A Wind in the Willows [ok, Pine Trees]

I never get tired of mountains and hills.

The wind blew so hard today the bird feeders blew out of the ground. That sounds like a tall tale, but it's true. A red bellied wood pecker, which really has a mostly red head, landed on the suet feeder today. She's so much larger than the little downy it was quite a shock to see her. Until today, the blue jay has been the only larger bird still around.

We live in a heavily wooded area and sometimes, when you look over the hills, it is so unrelievedly gray, as the trees draw all their life force into their roots to survive the winter. That is why I am so glad to have the birds right outside my window, even though some of them are grayer for the winter, such as the goldfinches. I turn on as many lights as I can in good conscience to combat the winter blues and I make sure they are all the daylight kind.

Then, of course, there is a nice cuppa! No real tastings today - just an old friend, Enjoying Tea's Imperial Yunnan Black aka Imperial Gold Dianhong. It's a very pleasant , slightly spicey, slightly flowery Yunnan. I don't have to think about it - just enjoy.

I don't know if I will be doing much in the way of tea tasting over the next week. We arehaving Thanksgiving here, with friends, some of whom will be staying the weekend, so there is a lot to do. I have plans all written out - that is amazing in itself. Today I am going to make up the pie crust and the turkey is in the garage refrigerator beginning to thaw. We decided to get a small one this year and wound up with a 22 pounder. A lot of stuff can be made ahead and just reheated, so that is what I am going to do.

Did you know the First Thanksgiving probably did not have turkey? More likely fish, clams, oysters, mussels, venison, perhaps grouse. There was probably some sort of maple sap to sweeten things, corn and beans, maybe some apples and cranberries, maybe some pumpkin. A lot of the food would have been dried or smoked to preserve it for the winter.

It doesn't matter, the Indians saved our ancesters from starvation.

May we all remember all the things we have to be thankful for and let our hearts fill with gratitude and love.

Afternoon Deeeelight

Friday, August 27, 2010

This is a view of the very elegant room where the Lippizaner horses of Vienna, Austria perform. I'm not sure the Viennese do very much that isn't elegant.



Oh dear, I shouldn't have done it. I compared an oldish sample of Enjoying Tea's Imperial Golden Yunnan Black [Dianhong] with a new sample of Upton's China Yunnan Golden Tips Imperial. Two Imperials, right? Well, sort of. Both had lots of golden tips and long leaves, both were abundantly coated with gold dust. Upton's were longer and the smell! Oh, the scent of of it - like old dried wood in the sun, coupled with that of a woodland spring of fresh water.


Both were brewed for 5 minutes at boiling, ET's only required a teaspoon, but the latter needed 1 and a half, due to the very large leaves. Both had that characteristic fresh wash smell of Yunnan, although Upton's was stronger. ET's was kind of a medium amber, Upton's such a dark amber it was really a dark brown. Which brings us to the test - the taste. Here, alas, ET must bow out. If I had had this alone, I would've thought it was an adequate Yunnan. Pleasant, smooth, full of flavor. Definitely not top rank, but plenty good for everyday. However, I compared them. It probably is an unfair comparison as Enjoying Tea is from last year, which was not a good Yunnan year. So, actually that says something good for ET's quality.



Upton's said Yunnan quality was back and this is proof. Smooth, spicy, peppery, deep woodsy, winy, malty, all those good words about Yunnan, they're all there. The flavor lasts in your mouth to fade gently away, like old potpourri, with the spiciness being the last to linger. But your taste buds remember the sensations. I liked it so much I decided to do a second wash, for 5 and a half minutes, using half the water. The color is almost as dark, the scent almost as rich and the taste is still there. Okay, it's a little muted, but getting a cup and half or more out of enough tea for one cup is pretty good economics. And it allows you to keep drinking the good stuff.