Harvest Spice from The Tea Spot

I didn't do tea words last week again - and I'm actually disappointed in that. I'm not giving up on the project. I just need to set up a reminder for a few days until it becomes a habit.

I didn't get any tea ordered last weekend either, but it's on my list for this morning. Now I'm getting down to the teas in my cupboard that I've set aside for whatever reason (normally because I either didn't like them, or something put me off. 

Hence my cuppa this morning. 

Last fall, I ordered a tin of Harvest Spice from The Tea Spot. I expected more of a chai-like experience, but when I opened the tin, it smelled more like a Cinnamon gummy bear, or hard cinnamon candy. Neither of which I'm particularly fond of. Cinnamon in tea tends to make the tea rather drying at the back of the throat anyways, a feeling I don't care for, so I set it aside and never got around to actually trying it. 

Friday morning, I found myself nearly out of the teas I truly like, and searching for something different so I could save the rest of those for random mornings while I wait for another order to arrive. Harvest Spice was sitting on the counter, and I decided to be brave and go for it. If nothing else, hot cinnamon would keep me warm at work. I just hoped it wouldn't dry out my throat too bad. 

Surprisingly, it wasn't as drying as I'd expected - a little more than the smoother teas I generally drink, but certainly "drinkable". And while it *smelled* hot (spicy), the taste was milder than expected as well. I can't say I enjoyed it as much as a smoother tea, but it's not bad, and actually very warming on a cold winter day. 

So this morning, I thought I'd try making a latte out of it. Half a tsp of sugar, and a splash of milk. It's pretty good, the sugar really brings the cinnamon flavor out, and the milk sort of buffers the spicy effect on the tongue a bit. 

This will never be my favorite tea - I prefer the cardamom/cinnamon roll flavor of chai to the true cinnamon flavor, personally. I think my husband might like this though - he's a cinnamon candy fan, and I'll certainly finish off the tin before warmer weather sets in. 

Next week, tea words! And with any luck at all, some new tea in the mail. The tins and bags I'm staring down now don't excite me in the slightest, but I may have to find a way to make them work in the short term...

Tea Words 1/12 - 1/19

A little better variety this week, anyways...and a wee bit better attention to detail too, methinks:

Yunnan Golden Puerh - Adagio

1/13 @ 6:00pm: Layers, Depth, Pepper

Chocolate Chai - Adagio

1/13 @ 9:30pm: Light spice

Cashmere from Tantalizing Teas (with a pinch of H&S Supreme Breakfast tossed in)

1/14 @ 9:00am: Smooth, caramel, vanilla

1/15 @ 9:00am: light tobacco, easy

1/16 @9:00am: smooth, warm, comforting

Florence - Harney & Son's

1/14 @ 1:30pm: Brisk & deep

Caramel - Tantalizing Teas

1/15 @1:30pm: Uh, eew!

Boulder Breakfast - The Tea Spot

1/17 @ 9:00am: Astringent (weird!)

1/17 @ 11:15am: rough, thin (brewed one minute less. How could this possibly happen with puerh?) 

1/18 @ 12:30pm: Rough, bite-y, okay

Supreme Breakfast - Harney & Sons

11/18 @ 8:30am: Strong muscatel, darjeeling? Nilgiri?

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Cashmere was definitely my winner this week...and my salvation when other teas just weren't really doing it for me. There's something about rooibos blended with vanilla that gives it this smooth, creamy caramel flavor I really enjoy, and of course the black tea adds that very necessary kick of caffeine in the morning.

My disappointment with the brand new pouch of Boulder Breakfast received this week was confusing. From what I remember, the blend of puerh, black tea & chocolate was very smooth and mellow in the mornings, but this batch so far hasn't had any of that smoothness I enjoyed before. Was it my faulty memory, or did they change the recipe? I'll never know, I guess, but  I may not order it again. Puerh should never get bitter or rough, and I tried brewing less with no difference. Annoying!

The Yunnan Puerh was pretty darn tasty, but I only have a tiny sample tin and no money to order more. So I'm hoarding that.

And interestingly enough, when I was at home Friday rather than rushing off to work, I actually could taste some of the individual notes in the Supreme Breakfast. It reminded me of a strong first-flush Darjeeling (very strong) or Nilgiri with muscatel notes. I'm not a fan of first flush darjeeling (I prefer second or even third, personally), so that explains why I don't particularly care for it. But I did need a quiet morning with nothing else going on to identify that...interesting.

All in all, it was an okay tea-week....though I really wish I could stock up on some of my old standby favorites. A couple more weeks until payday, and the tea cupboard won't look quite so bleak. Until then, I have plenty of Cashmere, thank goodness...

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?

Bolder Breakfast from The Tea Spot

I stumbled upon The Tea Spot quite by accident on Facebook. Or maybe it was Pinterest. Who can keep track? In any case, I was intrigued enough to order a few samples, and boy am I glad I did!

Bolder Breakfast is a blend of black tea, puerh and chocolate. I'm a big fan of chocolate teas in general (really, who isn't?), and the recent (relatively speaking) trend of puerh blends haven't disappointed either. So I was excited to try this, and it certainly lived up to my expectations.

I can't decide what the base black tea is (the web site only says China/Sri Lanka). There's a light smoky flavor in the background that doesn't quite fit (but it does make for a very intriguing finish). But the somewhat sharp aftertaste is a little disappointing after the smooth, thick texture of the brew.  Regardless, the overall flavors are worth it, and I think a nice lighter Yunnan tea might give this a somewhat smoother finish. Perhaps I'll try that when I order a full tin of this...

I love puerh teas, and I've been skeptical about them in the past (having started my puerh journey brewing actual cake teas), but I've come to love these blends - especially puerh and chocolate. Something about the earthiness of puerh and the sweetness of chocolate just make a rather perfect blend. And the texture of this tea is lovely as well - a nice, thick feel on the tongue that would lend itself well to milk & sugar or honey, if you're the sort of person who needs those in your morning cuppa.

While it's called "breakfast", I really like this for an afternoon tea - dessert and a general pick-me-up to get through yet another afternoon at my desk.

Rating: 5 out of 5 cups.

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