Writerly #16: Intransigent, The Survivor's Theme, & Mango Turmeric

Welcome to this week's Writerly Bundle! A post where I hope to inspire you with three of the world's greatest things: music, words, and tea.

What do people in the show Lost eat a lot? That's right. Mangoes! Since I have a Mango tea today for review, I thought it appropriate to theme this post after the show. 

The Word:

intransigent 

adjective

1.) refusing to agree or compromise; uncompromising; inflexible.

noun

2.) a person who refuses to agree or compromise, as in politics.

Example Sentence: John Locke is an intransigent person.

The Song:

The Survivor's Theme

from the Lost soundtrack

by Michael Giacchino

One thing Lost did really well was it's soundtrack. It's one of those shows where you expected most of the music to be obscure light rock songs, but no they decided to actually invest in the score, and it's beautiful. This piece is a gentle orchestra. It's melancholy and a bit resolute. It's a song where you can almost here the string's saying, "What are we going to do?" But there's still hope in the music. Then near the end the piece picks up into an intense finish. This is a very versatile piece and can be used across many genres, including fantasy, sci-fi, and even contemporary. 

The Tea:

Mango Turmeric

Turmeric teas have been growing in popularity for years, but we’ve found it difficult to find one we loved the taste of. This bright yellow blend of turmeric and mango is a delicious exception. So, why turmeric? This vivid spice has a variety of uses around the world – from Bengali marriage rituals to dying Hindu monks’ robes their bright yellow colour. And in traditional Chinese and Indian medicine, turmeric is used to soothe upset stomachs. So go ahead, try a cup of this sunny yellow drink. You never know – spiritual and mental well-being might just be a sip away…

How I found it: On my recent trip to Canada, I discovered this Canadian originating tea company called DAVIDsTEA. After looking at many of their teas in one of their many stores located in Canada and northern USA, I thought they would be great to review, especially for you Canadians! After I got home I ordered a sampler set and as a bonus DAVIDsTEA sent me an additional three samples, so I have nine teas to show you guys. DAVIDsTEA definitely has a unique flavor to their teas. If you want to take an adventure in your tea drinking, this is certainly a good affordable company to try.

The Tea: I was skeptical about this tea. I cook with turmeric fairly often and it smells like dirt that something died on yet somehow it makes food taste good. Go figure. DAVIDsTea has the propensity to make a lot of spice-based teas. And since this was in the set I got I had to try it. 

The initial smell is dominated by turmeric and kinda smells like you left this tea out in the sun to long. There's a slight hint of mango. When you brew the tea the turmeric isn't so strong. The color is a lemon yellow, and it tastes more lemony with only hints of pineapple and mango, especially in the after taste. The turmeric makes it have a bit of bitterness. It's been with some sugar because it brings out the fruit and tones down the turmeric. It reminds me a bit of lemon jello and you dumped some turmeric in there. It's like no other tea I've tasted, very tropical and exotic. It seems like something that the survivors on the island would concoct. 

Serving Recommendations: I steeped this tea at 204 for five minutes and added sugar. 

How much is it and where can you get it? You can buy this tea at a DAVIDsTEA store or on their website. You can get this tea along with five other teas in the Super Spice set (which is what I did) for only $14.00.

So how good is it? It wasn't my favorite. Turmeric just is not a very good flavor to me as a main spice. A little yes, but too much no. Three stars.

Have you seen or used this word before? Have you heard this piece before? Have you seen Lost? Have you tried this tea? 

Click here for last week's Writerly Bundle!

If you liked this post, come back every other Tuesday for book reviews; Friday for tags, character interviews, and link-ups; Saturdays for writing advice and life updates; and Sundays for the Writerly Bundle which includes a new soundtrack piece, vocabulary word, and tea review!