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All right y’all. I have 43 days before I move to California, and after a discussion with Auggy in which we were bemoaning the number of samples we both have banging around in our respective cupboards [what a problem to have, truly] I realized that I have a whopping 125 samples left from trades, vendors, and the like. One hundred and twenty five.

And thus, we decided to extend a challenge to one another. One sample a day, completely finished no if, ands, or buts [these kids got GUTS] about it. Except after doing a tally I realized that in my case, to be finished with all of these samples before I move, I am going to have to drink three a day for forty-three days. Daunting? Absolutely. Impossible? I think not. And so there we have it – our own personal Julie & Julia type situations laid out before us.

Of course, you know what this means. You’ll be seeing a lot more of me on Steepster. So much, in fact, that you may very well get sick of me, but I am doing this in the name of tea and I think we can all agree that this is a pretty worthy cause, no? So, while Auggy is going to be my Official Sipdown Accountability Buddy I do encourage you all to provide anything from gentle nudging to verbal abuse should I begin to lose steam or fall behind my 3-A-Day goal. I am, of course, assuming that you all deeply care about all of this. [Also, it may go without saying, but for an indefinite period of time I will not be able to participate in any tea swaps.]

Oh, and should you be wondering where the name for this came from it’s because that Europe song [you know the one] has been stuck in my head all week and it is somewhat appropriate even though it doesn’t really make sense [like the best things in life]. Please feel free to imagine that bitchin’ 80’s synthesizer track playing in the background as you read on. And now, it’s time for…

The Final Sipdown: Day 1.1

Unable to choose a tea to start this off, I shut my eyes and grabbed at random, closing in on this one – a sample that I received from teaplz a while back. [Actually, all of these samples are going to be from “a while back,” but do I get points from keeping them sealed in a cool, shut off from light area?] In an effort to keep things fresh, I am going to refrain from reading my prior log, but it’s starting to rush back to me in a not-that-great-way. This tea smells of medicine. Hot theraflu and…cedar?

Sipping it, I get a shot of slightly sour lemon surging through the liquid. The berry taste floats around it, not really loud but not quite soft either. I’m unable to pick out anything specific, except maybe not-quite-ripe-raspberry. The lemon flavor, I’m thinking, is from the hibiscus and maybe tempered by the berry a bit. No vanilla to be found, I’m afraid, though at the back of my tongue I am getting a hint of chalky milk chocolate.

Oh, there we go. At the tip of the tongue, as this tea cools, a smidgeon of vanilla. The mouthfeel is somewhat creamy, and this tea is trying ever-so-desperately to be pleasantly blended, but it just isn’t cutting it. The nice mouthfeel is offset by the now distracting sourness and every time I bring the cup up to sip it I get a whiff of medicine smell. Now the aftertaste…the aftertaste could be nice. I actually get more of a vanilla flavor on the aftertaste than I do with the tea, but sitting naggingly on the back and sides of my tongue is that bitterness that pervades the tea. Drat.

This tea is, indeed, flavorful, but simply not for me. I think it’s rated about right for what I think of it, though, so I’m not going to change it. So there.

And that’s tea number one down! The journey begins! As I just said to Auggy – this is either going to be brilliant, or a hot mess. [THERE IS NO IN BETWEEN!] Certainly, there will be a lot of peeing. But no time to worry about any of that, because I have two more teas I have to drink tonight and now I get to remove this sucka from my cupboard. Who knew that clicking a button could feel so fantastically rewarding?

Samples Downed: 1