Tea Review Tuesday - A Review of DavidsTea's Sugar Plum Forest Rooibos

With a name evocative of "'Twas the Night before Christmas," DavidsTea's Sugar Plum Forest merges a rooibos base with a myriad of sweet and spicy additions for a non-caffeinated, healthful, and tasty beverage. Opening the container releases a potpourri-like aroma. The scent is heady, as the spiciest ingredients billow-forth, melding with the sweet aromas. Most prominent are licorice and cinnamon. Apple, hibiscus, and plum provide a background of fruits in the dry mixture.

I have found the steep time to be one of the great things about rooibos blends. Certainly, DavidsTea recommends four to seven minutes, yet rooibos steeps in such a way that oversteeping almost never occurs - the flavors simply get stronger, not astringent or bad. As I prefer my rooibos blends with lots of flavor, I let the leaves steep at least ten minutes (two and a half teaspoons in sixteen ounces of water that just boiled).

Whereas the aroma of the dry rooibos and other ingredients seemed nearly overwhelming, the brewed cup is more subdued...yet not entirely. The smell of the blend still contains very forward scents of apple and cinnamon. Plum and some sweet floral notes comprise the background. It reminds me of one of the stores that appear seasonally, often in many small towns of the United States, in which Christmas tree ornaments and other decorations are sold. The taste...foremost among the flavors are plum and cinnamon. The taste is quite sweet, though not cloying. Temperature of the tea aside, the flavors are very warm. Cloves and chili pieces may be tasted (and felt) in a heated, spicy aftertaste that lingers on the tongue and in the throat, not unpleasantly. There is certainly a transition of flavor from the tip of the tongue to the swallow, but this change is smooth and blended. None of the flavors drown out others. However, for as smooth and blended as it tastes, the flavor can be a bit heady, like the aroma. This blend may not please everyone, but those that it does will find it to be a very enjoyable cup. On my own personal enjoyment scale, I would rate it an 83/100. I especially recommend pairing it with a fireplace and a cold, winter night.




Photo credit to Built from Ink and Tea.
DavidsTea's Sugar Plum Forest is available from their website, here.
This review was unsolicited and uncompensated.
Text is copyright 2014, Built from Ink and Tea.

Stained Fingers on Thursday - A Review of Organics Studio "Jane Austen" Ink

Enjoy another great ink from Organics Studio!

This scan was done on an HP Deskjet F4280 at 600dpi.
Note: Because these scans are done with a light emitting printer, actual colors will, more likely than not, be slightly darker than they may appear, here. The colors shown, here, are probably a bit more reminiscent of what the ink would be like under a bright light or if it were held up and viewed with a light behind it.

Tea Review Tuesday - A Review of Mandala Tea's Morning Sun Black Tea

Today's tea for review was kindly provided to me by a tea chum on one of the best websites for finding new teas, organizing your existing teas, and connecting with other tea lovers: Steepster.com. This review was not sponsored by them, but I highly recommend you check out their website! To the tea...

Mandala Tea's Morning Sun intrigues me, before I even begin to heat the water. Gazing upon the leaves, dark and light leaves are swirled together, wrapped tightly in small balls, curled and compressed without uniform shape or size. This tea is crafted by rolling the bud of the tea plant together with young leaves before processing, a technique that reminds me slightly of gunpowder green tea. Yet the color sets this tea apart from many others with its swirl of opposites.

I take a breath of the aroma, rising from the dry leaves. The smell is surprisingly floral with a touch of maltiness. Some deep, dark sweetness lurks in the leaves, awaiting release by hot water, which I am glad to provide.

Preparing the tea, I following the suggestions of Mandala Tea's website, wherein I use water that has been heated to just short of boiling, along with one teaspoon of leaf per eight ounces of water. The teaspoon and a half of Morning Sun go into my twelve ounce cup, followed by enough steaming water to cover the leaves, briefly, for the suggested short rinse. The goal with the rinse is to wash away any final impurities and begin to awaken the leaves for their first steeping.

The first steeping, per the suggestion in the tea's description, lasts only one minute. The aroma that wafts from the mug contain strong notes of honey - the dark sweetness from the dry leaf (not that the tea actually has honey in it). The hint of maltiness persists in the aroma, and the impression of "smooth" comes through the smell. The first steep, after only a minute, is a dark amber color, quite clear, minuscule tea fibers adrift in a dark ocean. Morning Sun tastes smooth and dark, the natural sweetness showing through the flavors of a rich cup of black tea. The slight maltiness that has previously revealed itself reminds me of a Darjeeling in some ways. The cup is incredibly pleasant and goes down easily. Overall, the flavors are not strong. I could see them being easily overwhelmed by most foods, but light chocolates or sugar cookies might be complementary.

Mandala Tea's website suggests steeping the tea a second time for two minutes and a third time for four minutes. The second steep appeared lighter in color but provided a cup of the same excellent flavor, perhaps a tad richer in taste. The third steep, at four minutes, was back to color of the first with a taste that was the strongest, yet! Remember, tea does not come with set rules. One should experiment to experience it fully.

Morning Sun provided me with a delicious experience and one that I found different than other black teas. If the smooth richness with natural sweetness sounds appealing to you, I highly recommend that you give it a try. This one may be going on my wishlist for the future. On my personal enjoyment scale, I would rate it a 95/100.



Photo credit to Built from Ink and Tea.
Mandala Tea's Morning Sun is available for purchase from their website, here.
This review was unsolicited and uncompensated.
Text is copyright 2014, Built from Ink and Tea.

Stained Fingers on Thursday - A Review of Private Reserve Midnight Blue Ink

A great-looking ink but the affect that water has on it was unexpected!

This scan was done on an HP Deskjet F4280 at 600dpi.
Note: Because these scans are done with a light emitting printer, actual colors will, more likely than not, be slightly darker than they may appear, here. The colors shown, here, are probably a bit more reminiscent of what the ink would be like under a bright light or if it were held up and viewed with a light behind it.

Tea Review Tuesday - A Review of DavidsTea's Apple Custard Herbal Blend

As a bit of a deviation from the teas I have been reviewing lately, this week I picked one of my current favorite dessert "teas": Apple Custard by DavidsTea. Without any additives, I found it to be perfectly sweet and satisfying. Plus, the lack of caffeine meant that this drink could be consumed as close to sleep-time as I wanted without any adverse affects.

You heard right - no caffeine! Apple Custard is actually an herbal blend, primarily composed of apples, raisins, chamomile, and vanilla flavoring. It sounds like quite the sensory experience, and I certainly find it to be so. Just smelling the dry mixture, it is almost overwhelming to me. The vanilla smells incredibly strong and, with the apple, creates an almost cloying aroma. However, that is in the bag alone. The soft scents of chamomile are not at all noticeable to me in the dry blend, but hints of the sweetness of raisins can be detected.

As I continued to appreciate the aroma, I went ahead and prepared a cup of Apple Custard. The directions suggested four to seven minutes of steep time, so I set a timer for seven minutes and actually allowed the blend to steep a bit longer than that. The result: deliciousness.

Still incredibly sweet, but not cloying, the aroma now displays the fruit scents much more prominently. Taking a sip, I immediately agree - they definitely got the custard flavor right (and apple custard, no less). The apple provides a bit of a tartness, which is immediately offset by the sweetness. Thankfully, the sweet flavors are not at all cloying or overwhelming. Whereas the apple notes are high and light, the flavor of raisins underscores the taste and gives a good, solid, fruit foundation.

Due to my preferences in hot beverages, I rarely get this excited about herbal blends, typically preferring actual teas. This especially holds true when the blend tastes as sweet as Apple Custard does. Nonetheless, I have quite enjoyed this, and I would rate it a 93/100 on my personal enjoyment scale.

Photo credit to Built from Ink and Tea.
DavidsTea's Apple Custard is available for purchase from their website, here.
This review was unsolicited and uncompensated.
Text is copyright 2014, Built from Ink and Tea.

A Review of Steampunk Lego

Of all the genres that Lego has not yet added to their product lines, steampunk remains the one for which I would hope above all others, even more than certain space themes. Since I was a child, steampunk has fascinated me, and, coupled with my love of Lego, steampunk-themed Lego creations were something I could spend hours browsing. The merging of technology and a certain grit/roughness/antiquity sparked the imagination and inspired building endeavors.

Guy Himber must have sympathized with those of us, who spent many hours online looking at steampunk MOCs (My Own Creation, a term for unique Lego builds done by folks outside of Lego itself). In Steampunk Lego, he has compiled an amazing collection of steampunk-themed creations, which are further divided into steampunk-themed categories, such as "Monowheels and Penny-Farthings," "Robots and Automatons," and "Clockwork Beasties." With my first glance at the index, I know I am going to be excited to reach the section on "Seven Seas," but "Floating Rocks" sounds intriguing, and there is a mysterious and eye-catching last category, called "SPACE!" (No puns about space, the final frontier, are intended, though maybe Guy did intend them!)

The book begins with a section, entitled "What Is Steampunk?" While I am quite familiar with the genre, it is entirely possible that this book may be bought for a child or AFoL (Adult Fan of Lego), who has never before encountered steampunk or who wishes to know more about the genre. This quick forward/introduction sets the scene for plenty of unique and creative ideas in the forthcoming pages. Past the introduction, I find that the author has also set the stage for the book to be a bit of a fantasy narrative, the journal of a man exploring a steampunk world and describing what he finds with captions, quotes, and photographs.

"Rolling Stock" takes the reader straight into the world of steampunk with a fantastic selection of train-centric designs. From single-man railcars to enormous rail-traveling monstrosities, they are all here. Civilian and military applications are covered, including an "Armada-Class Heavy Steam Railship" - a true battleship that rides the rails! Landships and battletanks also make an appearance, here with innovative designs, such as the "Light Steam Transport Vehicle," appearing for all the world like a steam-powered, military, covered wagon...with tank treads!

Steampunk often touches on bicycles, motorcycles, monocycles, and other wheeled transports of the sort,  affecting them with the power of steam and a great deal of inventiveness. "Monowheels and Penny-Farthings" highlights a number of these creations, even including a monowheel design meant for racing, all while taking a tongue-in-cheek approach to details such as obstruction of view and vehicle stability, terming them as mere "petty dangers." A favorite creation of mine from this section was the "W8," a small personal monowheel design that looks like a vehicle one might store in their garage and go riding on the weekends, like a steampunk dirtbike of sorts!

Automobiles also have a place, here, in "Horseless Carriages." And yet "carriages" is taken loosely, including not only wheeled vehicles but multi-legged walkers, too. One of the most awesome models, featured here, involves a town built on rolling treads, which slowly move across the land, carrying shops, residents, and homes along on the journey. The sheer level of detail is mind-boggling. Of the more eclectic inventions, a crawling circus stage, powered by a large steam boiler, carries the local acting troop from one town to the next.

No steampunk-themed book would be complete without mention of "Robots and Automatons," a vision of a steam-powered future in which these man-made (and often humanoid in appearance) beings serve as workers, soldiers, and transports. Yet this chapter does not stop with the automatons themselves, also including a design of "Robot Research Labs" and several exosuits meant for wearing by the user in combat or underwater exploration (underwater combat not yet tested)!

The next chapter on "Armaments and Sundries" contains a curious mixture of life-size and smaller-than-life creations. From hats to weapons to musical instruments, even telephones, unique creations of the era of steam are featured here. Most impressive is the "Orrery," a mechanical model of the solar system, which appears to move upon a series of gears.

The "Cabinet of Curiosities" reminds the reader of walking into an antique shop, filled with all manner of strange trinkets and baubles, the use of some of which can only barely be imagined. All of the creations and gadgets in this chapter are of a size that could fit in one's pocket, save for a design called the "walking ark," a mysterious cabinet, outfitted with arms and legs, which travels about, collecting these curiosities. For all their small size, some of them are quite creatively done, and this chapter was certainly one of my favorites.

With the next chapter, Steampunk Lego shifts gears (no pun intended) to a different steam-powered theme: that of the high seas. Certainly, if railcars may be powered by steam, why not transports that sail the waterways of the world? And yet, contained within the chapter, entitled "Seven Seas," lies much more than just boats. Undersea craft, often designed to look like animals, themselves, are masterfully designed. With the power of steam, submersibles also feature highly in the collection of creations.

Leaving the seas and taking to the skies, "Airships and Dirigibles" showcases all manner of fantastic, steam-power flying machines. While some of the machines here are small, one-man craft, others appear as massive, flying cities or flying war machines. The "Zeppelin" with its interior Lego frame is particularly impressive, as are the airships built for racing.

Animals have not escaped the touch of steampunk, as shown in the "Clockwork Beasties" chapter. Big and small, realistic and fantastic, there are designs for transport, for war, and even for sport. Most intriguing was the "Warclaw," an ostrich-looking beast, able to be ridden by soldiers into battle.

This next chapter contains my favorite content of the entire book. The idea of "Floating Rocks" - gravity-defying islands in the sky - prompts an immensely high degree of creativity with each model being a unique masterpiece. In a variety of scales, from fortresses to humble abodes, powered by the weird magics and steam, calling them "floating rocks" sounds almost derogatory for such beautiful works. Truly, if for no other chapter, I recommend this book for this one.

In the last chapter lies "SPACE!" These models are absolutely amazing. For the most part, they represent steampunk versions of classic ships from Star Wars, but Battlestar Galactica and other more generic starcraft make appearances. While whimsical, the conversion of these craft to steam has been masterfully done.

Many thanks go to No Starch Press for providing me with the opportunity to review this book. I was thoroughly impressed with the organization and content therein. Truly, this book was a delight to peruse, and I highly recommend it for Lego-lovers with an interest in steampunk!



Photos credit to No Starch Press and used with permission.
Steampunk Lego is available directly from No Starch Press, here, and on Amazon, here.

Text is copyright 2014, Built from Ink and Tea.

Stained Fingers on Thursday - A Review of Organics Studio Charles Darwin Ink

As nice as the color was in this ink, I had the same unfortunate results, as I did with the Organics Studio HMS Beagle quick-drying ink. At the bottom of the review, I have sampled the ink with the extra-fine Lamy Safari on several other types of paper for the sake of comparison, all with much the same results.

This scan was done on an HP Deskjet F4280 at 600dpi.
Note: Because these scans are done with a light emitting printer, actual colors will, more likely than not, be slightly darker than they may appear, here. The colors shown, here, are probably a bit more reminiscent of what the ink would be like under a bright light or if it were held up and viewed with a light behind it.

Tea Review Tuesday - A Review of Tao Tea Leaf's Imperial Pu-er Classic Tea

Today brings the last in our series of review of various offerings by Tao Tea Leaf. A special thanks goes to them for providing these teas for our review here at Built from Ink and Tea.

This tasting begins with a deep inhale of the aroma of the dry leaves. Woody, these leaves have a fairly rich smell that promises a deep cup and hopefully some pleasant complexity. To me, shou (cooked) pu'erh is reminiscent of the forest, and drinking it is a multi-sensory experience. After I heat my teaware and rinse the leaves, I begin the first steep of thirty seconds. The aroma of this first cup carries a bit of sweetness and the earthy notes are not quite as robust as in the dry leaves. However, the flavors are wonderfully rich. The taste is deep without being too earthy, which can sometimes put people off pu'erh. It has a thick mouthfeel with a heavy finish that leaves a lasting impression on the palate. Truly, the first steeping is gone before I know it, and I steep a second for forty seconds.

I find the aroma of the second steep oddly even lighter and weaker than that of the first steep, which quite intrigues me. The color remains a dark, bright brown with great clarity. Flavors? Just as good as the first steep. This tea is mysterious! A third steep of fifty seconds results in a brew that appears lighter than the first two, smells like pu'erh-scented hot water (imagine it...not tea, scented hot water), and tastes...very, very weak. However, it might be that I did not use enough leaf or give it enough time (either of which can be used to offset the other), despite using standard amounts, so I boil more water and steep the leaves again.

After a few minutes, I have a brew with the same dark, rich color, slightly-sweet aroma, and heavy flavor as the first two. It appears that for the amount of leaf I used, larger increases in time for each steep would be useful. Overall, the steeps that produced dark, rich, not-super-earthy cups gave a lot of enjoyment and a good pu'erh tasting experience. On my personal enjoyment scale, I would rate this tea an 88/100.

Photo credit to Built from Ink and Tea.
Tao Tea Leaf's Imperial Pu-er Classic Tea is available from their website, here.
This review was unsolicited and uncompensated.
Text is copyright 2014, Built from Ink and Tea.

Stained Fingers on Thursday - A Review of Organics Studio Carbon Ink

This scan was done on an HP Deskjet F4280 at 600dpi.
Note: Because these scans are done with a light emitting printer, actual colors will, more likely than not, be slightly darker than they may appear, here. The colors shown, here, are probably a bit more reminiscent of what the ink would be like under a bright light or if it were held up and viewed with a light behind it.

Tea Review Tuesday - Chai Green Tea, a Night and Day Comparison

This week, I decided to present you with two reviews for Tea Review Tuesday. The reason for two reviews in one post is due to wanting to share how extremely different my experience was with two different chai green teas that I tried. These reviews were not written at the same time.  

First was a brief story of excitement and disappointment...

A Review of Shepherd's Tea's Chai Green Tea
Chai green tea sounded very intriguing when I first heard of it. It is definitely not something that is very common, at least in my area. I like chai pretty well, so I figured this was worth a shot. The box says to steep one teabag in nearly-boiling water for 4-5 minutes. Hmm, that does not sound like normal green tea to me. This is exciting! I love that the side of the box gives all sorts of suggestions for how to add zest to this tea: agave, other sweeteners, pumpkin pie spice, using half water and half milk, etc. I choose to go with just water to begin, and I steep the single teabag for four minutes in eight ounces of water that might not have been "nearly boiling," but was definitely of the right temperature for green tea.

So much spicy aroma wafts up from the cup. It smells delicious, almost reminding me more of a traditional American Thanksgiving (happy belated Thanksgiving to my readers in the United States!) more than another chai. The scent is definitely less heavy than a chai with black tea. The first sip reminds me of pumpkin pie...and not much else. I get a lot of spicy flavors, which are delectable...but no tea. It is a decent drink, but it seems to be lacking some major components in the taste department. I think I will try steeping it longer and adding some sugar.

The second time, I steeped the tea a few minutes longer and then added in a bit of honey before quaffing the cup. The addition of honey just stacked the mild flavor of honey on top of the blandness. This was really disappointing. I might continue to use this tea as a mixer with other green tea, just to add in some spiciness, but it is hardly worth drinking on its own. On my personal enjoyment scale, I would give this tea a 47/100.

Second was a tea that shone bright as day, compared the last...

A Review of Rishi Tea's Green Tea Chai

A green tea chai! I have only ever tried one or two of these in the past, so this should be a novel experience. To begin, I was surprised at the directions. It said to boil together milk and water. While I have certainly made chai this way in the past, it has been a while, so this was pretty unique. After boiling the milk and water, I added the tea, turned down the burner on the stove, and let it simmer for four minutes. Pouring this whole mixture of leaf and herbs and liquid from a saucepan into a teapot (for holding) was an interesting endeavor. My tea now safely in a teapot, I poured myself a cup (straining out the leaves) and added a single sugar cube. 

The packaging for the tea had instructed to sweeten as desired, and one sugar cube was enough (for me, at least) to sweeten the individual cup of chai. 

This chai smells spicy! According to the packaging, there are a lot of spices in it, but the flavor still shocked me a bit. The second shock was the lemon aftertaste. This was not at all unpleasant, merely just different. I think that one description I read of this tea stated that the lemongrass in it was “zesty.” I wholeheartedly agree with this choice of words. If this tea is not enough to open your eyes wide, then there is a good chance that your taste buds are broken. 

If you like chai, then you need to try this tea. The green tea gives it an amazingly smooth flavor, and the herbal additions combine to create a unique and “zesty” drink. On my personal enjoyment scale, I would rate this tea a 93/100


So folks, there you have it - night and day experiences with green tea chai. Based on what I tried, I would love to try more of this style of tea. Do you have any recommendations?


My apologies for the lack of photos this week.
Rishi Tea's Green Tea Chai is available from their website, here.
This review was unsolicited and uncompensated.