Have A Book With Your Tea

Have you noticed that when the weather warms above freezing, the birds start singing?  I've been keeping track this winter and it seems to be true.  When it's quite cold, about all we hear are the chickadees, the hawks and the downy and hairy woodpeckers.  The temperature goes up and the sparrows, pileated woodpeckers, the titmice and a host of others start chirping and singing and banging away at their trees.  The crows we seem to always have with us.

I came across a book on tea that I think would be excellent for beginners or casual drinkers who would like to know more about tea.  It's called 19 Lessons on Tea  by 27Press.  The sub-title is become an expert on buying, brewing and drinking the best of tea.

I have read this short book and I must say, it really does a pretty good job.  You are not going to become an expert by its end, but you will know a lot more and probably have a lot more confidence.  It covers how different teas are made, the various grades of tea, tea rituals, teapots, tea utensils, pairing tea with food, where to buy tea and find tea tastings.  There is a bit of history, mostly in short footnotes.  To find more, they refer you to their website.

There is a bit of repitition, but not too much.  Many books on tea have so much about history that unless you are really interested, you either skip it or get bored and don't bother getting to the other stuff.  Likewise with how tea is grown and processed.  There's enough here so you know a bit more than the average bear, but not so much that your head is swimming from an overload.  In other words, it's manageable.  The chapters are short, so you can just do a few minutes at a time, or read the whole thing in about an hour.

This is a book you should enjoy with a brisk cup of tea, to make sure you are awake and aware.  I would reccommend a godd hearty English Breakfast.  I just happen to have some by Bigelow.  My tea swap partners often send lots of tea bags and who am I to pass them up?  This one came in a nice expandable bag and had a good fresh tea aroma.  I brewed it for 2.5 minutes, which is long, but I am in the mood for strong!
My, it smells good with lots of lemon and stone fruit components.  It has a nice flavor, too, with elements of Keeman and Assam in a good balance.  I am sure to be awake and aware by the time I finish it.

Three To Get Ready and Four To Go

A perfect day for tea!  The wind has been screaming and cursing all night and all day.  It's been snowing off and on, usually not too hard, but we did have a 15 minute white-out.  That is when you cannot see more than a foot or so in any direction, if you're lucky and the entire world is white.  So, it is a good time to be inside and drinking "the cup that cheers..."

I am again comparing two teas I got in a swap.  They are both teabags, both individually wrapped, both English Breakfast.  The first is from Ahmad Tea, which I brewed for 3 minutes, per instructions.  Generally I only do teabags for 2 minutes, because the tea is so fine.  It was very dark and malty smelling - Aha, Assam.  Needless to say, it was quite strong, but very smooth.  It was straightforwardly an Assam, for sure and had no nuances, but this is breakfast tea and for those of us who are morning challanged, it is just fine.  Needless to say, it was good with milk in it.

The second was Twinings, also a 3 minute brew, and was somewhat reddish, although equally dark as Ahmads.  It smelled like birch bark or birch beer, so I suspect it was a blend of teas, surely some Keemun in there.  It had a bit of a peppery taste with a hint of malt.  It was a bit astringent, as well, but not nasty.

Twinings had more going on in terms of nuance, but both were tasty and would certainly go well on a morning when you can't face brewing a pot.  My first choice remains PG Tips, however.

I have had my first French macaroon, at the food concession of an indoor flea market, no less.  I now see why there is so much fuss over them.  Really excellent treat. Yesterday I found a cookbook for them for only $3, so I am going to try my hand at making some of my own.

Just a small village on the Rhine.  It was so pleasant to go sailing down it, seeing villages and castles my ancestors would have seen when they left the area in 1710, although I think this was probably easier travel.  Then, too, I wasn't leaving my home to sail for months and months to a wilderness, knowing I probably would never be back.

Let's Do the Shagadelic!

Okaaay.  We got snow and today we had sun again!  I can hardly contain myself.  We also got cold - 6 degrees F when I got up this morning!  Bring on the TEA!  In great quantiteas!  I must say, adding a third color, white, to the brown and gray and having that color sparkle, really makes my view of life a lot better.

Shagadelic English breakfast from The Tea Spot makes my morning view a  lot better as well.  This is a blend of 4 teas from 3 Asian countries, India, Ceylon and China.  I can't tell you which ones, however.  The small dark leaves give off a wonderful winey aroma, so I think there's some Keemun in there.  I brewed it up for 4 minutes with some boiling water and just breathed in that wonderful scent, no with a touch of malt - aha - Assam. 

The resulting darkish brew was just so smooth and malty and perhaps a bit earthy, with that touch of wine.  A thoroughly good cup for a morning brew.  Hefty enough to get you going and with enough depth that you can appreciate the nuances once you wake up.

One of my many German ancestors came from this small town.  On the left, across from the church is a restaurant where we got to drink wonderful May Wine, flavored with Sweet Woodruff, which I am going to try and grow this year.  On the hill behind me is a wonderful medieval monastary that is still going strong.  Their abbot died in Dachau concentration camp in World War II.

A warm cup for a cold day

This is another German ancestor's church.  The wood work is so striking

I don't require a great deal from an English Breakfast tea.  This is because it is intended for morning consumption and I am a morning zombie.  All I need is for it to be black and not be so nuanced that I have to think about it. Oh, I am assuming it tastes good, too.  Adagio's does just that. 

The smallish leaves are black and twisted and have a slightly smokey aroma, along with something close to tobacco.  Let me hasten to assure you the tea does not taste of either.  I brewed it for 4 minutes with boiling water.  It is very, very nice, smooth, rich, with a bit of a lemony twist.  I didn't bother tasting it without milk, as most "breakfast", which are also known as British-style, teas are made to go with milk and sugar.  I don't do the latter, except in very rare cases.  For me, this is a perfect breakfast cup.

Winter appears to finally be arriving.  There is a skim of ice near the shore on the pond and the ducks have departed.   It snows a little every once in a while and up here on the hill, it is sticking.  The chickadees are still singing in the woods and once in a while our screech owl serenades us.  Serenades is a rather inaccurate word for this tiny owl's call, as it sounds pretty much like a shrill horse's whinny.

It is getting dark far too early, but very soon it will be the winter equinox and the days will begin to lengthen again.  A definite sign of hope in the cold (as is my warm cup of tea).

Oh Canada

I got bored with my "look", so I changed it. I am not sure I like this
one, so it may change again.

I love the paintings on these houses in Sorrento, Italy.


It's trying to snow today and the wind is blowing. On my walk, I saw a squirrel with a large "something" in it's mouth. It finally came close enough to recognise it as leaves and sure enough, he scurried up a tree to a hole and climbed in, obviously padding a nest. Our local squirrels are very adept at getting the bird seed for themselves, but I set our ferocious [lol] pussy cats on them. Ernie actually went half-way up their tree to try and catch them. The only result was a lot of squirrel swearing.


I have to say I was most happy to get back inside after our walk and snuggle right up to a tea pot. I am having another gift from Elizabeth from Ontario - President's Choice English Breakfast. And that is indeed what it smells like, but there is a faint cinnamon aroma as well. This is a teabag, which I only brew for 3 minutes, or less if that seems right. On the whole, you brew black tea depending on the size of the leaves - longer for longer leaves. That doesn't seem to work with many of today's Darjeelings, who seem to need to be treated as if they were green - even the second flush and autumnal ones.


The tea smells wonderful - utterly fresh. It's a lovely reddish brown and there is still a hint of cinnamon or sweet to it - unusual in English Breakfast, I think. It is very smooth, not nearly as harsh as many I've had, and yes, there does seem to be a bit of sweetness to it. It's a really pleasant brew.

Tea on a Summer Day

I guess you can tell I was quite taken with the stonework of this
church. As I was sitting in our new church this morning, looking at
the magnificent organ, I thought that people coming here from other countries would probably be just as impressed. We are as exotic to visitors as they are when we visit a foreign country.


It's another beautiful summer day, not too hot, not too humid, but I am aware that my neighbors' corn and hay fields are drying up and lawns aren't looking too green. Where there was enough clover seed in our new lawn, the grass is doing well, clover is a good nurse. It also smells wonderful. The sweetpepper bushes - Clethera - also are pouring out their sweet perfume.

Today's tea offering is another one from the Boston Tea Company - English Breakfast, "a blend of superior Indian and Chinese Black teas." It certainly started out weell. As soon as I opened the packet, I was greeted with a wonderful fresh smell akin to very good pipe tobacco, with some wine like scent, touched with a tiny bit of smoke and an even smaller whiff of black cherry.

The dry leaf was small, composed mostly of black ones with dark and light brown ones to accent it. The directions said to use boiling water for 4-6 minutes. Gulp, I am always afraid to push it too far, as I don't want it to be bitter, but I plunged ahead and did it for almost 5. I was rewarded with a really nice cup of tea. Pleasantly strong with a deep complex winey, malty flavor, with just that wee bit of smoke, probably from Keemun tea, which is usually the Chinese component. Probably an Assam added the malt. It is a substantial tea, but not at all heavy. As it is "English", it stood up very nicely to milk and sugar. My husband even noticed it was very good. It was perhaps, even better plain, as more nuances could be noticed.

Breakfast Tea in the Afternoon

The Bishop's throne in Ravenna. I hope he had a cushion! All those designs you see, everything except the glass, is inlaid marble, 1,000 years old and still in good shape.

Today cannot make up its mind to be cloudy or sunny or both at once. A nice day, however, with big puffy clouds and not too hot or humid, so I can dare to have hot tea.

Thanks to the good folks at the Boston Tea Company (from New Jersey!) I have lots more samples to try. Today's is their English Breakfast, a mix of Indian and China teas. The dry leaves are long and skinny and mostly quite black, although there is some brown in there. Altogether they almost look midnight blue. The aroma is winey and dark smelling - a sure sign of some Keemun in there. As it was brewing, it smelled so fresh, with the addition of a corn silk scent.

The tea brews up after 3.5 minutes, with boiling water, into a fairly light amber, almost a pumpkin color. The tea tastes as good as it smells. There is the deep winey taste of the Keemun and the lighter notes of either a late Darjeeling or a Nilgiri. To me, it seems somewhat light for an English Breakfast, but that's ok. The directions say to brew it 4-5 minutes, but I chickened out. It is a tasty tea and would suit for either breakfast or afternoon. i had it both with cream and without and I don't think it makes much difference.

Check out these two items currently on the Sereni(tea) and Puri(tea) blog from June 25, 2010 http://theteaemporium.wordpress.com/ They have just got to be seen, so hop on over there. I think the hangers are cute, but I am also not enamored of the cigarettea.

I don't know if any of you are rhubarb fans, but I am. Sometimes when I am making a sauce on top of the stove, it sticks and burns way too soon and I have to pitch it. I have discovered that it cooks beautifully in the micro! With minimum amounts of water, too. On a similar note, if you like to make applebutter or thick applesauce, do it in the oven just before you clean it. Almost no stirring and you can basically just forget about it for long periods.

Oh, woe is I!!! I have no more PG Tips tea bags. Whatever shall I do on brain dead mornings?