Tea in the Clouds

I must apologize. I wrote this for last Thursday and never put it
up.

The very tiny and tidy cemetery in Meiringen, Switzerland. Typically each gravesite will contain an exquisite small, flowering garden. I was quite taken with them.


I had a lovely tea today, Huang Shan Cloud from Life in Teacup. I believe it means Yellow Mountain. The tea comes from southern Anhui Province in Eastern China and is a UNESCO World Heritage site, that is known for its clouds and sunsets. In this area of steep mountains there are many temples and stone steps carved into the mountain sides. It is an area known for its mists and fogs, which means the tea receives filtered sunlight, which increases the chlorophyll content of the leaves. These are then only slightly withered before being processed into dry, long, wiry tea. This particular tea was plucked pre-GuYu, that time in the early Spring when the sun is exactly 30 degrees celestial longitude. This year, it means the tea was plucked before April 20.

I first rinsed this lovely green tea in boiling water and then let it brew for 1 1/2 minutes. It was a pale, pale golden green and gave off a lovely orchid smell. The taste was that of floral and asparagus, which went together very well, with more floral coming out as it cooled. The second infusion was paler, but with more floral aroma. The taste was a bright green vegetal with only a hint of flowers. It was a lovely tea, perhaps the first one I have really felt I would like to sip all day long, to continually experience all its nuances.

I went for a walk in the field around our house. In one area, where it had been mowed once in a while, the late asters had only grown about 4 inches, so there was a carpet of blue stars, sooo lovely. I also found the neatest little frog or toad - he was all gold, just like the leaves, so I had a hard time keeping track of him as he hopped about. I had never seen a gold frog before, so altogether, I felt I had a truly blessed walk.