Yummy Yunnan

Wow, I am having a tea that is the most interesting and one of the best I've had in a while.  I got it through Steepster Select's monthly program.  It is from the Tea Valley Company and is Phoenix Yunnan Gold.  The dry leaves gave off an aroma of chocolate, subtly laced with wine.  I brewed it for 2 1/2 minutes with boiling water, which is a little short for Yunnans, but recommended.

The resulting brew was a medium amber, with gold highlights around the edges.  It smelled fresh and a touch earthy.  The tea was deep and rich, with a piquant edge, somewhat earthy with the barest hint of peanut.  At this point, I am thinking it's okay, but not great.  So, I put some cream in it and entered a whole different dimension!  There was now a definite plum taste with an oak like aroma.  It was smooth and rounded and as I continued to drink, it morphed somewhat into a pineapple flavor, only one without bite, all the edges rounded off.

What a treat!  I think I used a tad too much tea and next time, I will be more careful in measuring.  I think, too, that brewing it any longer would ruin it.

The lilies in the pond down the hill are beginning to poke their heads above the waterline, and the ducks have returned to nest.  The blue herons are back in their rookery in the river.  Our little flock of goldfinches is very busy at the feeders.  First the females come and then the brighter colored males, all gossiping and singing.  It is indeed early spring, with wild swings of temperature and weather.  We had almost 80 one day last week and Tuesday  it was 16 when I got up.  The only plant to apparently suffer was the autumn clematis, which I am hoping will cover the front porch this year.  It doesn't flower until September and smells wonderful, a great farewell to summer.

There you are, pansies for Spring