I guess I was really fascinated with church pews! Oh me, I have had a run of not so hot teas. Rather than depress you and myself for days on end, I am just going to get it all over with in one long moan. If you want to skip reading this today, please do so, but come back tomorrow, as I will hopefully have better news.
One of my Christmas teapots came with 3 blooming teas. If you don't know what these are, they are very cleverly tied tea leaves with a flower or flowers inside that open upon brewing into pretty flower shapes. Some are very imaginative. Most have tea that while bland, is drinkable and some are tasty. Mine, from Primula teas was supposed to be a jasmine tea, which I like. My guest, who had never seen a bloomer, and I decided to try it. It was very pretty, looking like a sea urchin that had captured a red flower. However, we never drank the tea, as it smelled like burning plastic and we couldn't get past it. Oh well, some things are just not meant to be, I guess. I have read good reviews about Primula, so perhaps this was just a bad or old batch, or the new pot.
I had been given a sample of Gyokuro from the nice people at Adagio. Gyokuro is made up of small dark green leaves that look like fresh grass clippings and in deed, when I brewed this tea for 2 min at 160 that is indeed what it smelled like, along with an undertone of seaweed. The liquor was an attractive medium emerald green that was a bit on the murky side. I also tried brewing it at 140 degrees for 2 min. I have to say that while these experiences were better than my previous one, in which I had brewed it far too hot, I really cannot say I like the stuff. I now feel I have done my time with this tea and I don't need to keep trying it. I appreciate all of the folks who took the trouble to write me on Steepster to help me brew this right, but it is just not my cup of tea. On to other tastings and journeys!
I received an ad from the Allure tea people tea@alluretea.com and I went to their site. I love their packaging! I thought I might have to buy some of their teas just for that reason. Like I don't have enough. But I am a real sucker for tins. The prices didn't look too bad. Sadly I later read several very negative reviews, so I won't be getting any. Darn, I just can't justify that much for a tin of mulch.
Okay, enough already, not even I can stand anymore. I hope your tea experiences are happier.
Guess what - it is snowing again! I think this is day 15.
