Stained Fingers on Thursday - A Review of De Atramentis Dark Blue 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 - A Review of Stash Tea Company's Lemon Ginger Herbal Tea

This week's tea review involves something different. For once, it seems, the tea I am reviewing came to me, rather than me seeking after it. The office in which I work has a decent amount of bagged tea - mostly Peet's, Stash, and Bigelow - which I typically overlook in favor of my own "stash" of loose leaf tea, kept in a desk drawer. However, when the latest restock of the break room occurred, one of the new offerings caught my eye - this Lemon Ginger Herbal "Tea" (quotation marks added by me to emphasize the misnomer).

An herbal blend, created by the Stash Tea Company, ginger root and lemongrass have been combined with lemon flavor, safflower, hibiscus, and citric acid for what is sure to be an intense cup. Personally, I am not entirely certain about the purpose of the citric acid in this blend, but the hibiscus should be an interesting touch. I boil a cup of water, pour it over the teabag in a mug, and set the timer for five minutes.

The packaging suggests three to five minutes, but as is my normal tendency, I go for the longer steep time, both for the sake of the intense flavors and to see if the upper-end leads to any over-steeping. Expecting aromas of lemon and ginger, the presence of hibiscus in the pre-steeped scent surprises me. However, when the steeping is done, the aromas are almost entirely ginger and lemon. The lemon scent noticeably comes from both lemon grass and added lemon flavor. In fact, they actually smell quite different.

Even though I steeped the blend for five minutes, my first sip does not hit me with a blast of ginger, as I expected. Instead, the ginger first bites the tongue, then subdues as the lemon slides over the taste buds. They merge in the finish, leaving a smooth aftertaste. On the sides of the tongue, hibisicus moves quietly in the background.

While I like the initial flavor and most of the body, the finish disappoints. It tastes thin and weak. Yes, I did mention it was smooth, but as I work my way through the cup, the aftertaste seems like I drank this an hour ago, not just a few seconds. I wonder, if this has to do with the freshness of the ingredients. While my teabag did say to enjoy by August of 2017, I have had other blends that used both lemongrass and ginger root together, and the ginger, at least, was a powerful flavor throughout the tea. That said, I did enjoy this cup, and I would rate it a 72/100 on my personal enjoyment scale. Looking for something totally different for your non-caffeinated cup? This might be to your liking.



Photo credit to Built from Ink and Tea.
Stash Tea Company's Lemon Ginger Herbal Tea is available from their website, here.
This review was unsolicited and uncompensated.
Text is copyright 2015, Built from Ink and Tea.

Stained Fingers on Thursday - A Review of J. Herbin 1670 Stormy Grey Ink

Stormy with a chance of gold flecks...

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 One Love Tea's Coconut Honeybush

Happy Tea Review Tuesday! This past weekend, a kind friend gifted me a sample of One Love Tea's Coconut Honeybush. Having not yet had a chance to drink it, I went to pick a tea for Tea Review Tuesday and realized that a honeybush blend has never been featured on this site! Honeybush is a plant, native to South Africa, used to make herbal teas and blends. So-called, due to the sweet smell of the flowers, the smell of the loose leaves certainly embodies the name.

Breathing in the aroma of the loose leaf, I find that the scent of coconut nearly overwhelms the honeybush. However, a slow breath seems to separate the two and allows me to detect the honeybush notes in the background. They are decidedly reminiscent of a sweet, almost-honey-scented rooibos, yet distinctly different at the same time.

As I have mentioned in the past in regard to rooibos, it cannot be over-steeped. The same applies to honeybush, and I personally enjoy my honeybush (and rooibos) blends to be steeped strongly. In a sixteen ounce teapot, I steeped two teaspoons of Coconut Honeybush in just-boiled water for seven minutes. The result? An aromatic cup, whose nose is reminiscent of the dry leaf mixture...albeit more subdued. The coconut and coconut flavoring in the loose leaf had been strong and very forward. However, steeped...well, my cup is empty and I need to refill!

Steeped, the aroma of Coconut Honeybush favors the coconut more than the honeybush, but the notes of honeybush are very noticeable. I would actually go so far as to say that the coconut steeps to a more subdued aroma. But how about the taste? I have to say that I was surprised by the taste. It has been some time since I last had a honeybush blend, and I had forgotten just how much "darker" it tastes than rooibos. By "darker," I do not mean that it is stronger, necessarily, but the flavor is richer and perhaps a bit deeper. The blend of flavors is even more balanced than the aroma. Coconut arrives first on the tongue, and honeybush follows, more silently and subtly. The honeybush flavor fills the mouth with its sweetness and then leaves a pleasant and light aftertaste in its wake.

I can see why One Love Tea lists this as the most popular item on their entire site. Coconut Honeybush is a delicious and extremely enjoyable cup, and I absolutely recommend it, even for those, who have never before tried a honeybush blend. On my personal enjoyment scale, I would rate Coconut Honeybush a 95/100.



Photo credit to Built from Ink and Tea.
One Love Tea's Coconut Honeybush is available from their website, here.
This review was unsolicited and uncompensated.
Text is copyright 2015, Built from Ink and Tea.

Stained Fingers on Thursday - A Review of Rohrer & Klingner Blau Permanent

Pardon the incorrect spelling of "Klingner" in my review. It is not reflective of my thoughts of this 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 - A Review of The Boston Tea Company's Dragonwell Green Tea

What a great morning for tea! I was feeling like drinking something different this morning, so I picked out this Dragonwell. I have to say that I have not tried Dragonwell in some time, but I remember being quite the fan of it when I did have some. I prepare a cup of it with a cup of the perfect just-this-side-of-boiling water, a teaspoon of loose leave in an infuser basket. Working for the happy medium (always seems to make good tea) I go for four minutes of steep time (the package said three to five).

 As the leaves steep, I take in the aroma of the tea. Dry, the tea smells leafy, slightly vegetal, a tad grassy, and it has some almost malt undertones, akin to some of the Taiwanese oolongs. The steeping tea is a bit sweeter to the nose, but additionally has some smoky undertones. I begin to sip the tea, drinking in the flavor, the smell, and the feel. This tea tastes mellow, and the sweetness almost translates to a floral flavor.

On the package, the Boston Tea Company directs one to "Relax and Enjoy!" after making this tea. I must say, I certainly have relaxed, and it has been a pleasant drinking experience. On my personal enjoyment scale, I would rate this green tea a delectable 85/100.



Boston Tea Company's Dragonwell is available from their website, here
Photo credit to Boston Tea Company.
This review was unsolicited and uncompensated.
Text is copyright 2015, Built from Ink and Tea.

Stained Fingers on Thursday - A Review of Montblanc Bohème Blue Ink

Enjoy this new blue from Montblanc! With this and the JFK blue, they seem to be amassing quite the line of options for lovers of blue inks.

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 Cold Zing Green Tea

'Tis the season for head colds, and, having recently recovered from one myself, I felt this would be the opportune time to share with you a review of DavidsTea's Cold Zing green tea. With soothing lemongrass and peppermint, this tea endeavors to calm the body. Yet, invigorating eleuthero root and the green tea will provide the energy necessary to survive a day with the cold, wherever your day takes you. Finally, echinacea steps-in to help fight against the cold itself and boost your body's defenses. Sounds like a powerful combination, but how does it taste?

I notice that the packaging saws it includes orange, plus natural lime flavoring. Anticipating tangy or tart, I am not disappointed. The dry leaf mixture is a heady combination of both. Some of the lemongrass and peppermint peek through the dry aroma in the background, but the citrus definitely smells strong. Even during steeping, the aroma ratio remains much the same, though now the lime has been calmed a bit by the hot water, and three and a half minutes later, my two-cup teapot is ready to go! (I used about three teaspoons of tea, total.)

The tea itself brews a pale green color. I take a sniff...and everything smells so different, now, compared to when it was brewing. Gone are the overwhelming aromas, subdued now to be more balanced. The citrus and lemongrass are evenly matched with the smell of one of the other ingredients, which I cannot quite identify. Yet, it is nonetheless a pleasing fragrance. I tend to stray from lime-smelling teas, but this one neither smells heavily of it, nor of orange. Both citrus simply play their part in smoothing the aromas of the cup...and the flavor, too.

Cold Zing tastes pleasant. The flavors are incredibly smooth with the citrus notes being very forward. However, the body seems a true mixture of all the flavors. Lemongrass is prominent, while peppermint sits in the background. Notes of what I assume are echinacea and/or eleuthero root are noticeable in the body, too, though I cannot quite tell, which is which. There is a very slight medicinal, herb flavor to the tea. Yet, after the first cup, I am still enjoying the pleasant and smooth flavors. It is as though DavidsTea had the sick tea-drinker in mind and wanted to make this cup go down as easily as possible, soothing sore throats along the way. On my personal enjoyment scale, I would rate this tea an 83/100.

Photo credit to Built from Ink and Tea.
DavidsTea's Cold Zing is available, by itself, in-stores and as part of the Cold Relief Day pack on their website, here.
This review was unsolicited and uncompensated.
Text is copyright 2015, Built from Ink and Tea.

Stained Fingers on Thursday - A Review of Private Reserve Velvet Black Ink

Happy new year to you all! May you all have a wonderful 2015, where your teacup is never empty and your pens never run dry.

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.