Traveller’s Porridge (Organic Elderberry Genmai)

This tea began in a rare place. The seeds of it came from the sense of being listened to – but not in the moment. This was a circumstance where I felt like I had been listened to in a prior life-frame and that things I had said had trickled Continue Reading →

(Named)Journal 8, Page 384, Teas in Progress

This entry is part 8 of 9 in the series Tea Naming

Chocolate Oranges. Those little foil wrapped balls of fruit-flavoured chocolate have been a part of my life for almost as long as I can remember. For most of it, they have also been a special seasonal treat. Mid-December of the First Year of Our Plague (Coronavirus), the idea of a Continue Reading →

Gift of the Gloaming (Organic Roasted Kukicha, Lapasang Souchong, Lavender)

Gift of the Gloaming’s story began, as many of the tales of my teas do, with a combination of desire and need. I wanted a comforting tea taste, in this case one specifically involving smoke – but I also very desperately needed to relax. As Into the Dark Woods combined Continue Reading →

May 2023 – Standard Tea of the Month Club Choice

This entry is part 2 of 3 in the series TotMC (Standard) Chosen Teas

  May’s theme was chosen the moment I decided the Soft Reopen was going to happen on the 6th. May was about reclamation. May was about rediscovery. May was also about being completely overwhelmed by some of my more ambitious choices and high expectations for myself. These things combined, even Continue Reading →

Journal 8, Page 393, Teas in Progress

This entry is part 7 of 9 in the series Tea Naming

I love it when randomness turns into really good tea. 8-393 started, as so many of my blends do, with a tea survey. In this case it was for a single teabag sampler, rather than the more frequent Tea of the Month Club. It continued as a reason to throw Continue Reading →

Take a Breath (Organic Black Tea Blend)

One of the things that happened early on in the journey of Desert Sage Natural was the realization that the teas I create are far tastier than anything that I could find on a grocery store shelf. However, some of the teas that had been standards had general taste ranges Continue Reading →

(Named) Journal 7, Page 335, Teas in Progress

This entry is part 4 of 9 in the series Tea Naming

7-335 was created because there was an individual who stated that he wanted to drink more Desert Sage Natural tea. One of the things he pointed out was the relative dearth of strict black tea blends that didn’t involve smoke. To my chagrin, I realized that he was not wrong, Continue Reading →

(Named) Journal 3, Page 150, Teas in Progress

This entry is part 3 of 9 in the series Tea Naming

The tea survey was, on some levels, a brilliant idea. Most of the feedback I’ve received indicates that my skillset, when combined with the questions I asked, allows me to curate teas for other humans quite well. One way in which it is incredibly helpful is also one of the Continue Reading →

Eureka: Smoky Monkey (Organic blend of Lapsang Souchong and Golden Monkey)

This entry is part 13 of 1 in the series ChariTeas

The story of Eureka: Smoky Monkey began more years ago than I want to think about right now. It started, as many of my teas do, with a tea survey. In this particular case the list of favourite teas quite frankly terrified me. Silver Needle. Golden Monkey. Things I had Continue Reading →

(Named) Journal 8, Page 429, Teas in Progress

Sometimes when I get to the bottom of a tin of something there isn’t enough left to make a proper cup. However, I hate wasting tea. Depending on what was in a tin, I will drop it in on top of one of my foundational teas. In the case of Continue Reading →