Wants!

In my tea-nerdiness, I hang out on Adagio's TeaChat Board. They've just started this nifty thing (new this month): group tastings. I'm pretty excited about it (further example of my tea-nerdiness). The first tea will be Ali Shan and the 6 types are being picked now.

Because of this new nifty tasting thing Adagio has started, they now carry tasting sets. Which is the point of this whole post because I want!

Tasting Set

Isn't that pretty? Very clean and attractive. Yep, I want a set of 6. I mean, I'm planning to participate in the tasting even if I don't have tasting sets, but it would be so neat to be able to do it "properly".

With the new TV, I'm probably not going to get them this month, but I have a feeling these will end up in my cabinet sooner or later.

I want!

Okay, I know nothing about this teapot. Someone just posted a picture on a chat board I go to. But I so want one!

KitTEA Pot

Look at the little feet! I love the feet! And the little face! Yeah, it's a rough looking pot, but the roughness is what makes the feet and face so cute!

Wildness in Tea Form

Check out this wild splash of colors:

How gorgeous is this? So colorful! These are the leaves of Special Tea's 772 Green Tea Tropical Cyclone, which is a floral flavored green which seems to be pretty good so far. I'm not sure how good I think it is yet, but I love the look of the loose leaves.

TMFP Take 2

Lookie what I got:

It has been named TMFP, just like my old red one was (which has been renamed to TMFR while it is still in the house). It even has a webcam and a biometric finger scan thingy. Neither of which I will probably use all that regularly, but they are fun to play with. And it is pink!

The tea in front is Special Teas' No. 621 Formosa Ali San Oolong in my lovely Noritake Savannah china, which is the china that my dad's dad started collecting for me right after I was born.

Tea Pass Box! (Post-Dated)

Yeah, this was so needed! After the frustration of Dell's "Next Year Service", it was the coolest thing in the world to come home and see a big box o' tea sitting on my porch.

Adagio Teas not only has really awesome teas, they have a really neat forum, Tea Chat, that I've been hanging out in. And a brilliant poster started something called the Tea Pass Box were someone would start out a box of teas and send it to the first person on the list. That person would try some teas, add some teas, then pass the box on to the next person on the list. Well, I signed up to participate and Tuesday was when the box got passed to me!

And there was a ton of tea in it!

Opening the box - the two items to the side were in the box, too

The Tea Pass Tea - Yum!

I've imposed Wednesday at the "must go out" date to get the box passed on to the next person on the list. I still have about 12 teas I want to try, so I had best get cracking!

Blooming Crawfish Tea

Once again, it is that time of year. Memorial Day weekend, also known as Mudbug Madness weekend (you should so go to that page, at least for a minute - they have fun zydeco music playing).

Yep, this weekend we were in Shreveport, Louisiana, eatin' bugs!

Mudbugs - the only "bugs" I'll eat

Dan had at least seven boxes of bugs and I'd say at least that many beers, too. I had a whopping three boxes - which is a lot for me - and no beers (duh).

Dan playing with his food.

Of course, there is more than just crawfish to eat, if you so desire.

Mmm, tastes like chicken.

We had a decent sized group this year to eat, drink and be merry - fourteen people for the whole group.

Part of the group enjoying the music.

Now, we take our bugs pretty seriously, but there are some folks that come way more prepared than we are. Like this guy:

As Dan said, I bet this guy gets all the chicks.

In less timely news (as these pictures were taken before Mudbug), our yard is still in bloom, but different parts - no more irises. Now we have the oleander in bloom.

Oooh, pretty!

And, how cool is this: we have apples!

Mini-gala apple

It's only about the size of a ping pong ball, but isn't it pretty? We have several others, too, but this one is the prettiest.

And in something even more outdated, this is from earlier last week. Found a lovely tea, Adagio's Birthday Tea Blend. It's a mix of vanilla, cream and caramel tea - with sprinkles!

Birthday Blend

It's really good. It smells so yummy and tastes like licking vanilla icing but without the sugar coating that coats your mouth. And it tastes creamy and yummy. It's quite good. And so pretty!

Sencha Hockey

So I got a lovely sampler from Hibiki-An which included Sencha Superior. (No picture - suck it up... it looks like green tea).

I'm on steep number five of this tea and am liking it more and more. The first steep I used about 1g per oz of water and that was a little weak. So instead of using 8oz of water, I started using 6oz for the re-steeps and this took care of the thin taste I was getting from it initially.

It's got a good muscatel smell but any muscatel flavor has only started coming out in later steeps. It's not the smoothest tea and I thought the somewhat bitter tail that seems to build up was going to make me dislike this tea, but nope. I'm surprisingly starting to like that lightly bitter end.

So, I think I'm just going to hang out this evening at home, sipping on my sencha superior and try to figure out if I want Dallas or Detroit to win the Western Conference final. I just can't convince myself that I want Dallas to win, but I know I don't want Detroit to. I still want San Jose to win, but as Dallas knocked them out last round, I don't think that will happen.

I'm kind of thinking I want Philly to win it all. They have ex-Duck Joffrey Lupul on their team and since the Ducks were booted in the first round (dagnabit!) he's the closest I can get to cheering for the Ducks.

Joffery Lupul is purty, even with the sketchy playoff beard

Of course, it would be cool if Pittsburgh won the Cup - they kind of deserve it.

And there is officially something wrong that I want an Eastern Conference team to win the Stanley Cup. Shame on me.

Amost Forgot!

I almost forgot! In addition to Sammy's video, I wanted to post a couple of cute kitty pictures.

Chloe in a box

Chloe is a very happy kitty when there is a box around. This box is courtesy of MIL - thanks Claudia. Dan was supposed to tell you we got it yesterday but I doubt he did. Fun goodies - thank you! (And Chloe was a fan, too!)

An Unlady-like Cocoa

I can't decide if Cocoa is being unladylike or if she is doing another Jabba the Hut impression. Though the more I look at the picture, the more I think she needs Bitty beside her on a chain and in a slave costume.

Okay, this last one isn't kitty related, but it's blog-worthy anyway. I got this last week, but considering it came in the day Nibby passed away, yeah, didn't really feel like posting about it.

My Tokoname Kyusu

It holds about 10 oz and I'm not even telling what it costs. But it is so pretty! And it makes a good cup of sencha, too. Yum.

Well, that takes care of the other goodies I wanted to post in additon to Sammy's video. Sammy is on my lap right now and he liked watching me edit his video.

I have to mention one more thing: the silly cat snores. Even when he is awake.

Fat kitty.

Mmm, cereal-y

New tea today.

Citron Green

Pretty, isn't it. Has bits of fruit in it, too.

So, I really like jasmine-flavored green tea. Not so much on the cherry (though I hold out hope because Den's cherry rose tea is supposed to rock). This one kind of falls in the middle. I don't hate it so much I'm unwilling to inflict it on another person (like the cherry tea I had last week or so), but I don't like it enough to keep it and drink it.

Why? Because this is what it tastes like:

Seriously, it tastes likes Fruity Pebbles. It took me a while to figure out what it reminded me of, all I could think of was "cereal", but then it hit me. A few minutes later, Dan pulled up in the drive. I had to run out and have him try some. He tried a little and then I said, "Think cereal." His immediate response: "Froot Loops!"

I can't get over the fact that this tea tastes like a fruity kids' cereal. I mean exactly like. DISTURBINGLY like. Now, I like Fruity Pebbles. Okay, okay. I love them. I can't buy any because it is entirely possible that I will eat the whole box in a day. Really.

But a tea that tastes like it? Just too freaky for me.

Zoo Teas

This morning was Pi Lo Chun (which translates, apparently, to green snail spring). It is a good basic Chinese green, but not as good as Dragonwell from earlier or the Green Pekoe from yesterday. I would probably like this tea more if I had tried it after the Green Pekoe.

Though I must say for it, I think the leaves are gorgeous.

Snail tea leaves

And further in the animal tea theme that seems to be happening today, I've got some Ti Kuan Yin Monkey Picked. Quite a yummy tea. And, though different from the Pi Lo Chun's leaves, it has some quite lovely leaves of its own.

Monkey tea

Just thought I'd share!

Another Chinese and some Irises

Hmm, sounds like the beginning of a bad and tacky joke...

Anyway, first things first: tea! Tonight is a lovely Green Pekoe (pronounced "peck-o" apparently) from China.

Loose Green Pekoe

This plus the Dragonwell makes me realize that I really like Chinese greens. I wasn't anticipating that because, honestly, anything China can do, Japan can do better, right? But stylistically, the teas are very different. This green pekoe has that same "wilder" sweetness that the Dragonwell does instead of the "lighter" sweetness of the Japanese greens. The green pekoe doesn't really taste like honey or muscat, but there is something in the taste that neither Dan nor I can pin point. (ETA: On the third infusion and that "something" has come out a bit more I think. There is a bit of smoky flavor to it now. Not overwhelming, but enough to go, 'mmm, new taste, yum!')

I like this one a little more than the Dragonwell, I believe. I still have one or two more Chinese greens to try as well, though, but this one will be tough to beat as far as a good, solid Chinese green. Plus, the leaves are absolutely gorgeous.

Look at those colors! So pretty!

And speaking of gorgeous, that brings me to the second part of my post title: irises.

The irises in my side yard are beginning to bloom and boy, are they lovely!

Our 'ittle side yard with lovely irises and stick-like altheas (that are just starting to bed out leaves)

The ones on the other side of the rose bush aren't doing too much, but I think that is because I need to get out there, dig them up and split them. But then I'd have to find more room to plant them and that means I need to make more bed. Or rather Dan needs to make more. Of course, I did plan to have the corner bed stretch along the back side of our fence to sort of mirror (but not) how it now stretches down the side of the fence. But I'm sure Dan was hoping that the expansion would wait a bit. Because the fence is pretty long. Well, we might have to do it in phases. He's got until September, which is when I'll need to split the irises, to convince me to do a partial bed expansion.

Green Dragon

Experiencing my first Chinese green tea today, Dragonwell. (Too lazy to get a picture - sorry!)

First off, it smells lovely. Like muscat, honey and a little grass (grass as in lawn, not another kind (though can I admit, I seriously don't know what that "other kind" smells like - I'm so sheltered)). It reminds me of this Japanese "muskat" flavored gummy Dan and I used to get a lot. The taste has a little more of a wild, natural-ish sweet flavor (that honey taste) instead of the fresher sweeter flavor (more like a fruit type of sweet) I normally associate with greens. Probably because it is Chinese, not Japanese.

Anyway, not the best green ever (so far kukicha is winning that one for me) but definitely good and quite enjoyable. Also, this is a lighter tea, but you know, I'm really finding that I like those best. Delicate flavor and sweet aftertaste seem to be my favorite things in tea. And while this sweet taste is different than what I'm used to, it fits both of those requirements very well. I'm only on my first steep and I think I'm going to quite enjoy this.

Flowers and Tea... and Cake

Busy post today - lots to say (though none of it important, as usual).

First, tea:

Coconut Tea

The white bits? Coconut, baby!

This morning's tea was coconut tea. Yum! Not too strongly flavored, but a nice, subtle coconut flavor with a lovely smell and nice sweet aftertaste. Perfect with a touch of sugar but smooth enough to not need milk. Very nice! Not sure how it is iced yet but definitely hopeful!

This evening's tea is a lovely and unusual green tea.

Genmai Cha

Green tea with browned rice and popcorn

This tastes like Japanese osembe with a toasty but slightly sweet flavor. Still working on the best way to brew it (Adagio doesn't suggest brewing amounts of the loose tea which is frustrating but I'm hoping things will get easier when I get my scale that I just ordered from Amazon) but I'm quite liking it. It makes me want some edamame since both edamame and osembe are Japanese bar-style foods. So does that make this a bar tea?

In non-tea news, I made an angel food cake and this time it turned out much better than when I tried to make it in the bundt pan. My lovely MIL sent me a tube pan so it even looks like a normal angel food cake.

Okay, so it is a little crooked...

So woo hoo. And I didn't even ruin a pan like I did months ago.

And in other nifty news, the yard is starting to bloom! I've had a couple of white irises bloom and just this weekend, some of the dark purple ones popped out.

Pretty Irises

My yellow ones opened up yesterday (no pics yet) and my purple and whites are starting to open today. Soon the fancy ladies or whatever they are called - the light lilac, frilly ones, should be opening soon.

Oh, and the Lady Bank's rose is huge. I think it is plotting to eat the house.

Cookie Tea!

Okay, not cookie tea, but kuki-cha (cha (or 茶) means tea).

Kukicha

Mmm, twiggy

This is another Japanese green that I got in my Adagio order yesterday. I'm not sure if I ever had this while I was in Japan, but I quite like it. It is a mix of green leaves and white twigs. Not quite as grassy as the sencha from yesterday but a little more almost sweet hay smell/flavor, which I guess comes from the twigs.

That's a good thing.

Yeah, so I'm impressed by the greens I've gotten from Adagio so far. I also had a Chinese black from my order this morning, Yunnan Gold. Very good for a non-flavored black, I think. Very smooth. But I like the natural sweetness of the oolongs and greens so I needed to put a teaspoon of sugar in it still. But it was smooth enough that I didn't need to add milk.

Liking the greens and oolongs overall better than the blacks, but I have two or three more blacks from Adagio to try. So we shall see!

This Deserves Its Own Post

One more bit to put in the "good" pile from my other post: I got my Adagio tea order today! w00t!

My order

Yeah, okay, so I might have gone a little overboard getting samples, but I couldn't help myself. There is so much stuff I want to try!

So far I've only tried one tea from this order, the sencha premier.

My Japanese sencha

This stuff is gooooooood. Fresh and sweet and a hint of bitter for balance (though I do brew to minimize this because I like the sweet). It is very grassy and has just a great green tea taste.

This stuff makes me homesick for Japan. In particular, it reminds me of the dorm mother at the college I stayed at my second trip to Japan. She liked to make a pot to share and chat with me and the other students. Sooooo good.

In fact, I think I'll go have some more.

Mixed (Tea) Bag

Okay, so I rarely use bagged tea anymore, but still I thought the title was marginally witty.

Mostly, though, I'm referring to the goings on of the past two days. Yesterday I was sick. Ugh, I hate that. I don't know if it was allergies or the leftover seafood pasta I had the night before, but anytime I stood I started feeling like I was going to throw up (lovely, yes?). Mind you, I'm not even sure if I can throw up. After my hiatal hernia surgery, the doc said I would not be able to throw up, but I can't remember (or never knew) if that was just while I was recovering from the surgery or for as long as my stomach has the wrap in it). Thankfully, I didn't have to find out yesterday as I only felt violently ill instead of being violently ill. Still a bit queasy today but it is better so I can deal. And I'm sure you are all overjoyed you now know all that.

Anyway, I did a tea order from a couple places last week and they have come in. One is from New Mexico Tea Co. Based on a recommendation, I got their Orange Blossom Oolong. Not as sweet as I was anticipating and I had to cut the brew time down, but really very good. I drank several infusions of that yesterday and it really helped keep my stomach calmer.

I also got from the same company a Kyoto Cherry Sencha. I'm not even going to post a link to that one. Not good. The cherry was a cherry cough syrup flavor. Eew. Not a winner and I have no idea what to do with the rest of the tea. I don't think I'd even give it to someone else, it was so unpleasant. I have some in the fridge to see how it is iced so maybe that will redeem it, but not holding out high hopes.

But, even though that cherry tea was icky, it all worked out because New Mexico Tea Co. sent me a free sample with my order. Jasmine Moli Chunhao. Now this totally makes up for the travesty that is the Kyoto Cherry Sencha. It has a very strong jasmine taste and reminds me of this great iced tea I had last time Dan and I were in Japan. Now that tea was a white jasmine I believe, but I loved it.

(Not my picture - I saved part of the wrapper in my Japan scrapbook but have no pictures of the bottle so I found this online).

And this jasmine taste is very similar. It is good cold, as well, though I think best hot.

So anyway, good stuff and bad stuff Friday and today. Good tea, bad tea. Feeling bad, but today is good because I'm better.

Oh, and another "good/bad" thing. Got a little yard work done today. Planted a few lilies and trimmed the rosemary and oleander with the hedge trimmers. That is good. The bad thing was, well, I also managed to "trim" the cord to the hedge trimmers with the hedge trimmers. Oops. I'm so brilliant. Dan just said he was happy that it wasn't a finger.

I'm In Love

Yeah, okay, way into the tea thing. Have two pots that I use - a big 'un for making Dan's and my teas in our travel mugs and then a smaller one that I use in the evenings to make teas that can be re-steeped and that we drink from tea cups (vs. the big mugs).

Anyway, I didn't figure that I'd end up getting all tea pot obsessed. I mean, I have stuff that does the job (and the little one is way cute) so I don't really need more, right?

Well, I might not need this one, but I so want it. It is gorgeous and makes my heart skip just a wee bit.

*drool*

Check out the info for it here. It's only $182.00. For a about 10 oz pot.

I still want it.

Of course, I could always be drooling over this one.

*drool*

Which, I admit, I did for a minute. After all - Irises. Love it. But then I saw the price. $330. Seriously. See.

Mount Everest Breakfast Blend

Mount Everest Breakfast Blend No. 805

Yep, so still trying to find a yummy black tea that I like. I think I figured out what my problem is. Good Assam black tea has a malty flavor.

I don't like malt.

You can see why there would be a problem.

So, yeah, no black tea blends with Assam tea. Not sure about the "peppery" aspect that this tea is supposed to have because the malt kind of distracts me and makes me think "yuck" before I can get into the more nuanced flavors.

Or else I'm not sure what a "peppery" tea would taste like. One of those.

But all is not lost in regards to finding a black tea I can enjoy. There is always Ceylon tea (which is supposed to be citrusy) and Darjeeling tea (more floral-y and muscatel-y). And I think there are also some China black teas that are supposed to be peppery, but not sure if I want to drink something that sounds like it would taste like it has black pepper ground up in it.

On the plus side, I got 6 lovely steeps from my Fancy Formosa Oolong (the cigar tea) and probably could have gotten one or two more, but it was time for bed. So yay!

Earl Grey De La Creme

Earl Grey De La Creme No. 821

Okay, I like this tea. And it is a black tea. Woo hoo! Actually, though, the reason why I like it (and the more I drink it, the more I am liking it) is because it is so, well, odd. First off, the loose tea is absolutely gorgeous. Check it out in the second picture - isn't that lovely? And the smell! It smells a bit like Amarula, if you know that drink. Citrus-y and creamy.

And it tastes just like it smells. Now I will say that, for me, it does need a little sugar and a splash of milk. That smooths it out and brings out the creamy flavor better. Well, it is more like a less-sweet marshmallow than cream. Anyway, very good. Might have just found a black tea I really enjoy!

Formosa Pouchong

Formosa Pouchong No. 614

Yum! Yet another oolong I like. Not as floral as some of the other ones we've been drinking lately. Does have a sweet initial taste that goes a little more earthy. Straw-ish maybe? Don't think it will last for as many infusions as some of the others, particularly the Tu Kuan Yins. Still quite like it - good to have something not as flowery.

English High-Grown Leaf Blend

English High-Grown Leaf Blend No 801

Oops, forgot a picture of it. Oh well.

Anyway, liking this tea more than the others we have tried lately but it still needs milk and sugar. Has a lighter taste than the other blacks we've had so that could be what I like it. Still wouldn't pick this as a first choice.

You guessed it, still don't like black teas.

Anxi Oolong Select

Anxi Oolong Select No. 513

Yeah, so it turns out that I'm totally an oolong fan. This one has a darker flavor than the Tu Kuan Yin style of the last two days but I really like it. Has an almost woodsy flavor at the beginning which mellows after multiple infusions. Chilled it is sweeter and cleaner than hot but both ways are really good. Oolongs are awesome!

Formosa Tung Ting Jade Oolong

Formosa Tung Ting Jade Oolong No. 618

Okay, right off, a very similar scent to the Ti Kuan Yin Monkey Picked from yesterday. A little more astringent and grassy but at 1/2 the price, still a very good tea.

I'm really liking the green oolongs. Nice a floral and sweet. So good. And they smell brilliant when brewing.

White Tips Earl Gray

White Tip Earl Grey No. 825

So apparently this is supposed to be a pretty darn good black tea. And it was better than most I've had, though a little thin (though maybe I just didn't use enough leaves - totally possible). Not as woody as most other blacks and with a little sugar and milk, pretty smooth with a very interesting flavor (I don't think it's bergamot but maybe). Other than being thin (which is most likely my fault) there really isn't anything wrong with this tea. Just still not a big fan of blacks. It was suggested that I try Yunnan Gold, Golden Monkay and some Darjeelings to see if those are more my speed of black teas, so I'll add those on my "to be ordered" list.

Until then, will try being more generous with leaves next time I brew the white tips Earl Gray.

ETA 3/22: This tea is actually very good iced. Crisp, clean and very refreshing. Doesn't even need any sugar.

China Ti Kuan Yin Monkey Picked

Dude, it has "monkey" in the name. How can it not be a winner?

China Ti Kuan Yin Monkey Picked No. 517
Brewing in the 'ittle pot

Described as "our competition grade Ti Kuan Yin is one of the best available". Yeah, I don't know exactly what that means for taste other than this tea is good. Very flowery (orchid, specifically) and with a light, sweet aftertaste that kind of sneaks up on you.

Sooooo good.

ETA 3/21: I made one last infusion of this last night and just put it in a bottle and chilled it for today. Really good cold, too. And that was on the 5th infusion. Yeah, flavor was a bit faded, but still a nice enough flavor to enjoy. Such a keeper.

Fine Irish Breakfast Tea

Fine Irish Breakfast Tea No. 803
Brewing in the Big Pot

Described as The aroma reflects the heartiness of the Assam as well as the smoothness and slightly lemony taste of the Nilgiri.Yeah, I don't know. I mean, this was better than the PG Tips that we've had some mornings, but I'm just overall not a big fan of black tea. Though this one at least was okay with 1 tsp of sugar. Though I could have used a little splash of milk.

It's funny. Dan's favorite teas are black where I like green. I'm hoping that we'll find some common ground with oolongs because I don't see much loose black tea floating around in the future if I'm the one doing the tea buying.

Because I am a Nerd... Formosa Fancy Oolong Organic

Okay, so I've been getting into teas lately and I just got my first shipment of real loose tea (and the cutest little 2-cup tea pot). And I just have to post about it. I have a feeling that I'll be doing this in the future with my new loose teas.

Formosa Fancy Oolong Organic No. 611

Brewing the oolong in my cute little lilac 2-cup pot.

Described as having a "nice, pale amber cup color and a full, smooth, fruity-sweet flavor". I would add 'smoky' to that. It is a very clean tea - no big aftertaste - but to me the initial burst of flavor is smoky and sweet. And the smell is like mellow cigar smoke.

I told Dan it was like licking one one of those men that smokes the nice-smelling cigars. But, you know, in a good way.