Review: Zen - Tazo

Type: Blend (Green and Herbal)
Producer: Tazo
Origin: Unknown
Brewing Parameters: 236 ml hot water, 80°C, 3 min. (recommended)
Appearance: Trapezoidal paper tea bag with green tea dust, lemongrass, and spearmint
Rating: 88 | B+/100
# of Brews: 1

Tasting Notes and Thoughts
As I mentioned in a previous review, I got this tea at the California mock trial state finals when I raided the hotel's tea display. When I brewed this tea, it came out a very dark orange/amber color– the same color that mint tea usually comes out as (the spearmint here I think is the culprit). Same with the smell, it's more minty than grassy or citrusy. It actually has a very pleasant taste, too. I'd say it's a predominantly a mint tea; the first and foremost taste is spearmint. After that, it goes into a mellow, grassy flavor with a vague sweetness, and finally, it becomes sour and stays in the mouth for a few seconds. It feels like an interesting in-between for green tea and a tisane, and it's not bad at all. Overall, I like it; my only problem I have with it, but that's with all Tazo tea in general, is that the teabags are never really have any good quality leaf in them (I wonder if they sell loose leaf?).


Other Notes
Today's album is EP by little xs for eyes. Found this band through the remix album by Sounds of System Breakdown, and this has always been one of my go-tos for relaxation music. It's mainly acoustic, slow, and very chill, but from what I've heard, their new stuff has gone to a more upbeat, pop/indie/folk sound. I like it; check them out sometime.

So, yesterday was my last day of work. It went the same as usual; only notable thing was that I helped an old Mexican man pick up his keys, and after we went through security, he almost accidentally grabbed my wallet instead of his. I stopped him and gave him his, but he began to talk to me in Spanish and I didn't really know how to respond (I don't speak Spanish). So, I mostly just nodded and said yeah, and wished him a good day as I walked away.

The day before that, it was my friend's grad party. Quick backstory: she's from my main friend group from freshman and sophomore year, and we took African American Literature together this year. The group broke apart around junior year; people had left in small groups before because they made new friends or started dating people, but there was a big fight and a lot of drama between my ex and this friend. The group broke after that. At the party, though, some of the group got back together and it was fun– we got in a limo and went to an Indian/Pakistani restaurant to eat. Food (samosas, curry, chicken, fish, naan, and interestingly a chocolate fountain) was amazing, and we watched a Muslim prayer. The drive home was the best part. We got glow sticks and blasted music like Bohemian Rhapsody, All Star, Panic! at the Disco, and a few others, and just had fun screwing around. Someone mentioned this at one point, and I think she was absolutely right: we're all great people, but when we were together in that group, it was just very toxic.

One thing that came up often was my ex. Apparently, she used to talk badly of almost everyone behind their backs, and there was a lot of drama over relationships (not with me, but from crushes carrying over from middle school). We don't talk anymore. We used to chat on messenger and snapchat pretty often, but she suddenly stopped one day. I was told at the grad party, though, that she had posted on her tumblr that she had said she wanted to distance herself from her ex (i.e. me) and mentioned stuff like never snapchatting your ex when you're having emotional struggles. Oh well. It's been a while since we last talked– we had a quick conversation about AP scores last week, and it felt very strained– and I guess I've moved on. It hasn't bothered me too much, but she does cross my mind sometimes.

Today, I have to enroll for my classes for Berkeley. I'm planning on taking general chemistry, intro to sociology, foundations of data science, and single variable calculus; hopefully I can get an Asian American studies class on musicals, too. I feel like it might be a lot and that I should take only three classes my first semester, but since I'm interested in double majoring in biological/environmental sciences and a social science, I have to take a lot of the boring, general classes to be able to declare before I get into the fun stuff in upper divisions. Also, I need to take breadths which forces me to take interesting classes (data science is one of those). The great thing is that, if it's too much for me, I have time to drop a class before I'm stuck. I want to get good grades in college, but I'll have to put a lot more work if I want to keep the straight As I earned in high school. My realistic goal is a 3.0, to keep my scholarship, but the dream is over a 3.5 GPA.

Tomorrow, I graduate from the justice academy and have to present a speech that we haven't necessarily practiced that much, but I feel like it'll go fine. My parents won't be able to attend since they'll be on a flight to Minnesota; I think that's good since my group isn't so polished. I'm going to spend the rest of the week relaxing and hanging out with friends, since I have the house until Sunday or Monday. On Saturday, I'll be going to San Francisco to watch the first summer session for next year's We the People teams, so that'll be fun– I'm excited since I'm going with a few friends.