Greetings! I know some of you have been concerned about tea from Japan. Roy Fong of Imperial Tea Court was in the Far East on a buying trip and talked with a Japanese tea merchant about this. If you go to his blog http://camelliasinensisblog.blogspot.com/ you can read about his trip, see some pictures of tea fields and learn there is nothing to fear, as the nearest tea fields to Fukishima are much too far away to be affected.
It seems a great deal of the world is celebrating the upcoming Royal Wedding. Even our little Owego is having a wedding brunch in honor of Will and Kate. http://www.worldteanews.com/ has a section where you can read about more celebrations. Even I will probably watch the wedding. This site is aimed mostly at people in the tea business, but there is a lot of information about tea to be had.
Are our teabags really compostable? This is certainly a question I have had, as I compost as much as I can. Good for less trash and truly " Black Gold" for the garden. Apparently some composters have been finding otherwise, in spite of claims on the tea boxes. Paper ones will, but I shall have to examine my compost when it is ready to put on the garden and see if indeed they are. Loose tea is always compostable, another good reason to use it.
Even if you have a tiny backyard, you can still compost in a bucket or dig a hole and alternate the hole's dirt with what you're composting. Then you have a perfect place to plant something next year. If you have room to grow tomatoes, plant them around your compost bin - they will thrive. In case you're wondering, I was out aerating the compost yesterday, which always brings up the issue. We have 2 compost bins - they look exactly like Darth Vader's head, complete with grill.
That was a far enough wander off the beaten path to tea. What goes with a cold windy day with the sun struggling to shine through? Gotta do greens, to encourage the softer aspects of Spring.
I am having some Dragonwell from Ito En. I got this in a swap from Steph. I just love the leaves, so flat, and they feel like silk sliding on my fingers. They have a very fresh green scent, almost spicy. I brewed it up with a bit over a teaspoon with water about 170 for 2 minutes. The brewing aroma was that of a crisp winter night when everything is frozen and it is about to snow. So much for Spring. It is a lovely pale old gold color. It tastes like a cross between summer squash and asparagus, but not, if you understand. There was almost a metallic edge to it. Words can only approximate. I found it to be very pleasant, somehow a soothing and comforting cup.
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