Update on World Tea East

World Tea East is going to be very exciting this year, with a multitude of excellent classes from top-notch tea pros and so many exhibitors!  One of the really neat things is that all the finest teas, tea accessories and specialty tea items that won this year's competitions will be showcased.  Won't it be fun to see and hopefully  taste what's on the cutting edge in the tea world?  There will be things like a BUNN at home tea and coffee maker, tea infused ice cream, Northwest Glass's fine Euro cup and saucer, exquisite packaging winners, such as Vintage Tea Works, just for starters.  And, of course, lots of teas to taste.  I hope you have all made plans to attend.  If you get tired of tea, there is Philadelphia to visit, as well.  Hop on a purple bus and hit the highlights.

You've probably all heard of the Slow Food Movement, well Italy has founded a Slow Tea Movement, dedicated to preserving tea cultures around the world, as well as working to improve the working conditions  on tea estates, including biodiversity.  Raise your teacups to them!  Did you know that there is also an Italian Association for Tea Culture?  Check it out at www.aictea.it

I was making a salad that called for grilled red peppers I didn't have and I wanted that smokey flavor - what to do?   Lapsang Souchong to the rescue!  I ground some up and added it to the dressing until I liked it - carefully, of course.  Yum.  It's also wonderful in a rub for grilled meats.  Oh yes, you can drink it, too. 

In fact, I think that is what I will have today, since I have a lot of it and it is again cool.  All I need to do is decide which one.  I am using a mix of Traditional and Superior, as there is not enough of either for more than a cup.  They are both from Life in Teacup.  Both come in small red sample packets, the traditional a dull, somewhat plain red, the superior in a highly decorated shiny foil.  The traditional is darker, with smaller leaves and  heavily smoked.  The superior one has longer, more twisted leaves and the barest hint of smoke overlying a leather/woodsy aroma.  I brewed them at 212 degrees for 3.5 minutes.  To do them justice, I know I should have brewed them separately and compared them, but I am impatient today.

The taste is so different from what I expected.  It is very smooth and delicate, with only the barest whisper of smoke.  The body is somewhat thin.  There are hints of vegetativeness about it and all in all it is a lovely tea.

Of Tea and Churches

Mother's Day is coming soon.  Are any of you doing something special  for a mother in your life?  All my mothers and grandmothers have gone on and the one I kind of adopted is far away, so all I am doing is sending cards.  However, when I go see her later on, we are gong to tea at one of our favorite places - Thyme for Tea in Lansdale, PA.  They have a great assortment of teas and their food is wonderful.  They also have a very nice little gift shop.  I am in hopes they will have a violet sprinkled tea pot, as I have cups, but no pot.

Today is perfect for a hot cuppa.  It is gloomy and cold and I am going crazy trying to make my house as kitty fur and clutter-free as possible.  My cousins are going to visit and they are allergic to the little darlings.  So, of course, we all know they will climb all over them, they who have raised ignoring people to a fine art.

I'm taking tea with Upton's again.  It is TD60, Premium Darjeeling Blend.  I brewed it for 3.5 minutes with boiling water.  The dry leaves are definitely a blend, with black, brown, green leaves and some stems here and there.  There really wasn't much scent other than "tea".  As it brewed, however, there was that fresh-wash-on-the-line aroma, coupled with a bit of toast and muscatel.  At first I thought this gentle tea tasted a bit like bamboo with a hint of green, then there was some sort of wet wood/vegetation taste.  It is a pleasant tea, light and suitable for afternoons, but it isn't anything special and I don't know that I would label it premium.  But then, quite a while ago, I seemed to have lost my taste for Darjeeling, unless it is superb.

Yet another Italian church, filled with inlaid marble, this one is also on Ischia Island.  This is more to my taste, as it is less fussy.  The little church I attended as a child was plainer than plain, with huge clear glass windows, the better to watch birds during boring sermons.  It had a long shed behind, for stabling horses, a holdover from years ago and now filled with the junk such structures seem to acquire.  To this day, when an institution fires up its gas ovens or burners, the smell returns me immediately to the church suppers held in the basement.  It was a good time and place.

Gyokuro and chai

Today I had some Gyokuro tea from my sample collection. This is the
famous and expensive shade grown green tea from Japan. The sample is from Upton's. I brewed it at 170 degrees for 90 seconds. When I opened the pkg, it smelled wonderful, spinachy and with a slight floral edge, very fresh and green. When I went to pour it out the spinach scent was more pronounced with a stronger green note. The tea looked very thick, almost soupy. So far, so good. Then I sipped it. I hated it! It tasted like bad spinach. I kept sipping it and rolling it around in my mouth. Still awful. So I did another infusion. Weaker, but I didn't like it one bit more. Perhaps it is just as well, as it is very expensive stuff.
Later today I am going to have some no name pinhead gunpowder that I bought in the Asian market in Albany, NY. I know I like that. I say it is no name because I cannot read the Chinese characters. I love to go to Asian markets and buy a bunch of teas. They are usually inexpensive, as these markets usually cater to ordinary folk. The packaging is always colorful and there is a sense of adventure becuase I never know what I am going to get.
I have to say this is not true of the Indian market teas. In the ones I have gone to, there is usually a small selection of Lipton's, red, yellow or green label. I don't think there is much difference between them, although I believe the green label is more expensive -$8 a pound. They usually are in tins. There is also another brand that is more Indian appearing, but the tea is about the same. They are all CTC -crush, torn, curled teas and brew up very quickly. That, however may be their only virtue.
Well, no, they are a good base for chai. The only chai I have ever had has been made by my young friend, Raj Devathala from the Hyderabad area of Southern India - that is the nearest big city we would recognize. It has always been excellent. Some of it's charm has of course, been the company, but it could certainly stand on its own and is a fitting finish to a fiery South Indian meal. The Devathalas tell me that Indians are so fond of excessively sweet things as they are because it is a perfect antidote to the fire. The fire and sweet even each other out to produce a nice sense of well-being after a meal. And this is definately true, as well as delicious.

Today's picture is of the mosaic on the ceiling of one of the churches in Ravenna, Italy, a city famous for mosaics. This particular church was built about 600 AD and the mosaics are still absolutely, jaw-droppingly glitteringly fanatastic! Absolutely superbly beautiful and worth every second you can spare to gawk. I could say this after a huge surfeit of church viewing.

Lady Londonderry and Limoncello

Today is the wedding of some young friends, Jules and Jeanne. Since we could not be there, I decided to lift a cup of Lady Londonderry to them. Long life and much happiness to you! This was supposedly Princess Diana's favorite tea, with hints of strawberry and lemon. It seemed an appropriately romantic and wedding-y sort of tea. Usually I buy mine from Culinary Teas and I like that very much. This time I though I would try some from

The Tea Table.

It is not quite the same, but it is a very nice tea. I think the lemon overpowers, in the gentlest way, the strawberry, so it is not as well balanced as Culinary's, but is is quite good, nevertheless.

For someone who claims to prefer unflavored black and oolongs, I certainly am out in the flower fields a lot this week. I think that is because it has been so hot and humid and my brain has been sozzled from the outside in. However, the basil, thyme and the white rose think this weather is marvelous, so all is not lost.

I was reading the UK Tea Council blog and they say that 96% of people in the UK use teabags only!!!!!!!!!!! Wow, is that a switch. What happened to this bastion of tea drinkers? The first time I was there, I was staying with friends for the weekend and they asked my friend and I to make "elevenses" for their workers. We had never made tea in a teapot and had no clue whatsoever how to do this, as it was LOOSE TEA and not tea bags. But we soldiered on. The workers drank it, with a great deal of puzzlement, but for the rest of our stay over several weekends, we were teased unmercifully and, funny thing, they didn't ask us to make tea again.

The picture above is one of Limoncello makers of Sorrento, Italy. This is a lemon liquer, made from the lemon trees that grow all over the town and surrounding hills. You can walk up and down the streets, sampling them until you can't walk anymore - it is strong. We made a lemon sauce for pasta when we were there and the lemon oil just leapt out of the skins. It was soooo good. These lemons are large and quite a bit sweeter than we see here in the grocery store. There is also a Crema di Limoncello, which is also a wonderful drink. Keep them both in the fridge and serve on a hot summer evening. In very small glasses, however.