Week Two of Tx4

Tea in Two Thousand and Thirteen: Week Two

Day 6: Sunday, January 6, 2013 --

Can we say "fail"? Okay, "fail." To put it simply, I had way too much water. I don't honestly know what I was thinking. The peach flavor was nice. It reminded me of a peach tea I used to drink ages ago. I think if I hadn't over-watered the tea and had ice to make it an ice tea like I had been suggested to do so, then it would have been quite enjoyable.

Day 7: Monday, January 7, 2013 --

One word.. Peppermint. Super good! I thought the peppermint would be too much, but it was actually very fun to drink. Also, side note, it went well with animal crackers, which I was eating while drinking it. The animal cracker enjoyed it also, as the picture clearly captures:

Day 8: Tuesday, January 8, 2013 --

Best. Smelling. (And. Tasting.) Green. Tea. Yet. Seriously. Green tea isn't my favorite, but I really enjoy this one! It's just very flavorful and soothing. Lemon is also not my flavor of choice either. It can be very strong, but it went well with this tea. I added my own honey as well. I'll definitely have to drink this again, if I can find some. This was a tea that a friend had given me a loose tea packet from.

Day 9: Wednesday, January 9, 2013 --

Ever heard of Terry's Chocolate Orange? The one where you have to "Whack and Unrap" it. Well, I took a sip of this tea and that's exactly what came to mind! The tea packet says it's "flavored with rind of oranges and sweet spice." It was pretty tasty. Since it reminded me of the chocolate, I found some dark chocolate I had gotten for Christmas. I ate some of it while I drank my tea. It was like drinking an old memory of that chocolate, so I liked it a lot.

Day 10: Thursday, January 10, 2013 --

Earl Grey is such a classic, but I can never really tell what the flavor is. I think if I was to be asked, "What should tea taste like without any crazy flavors added to it?" I'd point them to some Earl Grey. If I ever figure out how to explain this, then I will let you know A.S.A.P.

Day 11: Friday, January 11, 2013 --

So I went to the store in hopes to get the green tea from day 8, but it wasn't there. I found a box of Sleepytime Vanilla instead. That was interesting. I made some for my twin and myself. As it was steeping my twin said, "It smells like icing!" It was really rich compared to the plain Sleepytine. I also put wayyyy toooo much honey in it. So there really is such a thing as too much honey! I never thought I'd taste the tea that would prove me wrong.

Day 12: Saturday, January 12, 2013 --

Yumm... Spearmint gum. So refreshing and minty to chew! ...wait... I was having a cup of tea not chewing gum. It had a very strong spearmint taste to it. If I ever get in the mood to drink the flavor of my gum, then I will definitely need to have some more of this. (:

____________________________

Week Two is done! Whew! That was tough. Not because I didn't want to drink the tea, but because I wasn't as excited as the first week. Tea packets aren't that exciting either! I mean they can be as some have shown, but I can't wait to buy some loose leaf tea and learn how to prepare it the right way. Soon, soon. Not yet though. #1 I don't know where to begin. #2 One needs money to buy things.. (REALLY? yes.) So soon I shall. annnd #3 I'm trying to get rid of some of these random tea bags.

You're reading that and probably thinking.. "Excuses, Excuses.." Not so! Well, maybe so, but not entirely so! I'm working on it. Give me a couple weeks before you get on my tail for not getting some yet.

Until next time... Happy Tea Tasting!

Week One of Tx4

Tea in Two Thousand and Thirteen: Week One

Day 1: Tuesday, January 1, 2013 --

My go-to-when-sick tea. Green Tea Honey. I simply brew it for a couple minutes and then add a whole bunch of honey and sometimes a splash of milk. I didn't put in the milk this time around and it was still tasty. I love honey. (:

The second tea of the day, Pineapple Waikiki, was the first time I've ever had it. I believe one of my mom's bosses gave us that. She lives in Hawaii. She being the boss of course not my mom! Anyways, it wasn't super duper exciting, but it wasn't bad. I added a squirt of honey. It tasted like black tea with a slight aftertaste of pineapple, which was different. This did not make it onto my I-gotta-drink-this-all-the-time list, but at least I tried it!

Day 2: Wednesday, January 2, 2013 --

The first herbal tea of the adventure was the Sleepytime tea by Celestial Seasonings Herb Teas. It's rather tasty. The box says that its ingredients are chamomile, spearmint, lemongrass, tilia flowers, blackberry leaves, orange blossoms, hawthorn and rose buds. I also added some honey. I was already sleep when I began drinking the tea so I'm not aware of it having an affect on me. My favorite part of this cup o' tea was the spearmint. It wasn't overpowering and yet it was still present and quite delightful.

Day 3: Thursday, January 3, 2013 --

Mmmmm. Chai Tea. A classic and easily one of my favorites. My dad always gets it whenever we go to Panera or Barnes & Noble, so I usually get it, too, but the iced version. I mad a cup when I got up in the afternoon...I mean...morning. It was quite delicious. I fixed it with a spoon and a half of sugar and a splash of milk. Tasty. I really enjoy all the spices that come along with chai. I also made a cup for my father except I added honey and soy milk instead. It wasn't bad. I like the honey, but I thought the soy wasn't enough cream for my liking.

Day 4: Friday, January 4, 2013 --

On the 10th day of Christmas... I had a Christmas tea! I was at a friend's house and I asked their mom if she had any good teas, so she made me a cup of Christmas Tea. She also gave me some to try later, which I definitely will do so! ANYWAYS.. This lovely Christmas Tea was different. I put some honey in it. I really figure that one can't go wrong with some honey. I haven't been proven wrong..yet. The tea smelled super great. It was very festive and smelled like, well, Christmas. Y'know what I'm talking about, the cinnamon-nutmeg-orange-peel-peppermint-and-Christmas-cheer smell. At first taste, I wasn't sure if I liked the the tea. I could definitely taste the cinnamon and orange peel flavor. As I slowly sipped along, the taste began to grow on me. If only I had some to drink on Christmas, then I might have felt more festive than I did this year! Overall it was quite the flavorful and holidayful drink that I'd be up for drinking again in a year. (:

Day 5: Saturday, January 5, 2013 --

*Beep beep beep* The alarm strikes 6am on a Saturday! Very uncool. After several snoozings of the alarm my friend and I couldn't snooze it any longer. We had to get up and be out the door by 7am. Soooo black tea it was! We bought a new kind called Vanilla Caramel Truffle. It was super duper rich! ...And we totally didn't put a scoop and a half of sugar in it... That probably didn't help it be any less rich. The tea bags themselves didn't smell good at all. I think having guinea pigs for a good portion of my life has ruined my sense of smell when it comes to herbs and leaves. Certain combinations get the strong smell of alfalfa. That's not something that I want to drink.. Anyways, I liked this one a lot! I'll definitely have to drink it again, but avoid smelling the tea bag. (:

______________________________

I thought week one was quite the success! By the end of the week, I was drinking more than just one cup of tea a day. It's great! I've also "collected" quite a few new teas to try from friends. I can't wait. (:

Don't forget that you can join in at any time! You might be surprised and like something new!

Until next time... Happy Tea Tasting!

Tea in Two Thousand and Thirteen

Tea in Two Thousand and Thirteen

           There's really nothing more soothing than a cup of green tea with honey when you need a pick-me-up. Honestly, green tea is not always my cup of tea, but it still can be quite wonderful if some good ol' honey is added to it. I'm more of a sugar and milk-filled, black tea kind of person. I think that's mainly because I don't know what other teas I like. I'm a slight chicken when it comes to breaking the norm concerning drinks and foods. I find the item I really like and then I always pick it.

           *goes to an ice cream shop* *gets "the usual"* *goes to Subway* *gets "the usual" (Seriously, they know my sandwich!)* etc, etc.. You get the point. It's not really that I don't want to try something new either. I just know the one thing that I like, so I always get that. It makes life easy and, I suppose, super predictable, which may be called boring even though I don't think so.

           Soooo regardless of boring status, I'm going to mix it up this year with... Tea in Two Thousand and Thirteen(TTTT, or Tx4). I'm shooting for a cup a day because, y'know, that keeps the doctor away! ...wait. That's for apples. Oh well! Maybe tea will have the same effect. I suppose we shall find out! I might resort to the favorites when I need them, but maybe I'll find a new favorite. Hopefully, by the time the year is out, I'll become more knowledgeable about either tea or about my likes and dislikes. Who knows what'll come of it, but I'm excited to find out!

             I shall do my best to post my previous week's tea tastings every Sunday. Also, feel free to join me! Share your favorite teas, tea-like recipes, and your new tea tastings!

Happy Tea Tasting!