Tincturing fanatics, have you tried this one?

[Guest guest]

Hello all,

Was brewing up a cup of genmaicha (green tea with roasted rice) for

myself the other day when my partner requested I make him a cup of

kukicha (twig) tea, which I have not had in yearsssss.

I rustled around in the tea cabinet and found the little box of

sticks-n-branches, put a handful in a cup and poured the water

over........

Oh my gosh. I'm not sure if it was the almost full moon, the water

being at exactly the right temp, or just me (or perhaps the fact that

I've been playing with some lovely coffee and cacao blends!), but what

an amazing aroma: a light tea fragrance with hints of chocolate and

chestnut and a bit of sweetness and the teeny-tiniest waft of spice.

Quelle belle odeur!

Just thought I'd share!

W.

[Guest guest]

> Hello all,

>

> Was brewing up a cup of genmaicha (green tea with roasted rice) for

> myself the other day when my partner requested I make him a cup of

> kukicha (twig) tea, which I have not had in yearsssss.

>

> I rustled around in the tea cabinet and found the little box of

> sticks-n-branches, put a handful in a cup and poured the water

> over........

>

> Oh my gosh. I'm not sure if it was the almost full moon, the water

> being at exactly the right temp, or just me (or perhaps the fact that

> I've been playing with some lovely coffee and cacao blends!), but what

> an amazing aroma: a light tea fragrance with hints of chocolate and

> chestnut and a bit of sweetness and the teeny-tiniest waft of spice.

> Quelle belle odeur!

I have had a lot of fun with teas lately. I have a really love white

and green tea blend as well as a red tea blend that are DIVINE.

Good to see someone else finding the beauty in that!

Nikki Sherritt

www.gabrielsaunt.com

http://www.gabrielsaunt.etsy.com/

[Guest guest]

You have really activated my scented imagination. I'd love to have that

experience! I really like tea, sometimes the fragrance more than the

taste. Watching the steam; smelling the fragrance, seeing the

colors--ahh, how wonderful. Where do you get your teas/herbs? What

about honey (or something to sweeten the unpleasant medicinal flavors we

sometimes face)? Any suggestions?

Bernadine

Chicago, IL

[Guest guest]

On Apr 24, 2008, at 2:11 AM, mochabcspirit wrote:

> You have really activated my scented imagination. I'd love to have

> that

> experience! I really like tea, sometimes the fragrance more than the

> taste. Watching the steam; smelling the fragrance, seeing the

> colors--ahh, how wonderful. Where do you get your teas/herbs? What

> about honey (or something to sweeten the unpleasant medicinal

I totally agree! Sometimes I will get a tea blend based on the smell

alone and then disappointed by the taste as it is nothing like the

scent.

There are some amazing tea companies that have blends worth

tincturing/infusing. Although, as my friend Andrine pointed out many

months ago, be aware of the caffeine element in the teas!

I personally use some amazing blends from a company called Teavana.

Most of the tinctures/infusions I have made have been for test blends

I don't sell, but have provided some amazing middle notes for me.

I just love the possibilities that the teas give you. They are so

much fun for me.

Nikki Sherritt

http://www.gabrielsaunt.com/

http://www.gabrielsaunt.etsy.com/

[Guest guest]

Where do you get your teas/herbs? What

> about honey (or something to sweeten the unpleasant medicinal flavors we

> sometimes face)? Any suggestions?

>

> Bernadine

> Chicago, IL

Hi Bernadine,

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, so I'm lucky to have lots of

options for tea and herb shopping. From small herb/apothecary shops to

larger grocery stores like Berkeley Bowl and Rainbow CoOp... I even

buy herbs and tea from Whole Paycheck (Whole Foods) ;-) -- they

usually sell Frontier Co-Op's stuff (although I do not use their line

of Aura Cacia essential oils). And I like to buy in bulk so that I can

smell things first!

As far as honey goes, I think *raw* (uncooked and unfiltered) honey is

the bee's knees! It will be thicker and have some crystallization, but

will easily melt in tea. I actually like to eat a plain ol' spoonful

of it (or 3) for dessert on occasion. Agave is another good

sweetener that does not give me the jumpy sugar shakes that refined

white sugar does.

Hmm...... so how about a fragrance with a favorite tea, honey

absolute, a hint of the crumbly sweetness of that English scone with

currants and lemon zest, and maybe a bit of the flowers from the vase

on the kitchen table that waft up as you relax on your afternoon tea

break? Mmmmmm. I never used to be one for foodie scents, but lately

it's all I want to dabble in!

xx,

W.