I’ve been having terrible insomnia for nearly a week now; I’ve been extremely exhausted, passing out well before my bedtime, but when I go to bed, I lay there and can’t fall asleep. When I finally do, I wake hours later and can’t fall back asleep, so my exhaustion has just been piling up as I get a mere 3-4 hours of sleep a night. I finally think I’ve figured it out; I started taking B-Complex vitamins, and since I take a pharmacy’s worth of medications before bed, for consistency so I won’t forget anything, I take my vitamins then, too. Fairly sure that is doing it. Hopefully if I switch that to the morning (or just discontinue it) maybe my sleep will even back out. Until then, I’ve been getting by on black tea fumes.
I won’t be starting my Autumn Harvest November theme until I return from vacation, so I’m brewing up this single bag of Kandy, a blend of three Ceylon estate teas from Steven Smith Teamaker that I picked up from Ost’s cupboard sale (thank you Ost!) It smells so much like that baked bread scent I always associated as being the “tea smell” that I remember from my grandma’s house when I was a child, so it’s a bit nostalgic… I guess her English/Irish breakfast blends must have been heavily Ceylon in leaf.
This is a black tea that is a bit more heady/strong than is typically to my tastes… but since I’m so dead tired today, I really am not minding it so much. It is very malty/bready but there is a slight wet autumn leaf quality as well, and I’m picking up a pleasant cinnamon spiciness toward the finish. It has a stronger astringency than I recall from their British Brunch (formerly known as Brahmin) but it doesn’t reach into unpleasant territory. It’s quite full bodied and feels rather thick in the mouth. I’m rather enjoying it, and blacks like this usually don’t do it for me. I really think my palate is just acclimating more and more to these types of teas the more I drink them. It’s definitely hitting the spot this morning. I hope I get a few steeps out of the teabag.
Flavors: Astringent, Autumn Leaf Pile, Bread, Cinnamon, Malt, Thick
