Irish Sunrise looks like coarsely ground coffee and was processed using the Crush-Tear-Curl (CTC) method. I’ve never tried a loose tea that was created this way and was not sure what to expect as far as flavor and strength.

Instead of the leaves being rolled as a final stage, they are passed through a series of cylindrical rollers with hundreds of small sharp “teeth” that Crush, Tear, and Curl. (Crush, Tear, Curl on Wikipedia)

I brewed this with boiling water for three minutes. It’s got a bright, astringency to it that just sucks the moisture from your mouth. It’s good but there’s nothing memorable about it. It’s pretty similar to bagged black teas that I would drink growing up.

See other tea reviews of Irish Sunrise tea.

I decided to challenge myself to take some shots of my own feet that I like.

John discovered them last night when he was showing off all of our gardening feats (and by our I mean Dan and I). So far I’ve seen five tiny pumpkins. I’m hoping the winter squash I planted will start making fruit pretty soon as well. We’ll see.

With all the success I’ve had with growing fruit in my oppressively hot and humid backyard, I’m wondering if I’d be able to successfully grow my own little tea plant. Has anyone else tried this?

There is a small tea garden at Epcot, with a few tea plants growing here and there. (It’s more herbs than tea, actually.) I’m guessing if they can grow tea in Florida, so can I. Who knows how much time someone spends taking care of those things, though.

Anyone know where to buy some tea seeds or a small, started plant?

This is my favorite tea cup. My mom bought this for me in the kind of shop that makes me squeal because every shelf is covered in something cute. The little reminder to “SMILE!” and the panda bear that’s on the bottom of the inside are the details on this cup that make the tea inside that much more enjoyable. It also holds a whole lot of tea–doubleplusgood!

What does your favorite tea cup look like?

My parents went out for last minute groceries and brought back some Eggnogg’n tea for me! Woohoo!