Allyson Whipple

Tag: july

  • The Best of It: Weekend Adventures Edition

    The Best of It: Weekend Adventures Edition

    1. Mushroom foraging at the cabin
    2. Summer dinner parties with good friends
    3. Summer cheese boards
    4. Celebrating Bastille Day
    5. Hikes and picnics in state parks
  • Five Strategies for Completing the Buson Challenge

    Five Strategies for Completing the Buson Challenge

    Last week, after at least five failed attempts over the past four years, I finally completed the Buson Challenge. The goal of this challenge is to write 10 haiku a day for 100 days. Other than that, there aren’t many guidelines, though you can hear Mike Rehling talk a bit about it in his 2020 HSA conference talk here: YouTube link. 

    Even if you dare to write badly, writing that many haiku in that short a time is difficult. So if you think you want to give this a try, read on for some tips that finally helped me make it to the finish line.

    1. Get a challenge buddy

    This attempt at the Buson Challenge was the first one where I put out the call for an accountability partner. I found one in the haiku Discord group I’m part of; we started on the same day, and occasionally sent each other updates and drafts. We didn’t check in every day, but just often enough to keep each other motivated and on track. Knowing there was another person in it with me helped me stay focused. Plus, I appreciated having someone to share both my good and bad writing days, who really knew what it was like to not feel the creative spark but to show up and write anyway. Even when your community is small, having community at all is a game-changer.

    2. Don’t overthink it

    Most days, you’re going to write at least a few haiku that are duds. That’s okay. If you get too hung up on trying to write 10 absolutely skillful poems a day, I think you’re going to struggle unnecessarily. Don’t worry if they’re good enough; just write them down. If, after your 10 poems, you have a creative burst and want to write more, write more; you don’t have to limit yourself if your creativity becomes completely unbridled. Don’t worry if you think you’re repeating yourself thematically (you probably are). Don’t worry if your haiku feel repetitive; sometimes that might be true, but sometimes it might just be your perception after trying to write so many haiku. Just get the writing done. All you have to do is write 10 haiku a day. Let that be good enough. 

    3. Have a tracking system

    When you’re trying to do something every day for an extended period of time, having some sort of tracker helps you stay organized and on track. You can do whatever you want; in the past, I’ve just used a spreadsheet with the day and the number of poems I managed to write. This time around, I set up the tracker in my bullet journal. I I had the date, what day of the challenge it was, and the number of poems I wrote that day. I also had a space to keep track of my extras (described below). Using the tracker made it easier for me to remember what day I was on and to keep myself motivated. It wasn’t just an organizational tool; it was a concrete depiction of my challenge progress. 

    4. Bank your extras

    You might think that there’s no possible way that you might write more than 10 haiku a day. I know I was surprised when one morning, I attended a haiku group and drafted 14 poems during the writing period. On one particularly emotional day, I drafted 23 haiku and senryu. Days when I drafted more than 10 were few and far between; I only wrote extra pieces on 6 out of 100 days. Still, those extras mattered. While one of my challenge buddies chose to apply their extras to the next day (so if they wrote 12 one day, they only had to write 8 the next day), I chose to bank mine for days when things didn’t go as planned. I kept a running record of how many extras I had in my haiku bank, and on one of the 7 days I didn’t manage to write 10 poems, I simply applied the extras toward that day, and adjusted my banked amount accordingly. I still completed the challenge with 13 extras! 

    5. Plan a reward

    In theory, writing 1,000 haiku in just over 3 months would be a reward unto itself. However, sometimes you don’t just need a finish line; you need a shiny trophy at the end of it. So decide how you’re going to celebrate. Maybe you’ll buy a new notebook (since this challenge is a great way to fill all those half-used ones lying around), or a haiku anthology you’ve had your eye on. I decided to make myself a set of stickers for crossing the finish line. Making myself a medal wasn’t practical, but stickers sure were! And the best part is, they’re easy to share! I’m mailing them out to my challenge buddies. (If you’ve completed this challenge in the past and would like a sticker, I’m happy to mail you some as well! Just message me at my contact form.)

    While the Buson challenge could be considered a once-in-a-lifetime writing event, I actually find myself wanting to try yet again. I’ve decided I’ll start another round on January 1st, 2025. Starting the new year with a big writing challenge sounds fun. I’ll be posting more about those plans in December to keep those who want to join me in the loop.

  • The Earl Grey Year Part 13: Four More Special Variations

    The Earl Grey Year Part 13: Four More Special Variations

    Last week, I reached the minimum number of teas I needed to stay on track for July. With that, I’ve taken a little break, though I’m sure I’ll taste a few more teas this month. I do like staying ahead of schedule, after all. 

    When I was planning this post, I noticed that I had a number of un-reviewed special variations in my writing queue. With that in mind, I decided to devote this installment to that category. While there was one tea I didn’t enjoy, the other three were all solid, well-made blends. I hope one of these piques your interest enough to give it a try!

    Orange Earl Grey, Osterlandsk

    The Osterlandsk website description notes that this tea contains a Keemun base combined with Celyon (Sri Lankan) black tea, hand-pressed bergamot, and orange peel. The dry cup smells lovely; all of the additions are present. The steeped cup has a full and well-balanced body, with the orange and bergamot both coming through. 

    The drinking experience provides a smooth cup that is flavorful and refreshing. I found it quite enjoyable as a summer tea. It’s fantastic hot, and I think the blend would make an excellent cold brew as well. 

    Osterlandsk doesn’t have a huge presence in the US, so I’m grateful to royal_teacups for sending me a sample of this excellent tea! I might not have had a chance to taste it otherwise.

    Earl Grey Bella Luna, Adagio

    Adagio only makes the Earl Grey Bella Luna blend available for sale on the full moon. I’m not opposed to their limited-release blends (I wish the Brigadoon Breakfast was available more than once every four years!), but this tea is, to my mind, not worth the hype. 

    The tasting notes on the website say that this blend contains bergamot, coconut, and cream flavor. While the dry blend is visually stunning and the steeped liquor has a nice body, the coconut overwhelms both the scent and the taste of the tea. The cream flavor is also quite strong, with the result being that the bergamot and tea flavors are completely washed out. 

    I tried playing with the steeping time to see if that would improve things, but ultimately, the bergamot never came through the way I was expecting. Throughout my sampling, I couldn’t really get this blend to taste like an Earl Grey; it tasted more like a coconut cream pie. And I love coconut cream pie! But it’s just not what I’m looking for in my Earl Grey.

    Earl Grey Supreme, Adagio 

    I’ve made at least two posts wondering why certain tea companies that make excellent special Earl Grey blends don’t just stick to those rather than adding an underwhelming classic Earl Grey to the mix. I have to say that Adagio is one company that focuses just on their special Earl Greys without having a standard two-ingredient (tea and bergamot) blend. Unfortunately, not only was I disappointed in the Bella Luna reviewed above, but a while back I also wrote about being unable to finish their Lavender Earl Grey. Fortunately, the Earl Grey Supreme is a big improvement over the other two.

    All of Adagio’s Earl Grey variations look beautiful when you measure out the dry leaves; it’s a good reminder that you can’t judge a tea based on its appearance. On the web page for this blend, Adagio lists the ingredients as black tea, Keemun Concerto tea, silver needle tea, natural bergamot flavor, and white cornflowers. The contrast between black teas, white tea, and white flowers does stand out; the Earl Grey Supreme also smells better than the other two blends I’ve reviewed. While the lavender smelled artificial and the coconut was overwhelming, the Supreme has a lovely aroma. 

    Like the dry cup, the steeped liquid has a well-balanced aroma. This blend also tastes much better than the other two Adagio Earl Greys I’ve discussed. For one thing, the bergamot really shines! While I don’t get much of the silver needle flavor, I nonetheless find this to be an enjoyable cup. It’s a blend that I would buy again. 

    Winter White Earl Grey, Harney & Sons

    Harney & Sons has several Earl Grey blends, but I think this one is the most unique. I haven’t found many Earl Grey blends that use white tea as a base, which is why I had to try this one. The blend consists of pai mu tan along with bergamot oil. 

    The dry leaf blend has an amazing scent. The steeped liquor has a lovely golden body that manages to be full without being opaque. The steeped scent is heavy on the bergamot, but the pai mu tan definitely comes through. 

    This blend is more flowery than an Earl Grey made with black tea, and is also slightly vegetal. The flavors of both the tea and bergamot are strong, but manage to stay balanced. This is a popular Earl Grey variation among many of my tea-drinking friends, and I can definitely see why!

    By the Numbers

    Honestly, when I started this challenge, it seemed like I was going to struggle to drink 9 different Earl Grey blends a month. Clearly I didn’t realize how much tea I just drink as a matter of course!

    There are times when this does feel like a challenge. However, it’s becoming clear as I go that I’m developing not just a deeper understanding of Earl Grey as a blend, but also of tea in general. This attempt at deliberate, focused tastings has been illuminating. And most of the time, I’m enjoying myself. 

    In addition to my recent haul from Simpson & Vail, I ordered four Earl Grey blends from Ohio Tea Company that I am so excited to try! I do still need to order one more tea in order to hit my August quota. Let me know what you think it should be!

    Support the Project

    Read previous installments here:

    The Earl Grey Year Part 1: Four Classics

    The Earl Grey Year Part 2: Four Florals

    The Earl Grey Year Part 3: Four More Classics

    The Earl Grey Year Part 4: Greens and Tisanes

    The Earl Grey Year Part 5: Cremes and Special Variations

    The Earl Grey Year Part 6: Classics and Florals

    The Earl Grey Year Part 7: Classics and Special Variations

    The Earl Grey Year Part 8: Cremes and Variations Part 2

    The Earl Grey Year Part 9 : Four More Florals

    The Earl Grey Year Part 10: Halfway Point

    The Earl Grey Year Part 11: Kusmi Tea

    The Earl Grey Year Part 12: Cremes and Classics

    Enjoying this series? You can support my tea wishlist here, or contact me if you have samples you want to share!

    Project References

    Note: This is an ongoing list of all the reading I have done so far for this project. The bibliographic entries here are not necessarily cited in this specific post.

    American Chemical Society. (1965). “Bergamot Joins Lineup Of Synthetic Oils: Glidden process breaks down ß-pinene, back-blends components.” Chemical & Engineering News Archive 43 (33), 24-25. DOI: 10.1021/cen-v043n033.p024a 

    Avila-Sosa, Raúl et. al.  “Bergamot (Citrus bergamia) Oils.” Essential Oils in Food Preservation, Flavor and Safety. Ed. Preedy, V.R. (2015). Elsevier Science & Technology. pp. 247-252. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-416641-7.00027-4

    Di Giacomi, Angelo and Giovanni Dugo. “Origin, History, and Diffusion.” Citrus bergamia: Bergamot and Its Derivatives. Ed. Dugo, Giovanni and Ivana Bonaccorsi. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2013. pp. 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1201/b15375

    Dugo, Giovanni and Ivana Bonaccorsi. “Composition of Leaf Oils.” Citrus bergamia: Bergamot and Its Derivatives. Ed. Dugo, Giovanni and Ivana Bonaccorsi. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2013. pp. 227-236. https://doi.org/10.1201/b15375

    Galper, Amy. (December 14, 2022.) “Shelf Life of Essential Oils.” Cliganic. https://www.cliganic.com/blogs/the-essentials/essential-oils-shelf-life 

    Heale, Christopher. (n.d.) “A Guide to the Tea Grading System.” Herbs & Kettles. https://www.herbsandkettles.com/blogs/blog/a-guide-to-the-tea-grading-system 

    Lo Curto, Rosario. “Uses of Juice and By-Products.” Citrus bergamia: Bergamot and Its Derivatives. Ed. Dugo, Giovanni and Ivana Bonaccorsi. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2013. pp. 531-542. https://doi.org/10.1201/b15375

    Nishida, Kei.  “What Does Astringency Mean for Tea Drinking?” (n.d.) Japanese GreenTea Co. https://www.japanesegreentea.in/blogs/japanese-green-tea-lovers-in-india/what-does-astringency-mean-for-tea-drinking 

    Petite Histoire. (July 7, 2023).  “The [Complete & Complex] Guide to Natural vs. Synthetic Fragrance: What’s the Difference?” https://nyc.ph/blogs/inspiration/the-complete-guide-to-natural-vs-synthetic-fragrance
    Twinings. (n.d.) “What is Bergamot?” https://twinings.co.uk/blogs/news/what-is-bergamot

  • The Best of It: Mid-July Edition

    The Best of It: Mid-July Edition

    1. It’s mushroom foraging season!
    2. Sandwiches at The Gramophone
    3. Taking Maybelle for walks
    4. Ice cream at Clementine’s Creamery and A Spoonful of Sugar
    5. Linen clothing
  • The Earl Grey Year Part 12: Cremes and Classics

    The Earl Grey Year Part 12: Cremes and Classics

    This installment profiles primarily exceptional blends, with one tea that was just utterly confusing. July has been busy, because I’m also partaking in the tea challenge hosted by thattealover on Instagram. And her prompts are challenging! However, I’m having fun structuring my tea-drinking in a new way. What can I say? I can’t resist a challenge. 

    Creme Earl Grey

    Both of the teas in this section are exceptional and are getting added to my best-of long list. That being said, they are quite different; one is more outright creamy, and one has more of a vanilla/marshmallow feel. I loved both for different reasons. You of course should make your tasting decisions based on personal preferences, but I suggest trying both. They’re worth it. 

    Creme de la Earl Grey, New Orleans Tea Company

    According to the New Orleans Tea Company website, the Creme de la Earl Grey contains Sri Lankan tea from the Nuwara Eliya, Dimbula, and Uva regions, graded Orange Pekoe, produced by Orthodox methods. Of the various tea company websites I’ve visited to get as much detail as possible about the blends, this one is the most detailed. There are even more tasting notes available than I listed here! Before even experiencing the tea, being able to get that much detail impresses me. 

    The steeped tea has a medium body. When I smell the finished brew, I get cream, tea, and then bergamot in that order. The tasting experience mirrors the scent, with the three flavors emerging as a progression. You start with the savoriness of the cream flavor, then the bitterness of the tea, followed by the brightness of the bergamot. It’s well-balanced and exceptionally crafted.

    This blend really tastes as though cream has been added to the tea, even though there’s none here. If you normally prefer to add dairy to your black tea, I recommend you try this one without at first; I think added dairy could overwhelm the delightful flavors of the tea. 

    Cream Earl Grey, The Tea Girl

    The Tea Girl has made another fantastic Earl Grey blend. This one incorporates a combination of Sri Lankan and Assam teas along with natural bergamot and vanilla. The tea leaves are accented by jasmine blossoms and cornflowers, creating a dry cup that looks as good as the steeped liquor tastes. 

    The tea and cream scents dominate the aroma of the finished cup. Per the instructions, I did a 3-minute steep first, and the tea was just right. The body is rich yet light. The level of cream flavor in this blend is perfect. When I taste the tea, I pick up traces of marshmallow. To be clear, that is a compliment. I love marshmallow flavor, and the interaction of vanilla and cornflower produces that effect. 

    Don’t worry, the bergamot is still there even with the creaminess. While the jasmine flowers don’t come through in the flavor, I think they might have been added more for visual effect than taste. One of the things I’ve learned in my tea sommelier training is that how and when jasmine is added to tea influences whether the flowers provide more flavor or more aesthetic value. There’s no harm in either; it’s simply a decision one has to make when creating a blend. In this instance, I have no complaints. The vanilla and bergamot were just right, and there didn’t need to be yet another flavor getting in the way.

    Classic Earls

    This section brings one excellent tea and one absolutely confusing tea. But part of the fun is that I generally have no clue about what I’m going to taste. There have only been maybe four teas in this entire challenge that I’ve had before. So it’s a challenge full of surprises, and some of them are more interesting than others. 

    Blue of London, Palais de Thés

    This was another tea that I received from my Instagram tea friend royal_teacups. Palais de Thés produces a number of Earl Grey variations, and after trying Blue of London, I am eager to try more from this company! I’m glad to know they’re able to make their teas available in the United States.

    This tea produces a light amber body with a bright, bergamot-forward scent. Palais de Thés uses Yunnan black tea for this blend, which is one of my favorites. One of the things that stands out about Blue of London is how well-balanced it is. The bergamot and the tea come through in equal measure.

    When I drink this tea, I’m reminded how one of the key components of tea blending is intentional. The best blends I’ve tasted feel naturally perfect, and yet I am aware of how much training, testing, trying, and failing went into getting each blend exactly right. 

    Earl Grey, New English Teas

    Someone left two unopened tins of New English Teas in the break room at work, and one of them was the Earl Grey blend, so I grabbed a few bags and added them to the tasting roster. Even if a blend wasn’t on my initial wish list, I’m not going to turn down free tea! 

    When digging into the blend details on the New English Teas website, I saw that their Earl Grey contains Assam and Nilgiri. However, I realized I was on the British site. When I went to the American site, the Earl Grey was listed as containing only Ceylon (Sri Lankan) tea, with no region mentioned. Sri Lankan tea is certainly high quality, but I thought it was interesting that they used different teas for blends aimed at different countries, and that they were more specific about the teas used in the British version. There are many tea-growing regions in Sri Lanka! Neither the British nor the American versions of the site specified anything about the bergamot the company uses.

    The steeped tea has a nice, sturdy body. The scent of tea was stronger than the scent of bergamot, and when I tasted it, I felt that the flower tasted more like lavender. I was truly confused; this really tasted like a lavender blend. I double-checked the website to see if this was a special Earl Grey that included lavender, but I couldn’t see any mention of that anywhere. I’m not sure if something was wrong with the bergamot, if there had been an error in packaging the tea, or if I’d made a brewing mistake. 

    When I brewed my second teabag, I did a shorter infusion time, but that didn’t help. I was still getting a strange lavender taste instead of bergamot. Nothing was worse, but nothing was better, either. Ultimately, my big takeaway from this blend is confusion. 

    By the Numbers

    As of this writing, I’ve nearly hit my tasting minimum for July, and the month is just half over! The holiday weekend and an extra work-from-home day last week really helped! (I only do my Earl Grey tastings at home.)

    I finally got to the point where I had to think about ordering more tea, and (with the help of a random number generator), I ordered four Earl Grey blends from Simpson & Vail. I deliberately added a green tea blend and a tisane to the list, so those numbers will be a little higher next time (though they’re still going to be lower than the rest). I did this not because I want to skew the results, but because I want the opportunity to try a range of blends. With Green Earls and Tisane Earls being in the blend minority, I want to be sure I try them at every opportunity.

    I still need to order a few more teas in order to have enough for my August tasting quota. I probably could have filled out the entire August list with Simpson & Vail teas, because they have several Earl Grey blends. However, I limited myself to four, because I don’t want one particular company to be over-represented in my tasting list. If there’s a tea company that you’d like me to check out for a future installment, let me know in the comments!

    Support the Project

    Read previous installments here:

    The Earl Grey Year Part 1: Four Classics

    The Earl Grey Year Part 2: Four Florals

    The Earl Grey Year Part 3: Four More Classics

    The Earl Grey Year Part 4: Greens and Tisanes

    The Earl Grey Year Part 5: Cremes and Special Variations

    The Earl Grey Year Part 6: Classics and Florals

    The Earl Grey Year Part 7: Classics and Special Variations

    The Earl Grey Year Part 8: Cremes and Variations Part 2

    The Earl Grey Year Part 9 : Four More Florals

    The Earl Grey Year Part 10: Halfway Point

    The Earl Grey Year Part 11: Kusmi Tea

    Enjoying this series? You can support my tea wishlist here, or contact me if you have samples you want to share! 

    For more tea content, check out my tea pairings playlist on YouTube.

    Project References

    Note: This is an ongoing list of all the reading I have done so far for this project. The bibliographic entries here are not necessarily cited in this specific post.

    American Chemical Society. (1965). “Bergamot Joins Lineup Of Synthetic Oils: Glidden process breaks down ß-pinene, back-blends components.” Chemical & Engineering News Archive 43 (33), 24-25. DOI: 10.1021/cen-v043n033.p024a 

    Avila-Sosa, Raúl et. al.  “Bergamot (Citrus bergamia) Oils.” Essential Oils in Food Preservation, Flavor and Safety. Ed. Preedy, V.R. (2015). Elsevier Science & Technology. pp. 247-252. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-416641-7.00027-4

    Di Giacomi, Angelo and Giovanni Dugo. “Origin, History, and Diffusion.” Citrus bergamia: Bergamot and Its Derivatives. Ed. Dugo, Giovanni and Ivana Bonaccorsi. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2013. pp. 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1201/b15375

    Dugo, Giovanni and Ivana Bonaccorsi. “Composition of Leaf Oils.” Citrus bergamia: Bergamot and Its Derivatives. Ed. Dugo, Giovanni and Ivana Bonaccorsi. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2013. pp. 227-236. https://doi.org/10.1201/b15375

    Galper, Amy. (December 14, 2022.) “Shelf Life of Essential Oils.” Cliganic. https://www.cliganic.com/blogs/the-essentials/essential-oils-shelf-life 

    Heale, Christopher. (n.d.) “A Guide to the Tea Grading System.” Herbs & Kettles. https://www.herbsandkettles.com/blogs/blog/a-guide-to-the-tea-grading-system 

    Lo Curto, Rosario. “Uses of Juice and By-Products.” Citrus bergamia: Bergamot and Its Derivatives. Ed. Dugo, Giovanni and Ivana Bonaccorsi. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2013. pp. 531-542. https://doi.org/10.1201/b15375

    Nishida, Kei.  “What Does Astringency Mean for Tea Drinking?” (n.d.) Japanese GreenTea Co. https://www.japanesegreentea.in/blogs/japanese-green-tea-lovers-in-india/what-does-astringency-mean-for-tea-drinking 

    Petite Histoire. (July 7, 2023).  “The [Complete & Complex] Guide to Natural vs. Synthetic Fragrance: What’s the Difference?” https://nyc.ph/blogs/inspiration/the-complete-guide-to-natural-vs-synthetic-fragrance
    Twinings. (n.d.) “What is Bergamot?” https://twinings.co.uk/blogs/news/what-is-bergamot

  • The Best of It: Long Tuesday Edition

    Astrid and her toys.
    1. Astrid really likes the homemade pill pockets!
    2. Grilling vegetables that came straight from my garden.
    3. The library is open for curbside pickup!
    4. Trying some new recipes this week.
    5. Watching the anoles climb on my living room window to hunt for insects and moths.

  • The Best of It: Monday is Finally Over Edition

    Pretty kitty!
    1. Getting to cat sit for my neighbor
    2. Irvin’s salted egg potato chips
    3. Homemade pill pockets (Astrid is incontinent and needs pills twice a day)
    4. Transplanting cubanelles and aji amarillos in the garden
    5. Trying takeout from Pad Thai Austin and really enjoying it

  • The Best of It: Very Lazy Sunday Edition

    Sourdough beer bread
    1. I am so impressed with Chewy‘s customer service. Astrid’s harness broke after only about six weeks, and they sent a replacement right away!
    2. FatBoy ice cream sandwiches are the absolute best ice cream sandwiches I’ve ever eaten in my whole life.
    3. Going on an eight-mile bike ride yesterday and enjoying the sunshine.
    4. Watermelon agua fresca mixed with a little Topo Chico.
    5. Being able to order coffee beans from Rigby Roastery.

  • The Best of It: I Meant to Post Yesterday But Then Forgot Edition

    Astrid wants to drive.
    1. The feeling of starting a fresh notebook.
    2. That feeling when you’re working on a poem that has some strong energy.
    3. Finally having settled on the notebooks I want to use for the rest of my writing life. (Plain composition books; keep it simple.)
    4. I finally finished my Pilates Level 1 mat certification!
    5. Canceled meetings