Tea made it into the New York Times again. Twinings is changing its Earl Gray Blend! It’s never been my all time favorite, but they changed my favorite Prince of Wales which I don’t even buy any more. Dasterdly behavior. They should be horse whipped! But maybe I’ll get some when it reaches the US and see how it is. My preference is Upton’s - my blend of their Devonshire and Blue Flower. Then comes Simpson and Vail’s Victorian Earl Gray.
I wish the Times would publish some real tea news, like the World Tea East. I am so psyched about going. I have a notebook with the things I particularly want to catch. When I return, I shall blather on and on , stopping only for tea - hopefully, I will be able to get some new things there.
Non-tea news : Our local grocery store is now in the big time - refrigerated cat and dog food, just like they show on TV. I am afraid our poor kitties will have to make do. At about $2.50 for a meal, “let them eat cake” as Marie Antoinette supposedly said.
It is a dreary day, but good for new plantings as the cold rain slides down over my windows. Today is a flavored tea day and one I thought I would like more than I did. Isn’t that a downer of an introduction? Any way, the tea is Ice Wine from Blue Raven Teas, a black one. The leaves are large and darkly twisted, giving off a winey, fruity aroma. I brewed it for 3.5 minutes at boiling. The resulting brew was a very dark red, with a somewhat odd smell, kind of a mix of almond paste, grapes and raisins. Next time, I think 3 minutes would suffice.
I was expecting a light sweet ice wine taste. I have only had this lovely wine three times and it is absolutely wonderful stuff, a real dessert wine. What I got in my cup was not it, so I was hesitant to praise it. I finally realized it tasted just like Chinese plum wine, which is also sweet, but not delicate. If it had been billed as that, I would’ve been perfectly happy and said the blender did a good job. An ice wine, it wasn’t.
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