Aroound the World With Tea

One thing I love about tea is that it is a trip around the world, all in one cup.  So far today I have been to China, Taiwan, Japan, and now Ceylon.  Not too bad in the comfort of my kitchen, right?  Of course, right.

My Ceylonese trip is sponsered by Port of Columbo Tea Company and has taken me to the Hilltop Estate, high up in the Sri Lankan central highlands.  The dry tea is made of brown and some black medium leaves.  It smells of oak barrels and dark tobacco.  I brewed it for 4 minutes, with boiling water.

The resulting brew is a nice medium amber and the scent has shifted to that well-known fresh wash/fresh tea aroma.  This is a  plain tea, quite without nuances, but it tastes good and is refreshing.  It goes very nicely with some milk and although I am sure folks who are more particular would never do it, I warmed the leftovers for breakfast and it was still quite tasty.  For me, it is light enough to make ice tea with it.  I don't care for heavy or strong teas in the summer.

Which may be coming this month, the rate the weather is going.  It has been in the forties many days and there is no snow cover.  I live in New York, near Binghamton, if that is any help in placing me, and generally by this time, there is about 1 foot of snow and the temperatures are generally well below freezing.  It's lovely weather for walking, but I worry about the plants and animals.  The cats are in heaven, though, even La Principessa has been out and about.  One thing that is pleasant is you can see the shapes of trees and some of them have very beautiful branching.

Today has seen me finally fold over an omelet without it breaking up and looking awful.  I have a new-to-me French cookbook to thank for that, as well as the library book sale.  So I guess we will be having omelets for lunch for while so I can show off.  It's the first one, I have to celebrate!

One of the many German churches I loved.