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Very dark and roasted, but not at all bitter. I can sort of detect a bit of cocoa, but honestly, all that my mind can register right now is roasted coffee minus the acidic bitterness of actual coffee. Rich and satisfying. Perfect for a coffee lover!

So, I told myself that I’d try this Irish Breakfast out tomorrow morning for breakfast, but I couldn’t resist trying it out now. I’m so glad I did.

This is delicious! Malty and smooth, with a hint of astringency. A bit of sweetness, too. Quite a polite Irish Breakfast, unlike some others I’ve had that were more of a kick-in-the-face-and-yell-my-brain-awake type breakfast teas. I’ll probably brew this on the stronger end for the mornings.

Mmm, this is quite tasty! Very smooth, with a slight bit of smokiness and a little sweetness, too. Definitely a nice afternoon pick-me-up! Sort of reminds me of a softer version of Cara M’s Sherlock fandom blend (Sherlock being a little spicier and less sweet). I shall have to do a side by side tasting of them at some point.

Made a cup of this for the morning. I may have oversteeped it in my sleepiness, but it’s still a very smooth and malty cup with just a bit of astringency! I’m impressed. I hope Hugo Tea’s website comes back up in the near future, since the bottom of the tin is slowly creeping up.

Words cannot describe how incredibly surprised I am by this tea. My expectations were set pretty high from what others have said about this milk oolong, but oh my goodness that first sip was just magical. Broke my tea buying hiatus with this order (plus orders from TeaVivre and Verdant), but I think the deliciousness of this makes up for almost all of it.

Yum!

First day of classes, had some downtime so I thought I’d brew a cup of this before I run off to my next class. I don’t know what I’m going to do tomorrow, classes from 10 to 5 straight through in the part of campus where it’s hard to find food vendors. I’ll have to scarf down lunch in between classes. Will probably be making lots of sandwiches this semester! Anyway, I’ll deal with tomorrow when it comes.

I found a small packet of this tea when I was digging through my tea trunk (more of a storage container than trunk or box, but ‘tea trunk’ sounds nicer) last night. Brewed gongfu style, but I probably should have used a little more leaf.

The wet leaves smell like fall. Roasty and sweet. Kind of reminds me of the aftermath of the bonfires we had at my boarding high school, minus the smokiness. First steep, mineral taste with some sweetness.

Time to head to class! Definitely looking forward to more steeps of this later today.

It’s been a long time since I’ve written any notes here, mostly because I’ve been on a tea buying hiatus since May and have also been interning/shadowing at my local hospital, which has been very exciting. Anyway, I hope all you wonderful Steepsterites are doing well!

I had a cup of Morning’s Journey with breakfast today, and wow, I’d forgotten how delicious it is! It’s so malty and smooth, and gently pokes my brain into waking up. I need to drink it more often.

Whoo, first post since I’ve been back from Ethiopia!

I was there on a paleoanthropological field seminar with my professor. It was an amazing experience. We were in Addis Ababa for the first few weeks, doing labwork, and then went out to the desert for about a month to collect fossil specimens. It was the first time I’d ever done fieldwork this intense (I did go to Israel for an archaeological excavation last summer, but it was only for 2 weeks and the conditions were considerably more comfortable, since we had air conditioning in our cottage). I learned so much about anthropology, working in the field, and Ethiopian culture, and had a lot of fun in the meantime. The people I met were so friendly. It was an experience I’ll never forget.

Anyway, on to the tea!

When I first brewed this up, the aroma instantly reminded me of sticky rice. Sweet, light, with a hint of earthiness. It tastes exactly as it smells and has a very smooth, slightly creamy mouthfeel. Very refreshing!

Almost finished with my pouch. Yum, the creamy butter and coconutiness!

Anyway, I’m mostly writing this to say goodbye for the next few months to my fellow Steepsterites. I was accepted to join a professor’s field seminar in Ethiopia, so I’ll be in a rural area for most of the next two and a half months and probably won’t be getting internet until the last few weeks of the seminar, in Addis Ababa. My flight leaves early tomorrow morning. Take care, everyone, and I look forward to reading all of your notes when I get back! :)

I thought I wasn’t a fan of white tea, but I suddenly felt like giving it a try and came across a sample of this in my tea drawer.

Wow.