Type: Flavored Black
Producer: Love from Minnesota
Origin: Sri Lanka
Brewing Parameters: 90°C, 250mL water, 2.2g teabag, 5 min.
Appearance: Small, rectangular paper tea bag with small black fannings
Rating: B | 84/100
# of Brews: 1
Tasting Notes and Thoughts
So, I was supposed to review a different tea today, but my parents just got back from Minnesota and they brought this back. There's actually less information on the packaging for this tea than the ones from Taiwan; all I could really find was the name of the company (with a very cheesy and touristy logo), name of the tea, and location of production. The brewing parameters above, therefore, are what I'm choosing to do for myself.
The honey smell for this tea is very apprarent. It's in the loose leaf and the brewed liquid. I'm not versed enough in honey to figure out the flower its from, but it's very concentrated. If you've cooked with honey, or made honey candy before, you'd know the smell– it's very strong. As for the actual tea, it brewed a dark ruby color. It tastes very fruity (like berries) with notes of chocolate. I don't taste any strong honey flavors, but I think it adds a natural sweetness which is subtle, but there. There's only a slight bitter taste and some astringency after drinking, and a sour flavor lingers on the tongue. Overall, I'm pleasantly surprised at how good this tea is. It's a bit pricy; apparently it was around $5 for only 15 tea bags. I'd like to try it with milk, but it doesn't need extra sweetener.
Other Notes
Today's album isn't exactly an album. It's D.R.A.M's NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert, which is pretty good. I found it through Chance the Rapper's Tiny Desk Concert (recommend that one too!). Generally, I've only really heard D.R.A.M. at parties or dances, but I'm actually very surprised how good of a singer he is. He reminds me of a few soul singers. The version of Broccoli he sings in this concert is great– much different than the album version.
After my parents left on Wednesday to go visit my sister in Minnesota, I've been very busy. I graduated the Justice Academy that day; the group speech went well (i.e. not great), but apparently I spoke well enough that I was asked to give a testimonial of the program for the press team. Afterwards, I got lunch with my friends at a Thai place and went home.
From Thursday to Sunday, I've either been getting high or drunk each day, and I regret it so much. On Friday, I hung out with one of my guy friends for the first time this summer (as I mentioned previously, I've been hanging out with girls exclusively) and of course, he wanted to smoke. It was fun seeing him again, since we grew up together and haven't met since school ended, but I remembered why I don't like hanging out with him too often: every time we hang out he wants to get high and tries to pressure everyone into it. After that, I cooked dinner with that friend that's also going to Cal and we watched Moonrise Kingdom (great movie, I loved it).
Then, on Saturday, I went to San Francisco to present a We the People testimony for next year's teams with my unitmate and a few friends from other schools. It went well; I'm a bit disappointed in the team from my school, though, since they were the last group to arrive and came in the smallest numbers. They're good at speaking, but I feel like the other teams have more motivation and potential than ours. After the workshops were over, the people hosting the event brought us to lunch at the Irish Bank and after, we went to get milk tea. I spent the rest of the evening with one of the people from the other schools (same unit as that girl I liked). We watched Antz and Hot Fuzz, had a few beers and a shot, and ate some of the birthday cheesecake I baked for her.
After she left, my guy friends called me up randomly to ask if they wanted to hang out (at around 10 pm), and I said yes since I haven't seen one of them in a while. I ended up regretting it. In short, they were high and smoked throughout the night, and we got In N Out, played Mario Kart, and watched videos we made as kids. It was fun, but again, my problem is that the only thing my guy friends want to do when we hang out is get high. It sounds more judgy than I wish it does, but they seem a lot more and more like stereotypical douchy fratboys.
I always thought that, in college, I wanted to be someone who goes out to parties and gets drunk and does all that stuff. But, after this weekend, and comparing it to my different friend groups, I don't think that it's for me. I don't know if it's because I've drifted apart from my old friend group (the guys), or what, but I just don't find the same enjoyment they do in smoking, skateboarding, freestyle rapping, or BMXing. I don't enjoy getting high as a kite, or drunk off my ass, or having intimate relationships with girls only for sex. I like doing what I do with the friends I made this year– cooking dinner together, going out for food, watching movies, hanging out together, and only occasionally, having a few beers or some weed. Doing bad stuff is nice in moderation, and when it isn't the only thing you do with your friends. I can't handle doing it every day like some of my friends do, nor do I want to. I guess it's good that I'm figuring this stuff out now; as much as I tell people to embrace who they are and do what they love (especially for college applications), I've struggled with coming to terms with my identity. It's hard, man, and I hope I figure it out in college.
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