Burlap Dancing Tea

It is foggy this morning.  In fact, it has been foggy almost many mornings this month.  Supposedly, weather lore has it that the number of foggy mornings in August is the number of snow storms you'll have in the winter. Actually, I just got an email from someone who really keeps track and it's only been 12.  The first winter we were here, that was right on target.  Last year we didn't have much fog and almost no snow.  We'll see how this coming winter is.  We really could use the snow, our ground is very dry.  I am hoping for a beautiful winter as we are going to have a brown fall.  Many of the trees are losing their leaves already and they're just brown - too little rain. We haven't had a really pretty fall in quite a while.

Tea wise, that means I can look forward to some cozy afternoons with a good book and a great pot of tea by my side.  Choosing one will be the problem, as there are so many I like.  As I continue to try different teas to review, my favorites list keeps changing.  It also gets altered by how my favorite tea turned out this year, given the weather in its garden.  I'm not too taken with this year's Yunnans, for instance and the Keemuns seem to be lacking a certain burgundian spark.

Today I am having an Assam - Queen Namsang from Simpson & Vail.  It is last year's harvest from the autumn, and comes from the Rani Estate, all of 157 feet above sea level.  It is organic.  The dry leaves are very black and quite small.  They give off a faint, almost apricot aroma..  I brewed it for 3 minutes with boiling water.

We often think of green tea as dancing as it brews, but I must say, this black is practically doing a jig!  It is really fascinating to watch tea leaves unfurl.

The brewing tea smells a bit like burlap, of all things!  But wait, there's also an aroma of maple/honey candy.  Hmm.  One thing I like about tea is that once you think you have all the scents down pat, along comes a new combination.  That happens with the taste as well.  I can't quite pin this one down.  It is something like sarsaparilla, something like little kids white paste with a trace of nut and a bit of sweet.  I put a bit of cream in it and it rounds out the flavor amazingly and brings out the sweetness.  A good, everyday tea, but nothing really special.

Isn't that a cool tree?  Reminds me vaguely of the flattish tops of tea bushes, ready for plucking.  Shorter than this, of course.

Tangentially Tea

I have a sad confession to make about my ginger plant.  I put it out too soon and most of its leaves are in a sorry state.  However, it seems to be coming back, so if I can resist putting it out too soon again, perhaps it will be all right.

I have rosemary and tarragon vinegars curing in the closet and red wine vinegar waiting for purple basil if it ever gets more than 2 inches tall.  I have awful luck trying to grow basil from seed.  I think I should just give in and only buy it from a nursery.  I am going to make a lot of herb vinegars this summer.  If you use white balsalmic vinegar as a base, which is much sweeter than the usual, they can be sprinkled on fruit salad to add a bit of pizazz.  I am also going to try mixing some fruit teas with the herbal vinegars for further flavor.  Like a citrus tea, made very strong, with orange mint.

Most of you know that I lean toward organic teas.  On the whole I believe they are better for everyone, from planters to consumers to the earth as a whole.  That doesn't necessarily mean the individual teas are better or worse. That is a whole other tale. I don't think it is just scare stories that the earth and its climate are changing.  Winters are generally milder, flowers are blooming earlier, the climate is weirder. More tornadoes in more places that do not generally have them is an example of this.

Our Master Gardener program, which is part of a Co-Operative Extension program of the land grant universities, such as Cornell, has asked us to keep track of the compost we save each month as a way of proving how much waste we save from landfills.  So far, my husband and I have averaged 66 pounds each month.  Multiply that by composters around the country and you can see how much can be kept out of landfills, since the compost goes right into our gardens (after a year or so) to enrich the soil.  Which is why I am pleased that tea and some teabags and their containers, like those from Teatulia are organic and biodegradable.

The Co-Operative Extension started about 75 years ago to promote good agricultural practises.  My father, uncle and two grandfathers were charter members.  They were part of programs to promote crop rotation, sustainable agriculture, crop comparisons, contour plowing, etc.  I feel like I have taken up a proud legacy by becoming a Master Gardener.  Even in cities like Philadelphia, there is a strong Co-Op, dedicated to urban agriculture, nutrition and other topics related to living well with the earth.

We are going away for a few days, so I won't be back until Thursday.

Again from Ballenberg, an example of the small huts that herdsmen would use in the summers in the high mountain pastures.  The lower level would be given over to cheese making and curing, while the upper level would be sleeping quarters.

Yes, Taiwan Does Make Black Tea

Nice rocks! And sunshine! Oh my!

Another cold, grim day, and tomorrow we're supposed to have 3-5 " of ... you guessed it - snow! Early Spring is often the triumph of hope over experience. But I saw more lambs today and each day seems to bring more birds. The mourning doves are courting. Rather, the male mourning doves are courting, but the ladies would rather eat.

I have my tea to keep me warm. Today I am trying a somewhat unusual one. It is from Life in Teacup. Taiwan is most known for its exquisite Oolongs, but this is Sun Moon Lake Black Tea from Nantou County. It is MOA certified organic. The dry tea is very large, twisted dead black leaves with a super scent - the aroma of good timothy hay in the hay mow, along with a strong overlay of honey. As it brews there is the smell of corn silage and roasted winter squash. This may not sound good to you, but it is music to my nose. I expected a very dark liquor and was totally surprised to find it very light. I brewed it for 3.5 minutes with boiling water and used the 2 pot method. This is where you brew the tea totally loose in one pot and decant it into another of the same size that you have warmed.

I don't think I used either enough tea or brewed it long enough as it was very light tasting as well. However, it does taste of roast winter squash and honey with some earthy notes. It is a very unusual and tasty tea and I am going to fool with it until I get it strong enough.

The World Tea Expo is coming to Las Vegas June 24-26 at the convention Center. If you register before April 22, you can get a 20% discount off educational seminars. There are over 200 new products showcased and many educational seminars, tea tastings and the opportunity to rub elbows with some of the "tea greats" Check it out at http://www.worldteaexpo.com/ . I sure do wish I could go.

Keemun in the Sun

Look what pretty stuff you can do with plaster.

Oh my, I have gotten behind in my tea tasting. I haven't been home a lot to do much. Today is another gorgeous day - bright blue sky, sunshine, cool but not awful. What more could we want? We'll get it for sure. one day last week was 48!!!!!! and then zipped down to 24. Sunday when we left early so my husband could preach at a church an hour away, it was snowing, the roads were miserable, and I, being the driver, was NOT happy. We got there okay, but my fingers needed to be pried from the steering wheel. When it was time to come home, it was a different world. This week is supposed to be above freezing - the January thaw in February.

I got a small order from Aura Teas and today I am going to try their Organic Keemun, which hails from Wuyan in Jianxi Province, China. The dry leaves are good and black, with almost a sheen on them. They smell wonderfully outdoorsy, like hay drying in the sun, with a bit of earth scent, as well. I didn't follow directions, as I am not at all patient today and can't bear the thought of multiple infusions. So, I just did my usual 1 teaspoon, 3.5 minutes, boiling water bit.

While it was brewing, it gave off a wonderful aroma of fresh wash on the line, dark chocolate and damp earth. The chocolate and earth come through in the cup and linger in your mouth in a very tasty, satisfying and calming way. It is just fine plain, a bit of cream seems to bring out a bit more of the chocolate. Altogether a fine cup of Keemun.

We have a small herd of about 6-11 deer who parade through our yards. The other day I counted 25! Too many for this small area. They were hopping about, running, jumping for no reason except what looked like sheer joy.