Tea Sampling

I will be conducting a tea sampling over the next few days.  A friend of mine got me a huge box of tea.  The box says “Tea Forte — Extraordinary Teas.”  I will be sampling these 20 teas over the next 20 work days.

Day 1: Monday, November 2nd, 2009.  Earl Grey.  7 stars.
Earl Grey, organic black tea.  A finely balanced black tea from India’s Sewpur gardens infused with Italian Bergamot. 

Being my first tea, I took it and sniffed it pretty hard to take in all the goodness.  What I did not realize was the extent to which the tea was finely granulated in some ways.  Some of the dust was sitting on the outside of the silky outside covering, and I sniffed a nose and lung full of Earl Grey tea powder.  I don’t think this counts as drug use, but I did feel a slight infusion of euphoria in my body a few moments later, as if someone had pumped the Earl Grey goodness directly in my veins.  The taste is not bitter, very lively in fact.  It has a slight bite on the finish.  I added a touch of honey to give it some sweetness, but all in all, the very strong blackness of the tea is coming out in the taste.  Though the smell is pleasant, the taste is a tangy subset of what I am smelling.  It is interesting… makes me wonder what the teas to come will be like.  This is very bold tasting, it should give me a jolt today I believe.  All in all, I give this tea a 7 out of 10 stars on the Dan Lee scale of tea loving.

Day 2: Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009. Orchid Vanilla.  6 stars.
Orchid Vanilla, black tea.  A divine blend of fine crisp black tea with Madagascar vanilla, and coconut slivers.

Well so far, I’m enjoying the smell of the tea.  I am waiting for my quick boil to finish boiling the water.  The tea it self smells like flowers, so it’s pretty pleasant, I imagine the aroma that will come about as the tea steeps will be quite nice for a morning in the office.  I’m really digging these tea bags.  They are in almost like silk mesh contains, letting out only the finest amounts particulates from the tea.  It diffuses well.  I should get a nice jolt from this black tea I think.  Now that it’s done steeping, the smell of the tea is like a freshly baked birthday cake.  Wow, pretty awesome.  I had to for sure add honey to this… it’s very bitter.  The aroma is nice, but the taste is a little lacking on this one.  The after taste is not as pleasant as I thought it would be, but it has that coconut that really gives it some “oooh” factor.  But the lack of a balanced body to this tea kind of doesn’t sit well with me.  I had to put a decent amount of honey to kill the initial shot of bitterness.  I give it six stars.

Day 3: Wednesday, November 4th, 2009.  English Breakfast.  4 stars.
English Breakfast, organic black tea.  A robust, full bodied Assam black tea blend that is maltry, bold, and truly inspired.

Aigo, I accidentally inhaled tea dust again when I went to smell this dry tea.  This particular tea seems considerably less aromatic than both of the other black teas I have tried.  It is interesting because though it is less aromatic, this may have a different effect when it comes to taste.  The other two teas had strong aromatics, but the taste was a little on the tough side, needed a lot of sweetening compensation to make it work.  On the other hand, once sweetened, the natural taste of the tea leaves really were accentuated.  So, we’ll see where this tea is going.  Having poured the water in, this tea immediately turned very dark.  The others took a bit, but this tea looks as though it’s serious.  The resultant aromatics from the tea being in water are pretty minimal, there isn’t much of any smell.  It’s quite amazing, when I pull the special silk tea bag out, the small amount of tea that was at the bottom has blown up to encompass the whole thing!  Crazy.   Yikes!  This tea is REALLY bitter.  There is a ton of body, borderline black coffee feel to it.  After adding some honey to take the edge off, I am wondering if it’s teas like this which make Europe so angry, or the English so angry all the time.  If I had to drink this every morning, I’d be pretty pissed too.  There is no amount of lemon, or honey which will salvage this, but I will not waste the tea’s enriching qualities.  The tea is getting slightly milder as I sip more, but there’s a very odd aftertaste that sort of lingers.  Today, I give English Breakfast four stars.  Not the finest tea… but to those who like a punchy tea taste, with a mild afterburn, it’s not a bad one to choose.

Day 4: Thursday, November 5th, 2009.  Silk Oolong.  5 stars.
Silk Oolong, oolong tea.  This rare, handcrafted, Fujian tea has an astonishing smooth and buttery character.

I can see why they said it has a buttery character.  This is something fatty about the smell.  It has a certain je ne sais quoi where you know something interesting has been added to the mix but you don’t know exactly what it is.  I’m wondering what this will taste like, and what the aroma will be like.  If it’s anything like English Breakfast, it will probably be less biting since it has that careful buttery aroma, but at the same time, in the last 3 days, I have experienced a world of opposites.  Tea that smells extremely aromatic for instance, has a very balanced and light taste, whereas tea that is mild and is lacking a strong aroma, has a very bitter and biting taste.  The quick boil is going, so we’ll see how it pans out in a little while, I have my honey on standby for emergency bitterness intervention.  The tea acts like a sponge.  When I lift the silk tea thingy out, no water falls off, the tea is acting as a sponge, very interesting, this oolong tea.  The tea actually ended up being very mild.  It wasn’t bitter, it tasted like normal tea, but the aftertaste left a “coke-like” feel on the inside of my mouth, which wasn’t very pleasant.  Although I wouldn’t call it a strong tea, I will say that the ’silk’ description is correct.  It is a smooth taste, albeit lacking in aromatics, and a decent balance of taste, the ingredients make it out to be a very smooth and pleasurable experience.  I added a little honey to kick the initial taste, and the sweetness of the honey actually brought out the salty buttery feel that the description had.  Where it wasn’t revolutionary, the tea was at least not horrible.  I give Silk Oolong a 5 star rating today.

Day 5: Friday, November 6th, 2009.  Black Currant.  8.5 stars.
Black Currant, black tea.  Naturally sweet black currant and blackberry leaves infused in Chinese black tea.

This tea, just from the description sounds amazing.  I am excited because it said the word sweet, and said it has blackberry leaves in it.  I love blackberries.  Yum.  The smell is extremely strong, you can really smell the black te ain there, but there is a touch of blackberry and sweetness in there as well.  The aromatics are pretty distinct.  As i said yesterday, usually the teas that smell the best are the ones that taste the most bitter.   So, we shall see how much of an affect the sweet black currant and the blackberry leaves offset the strength of the black tea.  Quick boil is going, and i’m just taking in the nice aroma coming from my expectant starbucks mug… by the way, my starbucks mug is a limited Seattle-only edition mug.  It is extremely large, and very plain… simply says ESTD 1971, STARBUCKS COFFEE CO. on it.  Best mug ever.  If you want one… too bad, they are limited edition… silly Chicagoans and their gaudy excuses for mugs.  Well, the tea is steeping now, and it’s not turning into a dark mess… it’s nice, the tea has a very distinct brown color, doesn’t look like it’s over powering.  I’m excited to see what comes from this.  The initial taste is interesting.  The tea tastes sweet, but definitely the normal black tea taste is there, the strong robust black tea taste that kind of snatches away the sweetness from the blackberry leaves and black currant.  With a little honey to kick the aftertaste, WOW, this tastes excellent now. Just a little honey paired with the black currant and blackberry taste… wow, it’s like this combination that defies all belief.  It’s still not the most amazing tea ever, but it’s definitely got a place among the teas I’d surely like to visit again in the future.  I give this tea an 8.5 rating this morning.  Its cool balance of sweet and the black tea quality are just fantastic.  Really a nice pick me up this morning.

Day 6: Monday, November 9th, 2009.  Formosa Oolong.  4.5 stars.
Formosa Oolong, oolong tea.  The tightly twisted leaves of the finest Formosa oolong steep a light bodied amber liquor.

This particular tea smells exactly as the description says, ‘light bodied.’  There isn’t anything heavy of presumptuous about this particular tea at all.  I am a fan of light bodied teas, and although oolong is not my favorite type of tea, I am interested to see what the description means by amber liquor.  Still, the smell is very subtle, and with the quick boil going, I am more anticipating the physiological effects that the tea will have on my body, more than I am about the taste.  I got about 3 hours of sleep last night, so with that said, ‘zombified’ness has set in, and a caffeine kick from this tea would be fantastic.  Still, it’s never all functional, I still desire for the tea to have a good aromatic balance, as well as be a tea that doesn’t give me bitter tea face.  I eagerly await the coming of the hot water.  Well, the tea is VERY mild, doesn’t taste or smell like much of anything, adding a hint of honey and it tastes alright I guess.  This tea is kind of “whatever.”  It’s not bad definitely, but it’s definitely not anything note worthy.  Almost as if they just had some extra tea lying around and put it in here.  This gets 4.5 stars.  It is unfortunate that the rating is so low, but this tea really is ‘whatever.’

Day 7: Tuesday, November 10th, 2009.  Bombay Chai.  3.5 stars.
Bombay Chai, black tea.  An exotic blend of Indian black teas, cardamom, cinnamon, and ginger root.

So, typically, I am a fan of chai.  I was first introduced to it several summers ago when I tried someone’s chai at CFC Summer School, and I am somewhat excited by what today’s tea will bring.  The tea has pretty strong aromatics.  It’s got very fine particulates, so I expect the tea to be very bold when it’s done steeping.  Interestingly enough, I do see the ginger root in there, and so it looks like it’s shaping up to be a very bold tasting, but not bitter tea, which is what I like.  We shall see.  Quick boil going, pretty excited for this one, we’ll see if it’s misplaced.  This tea looks very serious.  As I was pouring in the water, the water immediately turned into a dark amber color.  It looks like this tea has some serious potency to it.  It smells really good, almost like a dessert cake or something.  Eager to find out what it tastes like apart from any honey added.  OKAY, I was SO WRONG about this tea.  This tea is more bitter than chewing on half dried pavement.  Yikes!  The aroma is so good when you bring the cup up to your mouth, you breathe it in and expect to drink something that tastes delicious, then you taste it, and the bitter tea face follows.  Let’s see what happens when some honey sweetness is entered into the mix.  Okay, so this tea is pretty much getting more awful by the minute.  The addition of the honey has accented the ginger root bitterness, and where the sweetness is there, the aftertaste of the ginger is not at all pleasing with this particular black tea.  I am a big fan of ginger already, but in this context, it’s just not a very palatable blend of ingredients which makes me jump for joy.  If anything, the taste is semi-revolting.  I give this tea the lowest rating I’ve given so far at 3.5 stars.  It just really isn’t what I had hoped for, and I have a pretty open mind… but this is just not delicious at all.

Day 8: Wednesday, November 11th, 2009.  White Ambrosia.  6.5 stars.
White Ambrosia, white tea.  Fine Pai Mu Tan white tea melded with vanilla and slices of tropical coconut.

Wow, this tea in its dry state, smells like straight up potpourri, and I’m not too sure how I feel about that.  I wonder about drinking potpourri strained in hot water, and a bad taste comes to mind.  Still, white tea, though I haven’t had too much experience with it, I’m interested to see what this will taste like.  A strong dry aromatic usually paves the way for a mild or balanced tea taste, but though that is generally true, I’ve been wrong before that’s for sure.  Quick boil going, waiting on my hot water.  I think all in all this box of tea has been enlightening although I’m not sure who would like such an assortment of tea.  Being a love me, I just can’t get behind trying a new tea every day, and this has been a pretty tough experiment for me, trying all of these new things.  Still, today’s tea, it looks as though it’s going to smell really good, but be very interesting tasting when the time comes.  Honey is on stand by.  The tea leaves are much less dense so the silk tea bag is not sinking even after being in there for a while.  Let’s see what this tastes like… hmmm.  Well it tastes like potpourri strained in hot water.  The taste is extremely mild, so I won’t need a lot of honey, but the bitterness of the tea itself is not so bad that it makes me cringe.  Generally however, this particular tea I think is meant for very light applications.  It leaves almost no aftertaste imprint, and is generally pretty mild.  All in all, it’s a pretty pleasant taste with the sweetness added.  Where it’s not super delicious, it at least carries itself as a very passable and pleasant drinking experience.  I give this tea a 6.5 for its lightness and small fingerprint, but where it lacks in taste and in boldness, it lacks in being memorable as well.

Day 9: Thursday, November 12th, 2009.  Estate Darjeeling.  5 stars.
Estate Darjeeling, black tea.  A delicate Darjeeling from the Himalayan foothills accented with floral notes.

I am a little tired this morning, but this tea has a very subtle aroma to it, when it’s dry.  It’s almost a minty type feel, but it’s not mint.  There are definite signs of something in the tea being the kind of thing that could potentially clear your sinuses.  I have been on sort of a not so good run with these teas.  I was really hoping for lots of 8.5+ teas in this box, but it seems like tea is like coffee, in that you can’t just go and get coffee anywhere.  For example, regardless of what people say, Dunkin Donuts coffee sucks.  The mere fact that they have their cream/sugar in liquid form, and it’s made delicious for you doesn’t say anything about the actual coffee content, which I guarantee you is sub par.  Take Espresso Royale for instance, they have a small dominion over coffee on campus, and yet their coffee quality control is out of order.  They have absolutely no consistency procedurally speaking on how to brew or make coffee drinks.  I think in the same way, tea caters itself to a few interesting facts, the first of which is the understanding that most tea is not that great.  And the great teas are the ones you really have to spend some time searching for, and investing in.  On that note, the quick boil going, we’ll see where Estate Darjeeling goes.  I imagine it will present itself well, but will have a solid dry aftertaste.  Honey at the ready.  The tea pretty aggressively diffused itself into the boiling water, but the discoloration is not typical black tea discoloration.  It’s a very clean amber color that is resulting, which is pretty hopeful, since the super dark black teas are usually pretty bad.  Today’s may be a balanced surprise.  Well while I’m waiting for the tea to cool, it smells like burnt tea leaves, so interesting… the aromatics are not that great on this tea.  Okay, well without honey, it tastes pretty blackened to me.  It’s not as harsh as other black teas, but it’s pretty staunch in its own right.  Still, with honey added, this tea is just whatever.  It is like every other tea, except a very strong background aftertaste, yikes.  Estate Darjeeling gets a 5 star rating.

Day 10: Friday, November 13th, 2009.  White Ginger Pear.  8.5 stars.
White Ginger Pear, white tea.  A delicately balanced and quietly exotic blend of white tea, Japanese pear and ginger.

This should be interesting because the last time there was ginger, it kind of took over the taste and it blew up into something that simply did not taste good at all.  So we’ll see what happens.  The smell of this particular tea is nothing short of super pleasant.  But with the other white tea I had a couple of days ago, I’m not expecting much.   Also after ten days of trying out these teas, I am less than impressed by the initial, and post impressions that I got from trying them out.  Where the box itself smells awesome, because it’s just herbs, and teas, and spices, and ginger, and what not, the individual parts of the aromatic giant that is this box of tea leave more to be desired.  Still, with an open mind, I am expecting a light feel to this white tea, and hoping that the japanese pear comes to kick the taste buds a bit.  Honey at the ready in either case.  Quick boil goin’ strong, waitin’ on the water.  Right away the smell of dried pear being brought back to life is pretty strong, but I’m not sure how I like the smell paired with ginger.  It’s starting to smell like medicine, more than tea.  Okay, well the tea by itself is quite good!  I’m surprised.  The pear and the ginger actually compliment each other well and the aftertaste is very mild and without pretense.  Now, I’ve added a little honey to give it a little sweetness, and I didn’t have to put a lot of it in, and it is really quite nice.  A very fine balanced taste.  This was a very good surprise.  Today’s tea gets a solid 8.5 stars.

Day 11: Tuesday, November 17th, 2009.  Flora.  8 stars.
Flora, herbal tea.  A luscious ruby red blend of crimson hibiscus flowers, cinnamon sticks and licorice root.

I am beginning to see a very real connection between ginger and tea.  They seem to put it in a lot of teas, as a matter of killing off the aftertaste, will accentuating the natural sweetness of certain herbs.  Still, sometimes the ginger has been overkill, and as I smell this tea, which incidentally has HUGE leaves in it, and not small tea leaves, I am interested to see what will come from this very mild aroma.  As a matter of taste, larger tea leaves usually leave a much more bitter feel in my mouth, but again, I’ve been wrong.  Quick boil is going and we’ll see what happens.  Hopefully the big pieces of ginger I see in there will not adversely affect the taste, like that one tea a few days ago, blech.  WHOAAAAA… this tea is steeping a green color, and now I’m watching a brown color slowly oozing out into the green… OH WOW, now a RED color is seeping out… OMG, so crazy!  It steeps green at first, then a brown oozes out, and now a deep red, almost blood red color is oozing out.  Timed differences in the hygroscopic properties of the different ingredients in this tea, it’s like a time dependent release mechanism.  Very cool!  It smells like normal tea though, nothing special about the aromatics, but sometimes the most simple tea smells are the ones that taste the best, and give you the best tea experience.  We’ll see what happens when it cools down.  Well, the color now is a burgundy, brown color.  It’s starting to smell much fuller.  Let’s see what a taste shows.  Well, a taste of the tea, yielded a very strong sweet SMELL immediately, but a bitter taste that was not unbearable, but was not really desirable.  The lemongrass is there for sure, but it’s just lacking.  Let’s see what honey does.  WHOAAAA… insane!  The lemon really comes out with the honey added, and the flavor is like… very interesting.  Hummm!  The ginger and lemon together and mixing with the very balanced nature of the aroma, and it’s really quite interesting.  Now, I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily refreshing or super delicious, but it’s definitely getting marks for being a very innovative taste.  Today, Flora gets 8 stars.  Floating pieces of lemon in my tea, wow, pretty cool.  It’s got almost a creamy taste.  Not so great after taste, but it’s delicious.

Day 12: Wednesday, November 18th, 2009.  Lemon Ginger.  6 stars.
Lemon Ginger, herbal tea. A citrusy infusion of spring lemongrass balanced with a soft ginger note.

Alright… here we go.  This tea smells like exactly the way it is called.  Lemon ginger.  I expect it to be very bright tasting, and having a pretty solid citrusy taste to it even without honey.  The citrus should help a lot when paired up with honey, but we’ll see how it fares before it goes live with the honey.  I am most intrigued by the thought of having lemon grass and ginger only, as the infused parts of this tea.  It’s interesting because you’d ordinarily think of tea leaves being tea leaves, but this tea is made up of only grass and ginger.  We will see what happens when we bring out the flavors and aroma with some hot water.  Quick boil going, just waiting on it in anticipation.  I think today’s will be pretty good, at least, I hope so, pretty good meaning 6.5 or above, but what do I know.  I thought something was going to be a 9, and it ended up being sub par.  This tea is so green, it is the greenest tea I’ve seen next to the purest green tea.  I can see the lemongrass and the ginger blowing up as it sucks up the water and diffuses its goodness.  Hopefully this isn’t a bust.  My first taste was less than stellar.  This tastes like lemon and grass, diffused into hot water… literally.  We’ll see if the honey brings anything out.  Yes it does in fact.  The taste is really quite balanced now.  I’m not too fond of the ginger in tea to be honest, but it’s alright I guess.  I give this tea a 6 for being mediocre tasting, and literally tasting like dirt + lemon without any honey.

Day 13: Thursday, November 19th, 2009.  Chamomile Tisane.  8.5 stars.
Chamomile Tisane, herbal tea.  Natrually soothing chamomile flowers, orange peel and vanilla steep a gentle brew.

For a lack of a better explanation, this tea smells like the way it is described.  I’m running on empty right now, so I’m just gonna get straight to it, and see what happens.  These teas have no caffeine in them, so they don’t really help too much, but hopefully there will be some super natural awesomeness to this particular tea.  The tea bag exploded when the water hit, not literally, but the contents inside all expanded a good 250% in volume.  Pretty incredible.  It’s steeping a very rich green color.  The orange peel should add something interesting, but I don’t know how I feel about drinking chamomile flowers.  Maybe I have undue prejudice against chamomile in tea, but we shall see what comes of this tea when it cools down.  Honey at the ready.  Well, it tastes pretty bad without honey.  Very few teas really taste good without some kind of sweetening, but we’ll see what happens with a little honey.  The orange peel is very discernable, as is the Chamomile.  Pretty substantial smell there.  Wow, when you add just a little honey, this tea turns into an enlightening drink.  I am very pleased right now.  It’s light, clean, fresh tasting, and doesn’t leave a bad after taste.  It’s quite pleasant. The word there is pleaesant.  It is just a pleasant taste, not a presumptuous, ‘listen to me’ taste, but a very cool and collected taste.  I am all about balance and mildness, this tea gets 8.5 stars.

Day 14: Friday, November 20th, 2009.  African Solstice.  7.5 stars.
African Solstice, herbal tea.  Antioxidant rich, South African rooibos blended with wildberries and a hint of vanilla.

So this is either going to taste really great, or be kind of a weird combination of sweet and bitter that is not good.  There’s definitely an interesting twist here as I have no idea what African rooibos is.  WOW, this tea, dry, smells like candy, like gummy bears.  Very interesting.  It seems their goal with this tea is to put off a sweet initial taste, hopefully the sweetness lingers on the finish as well.  The quick boil is going and we shall see what happens!  This tea smells very sweet, very sweet, and everything inside the silk teabag is exploding and sucking in water.  Man the smell is filling up my office, but it’s a very nice musky sweet smell.  When it cools we shall see how it fares against the taste buds.  The tea itself is not very absorbant, but it does have a lot of potency to diffuse into the water.  Very interesting.  Well it’s pretty bitter unfortunately, and the sweetness is just a tad on the finish, so looks like honey is being called in yet again.  Well, the taste is pretty musky, very heavy sweetness that gets incorporated.  I think it’s a bit heavy for my personal taste, but generally it’s okay I guess. Kind of an okay rating today at 7.5 stars.

Day 15: Monday, November 30th, 2009.  Sencha.  5 stars.
Sencha, organic green tea.  Japan’s finest Sencha green tea is steamed and pan fried.  Steeps to a pale and delicate cup.

This should be interesting.  I’ve been meaning to get to all the green teas in this bunch, cuz I love green tea.  We will see where this goes.  It has a very clean smell and aroma dry.  When it comes down to it, we’ll see if this is a bitter relentless tea, or a balanced tea that could use a little honey for a slight kick.  Who knows.  Green tea has been all over the place with me in the last 2 years.  But with all the tea that I’ve been drinking, it’ll be nice to get a nice solid green tea to drink this afternoon.  Well, it steeped a very green color, and now the first taste… is very green tea-y.  Not much bite, but not too much aftertaste either.  I like it.  Let’s see what a little honey does.  Blech… =/  5 stars today.

Day 16: Tuesday, December 1st, 2009.   Jasmine Green. 5.5 stars.
Jasmine Green, organic green tea.  This prized green tea is scented with enchanting nightblooming jasmine flowers.

I take the description to mean many things, but it says prized green tea, which means that is has to be ownage.  It smells very balanced dry, and seems to have a solid hint of jasmine in it.  I am a little skeptical as yesterday’s green tea which was supposed to be Japan’s finest, was an absolute fail.  It was worse tasting and had a terrible after bite that even lipton’s green tea could beat.  Still, this green tea is supposedly prized, so I’m moving forward with confidence that it’s pretty good.  Quick boil going, we’ll see how true it is indeed.  The steeping aroma is nice, just a balance of green and jasmine.  It’s very strong.  But let’s see what it’s like straight up.  It’s actually pretty good.  I’d give it a decent grade straight up, almost like restaurant type green tea, except it’s darker, richer.  Needing some sweetness on this one.  Well with a little honey added, it does have a certain edge to it, but the Jasmine is really coming out strongly, more so than the green.  I’m not sure how I feel about that since this is a Green tea at heart first.  A better balance would have been nice.  I’m feeling a 5.5 stars on this one.

Day 17: Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009.   Citrus Mint.  6 stars.
Citrus Mint, herbal tea.  A brilliant peppermint infusion with lemon peel and refreshing citrus notes.

This tea doesn’t smell like much in it’s non steeped state, but I know there’s a lot of punch packed into it.  Any time you take lemon zest and citrus anything, you’re bound for a very good tea.  I think with the addition of honey this tea should be one of my more favorite ones.  The tartness of the lemon zest should bring out the sweetness of the honey and also bring out the cirtrus tea elements as well.  We’ll see what happens.  I think generally I have been loathing the tea a little bit, but all in all, the teas, with the exception of just a few, have been pretty average.  This is to be expected for any tea sampler, but there is definitely a few gold mines which I think are worth investigating further, maybe drinking more on a consistent basis.  Still, I do miss the cleanliness of Tazo’s Zen Green tea, these teas offer a very notable change in the last month of trying them out.  We’ll see where this tea goes.  I have high hopes, but I’ve had high hopes before!  The tea is steeping a very intense green color, and it smells like something sweet.  It should be a very interesting surprise after it cools a bit.  Well, steeped with no honey it tastes like herbal tea… smells great, tastes like nothing.  Hmm… an interesting balance, it’s not bad… since it’s going down smooth, I’m a happy camper.  Giving Citrus Mint a nice 6 stars today.

Day 18: Tuesday, December 8th, 2009.  Coco Truffle.  3.5 stars.
Coco Truffle, herbal tea.  Cacao beans infused with fennel, licorice, and cardamom create a rich chocolaty treat.

I’m not about to assume that this tea is going to taste like some kind of chocolate delight.  I am sadly very disappointed that they’d even attempt such a thing.  To bring chocolate into the whole realm of tea is not something that strikes me as a great idea.  Since this is labeled as an herbal tea, it’s one that doesn’t have any kind of immediate distinction like a black tea, white tea, or green tea.  But since we’re bashing through barriers here, I will give this one a chance.  The smell is mild, there is a hint of every ingredient mentioned in the description.  Ehh… we’ll see!  Ehhhhh… I poured the water and it smells very neut-ggi-hae, but i’m gonna keep an open mind.  I do not like the chocolate smell, it reminds me of NesQuik being mixed with water, and there not being enough NesQuik, and then you get nasty chocolate water.  BUT, this is TEA, so I will evaluate it as such.  Well, it’s pretty bad by itself… it doesn’t really smell all that great either.  Let’s see how it fares with some sweetness added.  Well, with honey, this is definitely not bad.  There’s a very slight chocolate taste after the honey taste hits you, but I gotta say, by itself, this tea does not stand alone at all.  I absolutely want to give it a 1 star rating without honey, although with honey it’s a normal tea, maybe a 5.5.  My overall experience with it has not been great though, and tea must learn to stand alone as well.  Going with a 3.5 star rating for this tea.

Day 19: Wednesday, December 9th, 2009.  Raspberry Nectar.  9 stars.
Raspberry Nectar, herbal tea.  Succulent raspberries and hibiscus brew a sweet, fruity and full-bodied cup.

Well this tea smells great dry, and I’m pretty excited for it from the description. Raspberries are one of my favorite fruits, so I’m pretty interested to see how everything will mesh together in this tea.  Quick boil is going.  I am interested to see what they mean by full bodied.  I am certain that this tea will require some honey either way, but the aftertastes should really coincide with one another giving a good balance to the full bodied taste that I am expecting from this.  Still it is curious what will come of this.  I’ve been wrong before about a tea, whose description sounded great.  We’ll see what happens.  The tea is steeping a very slate-like color, and the raspberries are bleeding, very nice.  Actually they are bleeding quite a bit now.  Wow, so this tea at face value was good, and now when I’m drinking it with no sweetness added, it’s still pretty good.  The taste is generally good where I’m not getting some kind of bitter after taste.  Now with honey… wow this is quite the tea. The balance of the herbal elements is really top notch.  This is probably my favorite tea thus far, and the only thing that’s keeping me from giving it a 9+ rating is the fact that it’s not healthy for you, it’s just herbal tea.  It would be interesting to find a blend of green tea with this kind of raspberry infusion.  Perhaps a project for the winter weeks.  I give Raspberry Nectar a 9.0.

Day 20: Thursday, December 10th, 2009.  Green Tango.  7 stars.
Green Tango, green tea.  Green tea and deliciously fragrant mangoes meld into a seductive infusion.

Well these are my two favorite things in the world.  Green tea and mangoes.  I wonder what is going to come of this.  This could very well be my favorite tea out of all 20, but it seems that from my initial wafting of the dry tea smell, I am very pleased.  There are dried mangoes in there along with some nice green tea, and it’s going to be interesting what kind of taste comes off of this.  I know for sure the tea will have a good aftertaste with the mango present, but there’s definitely a mystery as to how this tea will taste by itself.  We shall see how it goes down.  Quick boil going.  The tea is pretty good on its own for sure.  I could drink it with no honey, but what fun is that?  Well with honey it’s pretty good too.  The mango is not as strong as I think I wanted, but it’s not bad at all.  I have nothing to say other than this is a solid green tea, although it’s not bursting with deliciousness like I expected, it’s a good kicker for the late morning to keep me going for the rest of the day.  This tea gets a 7.

1st Corinthians 14:7 – 8

1st Corinthians 14:7 – 8.

7 If even lifeless instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is played? 8 And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle?

Well today’s weather is pretty much the pits, not anything that is pleasant by any means.  Blizzard type weather, although it’s not terrible in the amount of snow there is, it’s more so just crazy winds and a ton of getting blown from one side of the road to the other.  We’re in a crazy time!  The weather is changing!  Here we go!  I’ve been much hungrier for the Word these days.  It’s been very encouraging.  Every morning I just want to read the Word, and get deep!  I wish I could get deeper than I do, but it all comes with time spent in the Word, getting used to really digging at it.  After yesterday’s message about bringing relevant and having a mindset that wishes to take personal realization of God, and make it something shared and known to others, Paul continues that thought using a few analogies.  And these are some analogies that I can really get behind.

If even lifeless instruments… do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is played?  There is a lot of truth to this.  Instruments in themselves are just lifeless things, like a bowl or spoon.  Without use by someone who knows how to use them, they remain lifeless inanimate things.  In order for these things to be given life and to be given the ability to have impact, they must have someone playing them.  I think that’s really relevant from yesterday’s thought.  It’s crazy because it’s as if knowledge of God, in it of itself is simply not enough for anything.  Anyone can know things about God, anyone can read enough, memorize enough and have some semblance of who God is by a literary context, but in order for that knowledge to come alive, it must first enter a heart that is alive in the Spirit.  It is the human factor, the relationship that we have with the truth in Christ, that gives the gospel message its distinctness and power. 

This is a very great thought because it shows that we do have quite a bit of blessing in our lives, if we only would get out of the way and allow it to take our lives and use us.  In essence, how will anyone know what the gospel message is, and how real it is, if we are keeping these things to ourselves, if we are keeping the revelations of God to ourselves.  We become lifeless instruments.  Much potential, but not utilized.  I think this is a really sad thing.  When I examine my life, I can see myself being someone who is a lifeless instrument, and being a musician, this really hits home, because an instrument has so much potential to aid in this type of work, and yet to be not utilized because of my lifelessness caused by holding in these revelations of God that I have… it’s a sad thing. 

I just have to fight to change my reaction to these things I’m learning about myself, and about who God is, and the character of God.  I do not want to be a lifeless instrument not giving distinct notes, nor one that gives an inconsistent sound such that those around me cannot be geared up for battle.

1st Corinthians 14:6

1st Corinthians 14:6.

6 Now, brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching?

I think the word here this morning is “revelation…” remembering yesterday that to define prophesy is some personal realization that you have about God, which you then use your own words to convey and teach to others.  It is for this reason that when someone teaches with their own words, or prophesies with their own words, it is something we must test and evaluate against the Word as we cannot accept it at face value like we could if we read things straight out of the Word.  Here Paul continues to stress the importance of merely taking the specific gift of tongues and making it something that will be of value for the body.  Where speaking in tongues is a very personal and one on one type of communication between you and God, Paul’s stress here is to not forget about the need to bring revelation and prophesy into the life of people around you, as you experience more of Christ through speaking in tongues, or other experiences in your life.

There’s a very “body” oriented feel to this book as there should be.  Paul’s admonishment of the church at Corinth for this entire book has been touching many aspects of understanding the body, and I think that same theme is playing through here.  If we are not people who love each other, and love each other enough to speak truth into each other’s lives about who God is, then we are doing the body no service.  If the way we live our lives, and the things that we say, and the realizations of God in our lives are kept to ourselves, we’re living a very selfish life.  I think the tone here is very clear, don’t be selfish with the blessings you have been given.  This means in the spiritual gift side, it could mean in the ways God has given you skills or talents, and could also be interpreted as having revelations about who God is.  In all of those things, we are to benefit the body, something that can help teach, admonish, encourage, rebuke, and restore. 

Now my personal consideration on this topic is that this is simply not done enough. And this is one thing that culturally speaking all churches struggle with.  The inherent selfishness in our hearts has us bound to the things that we value the most, prizing it the most, holding on to it the most, in essence hiding it the most.  When David danced and said that he could be more undignified than this, that was an outpour of worship to God, in whatever way he could muster.  In the same way, if we are found to be hoarding blessings, or hoarding our understandings of the Word, instead of really using those things of God, to encourage and build the body, then we are not living the kind of love that Paul spoke about in 1st Corinthians 13.  This is definitely a call that is a next step to the call to love, a practical step.  I must not be ashamed of the gospel, or the working of God in my life, nor should I be the one that takes blessings and gifts in my life and hoards them as if they are mine.

I am simply reminded this morning that everything belongs to the Lord, including my life.  I must fight to live with that truth being more than head knowledge.  I must fight to live with that truth being the foundation basis of everything I have and everything I do.  It is all for Him, through Him, and to Him.  I think with that heart, can come the costly worship that I long so much to have these days.  Must live sacrificially.

1st Corinthians 14:3 – 5

1st Corinthians 14:3 – 5.

3 On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. 4 The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. 5 Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.

It’s important to understand what is meant here by prophesy.  Prophesy can be a very loaded word, that people can get the wrong idea about all the time, but in its purest form, the word prophesy relates to having something of God, some aspect of God, some realization of God in your heart, and then using words of man to describe that realization.  Now because it is the sinful language of man we’re talking about here, everything that is said by someone must be checked, and challenged always.  We must not go into church and ever assume that everything the speaker is saying is sound before God, no instead, the speaker is prophesying and in turn we are to listen, evaluate, and check against what we know to be truth, the Word of God. 

Sigh… upbuilding, encouragement, consolation… so that the church may be built up…
Blah… I have to repent.

1st Corinthians 14:2

1st Corinthians 14:2.

2 For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit.

It’s very clear that speaking in tongues is something understood by God and not to man.  The truth of the matter is that sometimes, words are simply not enough.  There have been lots of times in my life when I’ve been trying to consider the words to say, the combination of whatever vocabulary words I could muster, and still it wasn’t enough.  I am reminded of “cannot say enough,” where pretty much it is declared that words are not enough, what can be said is not enough, but even though our language is not enough, we still praise and glorify our God, though we cannot say enough about how awesome God is.  And I think this is very clear direction from Paul, understanding that the uttering of tongues from men, though they are not understood by men, is something that God understands.

This is very interesting because it shows that there’s a level of personal interaction we have with Christ.  Sometimes, the utterances we have in prayer or worship are the gift of tongues, but if you don’t happen to have that gift, that doesn’t negate any level of deep passion in your heart for Christ.  If anything, God is listening to your heart, and though one instance of not having words is audible and lingual to an extent, the fact of the matter is, God is one that looks at the heart, and the utterances of the heart, in its incapacity to articulate thankfulness, and the sheer awesomeness that is God, is no different in His ears.  Paul is merely stating a practical fact about those speaking in tongues at the church in Corinth.  The distinction should be made here that the existence of this spiritual gift is not consequent of being a super spiritual person.  Many relate the two, but God is one that examines the heart.  Though practically Paul writes this to instruct on the spiritual gift on tongues, God’s ear is tuned to our hearts.

I’m encouraged because no matter who you are… you can utter mysteries in the Spirit.  And that is our common bond, though we may all differ in the gifts we were given by God.

1st Corinthians 14:1

1st Corinthians 14:1.

14:1 Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.

After having spent an entire chapter on love, Paul brings another concept into the mix.  We’ve been through a long understanding of what biblical love is, but more specifically, what God’s love is like.  And now the call is for us to pursue love, and Paul pairs this now with the earnest desire for spiritual gifts, with a strong emphasis on prophesy.  There is a strong emphasis I place on the word “pursue.”  To pursue is not merely to meander after, or to follow or sort of put some half effort into doing, but pursuing is an action of deliberate, purposeful, and very specific nature.  One does not pursue something unless they have full motivation to do so.  One does not pursue something unless they are absolutely sure of it’s worth.

Now, that is the kicker, being absolutely sure of the worth in having love in your heart… the world says, why love?  The world says make money, be happy, fulfill every selfish desire you have and do so without reservation.  Sacrificial living, and real biblical love, is not in the common cultural vernacular of the world in which we live in today.  With that said, this call to pursue love is one that is absolutely not how the world operates.  Instead of stepping on everyone to get what you want, you sacrificially give all you can, as a matter of showing the love of Christ to other people.  To pursue the kind of love that 1st Corinthians 13 talks about is none other than one of the most difficult things a believer MUST do.  Without pursuing the kind of Christ-like love that is described there, we have no hope in being salt and light in this earth. 

Like anything else in this world, the things that stick out are the things that are different.  But even more, God has made it so that the things that stick out are the things THAT ARE TRUE.  And though people scoff and mock Christianity, and the message of restoration and salvation through Christ, there is no denying the truth and reality that is the Word of God, and the message of the gospel.  One day, Jesus will return, and because we know the coming of His kingdom is one of absolute fact, the way in which we live our lives through that reality really dictates our effectiveness.  There is a reason why Paul emphasizes pursuing love, I wish I could just get that message, which I know in my head, into my heart.  It’s really frustrating sometimes that it’s so difficult.

1st Corinthians 13:14

1st Corinthians 13:13.

13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

I think more and more this is becoming an increasingly more difficult thing for me to live out in my life.  I am a little amazed, because I feel like as I grew in my faith, this would become easier.  But it is sometimes easier for me to have faith, and hope, more than it is for me to have love.  The kicker here is that faith and hope are usually mostly devoted to our understanding of God’s character.  The object of my faith is in the character of who God is, knowing He is good, knowing He will provide, knowing He is working, and being able to really fall back on that at any time.  Hope is also a function of understanding God’s character, knowing that because He is good, there is hope in any circumstance in life, no matter how bleak, no matter how evil, I know that God is working to bring more glory to Himself, and for others to see that glory. 

But love, now this is one that in scripture it basically equates loving people with loving God.  One cannot love God without first being able to love people.  And the greatest of these things is love.  The development of faith, and hope can come easier as it pertains to a lot of knowledge you get as you read the Word.  But the development of love, is not really something that can be developed past the fight we have in our hearts, but even that is something that the Spirit generates within us.  I have been realizing more and more the difficulty I have in really dying to myself.  Though I have gotten much better at letting things go, and really trying to see things from other people’s shoes, the level by which people need love these days… it’s just the kind of love that takes every part of you and requires the highest levels of spiritual discipline, paired with the heart of God being alive in you.

The greatest of these is love, in that the realization of how we relate to others is a reflection of how we love our God.  I cannot be content with 2 out of 3, nor can I expect to have any impact in the kingdom.  It’s interesting because the capacity to love comes from having faith and hope in the character of God.  Though I know I am incapable of it, I know that God gives that capability and strength to sacrificially die, so that others may experience the love of Christ through me.  I wish I could just get my selfish heart out of the way of what God’s trying to do… gotta fight more than I have been.

Why I Cannot Enjoy Glee…

I think there is a certain charm to this show.  I was hanging out with some awesome cool people, aka, farpar2 people + ashcho, and I watched my first glee episode yesterday.  My initial impressions were pretty poor.  I am a fan of the concept, music, and I love that the characters are actual singers, and broadway people.  The story lines were pretty interesting, lots of side stories, and some incredulous acting by some of the non singers.  I’d say in general, the acting was sub par by all the supporting cast, meaning the non-singing cast is pretty much like soap opera type acting.  That one gym lady who’s all pissed at everyone, she’s just totally over acting, and anyone who spoke to another staff member with that level of biggotry and intolerance would be fired in an heartbeat.  So, immediately, I wasn’t very keen on the whole reality aspect of the show, as it wasn’t believable that such a person would be allowed to persist in a working environment, especially one dealing with kids who need loving and nurturing.  I guess believability is important to me, and there was too much unbelievability in the plot circumstances in many of those non-singing side characters.  I also thought it interesting that high school was depicted as a place where there was still such a strong ‘interest struggle’ or ‘popularity struggle.’  Even when I was in high school there was a great deal of tolerance for everyone.  People hung out with people who they identified with, and if you didn’t identify with someone you just left them alone.  The whole idea of defacing the glee club picture every year or threatening students, or giving swirlies, or whatever, those days have been long gone for decades.  If anything, kids treat their friends well, and treat everyone else with a sort of mild neglect.  These are blanket statements of course, and there are always those who don’t fit the pattern, but I think generally, even from my high school experience being involved with the whole gamut of activities, this was not an accurate portrayal at all.

From a musical standpoint, I love how glee incorporates a very musical-type feel into the story.  I’m a big fan of that for sure.  You can’t go wrong with singing ballads.  Can’t go wrong with singing about your problems, and singing about what comes to mind, sometimes music and singing is the only way to get it all out.  I think conceptually the whole show is a great idea.  Even with the bad acting and overzealous plot writing in the story line that I talked about, I would be okay with the show if the execution was done right, and sadly, at least to my standard it is not.   I am saddened that they took the cinema approach to musicals.  When there is lots of ambient noise from people russling around and moving, there’s dialogue, etc., then suddenly the ambient noise goes to zero, and we hear a dubbed in studio recording, and the actors and actresses lip syncing to their own track.  HOW SAD IS THAT?  These kids are incredibly talented musicians, and broadway trained for that matter, and still, they opt for studio recording dubbing and lip syncing… why do they do that?  Even if it’s a song being sung amidst the busy hall way of school, there are ways to mic someone to isolate the sound and keep it pristine clear, while maintaining a semblance of “live”ness.  And that folks is a deal breaker for me.  Dubbing people’s studio recordings over a lipsyncing video track is just too horrific.  Where the music itself, the talent itself, is great, I am utterly disappointed that they did not take these kids at their full worth as musicians, and instead, stuck live talent, into a life-less noise cancelled, empty studio environment.  I can’t help but feel like the very essence of what this show was meant to do, which was to bring a broadway live feel to a tv drama, was completely lost.  No one goes to a broadway show, and listens to dubbed recordings of the singers on stage while they lip sync.  The live-ness, the imminentness of the singing and music is what gives it life.  To simply take that idea, the life behind the musical numbers they sing, and strip it of all of it’s urgent, and imminent power, it’s just an earsore, and an eyesore.

So, in the end, what could have been a really great drama, has turned out to be such a huge flop… for me at least.  I detest the cheapening of talent, especially talent that was formed, bred, and trained for exactly the live sound they were looking for, only to be subdued and ruined by the lifeless, reverbless, presenceless studio recordings they lip sync to on the show.  Much talent these kids have, and what a shame that it is dumbed down… it could have been so much more.  I think people generally love the show, and either can’t tell that it’s dubbed studio recordings, or they don’t care.  I guess that’s just a deal breaker for me.  Can’t say more than that, other than that’s why I cannot enjoy this show and will not be pursuing it much.

1st Corinthians 13:12

1st Corinthians 13:12.

12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

I looked up some additional context on this passage, and it was interesting what they had to say about how mirrors were constructed, and how difficult it was to see using old mirrors.  Old mirrors were made of bronze and were typically lacking the appropriate luster required to get a good reflection, not to mention the difficulty there was in maintaining a distortionless reflection.  The slightest imperfection in the bronze would cause the image to be distorted, much like novelty mirrors do today.  I think it’s interesting that in that time, it was difficult to see using a mirror, and today mirrors are just about as accurate a representation of truth and reflection as we can get.  But what is VERY interesting about this particular verse is the fact that a mirror is used to see self, and the comparison here is how we see self with a mirror, but then seeing Jesus face to face when He comes again.

It’s curious that the comparison of visibility should be found in the dim and very difficult to view reflection of self in a bronze mirror, compared to seeing not self, but Jesus face to face in perfect clarity.  I think this is not by mistake.  As I look at the context of this chapter, Paul is really admonishing the church at Corinth to see a much wider and bigger perspective of what Christ’s love is like for us, as he describes it through how we should relate to others.  With that said, the context has always been taking eyes off of self, and looking to others.  Taking ourselves out of our own agendas and understandings, and putting ourselves into the shoes of others to fully understand and grasp their perspectives, as it aids us to love relevantly.  In this case, I see a corollary understanding in this mirror illustration of how the mystery of Christ’s love being made fully aware to us when Jesus returns. 

Loving in the context of this chapter has been really showing the equation that loving people is loving God.  How do you love God more?  You love people.  But here, we see a direct “but then face to face,” phrase.  I dunno, I could on and on about this, but this verse could literally mean the entire mystery of the character of God, that we are learning day by day, will all become clear, even as some of it has become clear in part.  Paul writes this thinking that it will be impactful to those at the church at Corinth, and it’s interesting that it should become something that today, we are not motivated by… we will one day know fully, face to face… and where that may have been impactful thousands of years ago, why is knowing our God fully in His awesome love and character, suddenly a non-motivation.  The level by which my heart has been desensitized by outlandish promises of this world to bring me contentment and satisfaction, is a very sad thing indeed.  Returning to my first love, and anticipating knowing Him in His full greatness… I really am looking forward to that, because this world has only cheap substitutes that last but for a moment, only to be reminded that we are empty again a moment later.

Gotta feast on the bread of life, and on His fountain that never goes dry.

Youth Group Bowling Tournament 2009

The YG Tournament happened just a couple of days ago, here are a few picture selections. 
Full gallery available at http://danleedotcom.smugmug.com.

The one and only Sungjoon Cho…

James and Jess showing some SG + team love…

farpar2 strikes out!  cuteeee =)  courtesy of Melanie Shin Photography.

Fantastic shot courtesy of Melanie Shin Photography.  Lovin’ it…

farpar1 leaders minus 1.

Eager listeners… Kyeon fresh from East Asia… hasn’t slept in 2 days, yet still alive and awake for the likes of bowling…

Nick Joe is one of those curious guys… you just wonder about him all the time… knowledge is power…

Candid shots yield some of the best smiles… and the biggest pranksters… nice Jacob…

Jisoo… dude, I wish my hair looked like Jisoo’s… looks so cool… =(

See… my teammates love me… Justina shows her undying support for her SG leader, and bowling captain…

More photos from the mom/dad and children team…

One happy family =)

Unity… =)

Before the tournament begins, Joe serenades us with a little singing action…

No he didn’t really sing, but it looks like he did… Joe brings the vision and purpose of the tournament here… well spoken =)

Back to the continuing support of my team…

One more of team farpar2 =).  We are too cute… =)

Jo Park breaks a smile… former BIFF teammate… she’s not here to bowl, she’s here to support the youth group… holla!

No comment…

Some other teams caught me for a picture =)

Again, no comment… there is some divisiveness here?

Another team… had some exciting times in this group =)

Here’s some random love going on… dunno what exactly, but it looks brotherly…

Eddie explains the layout, and the playoff bracket selection…

Some photos from the waiting period…

These are great photos… people just look funny…

John Han is not taking anyone’s crap… intently he looks at the board… waiting…

Unji decides to be a comedian here =).  Ben still trying to recover from sleepless nights in dreaming preparation for YG Tourney…

James Cho shoots a quick look at me, John Kim shooting a coy look… and James with the open mouth smile action…

The old people sit quietly, while others sing “you are my sunshine… my only sunshine…” =)

Russell joins the comedian club… actually if you look around, some more there are some hilarious faces… John Han continues to express his utter focus… nothing will get in the way of him and seeing that board…

Well that’s that.  YG tourney was great… sorry there wasn’t much variety to these shots, but ya knowssssss… what can ya do?