Kenya tea in the snow

Most of the USA is experiencing snow and I guess will experience snow for most of the week. Ours is very heavy and wet and somehow, the kittens aren't finding it as much fun. They are willingly coming in for a good drying off before venturing out again. It is pretty, though, covering a multitude of sins. I am trying to really appreciate it now as come January or February I won't be appreciating it very much and in fact will be doing a lot of complaining. I hope it lasts until our South African friend arrives next Saturday. He has never seen snow and we thought we would allow him the great treat of shoveling whilst dodging snowballs! He also supposed to bring some local tea!

I really make an effort to try tea from different countries. Both to broaden my experience and to encourage newcomers to the world of fine tea. Some I really like, some are just ho-hum. Sadly, the offering from Simpson and Vail of Kenya Black falls into the ho-hum category. About 4 years ago, I had some from Kenya that was really superb, but only once. Everything since has either been just okay or awful. I brewed the little black leaves for about 3.5 minutes at 212 and it was pleasantly okay. But that is all it was. It is a very plain tea without much nuance or breadth. It would be good for breakfast, with milk or/and sugar. I know that the tea industry in Kenya had been having problems, but I was hoping they were over. I'll keep trying them in hope, as this is an improvement over some I have had! I would encourage you to do the same, both for us and for them.