I just finished writing Year of the Dog ! It had a massive plot hole that I had to fix which turned out to be more work than I expected. Here’s a snippet: “Hey, Auntie Nell.” He wrapped his arms around her, bussing her on the cheek and breathing in pikake flowers and shortbread cookies. And suddenly he was nine years old again, and her solid presence had made his chaotic world stable once more. “What are you doing here?” He usually took her to dinner on Wednesday nights, but today was Tuesday. The edges of her smile faltered a little before brightening right back up again. “What, I can’t visit my nephew?” She angled around him to enter his home. “Is this your new house? Looks lovely.” Which was a blatant lie, because the fixer-upper was barely livable, much less acceptable to a neat-freak like his aunt. She also left four matching pink and purple floral suitcases on the stoop behind her. Only then did Ashwin notice the cab driver standing slightly to the side of the walkway. “Can ...
I was very fortunate when Adagio Teas offered to send me a few samplers to try and blog about. The weather just turned cold when I got this Autumn Teas sampler! The box got a little crushed in the mail, though.
Here’s the description on the website:
Is there anything better than crisp air, big sweaters, and pumpkin spice everything? For lovers of all things Fall, we've put together a collection of teas to capture the essence of the season. This set includes:
autumn mist green - Gently smoky gunpowder combined with bright tangy apples and rose hips, bring to mind a misty morning stroll.
Blended With Gunpowder Tea, Apple Pieces, Cinnamon, Rose Hips, Natural Creme Brulee Flavor, Marigold Flowers & Rose Petals
bonfire - An Autumn medley of hazelnut, cocoa and exotic spices, with a soft note of apples and a hint of blazing hearth.
Blended With Honeybush Tea, Apple Pieces, Lapsang Souchong Tea, Aniseed, Cocoa Nibs, Cinnamon, Rose Hips, Cloves, Orange, Red Peppercorn, Safflower, Natural Cinnamon Flavor, Natural Hazelnut Flavor & Natural Orange Flavor
pumpkin spice - Pumpkin Spice goodness with rich, lively spices for a perfect autumn treat.
Blended With Black Tea, Cinnamon, Ginger, Cloves, Natural Pumpkin Spice Flavor, Cardamom & Marigold Flowers
honeybush pumpkin chai - Masala Chai spices in an herbal honeybush pumpkin base. Beautiful clear and bright cup, and crisp, tangy-sweet flavor.
Blended With Honeybush Tea, Cinnamon, Ginger, Cardamom, Cocoa Nibs, Safflower & Natural Pumpkin Spice Flavor
Camy: This was a very diverse sampler and would make a great gift! (The only exception would be if the recipient prefers unflavored green or black teas. In that case, they’d be more likely to enjoy a gift sampler like Teas of Japan or Oolong Teas of China.)
I’m going to review the teas in the order I tried them.
Pumpkin Spice
This delicious tea was full of spices and flavor! I admit I used a little more than a teaspoon for a 1-cup pot. I brewed it for 3 minutes at 212ºF.
I tried it plain, but I liked it much better with milk, which mellows the acidity and makes it have a softer mouthfeel, and a little sugar. It tasted a lot like a Pumpkin Spice Crème from Starb*cks, but I liked that I could make it less sweet.
Honey Bush Pumpkin Chai
I used a little more than a teaspoon for a 1-cup pot and brewed this for 10 min at 212ºF.
I could drink this unsweetened, but I preferred the flavor with sugar and milk. It was very similar to the pumpkin spice tea, but it had stronger cardamom and ginger flavors. The honey bush gave it a faint grassiness. I have to confess honey bush isn’t a favorite tea, but it’s not very prominent in this blend because of the other spices. Overall, this was a great noncaffeinated chai tea.
Bonfire
I used a little more than a teaspoon for a 1-cup pot and brewed this for 5 min at 212ºF.
I couldn’t drink this without sugar and milk. I just didn’t like the unsweetened flavor at all.
This tea wasn’t terrible, but I tasted mostly the hazelnut and orange flavors, and combined with the faint hint of anise, I thought that was a little odd. Not unpleasant, but unique.
There’s also a subtle smokey aroma that lingers, which is probably from the Lapsang Souchong Tea.
Overall, a very interesting tea, but not really to my taste.
Autumn Mist Green
This was my absolute favorite tea from the sampler box. There was a wonderful apple smell right when I opened the bag.
I used a little more than a teaspoon for a 1-cup pot and brewed this for 3 min at 180ºF. As it steeped, I could smell the green tea more.
When drunk plain, it had a very smooth flavor with a little tartness. However, I preferred it with sugar and milk, which brought out the harmony between the creme brulee and apple. There’s just the right amount of astringency from the green tea to make the flavor bright. I really loved this tea!
Have you tried any great autumn teas? Be sure to comment to let me know!
Keywords: Chai Tea/Masala Chai
Pumpkin Spice Tea/Fall Tea
loose leaf tea
Here’s the description on the website:
Is there anything better than crisp air, big sweaters, and pumpkin spice everything? For lovers of all things Fall, we've put together a collection of teas to capture the essence of the season. This set includes:
autumn mist green - Gently smoky gunpowder combined with bright tangy apples and rose hips, bring to mind a misty morning stroll.
Blended With Gunpowder Tea, Apple Pieces, Cinnamon, Rose Hips, Natural Creme Brulee Flavor, Marigold Flowers & Rose Petals
bonfire - An Autumn medley of hazelnut, cocoa and exotic spices, with a soft note of apples and a hint of blazing hearth.
Blended With Honeybush Tea, Apple Pieces, Lapsang Souchong Tea, Aniseed, Cocoa Nibs, Cinnamon, Rose Hips, Cloves, Orange, Red Peppercorn, Safflower, Natural Cinnamon Flavor, Natural Hazelnut Flavor & Natural Orange Flavor
pumpkin spice - Pumpkin Spice goodness with rich, lively spices for a perfect autumn treat.
Blended With Black Tea, Cinnamon, Ginger, Cloves, Natural Pumpkin Spice Flavor, Cardamom & Marigold Flowers
honeybush pumpkin chai - Masala Chai spices in an herbal honeybush pumpkin base. Beautiful clear and bright cup, and crisp, tangy-sweet flavor.
Blended With Honeybush Tea, Cinnamon, Ginger, Cardamom, Cocoa Nibs, Safflower & Natural Pumpkin Spice Flavor
Camy: This was a very diverse sampler and would make a great gift! (The only exception would be if the recipient prefers unflavored green or black teas. In that case, they’d be more likely to enjoy a gift sampler like Teas of Japan or Oolong Teas of China.)
I’m going to review the teas in the order I tried them.
Pumpkin Spice
This delicious tea was full of spices and flavor! I admit I used a little more than a teaspoon for a 1-cup pot. I brewed it for 3 minutes at 212ºF.
I tried it plain, but I liked it much better with milk, which mellows the acidity and makes it have a softer mouthfeel, and a little sugar. It tasted a lot like a Pumpkin Spice Crème from Starb*cks, but I liked that I could make it less sweet.
Honey Bush Pumpkin Chai
I used a little more than a teaspoon for a 1-cup pot and brewed this for 10 min at 212ºF.
I could drink this unsweetened, but I preferred the flavor with sugar and milk. It was very similar to the pumpkin spice tea, but it had stronger cardamom and ginger flavors. The honey bush gave it a faint grassiness. I have to confess honey bush isn’t a favorite tea, but it’s not very prominent in this blend because of the other spices. Overall, this was a great noncaffeinated chai tea.
Bonfire
I used a little more than a teaspoon for a 1-cup pot and brewed this for 5 min at 212ºF.
I couldn’t drink this without sugar and milk. I just didn’t like the unsweetened flavor at all.
This tea wasn’t terrible, but I tasted mostly the hazelnut and orange flavors, and combined with the faint hint of anise, I thought that was a little odd. Not unpleasant, but unique.
There’s also a subtle smokey aroma that lingers, which is probably from the Lapsang Souchong Tea.
Overall, a very interesting tea, but not really to my taste.
Autumn Mist Green
This was my absolute favorite tea from the sampler box. There was a wonderful apple smell right when I opened the bag.
I used a little more than a teaspoon for a 1-cup pot and brewed this for 3 min at 180ºF. As it steeped, I could smell the green tea more.
When drunk plain, it had a very smooth flavor with a little tartness. However, I preferred it with sugar and milk, which brought out the harmony between the creme brulee and apple. There’s just the right amount of astringency from the green tea to make the flavor bright. I really loved this tea!
Have you tried any great autumn teas? Be sure to comment to let me know!
Keywords: Chai Tea/Masala Chai
Pumpkin Spice Tea/Fall Tea
loose leaf tea
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