Tea Notes

As I slowly start drinking more types and blends of teas, I wanted somewhere to keep track of things. Some are straight teas. Some are blends created by others. Some are blends I'm trying myself.

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It's been a while...

I haven't posted lately because I finally have been diagnosed as ADHD! That means being on medication that is less effective when taken in proximity to caffeine. Which means I have been drinking almost no tea for a while.

But I recently remembered I have a bunch of tea that is naturally caffeine free, like rooibos and herbals. I've also been taking my meds for over a year and I now know that I can totally have caffeinated tea in the evenings. Granted, it needs to be early enough that it doesn't keep me up, but I am working on drinking more of my stash again.

I'm also hoping to go through and catalogue everything I have so I can glance at the list and know what options I have. I have so much tea just sitting around. I really need to get back to drinking it. Like right now, I'm enjoying some delicious Mary Morstan tea. Such a good move.

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Quick Moroccan Mint Tea

Recently I moved and have a Fresh Thyme Farmers Market right around the corner. Seriously, like, when it's warmer out, I can walk there no problem. But they have their own cold teas, and I decided to pick up a bottle of their Moroccan Mint Green Tea when I first went.

It is so delicious! Perfect balance of the green, mint, and sweet.

I think I had an interest in Moroccan Mint tea before because I've had a big thing of spearmint in my tea cupboard for a while. So I decided to look up how to make Moroccan Mint tea myself so I can save money and have it whenever.

But when I looked it up, it requires fresh mint. I do have some fresh mint trying to take over what little ground I have out back, but it's not doing to well right now against the cold. Also, I want to use all of that spearmint I bought however many years ago.

So I looked up how to make it with dried mint. Thankfully someone said you can use 2 tsp of spearmint with 3 tsp of gunpowder green. And then you also add sugar. I tried just the two teas last night and it was great! Today I added some sugar to my cup before putting the tea in, and it was perfect!

I'm sure it's better with the fresh mint and the pouring technique, but this makes use of what I already have. Also, I know it's not authentic Moroccan Mint tea, but I'm happy with it!

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I was inspired (again). After discovering no one has made Discworld teas, I had to create a fandom for them. Right now the teas there are all spoiler-free for those still early in the series. As I get ideas for the blends, I'll add more characters in that will be exclusive to the fandom.

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They’re back! Check out my fandom, Beach Treasures, on Adagio Teas. This fandom used to be called Steven Universe. Nothing has changed about the teas, just the looks to avoid trademark problems.

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Back to Blending

Recently I decided to tackle my long list of "trademark violations" on my Adagio blends. Most of them were my Steven Universe teas and my Daria teas.

With the Steven Universe teas, I knew the problem was the artwork. I was using the gems and found a font that replicated the show's font. So I created a new banner and individual artworks for them, as well as creating a whole new fandom to put them in: Beach Treasures!

Which I clearly need to remake spelled correctly.

I figured the Daria teas had the same problem, so I just removed the character artwork from the designs:

Hopefully these teas, plus the other few that got tagged for some reason, will be back up soon.

I also reformulated a few of the Finding the Path teas, partially based on reviews, partially based on "What was I thinking?"

I also created a new tea for Beach Treasures, Greg!

I think it's going to be a good tea. And it hasn't been taken down yet, so I have hope for the others.

I've also been making an effort to get back to drinking tea more and am on my third cup today. It feels sooooo good to be drinking hot tea again!

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Saving Up!

I've decided to save up my points on Adagio so I can make a $49 order for free. Free order. Free shipping. It's going to be so nice! I just keep tweeting what I'm drinking, let the points roll in from my fandom teas, and make a small purchase here and there to keep stocked up. I should probably figure out what to buy when I get to that point...

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Another Adagio!

I just got another huge order from Adagio today. It made me soooooo happy! Naturally I bought more tea. But, more importantly - yes, more than the tea - I got more storage and tea cookies! I bought a pack of the Matcha Ginger cookies and a pack of the Honey Rooibos cookies. I haven't tried the Honey Rooibos, but the Matcha Ginger are delicious.

But the thing I was most excited for was my new set of tins. I ordered another mixed set of their 4oz storage tins. So my storage went from this(sorry about the size, I can't get it to shrink): to this: Now everything is color-coded. Before colors were mixed everywhere because I just wanted to get things in tins. Now, the blues are Earl Greys, the greens are Greens, the reds are Breakfasts, and the yellows are Black. There are blacks in the tins next to the yellows too. It just looks so much nicer!

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More Adagio!

My latest, small, purchase just arrived! And just in time. When I packed up teas for spring break, I forgot all of my Earl Greys. Luckily for me, this order included a 4oz tin of Earl Grey Lavender. It's still strange to think that. I can't believe that Starbucks with their London Fog Latte got me to love this tea. I immediately brewed up a cup and added some amber sugar crystals and milk. It's so delicious! I also got two of their Valentine's Day teas - Hugs and Kisses, a rooibos blend; Ripe for Romance, a black blend - in the 4oz tins, and a 12oz glass jar for storing the sugar. I'm looking forward to trying the other teas, and I love the tins - square instead of rectangular. The glass jar holds all of the sugar perfectly, and displays it beautifully. But, now that I have my London Fog, it's back to working on my thesis!

[thefitnesslog]

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So, Earl Grey Lavender with some milk and amber sugar crystals is amazing! It's so much better than straight. It's delicious!

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The shipment has arrived! I am so happy it's finally here! I felt like it was Christmas as I opened box after box of tea and found out what was in each box. So much fun! There is going to be a lot of activity on here soon. The Mary Morstan, TARDIS, and Tea-Tox are the only ones I've had before. Everything else is new. Most of the fandom tins are teas I've created but haven't tried yet. I'm looking forward to drinking all of them. I'm really hoping that I won't feel the need to change them. Wheeeee!

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On Saturday, I went to my local Starbucks for an afternoon of thesis work. I decided to take a different approach with my beverage selection this time. I went with a tall Cafe Latte and a venti London Fog Latte. I had heard good things about the London Fog, but hadn't tried it yet. Considering it's based in Earl Grey, I figured I'd like it.

I was wrong, I loved it. So much that I had two while I was there and another on Sunday. It's Earl Grey with a hint of lavender and vanilla, and milk. It made me rethink my attitude toward Adagio's Earl Grey Lavender. I'd tried it before but it didn't really click. Now, I'm drinking my second cup of the night. It's got a hint of their cream black in addition to the Earl Grey, and, of course, lavender flowers. It's delicious. I'm looking forward to picking up some milk tomorrow and seeing how that changes the flavor. I probably am going to order more when I run out. It's a great tea!

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Tea Splurge!

I have been planning this for months. I just ordered a ton from Adagio. All but one thing in my order is tea. The other thing is the sugar crystals. I ordered a bunch of my own blends that I haven't had the chance to try. I'm hoping when I'm done tasting them all, I'll have finally finished 4 fandoms, including the newly regenerated The Doctor. I went through, made them all public, ordered the set, and then reset them to just fandom. What can I say? I want to make sure they taste good before putting them out there for anyone to buy. I also ordered a couple of tins of teas I have fallen for. Cara McGee's TARDIS is my favorite non-Adagio-created Earl Grey variant. Actually both are Cara McGee, because she's created the amazing Mary Morstan tea whose sample I blew through when I first got it. It's this amazing rooibos blend that has this amazing sweetness to it that is addictive! I also ordered most of the Cosplay Survival Kit, which I've had my eye on for a few months. Needless to say, there is going to be a picture of a mountain of tea tins soon. :D

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Mike's Glasses take two! Prep: 0.5 Tbs, 175 degrees, 4 min (over by a minute) It smells amazing. It's so bright and fresh and citrusy. So much better than the first attempt. The citrus scent continues into the brew, but not into the taste. But that's not a bad thing. It's a great, fresh tea. And there's the mate to provide that energy that Mike always seems to have. Definite success!

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Jaffa Cakes! Take 2 Prep: 0.5 Tbs, 212 degrees, 3 minutes This is so much better! I open the tin and smell a freshly opened package of Jaffa Cakes. It gives me a lot of hope for the flavor. It is a much better blend of chocolate and orange than before. I know it's never going to taste like biting into a Jaffa Cake, but I think I've gotten as close as I possibly can. Finally, success!

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Check out my fandom, Steven Universe, on Adagio Teas. Evidently I did a good job with creating the blends. Each blend is it's own individual. Each Crystal Gem is formulated to create two-gem fusions seen on the show, including Stevonnie! I haven't tried more than two gems, yet. But considering how well the other fusions work, they would probably be successfu. There's also Lion, pictured above, and Watermelon Steven.

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Regeneration!

I have been struggling with my fandom, The Doctor, almost since I created it. I've decided to try a completely different route and instead of going through each existing blend and changing it, I'm starting over. The fandom is regenerating! Hopefully I'll be able to get them done soon and at least put them out there for anyone else in the fandom. Once I try them, they'll be made available to the public. I've learned from my Steven Universe blends that this is the best approach!