Evil Brews for Halloween

Yes, I was going to title this post “Witchy Brews”. That was before I did my “research”. Before I reached a sad revelation: Tea and alcohol don’t play well together.

So for your amusement this Halloween, I present for you my attempts at mixing our beloved daily beverage of choice with the liquid fire that is alcohol. It didn’t really work though a couple pairings have limited promise. I did get one decent cup out of the whole batch, so all was not entirely lost, at least. I wish I could say I had pictures to share with you, but you’ll have to make due with our eerie pool room mascot, who though you can’t really see it, has a hand propped up on a bottle of beer that my husband deems “undrinkable”, but keeps for the bottle. Monsieur Skeleton was the only witness present at my “tastings” aside from my dogs, who were quite happy that *I* was pretty happy, taste bud torture notwithstanding.

Without further ado, here are the 4 concoctions I tried:

Harney & Son’s “Florence” tea with Raspberry Pucker: I like chocolate. I like raspberry. I thought, what better thing than to combine a chocolate/hazelnut tea with raspberry alcohol (mind you, I’d just had a shot of PB&J, which is Frangelico, Raspberry and vodka, so it really did sound like it would work at the time). Needless to say, it didn’t. There wasn’t enough raspberry, and then when I added more, it was too sour. So I added sugar – too sweet. Then I added milk to tone that down, and it curdled in the face of all that alcohol. So yeah, the “Raspberry Florence” went down the drain.

Republic of Tea’s Cranberry Blood Orange tea with Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum and Apple Cider: This one would have been okay I think had I left out the spiced cider. The apple just didn’t go with the cranberry/orange of the tea. I did add sugar, and it was drinkable, but would have been better with just the tea and rum. I would hesitantly recommend this one, but only if you promise to leave either the cider or the tea out. We could call it something like a “Rummy Cranberry Orange”…but even so, it still is missing “something”. If anyone figures it out, please let me know. Heck, maybe it needs orange juice?

Adagio’s Chestnut tea with Frangelico: If you don’t know, Frangelico is a hazelnut flavored liquor that is truly amazing…very good. I was going to try it with Gingerbread tea, but had a change of heart at the last minute, and this is the one drink that actually worked pretty well. I added sugar and milk to the tea, and a splash of Frangelico, and it was serious nutty goodness. Unfortunately, there’s no way to combine the names without being crass…the best I’ve come up with so far is “Monky Nuts” or “Frangel Nuts”, but it did amuse me. Suggestions?

Stash’s Irish Breakfast with Bailey’s Irish Cream: This is the second one that has potential. I think I brewed the tea too long, and used too much Baileys, but coffee drinkers would probably appreciate it. I think a lighter brew, and just an ounce or so of Bailey’s would work fine. I think Bailey’s would probably work well with Keemun tea too, but at that point, I’d had way too much to drink anyways, and a pretty good buzz going on.

I didn’t try a marTEAni, which I had planned to – I couldn’t decide which tea to use, and again, I was buzzed and it was really late by that time. Guess I’ll save that idea for another time…

So there you have it – a good reason it’s dangerous to have an almost full bar on hand with a serious tea stash to drink your way through. I’ll freely admit that I still have plans to pair the “Champagne of Tea” with actual champagne one day, and possibly mix puerh with a good sherry or merlot as well…but that will have to wait for another adventurous night. Who knows, maybe someday I’ll discover the perfect alcoholic tea!

In any case, it was fun trying. I’m not sure why anyone under 21 would be reading this particular blog, but if you are, spare me a lawsuit and don’t try this until you are of legal drinking age, please.

Whatever you’re drinking tonight, Happy Halloween!

Orange Blossom White Tea from Republic of Tea

Scent in package: light and citrus-y
Brewed in: porcelain teacup (teabag)
Steeped: around 3 minutes at just under boiling
Cup: Porcelain teacup

I’m not ashamed of the fact that sometimes, I like teabags. And I fully admit that I love getting catalogs from Republic of Tea particularly for the samples they generally include. This teabag was a sample gotten with a catalog, and as I’d tried the bottled version (which I enjoyed), I looked forward to drinking a cup warm.

I don’t know all that much about white tea fannings. I’ve read that with black tea, often a teabag full of dust and fannings will release more caffeine than full-leaf tea (making it perfect for those mornings when you just can’t get moving). But I don’t know how it affects white tea or how it changes the brew.

I do know that this particular tea brews up as a lovely golden orange color, and yes, the bag does have a bit of foam in it from the flavoring. If you’re an “au naturale” kind of person, that’s not going to appeal much to you, but I’m okay with it for a tea like this. The scent of oranges wafted lightly through the air while it brewed, and while you might expect it to be a bit tart, the first sip confirms that natural sweet-orange flavor.

Here’s the cool thing though. The flavoring doesn’t completely overpower the tea, which I consider a good sign. It’s definitely there, and certainly enhances what might be a rather bland brew otherwise (they don’t say what kind of white tea is used, but all white tea is subtle anyways). You can still detect notes of the tea’s original flavor even through the orange taste, and I appreciate that aspect. It’s a very delicate and light brew, and it seems like it would be very suitable for an afternoon tea in spring or summer…maybe even a wedding tea. Quite lovely, no astringency at all, and very relaxing to sip.

Needless to say, I like it, and am considering buying a tin to have on hand. I think it’s something my mom might like – and it’s time to start thinking about stocking stuffers! Very enjoyable tea, especially for a “bagged” tea.

It's Monday - Sigh

Yes, I have a review, and pictures to post for today (not puerh, but a review, nonetheless).

Unfortunately, both are at home right now, because it's just one of "those days". So if I get the chance, I'll post them from home tonight, if not, tomorrow is the magic day. My apologies for the delay - some days are just like that.

2005 CNNP Big Blue Mark Puerh from Teacuppa

Scent: light woodsy scent
Brewed in: porcelain gaiwan
Steeped: 5s x 6
Cup: porcelain tasting cup, china tea cup

I took some great pictures of this tasting last night, and promptly deleted them in my uncaffinated state while trying to download them from the camera this morning. Sorry about that - pictures to come with the next reviews.

I bought this cake based on a sample that I really enjoyed from Teacuppa. This is the first time I've tried the cake, and I have to say, I really enjoyed it. It's light, smooth, and very mellow. I drank the first couple cups out of the tasting cup, and then mixed the rest of the infusions together for a larger cuppa.

Either way, this is not a strong tea. the viscosity is nice - not too thin, but not soupy either. The flavor is a typical wood and earth puerh taste, though the earthiness isn't very pronounced - it's more of a background complement. The wood and leafy tones are lovely, and make up the majority of the flavor, with a hint of light pine smoke running over the tongue.

The semi-smokiness lends a gentle astringency to the tea, and ties all the other flavors together well. All in all, it was soothing and relaxing, both of which I really appreciated last night.

It's probably not a top-shelf tea according to the "experts", and certainly it doesn't have the depth that a more aged tea would have, but it's sweet and mild, the perfect "before-bed" drink (which is when I drank it, and I can hardly keep my eyes open to finish this review).

A most enjoyable way to finish the evening.

Inventory and Traveling

Maybe I’m the only one who finds herself in this position, but I’ve recently realized that an inventory of my tea would be a very handy thing indeed, what with trying to decide what I have reviewed, and what I should review or revisit next. I think at this point I’ve tried and reviewed just about everything in my tea cupboard, and since I didn’t have the opportunity to buy any tea at all last month (it was a bad financial month), I actually don’t have any new tea in the house at all! This is a good thing, in that I’ve actually been “drinking down” my stash, and clearing out leftover bits of this and that from my cupboard to make room for fresh buys. But it’s a bad thing for…oh…say…tea reviews. It wouldn’t be so bad if I could remember which teas I possibly haven’t reviewed yet though. An amusing situation to find myself in, for sure.

This weekend I’m going to do something I haven’t done in ages. I’m actually going to buy some tea locally. I’m attending a writer’s meet-up on Saturday evening, at a bookstore that sells Harney & Son’s tea. It also happens to be near a store that has a wall of Republic of Tea, as well as a few other obscure brands, so I may see if I can find anything interesting there to try out. Then next week (payday), I’m planning to order some replenishments for favorite teas I’m low on, and a few new teas to try as well. Needless to say, I’m quite giddy about the prospect of some new teas to try in the next couple of weeks.

In the meantime, it’s been about 6 months since I last did the puerh tastings with my meager collection of cakes. So the next four reviews or so will be revisiting several of my badly mistreated puerh cakes to see if any changes have occurred in the taste in that time. I’ve done nothing special to store them, in fact, they’ve been moved around quite a lot as I haven’t found a good place for them yet, so it’s anyone’s guess as to what they may have absorbed as far as smells go in that time. Let’s just hope it’s nothing too terribly nasty…

And finally, I’ll be taking a trip Nov. 4-7th to Las Vegas, Nevada. And I’m desperately trying to figure out what to take along to heat water for tea, since hotel coffeepots just don’t work at all (I’ve tried). I need to find a small, 12oz maximum type hot pot or electric kettle that I can pack in my luggage…something that will bring water to a boil for black teas. I have my travel gaiwan set, I just need something to boil water in. Any suggestions are more than welcome, obviously – I’ll be looking around here in town to see if I can find anything too.

Also, if there's a fun tea shop I should visit in Vegas, let me know. I can't guarantee I'll make it, since we're traveling with my in-laws, but I'll certainly do my best!

So that’s what’s “up” here at Tea on Tap. Friday is the first puerh review – unfortunately, I can’t say which one, because I haven’t decided yet, but it will include pictures!

Keemun from Art of Tea

Scent in bag: rich yet mild normal "tea" scent
Brewed in unbleached filter bag
Steeped: 4 min. @ boiling
Cup: big ceramic mug

Our 4th annual Halloween bash was Saturday night, and Sunday, after all the soda and alcohol, tea was necessary for recovery. I found this bag of Keemun in the cupboard, unopened, and decided that it just might do the trick. So I brewed up a cup, and got comfy in my favorite chair to write my review and relax.

With the first sip, I knew that this tea was exactly what I needed. It is rich and smooth, yet the texture is light and not overbearing (a good thing after the heavier drinks I've been dosing myself with lately). It has a slight hint of chocolate, and a malty aftertaste that goes down smooth.

How does it compare to other Keemun teas? It seems to be among the higher quality of these, and has only a slight bit of astringency after it goes down. I'd have to drink it directly with another Keemun to find any differences, but I suspect they would be minute anyways.

In any case, this tea has been wonderful in reawakening my brain and soothing my tired, abused body after too much fun, and while I can't say I'm completely "cured", I am definitely getting better after just half a cup. If you like the chocolaty, malty smoothness that is a good quality Keemun, put this tea on your "to try" list - you won't regret it!

Technical Difficulties…Please Stand By

Okay, maybe my difficulties aren’t “technical”, but between my cold, and worrying about a mysterious illness that my dogs are finally recovering from, tea tasting hasn’t been a high priority for me lately. We’re also in the middle of getting ready for our huge annual Halloween bash, which is taking up a lot of time and energy. But I’m getting better, the dogs are getting better, and I think by next week I should be back in the right frame of mind for tea reviews again. So stop in next Tuesday (Monday is a holiday here), and I’ll try to get a new review posted by then. Thanks for your patience.