Violin in C Sharp

So I tried a new tea this morning - Cardamom Spice (Chai) from "Tea Drops". It's this little sort of pressed cake of loose leaf that you drop into your mug of hot water. I think the concept is a no fuss kurrig without the pod sort of concept. I really REALLY wanted it to be good - because they would be awesome for travel. Alas.... the spice blend on the chai was sub-par to non existent, in fact, it tasted sweet without me putting any sugar in. And that doesn't even begin to touch on the problems. The package says that "this is a loose leaf tea there will be some sediment in the bottom of your cup".... that does NOT prepare you for the mass of GRIT that is a cup of this stuff. I tried to let it all settle to the bottom of my mug, but then I had nearly clear hot water with a layer of tea grit at the bottom. In order to have any flavor, I had to keep stirring the grit up from the bottom to try and mix into the water. I have two more flavours of the drops to try

I have a few friends who swear this stuff is even better than sliced bread - and of all the powdered chai latte mixes that I've tried, this IS the best of them. The powder dissolves enough that you don't get the grainy powder feel in the tea as you're drinking though, it does need to be stirred constantly as you drink or there will be gloop in the bottom of your cup when done - and even with stirring, it can sometimes be im possible to avoid the gloop. The spicing is soooo nice on this. They put enough spice in this that you can taste it even through the creamy aspect of the latte. As far as storage goes, with other brands of powder if I don't use them up quickly enough, or if I store them someplace where it gets to hot or cold the entire package becomes one giant lump of hardened powder that isn't salvageable. Such is not the case with the TJ version. Over time or with extreme temperature changes it can seize up and turn somewhat brickish in the container, but it&#

I oversteeped this on my first try of this blend and unlike some teas, it is NOT forgiving of an over steep at all. It gets VERY tannic and harsh. I suggest about a 4 min steep for this for best results. Right off the steep it’s a bit harsh and dry in the mouth. Sugar, cream, and even honey taste weird stirred in- like you’ve added ingredients to a recipe that were never intended to be there. However, if you add a splash of whiskey you solve the mystery of the missing ingredient and this blend opens up, unfolds and becomes a delicious cross between a cocktail and a hot mug of tea. The orange peel really starts to pop and the smoke in the tea highlights the barrel flavor of the wood in the whiskey that you add. I experimented with several types of scotch and the smoke brought out each and every type of wood flavor- it was fascinating. Verdict: NEEDS whiskey, but is then a delicious way to warm up in cold weather

I usually LOVE Jasmine Green tea milk teas from boba/ milk tea places..... I was hoping this would capture this flavor in a pre-mix bottle version so that I could have it at home without going out. ........ It does not. I've had milk teas before that get their milkyness from milk powder and they're ok... but apparently they were black teas and not green... and with no jasmine. I say this because the milk powder overpowers the green tea taste in the initial sip and then on the aftertaste, the jasmine combines with the milk powder to create an aftertaste that is.... soapy. It's not as bad as a lavender or violet candy as far as soapy aftertastes go.... but it's damn close. Verdict: ...... nope.

The description self identifies it as "a woodsy oolong" which is deliciously on the money. The currant does interesting things to the oolong. When you add jasmine to oolong I find that it lightens the flavor - especially lifting the end note and to date has been my favorite way of cutting out the weird somewhat bitter aftertaste a straight oolong can carry on the end note. The currant in this does the same thing as jasmine in that it gets rid of the oolong bitter end note - however the currant doesn't lift the flavor the way jasmine does. Instead, the currant deepens the flavor profile of the oolong closer to that of a black tea and in this blend really heightens the earthy/woodsy flavors. The result is that I feel very earthy goddess sitting in the forest as I sip this straight off the steep with no sugar or cream.

This is the tea blend from Uncommon that kept getting advertised to me and made me curious enough to order from their company. The idea of Black Tea with a Bourbon flavor intrigued me. I'm not sure there is a bourbon flavor here, but there is wood and some smoke and some burnt sugar and some buckwheat and chicory. It's dry in the mouth and while normally that would make me suggest a touch of cream, cream muddles the complexity of the flavors here. What DOES work to temper the dryness without muddling it is to add just a dash of whiskey. With the whiskey, this becomes a delicious sipping tea that warms oh so pleasantly. Verdict: tasty and worth the impulse buy

Disclaimer: sorry vegan and lactose intolerant friends - this powdered mix does contain milk. Ok, safety warning out of the way - on to the review! Some mornings I wake up with a stomach ache due to one thing or another (like this morning) and on mornings like that, this stuff is liquid gold (no pun intended). It is just soooooo good! It settles my stomach PLUS has a good amount of ginger spice kick to it, so it cuts through the gunk in the back of my throat when I'm sick or preparing to sing. The honey is well balanced with the ginger spice, so it's a fabulous mix of sweet and spicy and the powdered milk adds a delightful creaminess. It's non-caffeinated so I enjoy it at night on the way to bed too. Verdict: I re-order this stuff pretty damn regularly because I drink the hell out of it on a pretty regular basis.

On July 3rd, I went shopping at my local Costco to pick up some groceries for the family. This is how I was attired: Yes, that is a Tron Legacy mask. You know you're jealous of my masky geek game. If you want your own, look up  Kawaiian Pizza Apparel on Etsy So, I went to Costco and did my shopping without any issues.   Tra la la. Exiting the store, I noticed a group standing in the parking lot yelling at folk. I rolled my eyes and decided to push my cart past without engaging..... wishful thinking on my part. Most of the folk going in or out of the store were wearing disposable paper face masks, a few had on scarves or bandanas or plain white or black fabric masks - I was the only person I saw in a mask with any sort of clearly professionally printed design. I THINK that this may be why the loud woman decided to make ME her target. One of the yelling people rushed into my personal space and started yelling at me about how the evil government is way out of line with demanding that

The Cranberry is subtle, but it's there. I drink this straight off the steep because it's not bitter enough to need cream or sugar and it doesn't leave my mouth feeling at all dry. If I let it get too cool, the hibiscus becomes very prominent, which isn't a bad thing, but something to know. As with all Harney & Sons blends, the black tea is SUPER high quality, but I don't suggest steeping this bag more than once. The Cranberry flavor vanishes entirely with a second steep.

Man boy howdy they ain’t kidding about mahogany being the dominant flavor on this. The tea quality is good and the walnut comes through in the mid-note but I didn’t really taste the burnt sugar. The mahogany is a head trip. I’m used to oak in wine or wood in my whiskey- but I’m not used to wood in my tea and I’m REALLY not used to mahogany as a flavor instead of just a scent. It takes cream well- which is good because without cream it dries my mouth out WAY too much- which is why even though it’s a good tea I won’t be reordering this blend. Verdict: good quality, interesting flavor, but the end note is not a good match for my pallet preferences.

Good Thai tea flavor- but it’s just the leaf not a powder mix so you still need to add your own sweetener and cream. The first time I added cream, I did it totally wrong and only added heavy cream and a touch of condensed milk. The tea did NOT hold up to that much cream. The second time, I added simple syrup and condensed milk and got a DELICIOUS Thai tea that just happens to be a fun shade of blue. Honestly, the only thing that was really missing was the boba.

Most of the other milk tea at home teas that I've made have been powder packets - but 3:15 does their Earl Grey in a tea bag instead. The powdered milk dissolves in the hot water first, and the instructions say that you should leave the bag in longer the stronger you want the Earl Grey flavor to be. Let me tell you, they ain't kidding. It takes a LONG steep for me to get the Earl Grey flavor to cut through the milk flavor. That isn't to say that it's a bad milk tea, it is a rather tasty offering, I just find that I have to steep this for nearly 10 minutes before I get the level of Earl Grey flavor that I want. As such, I tend to drink this more with the help of an electric mug to keep it warm, when I'm in the mood for a luke-warm tea (which is a rare occurrence), or I ice it (and it is very good iced).

When I bought this, I thought it would be like the loose leaf version of orange pekoe. It is not. I didn't think the pan roasting would make as much of a difference as it does. The pan roasting really adds a nice roasty flavor. The side effect is that the orange peel is not as prominent as in an orange pekoe, but that's not a bad thing. The orange is certainly still there - but of course, it's a different kind of orange as well, because yes, the fact that they are blood orange peels DOES change the taste of the citrus element. All in all, it's a delicious blend that I enjoy drinking straight off the steep with no cream or sugar even though, as you can see, it is on the dark side (without the flash on my phone it looks like coffee in the pot). It's not nearly as tannic as the color would suggest. I think the blossoms and the citrus in the blend help to counter that - and also, the roasting helps too. Pairs SUPER well with the Lemon-up girl scout cookies especially if

As you can see, it’s on the more golden side of color for a black tea. As expected from the color it’s on the milder side and not at all astringent. The bergamot gives it more body than you might expect from a more golden color and the stone fruit/ honey gives it a natural sweetness to the end note without actually being sweet. I like it straight off the steep without adding anything- but if you need to add something, I would suggest honey or creamed honey instead of cream or cream and sugar. Verdict: comforting, delicious, on the subtle side for a black

This chai has a definite clove presence in the nose and the overtone - and fair warning, it is VERY easy to overbrew to the point where that clove starts to dry out your mouth on the end note. However, an overbrewed pot takes cream and sugar well and stays quite tasty. If you baby your tea timer and don't go a second over 5 min, than you don't need any cream or sugar and can drink this nicely straight off the steep. So, it's not my favorite chai blend - but I do like how well it takes to cream without the annoyance of having to brew it IN milk - since so many chai blends need to be steeped in the milk for the spices to hold up to the creaming and this one doesn't. And now, a word on packaging. I don't usually talk about packaging in my reviews - but it's worth mentioning here. I have a few blends that are nice, but aren't FANTASTIC and yet I continue to buy them regularly because something about the packaging feels luxurious and decadent and opening it and m

I can drink this stuff like water. It’s so refreshing. The green tea part isn’t too astringent or dry and the jasmine part isn’t too floral and both flavors are there. Interestingly enough, my father who almost exclusively drinks coffee will also chug 11 oz bottles of this with happy gusto.