A Banana In My Tea

Today can't decide if it should be sunny or cloudy.  Sadly, I think the clouds are winning.  However, I have the perfect antidote - tea!  Mine is from Upton's, their T151, Formosa Black Keemun.  I'll bet those Anhui farmers don't approve as they consider theirs to be the only authentic one.  The smallish dark leaves of this Keemun smell like - you'll never guess - bananas!  I had to sniff several times to make sure, but there it was.  Very strange.  However, as it brewed for 5 minutes with boiling water, it shifted very sharply away from fruit and down into very very darkly earthy.  None of this is the Keemun I am used to.

Howsomever, by the time it hit my cup it was very pleasant, still earthy, but moderately so, with well-rounded edges that finished off with a nice, old oaken barrel edge.  The entire experience was definitely new to me, with none of the wineiness or slight smokey character that generally denotes a Keemun.  Tea is so wonderfully itself, always ready to surprise and delight.

I got a funny cartoon in the mail.  A bunch of socks were in group therapy for lost socks.  Well, I need one for lost glue.  I have bought 3 things of Gorilla Glue in a year and had to go buy another one today.  This, after a great deal of effort to put tool and fix it things in ONE and only one place.  That has nothing to do with tea, as you might imagine.  It may one of these days, as I have far too much of it and I need to do another clear out.  Always put to good use for compost or helping clover seeds take hold in the lawn.

The potted ginger root report:  for several days there has been a bump on the top of the soil and today the first small green shoot has appeared.  Hooray!  Lots of nice ginger later this year for tea and goodies.

A very typical Swiss chalet.  This is probably one of the older ones, made from wood.  The new ones are made from concrete made to look like wood, because of the fear of fire in the mountains.  There aren't a lot of bodies of water available for fires.