Tea Nirvana

Dear Readers, I think it’s time for me to face the fact that I seem to have reached a sort of “tea nirvana” in my life. After having tasted many different teas and types of teas, I’ve developed definite likes and dislikes. While I will continue to try new teas here and there, I find that I have less of a desire to analyze them, and more of a desire to just drink and enjoy them at this point (which I still do daily). I’ve also reached the saturation point with my teaware – I have a lot of nice pieces, and while there are pieces I’d still like to acquire, my quest to live a less “consuming” lifestyle these days is at odds with those “wants”.

So this will be my last post, at least for quite some time. Perhaps in the fall when the whether gets cold, I’ll feel more analytical about what I’m drinking, but for now, I’m just going to sip and enjoy my tea without worrying about tasting notes and such. The blog will remain as a reference for anyone who might find it useful, and of course feel free to contact me anytime through the comments.

Happy sipping...

Organic Mint Fusion from Teas, Etc.

Scent in package: Lemony-mint…like mint chewing gum
Brewed for: 5 min@ boiling

I’ve been drinking a lot of mint tea lately…last week I had a stomach flu of some sort (hubby had it too), and just sort of kept drinking on the mint teas I got out. This is one that sounds like it might not work – Indian black tea, lemon grass, peppermint, and spearmint. The blend is more green than black…the black tea seems to be obligatory in its amount.

I really like this blend though, and I think it’s because I really like lemongrass. The lemon flavor is strong, with the mint following closely behind. The black tea stays deep in the background, subtly there, but not really noticeable unless you’re searching for it.

It does have a lovely deep reddish brown color, and the scent is actually more mint than lemon. That actually adds to the complexity of flavor contained in the brew, since the fragrance is inhaled just before the flavor hits your tongue, layering mint, lemon, and then mint again. I enjoy this hot, but I imagine it would make a very good iced tea as well (maybe I’ll try that next weekend).

If you’re looking for something different, or just something good on a sore stomach, don’t hesitate to try this tea. Soothing, refreshing, and very satisfying, you won’t be sorry.

Where’s the Tea Review?

I know, I said today. I may need to just ease myself back into this whole posting thing though. Today I’m not drinking anything of spectacular importance, though the Doomi Estate Assam I had this morning was incredibly tasty (and I think there’s a review on it somewhere around here. The Starry Night I’m drinking this afternoon is tasty and vanilla (literally), and I think there’s a review up on it as well.

I’ve been drinking my way through the tea cabinet this past month, not buying anything new, just working my way through all the stuff I tried once or twice, and never got back to. Perhaps I’ll post some updates to teas I’ve already reviewed?

In any case, more tomorrow, I think.

Do You Compost Your Tea Leaves?

Greetings again, to anyone who is still possibly hanging around in hopes of a new post. After my month-long sabbatical, I’ve decided it’s time to get back on the tea-blogging wagon, and I’ll be posting twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays with reviews. I’m hoping to order a tea plant soon as well…I finally got the seeds I ordered, soaked them, was all ready to plant them, and had an emergency with one of my dogs to attend to that basically ruined my chances of planting them. *sigh* I’m determined to try growing a tea plant this summer though…

Another thing I’m going to start doing is composting. I’m going to start a vermicompost (worm) bin in the next couple of weeks (already ordered and on the way), and hopefully a “regular” hot composting pile outside by the end of the summer. This means that instead of tossing the tea leaves down the disposal (or worse, throwing them in the garbage at work), I’ll be saving all of my tea leaves and any bags I use to compost with the rest of my kitchen scraps. I’ve even ordered some biodegradable bags (made of cornstarch) to use at work for carrying home tea leaves after use. I’ll keep an empty tea tin on my desk for collecting leaves.

So, do you compost your tea leaves/bags?