I got some Yunnans from Upton's and today's is their ZY47 China Yunnan Imperial Gen Ben Shi. It is billed as a "classic" Yunnan. The dry leaves are very crinkled, mostly black, with some gold buds. It has a deep, nutty, woodsy smell, with a bit of roasted eggplant thrown in. I brewed it for 5 minutes with boiling water, which yielded a very dark brown brew, which again smelled wonderfully nutty and toasty.
The tea has some spice in it, as well as the nuts and toasted/roastedness. There is also a definite vegetal edge - almost an autumnal edge to it. It is hearty, but delicate, you really have to close your eyes and concentrate on the subtle nuances. This is a little difficult to do, as it is a very smooth tea. It is only when I held the tea in my mouth for a bit that I noticed there was also a bit of astringency - just enough to be piquant. An altogether very nice tea indeed.
My cousins are coming for a few days and I need to really scrub my house - one is quite allergic to cats and we have 4 of the little darlings. Wouldn't you know that the kitties who never sleep in the guest room, have all gone in there to sleep all this week? Cats, who can figure?
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I also have experienced this "chorus" of birds.
Yesterday I went birdwatching with a couple of my close friends, and we drove to a nature preserve...and as soon as we got out of the car, we were surrounded by a very loud chorus of birds, raucous at times, which continued nearly the whole time we were out, through a variety of habitats. I saw a number of first for the year, including an Eastern Phoebe, bluebirds, and tree swallows, as well as Ring-necked ducks (which migrate through PA around this time of year, often stopping in small ponds). It was pretty exciting.
Even in the city I've been hearing a lot more birds singing in the morning, including carolina wren, robins, and cardinals, in some very urban areas. Mockingbirds are also singing again.
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