I honestly don't know how I want to write this final post. I'm going to write it like I always have– with no plan, but a need to type whatever pops into my head at the time. No proofreading, either.
First, a quick update; a lot has happened since my last post. These past three weeks have happened so fast, they've all blended together. If I can recall– I went to the final summer session for We the People and got to judge the judges; I met up with the girl I dated from that other team again and we smoked together for the first time; I moved in early and went to Cal's Filipino orientation, where my parents and I were interviewed by a national Filipino news network and my dad started crying about the opportunities Cal provides. Golden Bear Orientation, my freshman orientation and the first time Cal has had a week long program, just finished and has been so much fun. My group grew very close together; I made new friends, including an international student, a very sarcastic girl from San Diego, and a girl with two moms who very much reminds me of my unitmate. I spent many nights walking late at night from the all girls STEM dorm, gained a reputation for being a player with a different girl each day (not true), and broke a world record. I can't remember everything, but it's made me excited for what's to come. I start classes tomorrow.
It's been a long time since I started this blog on the New Years of sophomore year. I haven't even gone back to read everything I wrote, but from what I've skimmed, I've improved so much. I've reviewed two hundred teas, from the first hundred I did those five months in 2015 to the last one this summer. My writing is way more interesting; I've gone through hard times and made it through; I've graduated with honors and am now attending the number one public university in the world with the most prestigious merit scholarship available there. I experienced my first extended relationship and my first real break up, met so many new people (dated a few, too) and came out of my shell, and became a state champion and a nationally ranked team. I've lost friends and loved ones and failed more times than I thought. Like the past few weeks, there's so much that's happened in these short two years that I could never write it all out without going through all of this writing. Documenting my day to day life is mundane, but taken altogether, I've become a completely different person than when I started.
Despite the title, this isn't the end; cliched as it is, it's the end of one chapter in my life and the start of a new one. I'll continue drinking tea and writing. Maybe I'll start a new blog when I finally get my act together. I'm glad I'm where I am now, and I'm thankful for all the people, places, and chance happenings that got me here. Maybe two years from now, I'll come back to this blog and read about growing up (which I will still be doing at that time). I'll wonder why I made such a big deal out of dumb things like grades and girls, laugh at the silly things that I did with my friends, and feel nostalgic about the people that have both entered and left my life. I'll reflect on those memories that I thought were small in passing, but ended up defining who I am now.
I don't know how to end this post. I guess I'll go back to doing what I did in the posts that got me through that tough time junior year, giving advice that isn't directed to really anyone but myself. Own your shit. Be original, be genuine, be caring. Generalizations never work out; people are defined from anything and everything, ranging from their race, economic status, experiences, family, and more. Grades are only there to tell you that you need to improve– and you can always find ways to improve yourself; you don't need to take the path everyone else takes, or stress out just because it's what everyone else does. Expect all people to be good people, and give them second chances (but don't let them take advantage of you). Go with the flow, or as English teachers like to say, live in the present.
Right now, I feel great. I'm excited to enter this new part of my life, although I don't even know if I'm really ready to face it. The homesickness hasn't hit me yet. I don't know if it ever will. All I know is that I think my roommate is great, I've established a friend group (even though I'm the odd one out in terms of major and dorm), and I'm doing well learning how to live on my own in a city. Getting out of my comfort zone is both scary and, sometimes, easier than I thought. For one, I went to a frat party and did my laundry for the first time. The people are very friendly, showing it in their own ways. I love Berkeley just because it seems like there's so much opportunity available and I can be myself, nerdy and however social I'd like to be (I don't think I'd be happy at UCLA, thinking about it now). I like to think that the people here think the same too. I know, being at Cal, that there will be very low lows and very high highs; it'll be a learning experience.
For people new to this blog, I know it sounds weird, but tea has changed my life. Try it sometime, it's been very therapeutic for me. I always wrote about how it all focuses on the process of brewing– the product, a good tasting tea, is only a result. I don't like using metaphors, but hey, I think it's a good way to describe these past two years. Take that how you will.
Thank you for everything. This is the end of this blog, but not the end of my story. It's time to go to the next level and be the best person you can be, so try to take in the views while you can.
As Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., wrote in Timequake: "You were sick, but now you're well, and there's work to do."
Tuesday, August 22, 2017
Wednesday, August 2, 2017
Review: Royal Alwazah Tea (Swan Brand) - Finlays
Type: Black
Producer: Finlays
Origin: Sri Lanka
Brewing Parameters: 5 minutes, 100°C, 1 teabag (recommended)
Appearance: Tall trapezoidal, bleached white teabag with black tea fannings
Rating: A- | 90/100
# of Brews: 1
Tasting Notes and Thoughts
So, 200th tea today! The tea itself probably doesn't seem that special, but I think it has some good memories associated with it. I picked this one up during the California We the People state competition; our team has a tradition of going to Disneyland at this time, so we were in Anaheim after winning first place. The rooms were really nice– they had a kitchen, two bedrooms, and two bathrooms. I was with the guys I was cool with on the team; they're all kind of nerdy, but were chill and easy to room with. I remember one of them spent the entire night talking to his girlfriend on the phone (a conversation that wasn't going that well) and another one staying up past 1 or 2 AM on reddit and reading comics. As for the team it's kind of weird; I found it left behind in a container in the kitchen cupboard. I know I probably shouldn't trust random teabags I find in hotel rooms, but hey, I'm going to college. Time to take chances! That same night we stayed in that hotel, I hung out with the rest of the team playing video games until midnight, and was invited to come with some random girls to their room while in the elevator (I politely declined). This tea just feels a bit symbolic for me, especially considering I've changed so much since I've started writing this blog. Here's to a great senior year, and an even better four years at Cal.
Apparently, this is a popular Arabic tea. The producer has a very in depth website, which is great for me, since the packaging itself is relatively bare. Brewing per the instructions makes the tea come out very strong and dark; I'd say it looked like a cup of coffee, a very dark opaque brown, without the smell. The aroma was similar to English Breakfast, with its earthiness. However, it was definitely more sweet. For some reason, it reminds me of spices and cola, with all of its sweetness. Despite its color, the taste was surprisingly not too bitter or too strong. It's a very rich and savory tea; it's earthy, like the smell, and malty, with a little bit of coffee notes in the background. I thought it tasted like chai, without the milk or kick from spice. Like most black teas of this type, it gets a bit sour and leaves somewhat of a waxy feeling in the mouth, and had a slight bit of astringency. However, it was still a lot better than I expected (I thought it would be essentially the same as English or Irish breakfast, or maybe even Lipton), and I think it'd be great with milk and maybe a bit of sweetener. I'd definitely buy the loose leaf if I could ever find it in an international store.
Other Notes
Today's album is Twin Cinema by the New Pornographers. This album is interesting since it has a nice balance of indie rock and folksy stuff. I've liked the song Streets of Fire by them for a while now, after hearing it on an art stream a few years ago, and I finally bought the album on CD when I found it at Half-Price Books yesterday. More on that below.
Producer: Finlays
Origin: Sri Lanka
Brewing Parameters: 5 minutes, 100°C, 1 teabag (recommended)
Appearance: Tall trapezoidal, bleached white teabag with black tea fannings
Rating: A- | 90/100
# of Brews: 1
Tasting Notes and Thoughts
So, 200th tea today! The tea itself probably doesn't seem that special, but I think it has some good memories associated with it. I picked this one up during the California We the People state competition; our team has a tradition of going to Disneyland at this time, so we were in Anaheim after winning first place. The rooms were really nice– they had a kitchen, two bedrooms, and two bathrooms. I was with the guys I was cool with on the team; they're all kind of nerdy, but were chill and easy to room with. I remember one of them spent the entire night talking to his girlfriend on the phone (a conversation that wasn't going that well) and another one staying up past 1 or 2 AM on reddit and reading comics. As for the team it's kind of weird; I found it left behind in a container in the kitchen cupboard. I know I probably shouldn't trust random teabags I find in hotel rooms, but hey, I'm going to college. Time to take chances! That same night we stayed in that hotel, I hung out with the rest of the team playing video games until midnight, and was invited to come with some random girls to their room while in the elevator (I politely declined). This tea just feels a bit symbolic for me, especially considering I've changed so much since I've started writing this blog. Here's to a great senior year, and an even better four years at Cal.
Apparently, this is a popular Arabic tea. The producer has a very in depth website, which is great for me, since the packaging itself is relatively bare. Brewing per the instructions makes the tea come out very strong and dark; I'd say it looked like a cup of coffee, a very dark opaque brown, without the smell. The aroma was similar to English Breakfast, with its earthiness. However, it was definitely more sweet. For some reason, it reminds me of spices and cola, with all of its sweetness. Despite its color, the taste was surprisingly not too bitter or too strong. It's a very rich and savory tea; it's earthy, like the smell, and malty, with a little bit of coffee notes in the background. I thought it tasted like chai, without the milk or kick from spice. Like most black teas of this type, it gets a bit sour and leaves somewhat of a waxy feeling in the mouth, and had a slight bit of astringency. However, it was still a lot better than I expected (I thought it would be essentially the same as English or Irish breakfast, or maybe even Lipton), and I think it'd be great with milk and maybe a bit of sweetener. I'd definitely buy the loose leaf if I could ever find it in an international store.
Other Notes
Today's album is Twin Cinema by the New Pornographers. This album is interesting since it has a nice balance of indie rock and folksy stuff. I've liked the song Streets of Fire by them for a while now, after hearing it on an art stream a few years ago, and I finally bought the album on CD when I found it at Half-Price Books yesterday. More on that below.
Yesterday seemed like one of those quintessential summer vacation days, and I'm so happy it happened. My Cal friend wanted to hang out and get boba since she's going backpacking for the next few days and won't have access to social media. I picked her up, along with my unitmate, and we went to the Asian grocery store for drinks. We hung out there for a while, talking, and when we finished, we explored a bit for snacks. Without any plans, really, I drove them to Half Price Books where we spent most of the time there looking through music; my Cal friend and I both have interesting music tastes, mostly indie. HPB surprisingly has a really good selection of CDs and vinyl, mostly used, and when we found Twin Cinema, we immediately chose to buy it to listen in the car. We had a quick stop at the thrift store before we drove back to drop off my unitmate at her house.
Once she was gone, it was evening and the sun was setting. We played the CD and drove around town with the windows down, and we went to a park that my friends and I have gone a few times to smoke. I brought her up to a big hill that overlooks the city, where you can see a ridge, hills, trees, and a farm, and we watched the sunset together and talked. We were there until it got dark; the moonlight illuminated a lot of the trail and we enjoyed the summer breeze. There was a meteor that passed by, too. It was getting late, but we walked through the park together and played on a big metal slide and some swings for a while. Getting back to the car, we had to run through a couple of sprinklers, but after that, I drove her home. It's been a long time since I've had one of these days, but I'm glad I had one before I go to Berkeley, and I'm glad I spent it with her.
Monday, July 31, 2017
Review: Green Tea with Pomegranate - Bigelow
Type: Green
Producer: Bigelow
Origin: USA
Brewing Parameters: 3 minutes, 1 2.5g teabag (recommended)
Appearance: Bleached trapezoidal paper tea bag with green tea fannings and chunks of dried fruit and flower petals
Rating: B | 86/100
# of Brews: 1
Tasting Notes and Thoughts
This tea has a pretty good blend of ingredients: green tea, apple, hibiscus, pomegranate, rose, and a few other things. It's essentially just Bigelow's green tea (which I also have a teabag for) with extra ingredients, which I think it's pretty smart on the business end of things. As with most fruity teas, when brewed, the liquid tends to separate– the purple liquid/color of the pomegranate or apple settled at the bottom, as the rest of the tea turned a light grayish color. After brewing (and mixing it together by steeping the teabag), it became an opaque, orange-red color. The smell was sweet and fruity, with a slight hint of sticky rice in the background. As for the taste– it's less fruity than I'd expected, but still, it had a bit of sourness from the pomegranate. It's mostly mellow; I'd say that the slight grassy taste of the green comes out more than the pomegranate (unexpectedly). After the first sip, the pomegranate lingers on the tongue with the tart taste of the rosehip; it's smooth. Overall, not a bad tea at all. I'd like to try it iced.
Other Notes
Today's album is Oh Wonder's namesake debut album (Oh Wonder). If you've looked at the previous posts on this blog, I'm sure you can guess I'm into indie electronic pop. I found them through Youtube Music and I really like this album. It's a bit quiet and slow at times, but the songs are catchy and have great vocals.
As of today's review, I have tasted 199 teas and written about them on this blog. I guess in two days I'll have reached my goal, but I don't think I have any special teas to commemorate it. But, now, I either end the blog at 200 or keep going until my last day of summer on August 12. No matter how it ends, I do have a long post planned before I stop writing on this blog.
Anyway, yesterday, I mostly just went out shopping to buy college clothes and dorm stuff. I usually hate shopping– especially at the outlet mall near us, because there are so many people there and they can be dicks a lot of the time– but I'm pretty happy with what I got there.
Today, I went on a short hike with my Cal friend and my dog. Afterwards, we came back to my place and finished Over the Garden Wall (one of my favorite animated series; we watch it every Thanksgiving). I then gave the dog a bath and filled gas for the first time, which was interesting.
I also met up with one of my close friends– we took Japanese together– for the first time since school ended. We ate Korean fried chicken and picked up some art supplies for my grandma, and played video games at my place. Everytime I hang out with him, I'm more surprised at how similar we are. We've had a lot of the same experiences with girls, drugs, etc. and came to the same conclusions about them. He's attending community college but doesn't know what he wants to do in the future; once he chooses a major, I'm going to help him transfer to a university after two years. He's also dating a girl from Nevada and wants to move out and get his own place. I told him that if he ever needs a roommate for an apartment or something, I'm willing to help out if he decides to live in the North Bay. We planned to hang out a bit more before I move out, and I want to take him to football games at Cal, but I'm glad we connected again.
Producer: Bigelow
Origin: USA
Brewing Parameters: 3 minutes, 1 2.5g teabag (recommended)
Appearance: Bleached trapezoidal paper tea bag with green tea fannings and chunks of dried fruit and flower petals
Rating: B | 86/100
# of Brews: 1
Tasting Notes and Thoughts
This tea has a pretty good blend of ingredients: green tea, apple, hibiscus, pomegranate, rose, and a few other things. It's essentially just Bigelow's green tea (which I also have a teabag for) with extra ingredients, which I think it's pretty smart on the business end of things. As with most fruity teas, when brewed, the liquid tends to separate– the purple liquid/color of the pomegranate or apple settled at the bottom, as the rest of the tea turned a light grayish color. After brewing (and mixing it together by steeping the teabag), it became an opaque, orange-red color. The smell was sweet and fruity, with a slight hint of sticky rice in the background. As for the taste– it's less fruity than I'd expected, but still, it had a bit of sourness from the pomegranate. It's mostly mellow; I'd say that the slight grassy taste of the green comes out more than the pomegranate (unexpectedly). After the first sip, the pomegranate lingers on the tongue with the tart taste of the rosehip; it's smooth. Overall, not a bad tea at all. I'd like to try it iced.
Other Notes
Today's album is Oh Wonder's namesake debut album (Oh Wonder). If you've looked at the previous posts on this blog, I'm sure you can guess I'm into indie electronic pop. I found them through Youtube Music and I really like this album. It's a bit quiet and slow at times, but the songs are catchy and have great vocals.
As of today's review, I have tasted 199 teas and written about them on this blog. I guess in two days I'll have reached my goal, but I don't think I have any special teas to commemorate it. But, now, I either end the blog at 200 or keep going until my last day of summer on August 12. No matter how it ends, I do have a long post planned before I stop writing on this blog.
Anyway, yesterday, I mostly just went out shopping to buy college clothes and dorm stuff. I usually hate shopping– especially at the outlet mall near us, because there are so many people there and they can be dicks a lot of the time– but I'm pretty happy with what I got there.
Today, I went on a short hike with my Cal friend and my dog. Afterwards, we came back to my place and finished Over the Garden Wall (one of my favorite animated series; we watch it every Thanksgiving). I then gave the dog a bath and filled gas for the first time, which was interesting.
I also met up with one of my close friends– we took Japanese together– for the first time since school ended. We ate Korean fried chicken and picked up some art supplies for my grandma, and played video games at my place. Everytime I hang out with him, I'm more surprised at how similar we are. We've had a lot of the same experiences with girls, drugs, etc. and came to the same conclusions about them. He's attending community college but doesn't know what he wants to do in the future; once he chooses a major, I'm going to help him transfer to a university after two years. He's also dating a girl from Nevada and wants to move out and get his own place. I told him that if he ever needs a roommate for an apartment or something, I'm willing to help out if he decides to live in the North Bay. We planned to hang out a bit more before I move out, and I want to take him to football games at Cal, but I'm glad we connected again.
Saturday, July 29, 2017
Review: Lemon Lift - Bigelow
Type: Black
Producer: Bigelow
Origin: USA
Brewing Parameters: 2 minutes, 1 2.3g teabag (recommended)
Appearance: Bleached trapezoidal tea bag with mostly black tea fannings
Rating: C | 75/100
# of Brews: 1
Tasting Notes and Thoughts
So, I was supposed to review a different tea today. I was at a law firm and I grabbed some teabags, in particular a darjeeling. I lost it; either, I misplaced it or it fell out of my pocket, so here we are now. After brewing, this tea came out a very dark brown color. It actually had a lot more oil on the surface than any tea recently; a ring formed around the top of the cup because of that. The smell wasn't what I expected. It smelled like baked goods, sweet and with cinnamon and lemon. As for the actual taste, it was surprisingly close to the smell. It's not sour, or lemony really, but instead a bit more bitter. It's definitely astringent, too. The taste is subdued and earthy, with a bit of sour from the lemon. It becomes sweet for a while, but the bitterness lingers on the tongue long after and dries the throat. Overall, it's a pretty bland tea. It's not terrible, but it's not very good.
Other Notes
Today's album is Everywhere Else by little xs for eyes. I already mentioned them previously, but it wasn't until a few weeks ago that I checked out their work again. When I did the last time, they only had released their EP. This is their second full length album and I like it as much as the EP (the reason why I started listening to them in the first place).
As I mentioned in the last post, I got my license, so I drove my unitmate and my Cal friend to the Great Mall. It was an easy day; we played at the arcade, did some shopping for my dad's birthday gift, ate at the food court, watched Spiderman: Homecoming (really good– wasn't expecting that), and got some boba in town before heading back home. As much as I love arcades, I forgot how expensive Dave and Buster's is, and how badly maintained a few of the machines are. It's a good place for claw machines and new releases, though. Did I mention: in middle school, I used to be obsessed with claw machines. I stopped after my closet was filled with stuffed animal prizes, and now I think they're pretty easy to win if the machine isn't rigged; it's a good skill to have if I ever go on dates. Afterwards, my Cal friend and I came back to my house and we watched some of Over the Garden Wall before I drove her back to her home. I stayed up late to work on a research essay, which, admittedly, I'm currently procrastinating on.
Today was the second summer session for next year's We the People teams. It went pretty well; once again, my school's team had the least attendance. My job this time was to judge an alumni panel and then to judge some groups from next year's team. Compared to the questions asked by the actual judges there, I'm surprised at how rusty I am– I felt like I couldn't contribute much in terms of good questions and feedback. We went with some people from another school (not our rival school), and my unit called me out on finessing one of them (I was not). Once again, I was the only guy there, and she sat next to me so I talked to her. We took the BART together and I added her on Snapchat. Just being friendly. Not finessing, my unit. After that, I went home and, since it's my dad's birthday, we went out to eat at an all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue.
Producer: Bigelow
Origin: USA
Brewing Parameters: 2 minutes, 1 2.3g teabag (recommended)
Appearance: Bleached trapezoidal tea bag with mostly black tea fannings
Rating: C | 75/100
# of Brews: 1
Tasting Notes and Thoughts
So, I was supposed to review a different tea today. I was at a law firm and I grabbed some teabags, in particular a darjeeling. I lost it; either, I misplaced it or it fell out of my pocket, so here we are now. After brewing, this tea came out a very dark brown color. It actually had a lot more oil on the surface than any tea recently; a ring formed around the top of the cup because of that. The smell wasn't what I expected. It smelled like baked goods, sweet and with cinnamon and lemon. As for the actual taste, it was surprisingly close to the smell. It's not sour, or lemony really, but instead a bit more bitter. It's definitely astringent, too. The taste is subdued and earthy, with a bit of sour from the lemon. It becomes sweet for a while, but the bitterness lingers on the tongue long after and dries the throat. Overall, it's a pretty bland tea. It's not terrible, but it's not very good.
Other Notes
Today's album is Everywhere Else by little xs for eyes. I already mentioned them previously, but it wasn't until a few weeks ago that I checked out their work again. When I did the last time, they only had released their EP. This is their second full length album and I like it as much as the EP (the reason why I started listening to them in the first place).
As I mentioned in the last post, I got my license, so I drove my unitmate and my Cal friend to the Great Mall. It was an easy day; we played at the arcade, did some shopping for my dad's birthday gift, ate at the food court, watched Spiderman: Homecoming (really good– wasn't expecting that), and got some boba in town before heading back home. As much as I love arcades, I forgot how expensive Dave and Buster's is, and how badly maintained a few of the machines are. It's a good place for claw machines and new releases, though. Did I mention: in middle school, I used to be obsessed with claw machines. I stopped after my closet was filled with stuffed animal prizes, and now I think they're pretty easy to win if the machine isn't rigged; it's a good skill to have if I ever go on dates. Afterwards, my Cal friend and I came back to my house and we watched some of Over the Garden Wall before I drove her back to her home. I stayed up late to work on a research essay, which, admittedly, I'm currently procrastinating on.
Today was the second summer session for next year's We the People teams. It went pretty well; once again, my school's team had the least attendance. My job this time was to judge an alumni panel and then to judge some groups from next year's team. Compared to the questions asked by the actual judges there, I'm surprised at how rusty I am– I felt like I couldn't contribute much in terms of good questions and feedback. We went with some people from another school (not our rival school), and my unit called me out on finessing one of them (I was not). Once again, I was the only guy there, and she sat next to me so I talked to her. We took the BART together and I added her on Snapchat. Just being friendly. Not finessing, my unit. After that, I went home and, since it's my dad's birthday, we went out to eat at an all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue.
Thursday, July 27, 2017
Review: Calm Chamomile - Tazo
Type: Herbal/Tisane
Producer: Tazo
Origin: Unknown
Brewing Parameters: 100°C, 5 minutes, 8 fl. oz, 1 1.6g teabag (recommended)
Appearance: Bleached trapezoidal tea bag with a variety of herbs, including flower petals and grasses
Rating: B | 87/100
# of Brews: 1
Tasting Notes and Thoughts
Quick story about chamomile tea. While I was off exploring my obsession with tea, my ex only drank chamomile teas. I think that was her favorite, so I ended up calling her Cam as a nickname. It's dumb, but just something I remember from that time in my life. We started talking again, funny enough.
While she drinks a lot of chamomile, I don't at all. I don't know if it's just this tea, but I think it has a weird smell– the dry leaf is floral and sweet. The brewed tea is a very interesting color, a clear blend of olive drab green and golden yellow. It smells the same as the dry leaf, but the sweet aroma is a lot more prevalent. For some reason, it reminds me of the rooibos tea I've had a long time ago. Like you'd guess, the tea itself tastes incredibly floral. The chamomile is the main taste, lingers long after drinking, and permeates into the back of the nose. The closest flavor to this, I can think of, is any jasmine tea. It's slightly sweet, but as with most floral teas, there's a dull sourness or tanginess. Overall, it's surprisingly really good; I need to pick up more chamomile tea sometime.
Other Notes
Today's album is Forever by Mystery Skulls. I actually preordered this album on CD a long time ago; I've been a big fan of him after his first EP came out. Not much to be said– super catchy songs, great vocals. If you like electronic pop, check him out! All of his work is great.
I finally got my license today! Only 4 errors. It wasn't very eventful; we drove all the way to Vallejo, waited about an hour and a half, took the test, had brunch, and drove back home. At the DMV, a Filipino lady wanted me to tell her the course, which was a bit sketchy (and a very Filipino thing to do, heh). We got food at the Good Day Cafe, where I got french toast and my dad an omelette– it was really good and the service was great. We also saw the ferry terminal and walked through downtown Vallejo, which reminded me a lot of Sacramento. Oh, and we also almost got hit by a car that sped through a red at an intersection.
Yesterday, we had lunch with our AP Gov teacher at a Thai restaurant. It was nice; we talked about college, a lot about competition civics, and what's happened to us over the summer. To be honest, our government teacher felt a lot more like our coach than our actual competition civics coach (whom he called more of an advisor, which I agree with). I learned a lot in his class and spent a lot of time in his room. I'll miss it. Afterwards, we went to the mall and I bought my dad a jacket from Uniqlo for his birthday, and we got boba and went home. I haven't done that much work lately, which probably isn't that smart since I have an essay due Sunday and a testimony written for another competition civics summer session on Saturday.
Tomorrow, I go with my unitmate and Cal friend to the mall to hang out, play games at the arcade, and watch a movie. It's probably not the best thing to do with those deadlines looming over my head, but hell, it's summer and I want to have fun.
Producer: Tazo
Origin: Unknown
Brewing Parameters: 100°C, 5 minutes, 8 fl. oz, 1 1.6g teabag (recommended)
Appearance: Bleached trapezoidal tea bag with a variety of herbs, including flower petals and grasses
Rating: B | 87/100
# of Brews: 1
Tasting Notes and Thoughts
Quick story about chamomile tea. While I was off exploring my obsession with tea, my ex only drank chamomile teas. I think that was her favorite, so I ended up calling her Cam as a nickname. It's dumb, but just something I remember from that time in my life. We started talking again, funny enough.
While she drinks a lot of chamomile, I don't at all. I don't know if it's just this tea, but I think it has a weird smell– the dry leaf is floral and sweet. The brewed tea is a very interesting color, a clear blend of olive drab green and golden yellow. It smells the same as the dry leaf, but the sweet aroma is a lot more prevalent. For some reason, it reminds me of the rooibos tea I've had a long time ago. Like you'd guess, the tea itself tastes incredibly floral. The chamomile is the main taste, lingers long after drinking, and permeates into the back of the nose. The closest flavor to this, I can think of, is any jasmine tea. It's slightly sweet, but as with most floral teas, there's a dull sourness or tanginess. Overall, it's surprisingly really good; I need to pick up more chamomile tea sometime.
Other Notes
Today's album is Forever by Mystery Skulls. I actually preordered this album on CD a long time ago; I've been a big fan of him after his first EP came out. Not much to be said– super catchy songs, great vocals. If you like electronic pop, check him out! All of his work is great.
I finally got my license today! Only 4 errors. It wasn't very eventful; we drove all the way to Vallejo, waited about an hour and a half, took the test, had brunch, and drove back home. At the DMV, a Filipino lady wanted me to tell her the course, which was a bit sketchy (and a very Filipino thing to do, heh). We got food at the Good Day Cafe, where I got french toast and my dad an omelette– it was really good and the service was great. We also saw the ferry terminal and walked through downtown Vallejo, which reminded me a lot of Sacramento. Oh, and we also almost got hit by a car that sped through a red at an intersection.
Yesterday, we had lunch with our AP Gov teacher at a Thai restaurant. It was nice; we talked about college, a lot about competition civics, and what's happened to us over the summer. To be honest, our government teacher felt a lot more like our coach than our actual competition civics coach (whom he called more of an advisor, which I agree with). I learned a lot in his class and spent a lot of time in his room. I'll miss it. Afterwards, we went to the mall and I bought my dad a jacket from Uniqlo for his birthday, and we got boba and went home. I haven't done that much work lately, which probably isn't that smart since I have an essay due Sunday and a testimony written for another competition civics summer session on Saturday.
Tomorrow, I go with my unitmate and Cal friend to the mall to hang out, play games at the arcade, and watch a movie. It's probably not the best thing to do with those deadlines looming over my head, but hell, it's summer and I want to have fun.
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
Review: Passion - Tazo
Type: Herbal/Tisane
Producer: Tazo
Origin: Unknown
Brewing Parameters: 100°C, 5 minutes, 8 fl. oz, 1 2.8g teabag (recommended)
Appearance: Bleached trapezoidal tea bag with small chunks of various spices, grasses, and herbs
Rating: C+ | 78/100
# of Brews: 1
Tasting Notes and Thoughts
I forgot the story where I got this tea bag, but I'm pretty sure I mentioned in one of the previous Tazo reviews. The liquid for this tea came out a very deep purple and red color, like a red wine or sangria. For some reason, most fruity tisanes have this color and tend to stain whatever they land on– in this case, I think it's because there's been fruit juice added to the tea. As for the smell, it's very fruity (pomegranate) that's somewhat soapy and sweet. The taste is a lot more sour than I expected. It's very tart, similar to lemon juice; but, like lemon juice, it becomes slightly sweet at the end of the drink. I can taste some citrus and grape flavors, along with the rose hip (most likely the source of the sour) and passionfruit. It's mostly smooth, but the sourness made my throat feel a little dry after drinking. This would be much more better as an iced tea, but it seems a bit one-dimensional and similar to some other fruity herbal teas, especially those by Tazo.
Other Notes
Today's album is the Pyre Original Soundtrack by Darren Korb. I've been a big fan of Supergiant Games, and although I haven't bought Pyre yet, I'm already loving this soundtrack. Bastion and Transistor were amazing too– the vocal tracks are some of the best songs I've heard in games yet. I'm planning to attend MAGWest to see Darren Korb live.
So, I got my phone repaired yesterday, walked in the morning with my Cal friend (gave her a teddy bear, too, for making some art for me), and had lunch with a girl I dated for one day in middle school. She's been my lab partner in science classes for the past two years, and after her sister passed from cancer (seriously– fuck cancer), she's been worried about school and her family. I haven't seen her for a while since my AP Biology teacher's funeral, but we've been snapchatting and texting each other throughout summer. She seems a lot happier now and I'm glad for that; she's heading off to UC Santa Cruz and I think she'll do great there. I promised her that we'll keep in touch and that I'll make sure she'll go to medical school. I also got my roommate assignment! It's the guy I roomed with during the Regent's overnight host program, which is pretty awesome (what are the chances?). He's a global studies major from LA, and seemed pretty chill when I met him. I feel like he's kind of needy– he asked for the right bed specifically– and is wealthy, considering he travels a lot, but I think we'll get along. Online, he's very nice, and in person, I thought he was kind of awkward/quiet but very chill. He's also very clean and neat, which is great.
Today has just been a work day. Just did the usual schedule– woke up, exercised, practiced handwriting, cooked, worked on this review, did summer class stuff, and so on. I hate staying indoors all the time, but it's hard when you have nothing else to do and all of your friends are out travelling. To be honest, I can see why drugs are such a big problem in my town and in suburban America in general; there's nothing to do unless you have a car and money. Tomorrow I'm having lunch with the unit, Cal friend, and one of our teachers, so that's exciting. I'm probably going to spend the rest of this day finishing homework and practicing driving.
Producer: Tazo
Origin: Unknown
Brewing Parameters: 100°C, 5 minutes, 8 fl. oz, 1 2.8g teabag (recommended)
Appearance: Bleached trapezoidal tea bag with small chunks of various spices, grasses, and herbs
Rating: C+ | 78/100
# of Brews: 1
Tasting Notes and Thoughts
I forgot the story where I got this tea bag, but I'm pretty sure I mentioned in one of the previous Tazo reviews. The liquid for this tea came out a very deep purple and red color, like a red wine or sangria. For some reason, most fruity tisanes have this color and tend to stain whatever they land on– in this case, I think it's because there's been fruit juice added to the tea. As for the smell, it's very fruity (pomegranate) that's somewhat soapy and sweet. The taste is a lot more sour than I expected. It's very tart, similar to lemon juice; but, like lemon juice, it becomes slightly sweet at the end of the drink. I can taste some citrus and grape flavors, along with the rose hip (most likely the source of the sour) and passionfruit. It's mostly smooth, but the sourness made my throat feel a little dry after drinking. This would be much more better as an iced tea, but it seems a bit one-dimensional and similar to some other fruity herbal teas, especially those by Tazo.
Other Notes
Today's album is the Pyre Original Soundtrack by Darren Korb. I've been a big fan of Supergiant Games, and although I haven't bought Pyre yet, I'm already loving this soundtrack. Bastion and Transistor were amazing too– the vocal tracks are some of the best songs I've heard in games yet. I'm planning to attend MAGWest to see Darren Korb live.
So, I got my phone repaired yesterday, walked in the morning with my Cal friend (gave her a teddy bear, too, for making some art for me), and had lunch with a girl I dated for one day in middle school. She's been my lab partner in science classes for the past two years, and after her sister passed from cancer (seriously– fuck cancer), she's been worried about school and her family. I haven't seen her for a while since my AP Biology teacher's funeral, but we've been snapchatting and texting each other throughout summer. She seems a lot happier now and I'm glad for that; she's heading off to UC Santa Cruz and I think she'll do great there. I promised her that we'll keep in touch and that I'll make sure she'll go to medical school. I also got my roommate assignment! It's the guy I roomed with during the Regent's overnight host program, which is pretty awesome (what are the chances?). He's a global studies major from LA, and seemed pretty chill when I met him. I feel like he's kind of needy– he asked for the right bed specifically– and is wealthy, considering he travels a lot, but I think we'll get along. Online, he's very nice, and in person, I thought he was kind of awkward/quiet but very chill. He's also very clean and neat, which is great.
Today has just been a work day. Just did the usual schedule– woke up, exercised, practiced handwriting, cooked, worked on this review, did summer class stuff, and so on. I hate staying indoors all the time, but it's hard when you have nothing else to do and all of your friends are out travelling. To be honest, I can see why drugs are such a big problem in my town and in suburban America in general; there's nothing to do unless you have a car and money. Tomorrow I'm having lunch with the unit, Cal friend, and one of our teachers, so that's exciting. I'm probably going to spend the rest of this day finishing homework and practicing driving.
Sunday, July 23, 2017
Review: Constant Comment - Bigelow
Type: Black
Producer: Bigelow
Origin: USA
Brewing Parameters: 2 minutes, 1 2g teabag (recommended)
Appearance: Paper trapezoidal teabag with black tea fannings and chunks of orange rind
Rating: C | 77/100
# of Brews: 1
Tasting Notes and Thoughts
Short review today, and probably for the rest of the teabag reviews– there isn't enough to really write about since I'm drinking a single mug/brew of the tea.
So, this tea is another one of the teas I got from my Cal friend. I think I've had this tea at least once before, but I've forgotten its taste long ago. It says it has orange and spice in it, and I'm a big fan of orange teas (and orange chocolate, too– I've had a lot of that lately). After brewing this tea with 90°C water, it came out a deep, ruby-amber color. It smelled sweet; somewhat like the perfume of a potpourri, with a light orange scent. Although I brewed it for the recommended two minutes, it tasted a lot more bitter than I expected. I'm not sure if the temperature was too high, or if it's just the tea, but it definitely had the astringency and bitterness of an overbrewed tea. The other tastes, however, are very earthy. The orange is mostly in the background, giving the tea a slightly fruity and sour taste. You can't taste the spices until the end, where they leave a very vague aftertaste. It tastes exactly as it smells. Overall, it's not bad, but it's not great. If I had more teabags, I'd give it another chance because it feels like it's more bitter than it should be.
Other Notes
Today's album is Pink Season: The Prophecy by Filthy Frank. Surprisingly, Filthy Frank (or Joji) makes some pretty good rap and electronic music. I've been a fan of 88rising, an Asian producer, that he's been working with, so I was pretty excited when this EP came out. Best song is Fried Noodles (Getter Remix) in my opinion.
Yesterday was interesting. Biked with my dad in the morning the usual thirty mile route, and in the evening, went with my unitmate to get some food. Afterwards, we went to a concert my friend was putting on, which was surprisingly better than I expected for some small, local rock bands. We played a lot of cornhole, too, before going to get some soft serve. I'm a bit bummed since I dropped my phone (or it was knocked out my hand, not really sure) and the screen cracked pretty badly. I'm getting it repaired tomorrow, but it's a bit expensive– $75– and I haven't been able to get shifts at work. The pay for my internship also doesn't come in until next month, so I'm just going to have to eat the cost. I need to figure out my finances in college; I want to be able to follow a strict budget to save money, especially since I won't have an income for a while.
Today was fun, though! I went with my dad to Berkeley and we hiked quite a bit. Went up Panoramic Way to the lower Fire Trail, then the Botanical Garden, and then Big C. From the BART station, it's about 7-8 miles, and it's very steep, so I'm really sore right now. On the way, I did realize, though, that I made the best choice for college for me(in the whole Cal vs UCLA debate I've had with myself). I love the beauty of the nature around Cal (since I'm interested in environmental science, it's probably best I didn't choose to go to downtown LA), the nice people, the fact that there's access to so much stuff through public transit, the professors, the nerdiness and weirdness, and so much other stuff. It sucks that we're known for being so politically charged/liberal, which makes everything very tense in this political climate and people judgy, but that's expected to come from Cal's historical reputation. Anyways, since I love Southern and cajun food, we went to Angeline's Louisiana Kitchen for lunch and we shared one plate of fried chicken and one plate of fried catfish, with mashed sweet potatoes and hush puppies. Before we left, our waitress gave us a free order of beignets since someone canceled their order. Now, I'm writing this review.
This week, as I've mentioned before, is going to be a busy one. I have lunches with friends and teachers, another competition civics session in San Francisco, an essay due, shopping for college, my driving test, and so on. I really want to work at the ice cream shop to get money, but at the same time, I kind of have a lot on my plate and there's a lot of competition for open shifts– too many workers and not enough shifts. It's weird; I don't want summer to end, but I'm excited for college, but I don't want to start that transition in my life, and I don't want my friends to move, and I don't want the stress, but I'm gonna have to face it at one point, and on and on.
Producer: Bigelow
Origin: USA
Brewing Parameters: 2 minutes, 1 2g teabag (recommended)
Appearance: Paper trapezoidal teabag with black tea fannings and chunks of orange rind
Rating: C | 77/100
# of Brews: 1
Tasting Notes and Thoughts
Short review today, and probably for the rest of the teabag reviews– there isn't enough to really write about since I'm drinking a single mug/brew of the tea.
So, this tea is another one of the teas I got from my Cal friend. I think I've had this tea at least once before, but I've forgotten its taste long ago. It says it has orange and spice in it, and I'm a big fan of orange teas (and orange chocolate, too– I've had a lot of that lately). After brewing this tea with 90°C water, it came out a deep, ruby-amber color. It smelled sweet; somewhat like the perfume of a potpourri, with a light orange scent. Although I brewed it for the recommended two minutes, it tasted a lot more bitter than I expected. I'm not sure if the temperature was too high, or if it's just the tea, but it definitely had the astringency and bitterness of an overbrewed tea. The other tastes, however, are very earthy. The orange is mostly in the background, giving the tea a slightly fruity and sour taste. You can't taste the spices until the end, where they leave a very vague aftertaste. It tastes exactly as it smells. Overall, it's not bad, but it's not great. If I had more teabags, I'd give it another chance because it feels like it's more bitter than it should be.
Other Notes
Today's album is Pink Season: The Prophecy by Filthy Frank. Surprisingly, Filthy Frank (or Joji) makes some pretty good rap and electronic music. I've been a fan of 88rising, an Asian producer, that he's been working with, so I was pretty excited when this EP came out. Best song is Fried Noodles (Getter Remix) in my opinion.
Yesterday was interesting. Biked with my dad in the morning the usual thirty mile route, and in the evening, went with my unitmate to get some food. Afterwards, we went to a concert my friend was putting on, which was surprisingly better than I expected for some small, local rock bands. We played a lot of cornhole, too, before going to get some soft serve. I'm a bit bummed since I dropped my phone (or it was knocked out my hand, not really sure) and the screen cracked pretty badly. I'm getting it repaired tomorrow, but it's a bit expensive– $75– and I haven't been able to get shifts at work. The pay for my internship also doesn't come in until next month, so I'm just going to have to eat the cost. I need to figure out my finances in college; I want to be able to follow a strict budget to save money, especially since I won't have an income for a while.
Today was fun, though! I went with my dad to Berkeley and we hiked quite a bit. Went up Panoramic Way to the lower Fire Trail, then the Botanical Garden, and then Big C. From the BART station, it's about 7-8 miles, and it's very steep, so I'm really sore right now. On the way, I did realize, though, that I made the best choice for college for me(in the whole Cal vs UCLA debate I've had with myself). I love the beauty of the nature around Cal (since I'm interested in environmental science, it's probably best I didn't choose to go to downtown LA), the nice people, the fact that there's access to so much stuff through public transit, the professors, the nerdiness and weirdness, and so much other stuff. It sucks that we're known for being so politically charged/liberal, which makes everything very tense in this political climate and people judgy, but that's expected to come from Cal's historical reputation. Anyways, since I love Southern and cajun food, we went to Angeline's Louisiana Kitchen for lunch and we shared one plate of fried chicken and one plate of fried catfish, with mashed sweet potatoes and hush puppies. Before we left, our waitress gave us a free order of beignets since someone canceled their order. Now, I'm writing this review.
This week, as I've mentioned before, is going to be a busy one. I have lunches with friends and teachers, another competition civics session in San Francisco, an essay due, shopping for college, my driving test, and so on. I really want to work at the ice cream shop to get money, but at the same time, I kind of have a lot on my plate and there's a lot of competition for open shifts– too many workers and not enough shifts. It's weird; I don't want summer to end, but I'm excited for college, but I don't want to start that transition in my life, and I don't want my friends to move, and I don't want the stress, but I'm gonna have to face it at one point, and on and on.
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