Tea Words: Jan. 7 - 12, 2013

You'll notice I missed a few tea times - still working on making this a habit. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, go read this post...

Harney & Sons - Supreme Breakfast 

1/7 @ 2:00pm - Smooth

1/8 @ 9am - Hot

1/12 @10:30am - Serviceable

Red Hot Chai - The Tea Spot

1/7 @ 11pm - Meh

Harney & Sons - Florence

1/8 @1:30pm - Crisp

1/9 @ 1:30pm - Chocolate-y

Harney & Sons - Chai (w/Milk & sugar)

1/11 @ 1:30pm - Warm spice

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This is actually kind of depressing, but it does reflect the state of my tea cupboard and mental state for the past week. Lots of stress, lack of variety, I'm out of most of my favorite "mainstay" teas, and my brain is trying to cope with a lot of discord and changes all at once. I wonder how much starting my days with a tea that is just "hot" or "serviceable" affects the rest of my outlook on life? Or is it the other way around? 

I'm really not overly fond of the Supreme Breakfast, though there's nothing really "wrong" with it. It really needs to be steeped for 3 minutes rather than 4 though, and I always forget that and set the timer too long, ending up with a dry, astringent brew rather than the smoother cup you'll notice I got one afternoon (probably remembered to brew it shorter that day). Even steeped properly, it's still got some odd flavors I'm not fond off, reminiscent of Ceylon-type teas. But according to the web site, it's a blend of Assam & Keemun, two of my favorite teas, so I'm confounded as to why I really don't like it. It's frustrating, really. 

As for the Red Hot Chai (which is a rooibos blend) - that was truly disappointing, although it may have been because I diluted it with a pinch of sugar and a splash of milk. Still, anything that claims to be "red hot" and "chai" should be spicy enough to handle the additives...like the Harney & Son's chai I had later in the week as a treat (yes, it still tastes like a cinnamon roll in a cup...made a nice treat for a Friday afternoon after a long week). 

Florence has always been one of my favorite chocolate flavored teas, and still is, though I've been drinking more chocolate flavored puerh lately which makes poor Florence seem a bit thin on the body scale. Still, it's yummy, and I'm not sure why I relegated it to afternoons this week when it could have potentially started my mornings off on a better cuppa...

What does all this mean? Simply put, I need to relax, and I need to order tea. I'm working on both this weekend. We'll see how next week goes...

How did your tea week go? And do you think the tea you start your day with has any affect on your mental outlook for the day?