Flowers Are My Tea

Wow!  It only took 3days from order to delivery from Upton's.  Pretty snazzy.  Of course, I am having their Nepal Tea Flowers BH84 first, it intrigues me.  That's what's in the packet, dried flowers.  They were once white, now brown,  having been sun-dried..  No surprise there.  I'd say having the aroma of camellias, but having never smelled one, I can't.  Sweet and flowery will have to do.  While not listed as organic, they were produced without chemical fertilizers or pesticides.  Instructions say to brew with 212 degree water for 8! minutes.  So I do.

What a surprise!  I expected a flowery taste and I got something rather different.  I am finding it hard to describe.  Closer to mild Bancha, perhaps, but with some sweetness, maybe a little caramel, with a tiny not quite sour kick at the end.  Intriguing.  But wait, as I breathe into the cup, there is that unmistakable, sweet flowery aroma, it's a lovely scent.  If I breathe and drink just right, I can catch it in the taste.  I really am intrigued by this and I must say I like it.

We are having a typical New York February day.  Gloooooooooooooomy.  A little snow, a little sleet, a little of just about everything except sun!   This morning at church, a bunch of us decided that it is our right as Northerners to bitch about the weather, so we did.  However, on the cheery side, at 6 pm it is still light enough to see, the maple sap is running like crazy, and we have crossed into the time when the overall average temperatures are rising.

I planted herbs to have in the house.  It struck me as on the dumb side to have so may south facing windows and not raise them and then fuss because I am using dried.  The thyme and chives are finally up, but I managed to kill the marigolds a-borning.  Sage is still languishing.  If it doesn't work, I will buy plants  in the spring and remember to keep them for inside.

This is a church garden in Germany.  That lovely rock is a fountain.  It is surrounded by cloisters  filled with lovely old bits from an earlierearlier church.  The style of this one is fairly high Gothis, but I can't remember when that was.  Early, anyway.