March 9, 2008

Assam Gold Rain, from Teavana...I am not thoroughly impressed with this tea. A friend of mine bought some for me as a gift, and I've tried making some several times. The result: too strong, too weak, almost just right. It lacks fragrance, aroma. And the flavor is a tiny bit tinny, which depends on how strong or weak I make it, the stronger, the tinnier. It's more astringent that I think the Assams should be, though.

I also get why Irish and English breakfast teas need to be strong. I almost couldn't taste the tea when I was eating with scrambled eggs. But I at least made it right this time. So it was pretty good, just not great.

1/29/08

My son knows that I drink tea. It's amazing. He's 2 and a half! When I drink it, he says "TEA!!" he shouts everything when he gets excited. He's still learning how to talk, after all. He tastes it, but doesn't have more than a small sip...but he points it out when he sees it. It's very cute.

Oh, and here's my Adagio correspondence:
Hi Russell,

Thank you for your note. Unfortunately, we cannot make any substitutions at
this time, but we are considering putting together an oolong starter set-
thank you for the suggestion!

Please visit us again soon,

Adagio Teas
http://www.adagio.com


From: "Russell Hires"
Date: Sat, 19 Jan 2008 09:45:07 -0500
To: michael
Subject: When you were offline (via LivePerson)

Hello! I'm wondering if it's possible to get the starter set with the oolong
teas instead of black or green. I will be making a purchase no matter what,
but this would be a wonderful thing if you can do it. I have a friend that I
will be sending this to, and she is a big oolong fan. Thanks so much for your
wonderful site!

Russell

1/28/08

I ordered tea for my sweetie in Vermont. An oolong sampler from Adagio. And the tea guide.

Separately, on the weekends I have been drinking the Irish Breakfast tea from Twinings, just the way they say to: one per person, and one for the pot. Teaspoons of tea. In fact, it became utilitarian, rather than an experience, like driking coffee. I miss my other loose teas.

I went to adagio to order more tea, and came up with $64 worth of tea! But I realized that I don't drink tea at work anymore, and so I don't need so much, but it didn't make sense to order the smaller amounts, either, because of how much smaller they are. I know tea keeps for a while, but still, it didn't make sense to me to buy it all at once, and since I eliminated buying smaller amounts, I ended up with nothing. It was mostly 4 ounces at a time, rather than 1 ounce.

1/24/08

I went yesterday to the Kalesia Tea Lounge, and had a giant cup of Yunnan Gold...whooo wee... a large cup. I had too much of a headache to enjoy it much, though. They have free wifi, but I didn't have my computer...They only have about 6 or 7 black teas, though there are a number of tea combinations, and oolong, green, and white teas, along with a few other things, like teaware and such...I should have had the Assam tea instead, though. I was more in the mood for that.

Today, I'm drinking a bit of the last of my Ceylon sonata. I'm still pondering what I'm going to buy from Adagio...The ceylon tea is very smooth today. I didn't steep it as long, so that may have something to do with it. I don't know how long I did brew it...meanwhile, I sent and received more correspondence from Adagio...I'll post it later.

MLK Day

I have been drinking cafe con leche this last week and it has solved my going to the bathroom problem, but I don't feel as good. The teas I've been drinking have definitely been making me feel pretty good...

Meanwhile, I sent a request to Adagio about having a sample set with the oolong tea instead of the black or green teas...and they haven't responded. Maybe because of the holiday? I sent it on Friday, too...