C/T/G Presents: Stab Happy

Apparently Charlie Sheen is a /t/ drinker. Maybe he's not as batshit insane as everybody makes him out to be. I mean, he single-handedly got 2 & A Half Men cancelled. If anything, Charlie's a saint. #Winning

Anyway, C/T/G sent us some Silver Needle /t/. Luckily no junkies at the Madison USPS "confiscated" the tin of /t/ thinking they could shoot up with it. I opened the tin to some good looking needles and it smelled like a weak jasmine and, after brewing, the leaves had added some smokiness. The smokiness didn't come across when it came to tasting, though. Usually, white /t/ tastes a lot like the water it used for brewing. For instance, a white /t/ made in Madison, sans filter, would taste something like this. Luckily, I still have my Brita, so this tasted like a mix between cherry tomatoes and a cheap flower store. As bad as those two are alone, they create a double-negafying vortex that makes this /t/ pretty damn refreshing. I'd compare it to a fire tornado.

The flyer that came with the needles said it could "stand up to 2-3 steepings"... I went to 6 without much trouble in our gaiwan. As I went deeper into this /t/, I noticed the sweetness stayed around while some acidity came forward. Really, for being a white /t/, it's pretty robust...relatively. I never expect a white /t/ to stand up to more than 2 steeps, in general, but seeing this one go a half dozen is something to be proud of. Let's compare the beginning and end results:

Steep #1

Steep #6

Can you spot the difference? Because as far as I can tell, there isn't one. It's so fricken consistent. FUCK. Now, as for the side-affects of drinking silver needles, I personally felt the following: cottonmouth, feelings of white power, hyperactivity, existentialism, convulsions, and about 5 minutes-worth of winning. It may not be made from tiger blood, but it could still fuck you up about half as much as Charlie Sheen if you drink enough.

What: Silver Needle (Chicago Tea Garden)
How much: $14.00/ 1.76oz
What kind: White
Taste: I had a hard time putting my finger on it until this epiphany- it tastes like fucking pistachios.
Repeat Drinkability: 8/10 (Probably a 5 or 6 on any other day, but I gave it bonus points for being a white /t/ and being able to go 6 rounds.)
Manliness: 2/10 (White /t/ is about as manly as a sports bra. The only thing saving this is the word "needles". BAMF in training.)