverending journey!

Favorite Flavors:

I love sampling a wide variety of teas! For me the variety is what makes the hobby of tea sampling so fun! While I enjoy trying all different types of teas (pure teas, blends, tisanes), these are some flavors/ingredients I enjoy:
-Dessert/chocolate/vanilla/caramel/cream/toffee/maple
-Sweet/licorice root/stevia
-Vegetal/grassy
-Floral/lavender/rose
-Spices/chais
-Fruity
-Tropical/pineapple/coconut
-Bergamot (in moderation)
-Roasted/nutty
-Tart/tangy/hibiscus/rosehip

Disliked Flavors:

There are not many flavors or ingredients that I don’t like. These include:
-Bananas/banana flavoring
-Hemp/CBD teas
-Smoke-scented teas/heavy smoke flavors (migraine trigger)
-Perfumey teas/extremely heavy floral aromas (migraine trigger)
-Gingko biloba (migraine trigger)
-Chamomile (used in blends as a background note/paired with stronger flavors is okay)
-Extremely spicy/heated teas
-Medicinal flavors/Ginseng
-Metallic flavors
-Overly strong artificial flavorings

With the exception of bananas and migraine triggers, I’ll pretty much try any tea at least once!

Steeping Parameters:

I drink tea in a variety of ways! For hot brews, I mostly drink my teas brewed in the western style without additions, and for iced tea, I drink teas mostly brewed in the cold brew style without additions. Occassionally I’ll change that up. I use the https://octea.ndim.space/#/ app for water-to-tea ratios and use steep times to my preferences.

My Rating Scale:

90-100 – Top tier tea! These teas are among my personal favorites, and typically I like to keep them stocked in my cupboards at all times, if possible!

70-89 – These are teas that I personally found very enjoyable, but I may or may not feel inclined to keep them in stock.

50-69 – Teas that fall in this range I enjoyed, but found either average, lacking in some way, or I’ve had a similar tea that “did it better.”

21-49 – Teas in this range I didn’t enjoy, for one reason or another. I may or may not finish them off, depending on their ranking, and feel no inclination to restock them.

20-1 – Blech! My Tea Hall of Shame. These are the teas that most likely saw the bottom of my garbage can, because I’d feel guilty to pass them onto someone else.

Note that I only journal a tea once, not every time I drink a cup of it. If my opinion of a tea drastically changes since my original review, I will journal the tea again with an updated opinion and change my rating. Occassionally I revisit a tea I’ve reviewed before after a year or more has passed.

Inventory:

My Cupboard on Steepster reflects teas that I have sampled and logged for review, and is not used as an inventory for teas I currently own at the present moment. An accurate and up-to-date listing of my current tea inventory can be viewed here: https://tinyurl.com/xjt9ptx3 . I am open to tea trades (within the United States only!) at this time. Note that I will not trade teas that I currently have in a quantity less than 50g (samplers, 1oz packages, etc.) or any teas that are currently still sealed/unopened in my cupboard.

Contact Info:

Feel free to send me a Steepster PM, or alternatively, check the website URL section below; it goes to a contact form that will reach my personal e-mail.

Location

Idaho, United States

Website

https://teatimetuesdayreviews...

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