Steep Stories – Page 22 – of the Lazy Literatus

Old Bear Puerh

On November 9, 2015

NaNoTeaMo, Day 9: “Old Bear Puerh”

I had a craving today. A Fall sorta craving. A few posts back, I mentioned how raw puerh had become my new “Fall beverage”. Not masala chai, not *gulp* pumpkin spice . . . but rather sheng (raw) puerh. It was an odd choice, I know. Nothing about the flavor profile of sheng screamed “Autumn me!”

However, I kept thinking that maybe – just maybe – there was such a puerh in my backlog box that “may” have the taster notes I needed to prove my point. And if I remembered correctly, there was a bear on the packaging. White2Tea had sent me a few samples some months back, and I clearly remember a bear. When I got home from work, I got to rummaging.

After a few minutes of digging, I found it.

bear found

Monsoon Flush Oolong in a Deluge

By lazyliteratus

On November 8, 2015

In Tea Features

NaNoTeaMo, Day 8: “Monsoon Flush Oolong in a Deluge”

It rained today. A lot.

Okay, that’s not an unusual statement to make in the Portland area during late-Fall. But the sheer amount of rain we’ve received in the last month seems like overkill. Today, at work, I had to take out the garbage . . . in the middle of a deluge spell. All I had on hand for protection against the elements was a trash bag DIY-ed into a makeshift raincoat/burka thingy.

It didn’t work.

trash bag jacket

Green Coffee and Me

By lazyliteratus

On November 8, 2015

In Tea Features, Tea Musings

NaNoTeaMo, Day 7: “Green Coffee and Me”

This post is going to be a bit heretical, but please bear with me. Yes, this is still a tea blog. And, yes, this entry will still have something to do with tea. Even if the focus is on . . .

green coffee beans

Green coffee.

Defining a Doke Tea State of Mind

By lazyliteratus

On November 7, 2015

In Tea Features, Tea Musings

NaNoTeaMo, Day 6: “Defining a Doke Tea State of Mind”

doke

Doke

/’dōk/

noun

A river located in the state of Bihar, India
The surname of a tea estate in Bihar, India owned and operated by the Lochan family.

verb

To induce a state of mind in a Doke tea drinker, wherein they experience equal parts bliss, resiliency . . . and/or blind, seething rage when denied said brew.

Dark Tea Déjà Vu

By lazyliteratus

On November 5, 2015

In Tea Features

NaNoTeaMo, Day 5: “Dark Tea Déjà Vu”

It all started with a tweet . . . when I was drunk.

teabeer drunk

Not tea drunk, actual drunk.

Tea and Sugar – The Weird Way

By lazyliteratus

On November 4, 2015

In Tea Features

NaNoTeaMo, Day 4: “Tea and Sugar – The Weird Way”

In 2013, I was a regular follower of UK-based Canton Tea Co.’s Tea Club blog. Two of their employees went on a sourcing trip to Yunnan province, China, and picked up something rather unique. I certainly hadn’t heard of it before, and I try to keep my ear to the ground regarding anything “weird”. The blog entry featured a Dian Hong (Yunnan black tea) that had been fired in red cane sugar.

can sugar black tea

An Autumn Puerh Pairing

By lazyliteratus

On November 4, 2015

In Tea Features

NaNoTeaMo, Day 3: “An Autumn Puerh Pairing”

We are now Falls deep into Autumn, and every tea drinker is cuddling up to their favorite color-changing brew. Everyone has their favorite autumnal cuppa. For many, it’s masala chai. For others, it’s something equally burly or floral. It varies from person to person, but everyone has a favorite. Except me. Well . . . until recently.

Until . . . well . . . tonight, I hadn’t decided what my preferred Fall brew was. I think that’s changed. I’ve been on a big sheng puerh kick lately. And even when I’m not required to brew up a sheng, I find myself gravitating to it. For a month there, I thought Earl Grey would be the mainstay, but sheng took a surprise lead last month. It’s all Misty Peak Nick’s fault.

Two weeks into October, I received a sample of Misty Peak Teas’s Autumn 2015 loose sheng puerh. Seconds after receiving the package, I immediately went to brewing. Poor impulse control won out.

Misty night brew

Waiter! There Are Crab’s Feet in My Puerh!

By lazyliteratus

On November 3, 2015

In Tea Features

NaNoTeaMo, Day 2: “Waiter! There Are Crab’s Feet in My Puerh!”

Some of you may have noticed that I whored out a certain podcast today. Mainly because I was co-hosting it. The awesome TJ Williams of World Tea Podcast invited me on to discuss one of my favorite subjects – weird teas. Heck, I devoted most of this blog to that very subject. Together, we decided to countdown some of the weirdest we ever encountered. Click the picture, and give it a listen. I’ll wait.

All done? Nifty, wasn’t it?

A Devotea Taiwanese Tea Tasting

By lazyliteratus

On November 2, 2015

In Tea Features

NaNoTeaMo, Day 1: “A Devotea Taiwanese Tea Tasting”

If any of you fine folks were paying attention to my social media yammerings, you may have noticed a peculiar update. I said that I wouldn’t be participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). I tried two years straight . . . and gave up halfway through both times. Instead, I mentioned I was going to participate in something of my own devising – NaNoTEAMo. The idea? To blog every day in November.

There are two reasons I’m doing this: (1) I want to challenge myself a little. And (2) This . . .

box

A Mellow Yellow Tea Tasting

By lazyliteratus

On October 27, 2015

In Tea Features, Tea Musings

Most people cultivate a close group of friends – those that share common interests, or that they feel most comfortable being around. One of the unfortunate drawbacks to being a tea blogger is . . . most people within my close-knit group reside in several different locations across the country. Or outside the country. As a result, I only see them once a year at World Tea Expo. The only way we have to combat this is Google Hangout.

Yes, Google Hangout: The tool used by hermits everywhere to pretend at being social. That and for business meetings . . . conducted by hermits. As you can tell, I positively adore Google Hangout. But I am also a self-professed hermit.

Many moons (and Moonlight teas) had passed since my group last had a “Tandem Tea Tasting” event. Jo “A Gift of Tea/Scandalous Tea” Johnson finally chose to rectify this absence by scheduling one. Months in advance.

A Gift of Tea

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