95

This has been such a stressful few months. Started with weird partial power outages, after the first of which the compressor on my fridge died. This weekend culminated in my water heater element burning out, and the main breaker on my power dying. I have one of those brains that just can’t “shut off” when something is disrupting my status quo and I can’t fix it immediately, but the water heater install should be this morning and hopefully then I can finally calm down and get back to situation normal.

This tea was the perfect fit because I wanted a nice caffeinated breakfast option, but also something calming… so lavender Earl Grey, and what a nice lavender Earl Grey it is! The bergamot is tasty but doesn’t overwhelm the cup, and with the added vanilla note it leans into a sort of “lemon cream” aftertaste on my tongue. The lavender is just the right amount, potent enough to be an easily noticable flavor but not so strong as to wash out other flavors or make the cup bitter. The tea itself lends a malty and somewhat brassy undertone and goes down real smooth.

Delicious and just what I needed this morning.

Flavors: Bergamot, Citrus, Cream, Floral, Honey, Lavender, Lemon, Malt, Metallic, Smooth

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec 3 g 12 OZ / 350 ML
ashmanra

Sorry you are having all those problems! I hope you can enjoy lots of relaxing cuppas and de-stress!

Kelmishka

Ugh, that’s so stressful, and I know what you mean about not being able to ignore it when things are off-kilter! I hope the install goes well.

gmathis

Oh yeah, and the shut off is equipped with an overflow trigger that activates even more activity when your head hits the pillow at night ;) Sorry for all the appliance woes!

Leafhopper

That sounds very frustrating! I’m the same way when things need to be fixed. I hope you can get everything resolved.

tea-sipper

ick — I’m hoping that’s enough broken stuff in your future for a while!

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Comments

ashmanra

Sorry you are having all those problems! I hope you can enjoy lots of relaxing cuppas and de-stress!

Kelmishka

Ugh, that’s so stressful, and I know what you mean about not being able to ignore it when things are off-kilter! I hope the install goes well.

gmathis

Oh yeah, and the shut off is equipped with an overflow trigger that activates even more activity when your head hits the pillow at night ;) Sorry for all the appliance woes!

Leafhopper

That sounds very frustrating! I’m the same way when things need to be fixed. I hope you can get everything resolved.

tea-sipper

ick — I’m hoping that’s enough broken stuff in your future for a while!

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Profile

Bio

Hi! I’m Sara, a middle-aged librarian living in southern Idaho, USA. I’m a big ol’ sci-fi/fantasy/anime geek that loves fandom conventions, coloring books, simulation computer games, Japanese culture, and cats. Proud genderqueer asexual (she/they) and supporter of the LGBTQ+ community. I’m also a chronic migraineur. As a surprise to no one, I’m a helpless tea addict with a tea collecting and hoarding problem! (It still baffles me how much tea I can cram into my little condo!) I enjoy trying all sorts of teas… for me tea is a neverending journey!

Favorite Flavors:

I love sampling a wide variety of teas! For me the variety is what makes the hobby of tea sampling so fun! While I enjoy trying all different types of teas (pure teas, blends, tisanes), these are some flavors/ingredients I enjoy:
-Dessert/chocolate/vanilla/caramel/cream/toffee/maple
-Sweet/licorice root/stevia
-Vegetal/grassy
-Floral/lavender/rose
-Spices/chais
-Fruity
-Tropical/pineapple/coconut
-Bergamot (in moderation)
-Roasted/nutty
-Tart/tangy/hibiscus/rosehip

Disliked Flavors:

There are not many flavors or ingredients that I don’t like. These include:
-Bananas/banana flavoring
-Hemp/CBD teas
-Smoke-scented teas/heavy smoke flavors (migraine trigger)
-Perfumey teas/extremely heavy floral aromas (migraine trigger)
-Gingko biloba (migraine trigger)
-Chamomile (used in blends as a background note/paired with stronger flavors is okay)
-Extremely spicy/heated teas
-Medicinal flavors/Ginseng
-Metallic flavors
-Overly strong artificial flavorings

With the exception of bananas and migraine triggers, I’ll pretty much try any tea at least once!

Steeping Parameters:

I drink tea in a variety of ways! For hot brews, I mostly drink my teas brewed in the western style without additions, and for iced tea, I drink teas mostly brewed in the cold brew style without additions. Occassionally I’ll change that up. I use the https://octea.ndim.space/#/ app for water-to-tea ratios and use steep times to my preferences.

My Rating Scale:

90-100 – Top tier tea! These teas are among my personal favorites, and typically I like to keep them stocked in my cupboards at all times, if possible!

70-89 – These are teas that I personally found very enjoyable, but I may or may not feel inclined to keep them in stock.

50-69 – Teas that fall in this range I enjoyed, but found either average, lacking in some way, or I’ve had a similar tea that “did it better.”

21-49 – Teas in this range I didn’t enjoy, for one reason or another. I may or may not finish them off, depending on their ranking, and feel no inclination to restock them.

20-1 – Blech! My Tea Hall of Shame. These are the teas that most likely saw the bottom of my garbage can, because I’d feel guilty to pass them onto someone else.

Note that I only journal a tea once, not every time I drink a cup of it. If my opinion of a tea drastically changes since my original review, I will journal the tea again with an updated opinion and change my rating. Occassionally I revisit a tea I’ve reviewed before after a year or more has passed.

Inventory:

My Cupboard on Steepster reflects teas that I have sampled and logged for review, and is not used as an inventory for teas I currently own at the present moment. An accurate and up-to-date listing of my current tea inventory can be viewed here: https://tinyurl.com/xjt9ptx3 . I am open to tea trades (within the United States only!) at this time. Note that I will not trade teas that I currently have in a quantity less than 50g (samplers, 1oz packages, etc.) or any teas that are currently still sealed/unopened in my cupboard.

Contact Info:

Feel free to send me a Steepster PM, or alternatively, check the website URL section below; it goes to a contact form that will reach my personal e-mail.

Location

Idaho, United States

Website

https://teatimetuesdayreviews...

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