Tea

[spacepup | 2,405]

I've seen other teas described as having a buttery type flavor, it's not that abnormal tbh.  Doesn't mean everyone would want or like that, but it is definitely a thing out there.  There are even international teas out there with actual butter in them, but this is more a flavor profile.

At least it's better than a wine I've seen with notes of 'pencil shavings'

[PII | 1,886]

48 minutes ago, spacepup said:

At least it's better than a wine I've seen with notes of 'pencil shavings'

Ah yes, there's nothing quite like the feeling of being whisked away to the desk in your office....

[spacepup | 2,405]

@fcgamer I finally tried the Ruby 18 tea and it is quite good!  

I didn't so much get the menthol flavor like you described, but it was a very good tea and even a very short steeping produced a pretty decent flavor.  My first cup was without any sweetener, and that was decently good as is.  My second steeping, I put just a little bit of natural sweetener, and it had a very rich flavor, almost caramel notes (and I didn't use much sweetener, I never do).

I won't say it's my favorite tea, but it is definitely very good.  Appreciate the suggestion!

I might try a third cup with a slightly longer first steeping, and see if I like it.  I tend to like my tea pretty strong, as long as not overdone/bitter.  Gotta find that perfect balance!

[spacepup | 2,405]

I'm super loving a few beverages I hadn't tried until this year - Sobacha (Japanese Buckwheat Tea) and Mugicha (Japanese Barley Tea).  There are korean, chinese, and other variants of these that have slightly different tastes also.  

Soba-cha:

Mugicha:

The Ito En Mugicha Barley Tea is SUPER cheap, and quite tasty.  I'll continue to explore other brands/sources though!

[fcgamer | 4,729]

Tonight brewed a batch of ruby

[fcgamer | 4,729]

Sunday went over to the area around Sun Moon Lake. Had the opportunity to taste some Assam tea as well as some Ruby Red #18. 

You can see some ruby tea fields here, for example, and the Santa bags all have ruby red inside. Afterwards headed back to the city for hot pot. It was a fun day.