Going for the Gold

Ballenberg - the balcksmith's forge and inn

I let the Indigo Dreams from Madam Potts cool and it was delicious! More of the Jasmine came out - a winner every which way!


I discovered that I have two types of Yunnan tea from Adagio. One is Golden Yunnan, the other, Yunnan Gold. I think the former is now Golden Monkey. I didn't buy them that long ago, maybe in the late summer/early fall. Since I had the two I thought I would compare them.

Both of these teas are beautiful. Golden as their names imply. The GY is more gold and has less dust and bits of leaves. However, there is a very fine very golden dust on the underside of the top. Both have big somewhat fat leaves and buds. They smelled similar - like Yunnan, of course. The Y G was winey and smelled like an old house. Not unpleasant or moldy, just one that had been lived in a lot. To me, it was quite pleasant, reminding me of my grandmother's or great-aunt's houses. I guess where there had been a lot of good cooking. The G Y was also winey, lighter and more like a winery, in the room where the wooden casks of wine are stored. I brewed them both for 3.5 minutes with boiling water, using about 1.5 teaspoons per cup because the leaves are so big.

The YG brewed up darker and more intense with somewhat more depth of flavor. There was more of the slightly peppery flavor of Yunnan. However, the G Y seemed more complex, setting off more parts of my mouth with flavor. There was more nuttiness, more leather and wine barrel in it. Both were quite smooth and I would be hard-pressed to choose between them. I generally go for the most gold, as I usually like those Yunnans best. Here, there really isn't enough difference. As a side note, they both went very ,very well with a ham salad sandwich.


I am sure that those with a better palate would be able to discern many more differences and layers of flavor than I. I like to think I represent the average drinker of good loose teas. I really admire those with super palates and wish I had one, but there I am, along with most of us, I would guess.


Today's mail brought me a new book from Amazon – Mary Lou and Robert Heiss's newest – The Tea Enthusiasts Handbook: A Guide to the World's Best Teas. It was $11.55 plus shipping. I haven't had a chance to look at it, but I am eager to, as their last book was excellent. This is quite different, more along the lines of Harney's book.

The end of (my) Ten Ren

This lovely old barn is from the Ballenberg Outdoor Museum in Switzerland. The Swiss have gathered up over a hundred old structures and preserved them in a huge park which would take days to see. They have costumed folk who interpret and are busy doing old crafts, making foods, caring for historical breed animals. It is a lot like Williamsburg in that respect. There will be number of pictures from there to follow.



I guess our flirtation with summer is over. We went out last night at 81 degrees and came home to 47! It is cold, damp and gray today. It is supposed to freeze tonight, so I cut some of the half-open magnolias to bring in so I can enjoy them. If it does freeze, they will be brown slime in the morning. It absolutely poured, so I brought in bunches of squashed daffodils as well and they perked right up.


Naturally, when one is chilled, one's thoughts turn to tea. I had 2 more Ten Ren tea bags from my swap friend, so I thought I might as well finish them. The first is called Ten Wu. Again, it is a paper bag, but there is no gusset. I brewed it as usual at about 190 degrees for 3 minutes. I loved the smell, vegetal with a floral and cream overlay and what I can only call an Asian base note – that scent that reminds me of Asian markets. This seemed like a heavy Oolong, with acidic or bitter notes along with the creamy ones. I liked that about the tea. Sometimes oolongs are just too light-weight and today was cold enough a sturdier tea seemed better.


The last of these Ten Rens for the moment is a Ti Kuan Yin. There is a definite smell of orchids from the brewing tea, which I love. The liquor is a medium amber – much darker than I expected. It is also a much more heavily roasted Oolong than I care for. It tasted heavily vegetal, with some sort of nutty tanned leather accents. Not for me, although I know many others prefer these more roasted Oolongs. I guess a medium roast is as far as I want to go.

Dreamin' Tea for Paradise

Just another pretty day in paradise. Which it is here, as well. All the daffodils are blooming, as well as one very pathetic hyacinth - but it smells nice.

Speaking of which, I am having a delightfully smelling, tasting and

looking tea. This lovely creation is Indigo Dreams, handcrafted by Madam Potts, who kindly sent me a sample. It is composed of Jasmine spiral buds, lavender, jasmine flowers and violets, so there are several shades of blues, creamy white and very soft gray green in the mix. I love both jasmine and lavender, so I was really excited to see how they would go together. Very well!There is the sharp scent of the lavender overlain by the soft sweetness of jasmine. I brewed it up at about 180 for 2 minutes. At times it smelled like one flower and then the other. Interesting. The light amber brew was just plain delicious. Definitely lavender, but just as definitely softened and sweetened with the jasmine. I think the latter wins out in the scent department. After we move, I am planning to get some of this. You can too, by going to Madam Potts' blog sitesite http://www.teaguru.blogspot.com/ and clicking on Personaliteas and then Signature Blends. Make sure you read her blog while you're at it. More quickly you can go to the tea site www.madpotsoftea.com PS I let this cool completely and it was so good. The jasmine came through more. So, this would also be a great tea for the summer. Wonder what a small sprig of mint would do? Hmmm

I have made a vow not to buy more tea until we are in our new house. Speaking of which, the first people came to see this house last night and are making us an offer tonight, oh my. I hope it is a good one, it is really, really wearing on me to be kind of hopping on one foot and then the other in some sort of anxious dance. We are so clean and absolutely tidy I can hardly imagine it. The cats have just gone outdoors in disgust, hoping no one decides to vacuum the yard or dust their ears off again!

Love and Lemons

That, my friends, is called barrel vaulting. It is in a Swiss church and it is part of the perfect acoustics the building possesses.


Yesterday I was reading the Tea Musings Blog. Cha Sen was remembering her grandmother's special tea pot. It made me remember the two teapots I have that are special, one from my grandmother Feuz and one from my mother-in-law, Josie. Both of them are small cheap things. My grandmother's is a little brown pot, with some flowers on the side and a lid in pieces, which I very carefully put together, just so. Josie's is a thatched cottage. I also have Josie's spaghetti/bread raising pot. For her, cooking and eating was the great circle of love. When I see or use these things, I am reminded of love given and received. These battered items and others I have “for remembrance” as my husband's aunt, Zizi would say, are very precious. They are roots and ground, they are real in the way the battered Velveteen Rabbit became real – when he was loved enough. Please tell me some of yours!


I came across something a while ago that I thought I would try. When I saw it, the True Lemon Store was giving away samples. Mine just arrived. They are packets of dried, crystallized orange, lemon and lime juices. I tried both the orange and lemon in cups of tea and they are super! Very fresh and tasty and one packet is plenty for a mug of tea. You can also use them in other things. They say you can find them in supermarkets, next to the sweeteners. I haven't looked yet, but if you can't, their web site is www.truelemonstore.com and it tells you the stores that do carry them, or you can buy them on line.


There is no tea tasting today as we are getting ready for the first showing of our house. We are scrubbed and tidied to a fair thee well. I wish it would last, but with 2 slobs and 4 cats, it isn't a good bet. Tomorrow will be easier.

Let's Hear it for the Red, White and Blue

The Aar river in Switzerland. If you kinda squint, there is a cow in the
left middle. I think the snow-covered mountain is the Monch, aka the Monk. The Aar, by the way is a favorite of crossword puzzlemakers, for filling in those awkward spaces.


Another day, another Simpson and Vail tea. They can be found at www.svtea.com This one is called Patriot's blend and it is a mix of their American Breakfast Blend (Indian and Formosan) with the addition of raspberry and coconut pieces and some blue cornflowers thrown in to make a red, white and blue statement. The dry tea is, of course, quite attractive, with small leaves. It doesn't have much scent, other than fresh tea. I brewed it up for 3.5 minutes with boiling water and that had little scent, as well, although I thought I smelled a bit of cinnamon. It is a medium amber brew and it tastes like... tea, with a slight fruitiness. For me, it was kind of bland, because I used too little. That was yesterday and today I used more and it was much better. It is not a nuanced tea, but it is a pleasant everyday tea. It is milder than I really like for black tea and I am sure it would be ideal for those who like those.

Hot again today. Phoo, I want real spring.

The Two Princes

Some ancient stonework.

Aha! I thought that my Twinings Prince of Wales tea was different, so today I tried a can I bought earlier along side the one I just bought – same mugs, same amount of tea, same water, same length of time to brew – 3.5 minutes. In fact, the dates on the cans are only 2 days apart. I don't know if that is a use by date or a manufacturing date. I think it is the latter. As they were brewing, the older one had a slight floral, fruit aroma, almost like really good bubblegum. The new one had a smoky scent, with a hint of leather. The older had a bit of a fruit taste, too – a hint of black currant with maybe a bit of spice. The new one had a harsher edge to it and reminded me of a mild Russian Caravan with that mild smokiness. So there is, they are different. Next I am going to try them mixed together. I did, they are nothing special. I guess I am going to have to find another Prince of Wales supplier. I hate having old standbys shift so much. I am going to complain to Twinings.

If you'd like another “hit of Brit”, the Tea Guy Speaks from April 1 has a good P G Tips commercial and access to some cute games on line, suitable for playing while waiting for your tea water to boil. http://www.teaguyspeaks.com/

The past 3 days have been very warm and sunny and the daffodils on the south side of the house are beginning to bloom. Last year they were all gone in three days, as they started to bloom just before we had a week of 90 degree weather the end of April. I much prefer the slow moving springs, so we can enjoy the flowers and not have them bolt. The pussy willows are already gone – only 1 day to enjoy them! Coltsfoot is also blooming and I am looking forward to a huge patch of trilliums I spotted last year – all white with just 2 red ones. I hope we get some cool weather back, as I love my lilacs and want to enjoy their scent blowing through the house.

I hope some of you get to go to the World Tea Expo in June. The theme is "Wake Up and Smell the Leaves" I think it is a great title.

A Journey to Java, a Time for Silence and Celebration

Along the Rhine River in Germany, with a castle, of course.

The pussy willows have come out with those furry little catkins and there are a few forsythia beginning to bloom ! Hooray. My daffodils are about 6 inches tall and I can see the flower buds. Maybe 2 weeks and we'll have flowers. The iris I planted last fall have finally decided to poke through and the lavender has started to grow. So good to see growing things and smell the earth.

I have mostly been in a black tea mood of late and only great acts of will have enabled me to try other teas. Today I will continue with the dark side, as I found a bunch of Simpson and Vail black teas tucked away. Today's is from Java, which is part of the Indonesian island chain, from the Kertasarie Estate. The dry leaves are pretty small, black, with a few browns to liven it a bit. The dry smells like tea, with a scent of aged wood, kind of oaky, maybe. As it brews there is also a floral aroma, with a nutty and malty edge. It brews up to about a medium amber, which surprised me, as I expected it to be much darker. I really like the taste, but I can't quite pin it down. There is some nice astringency, the slightest hint of lemon and kind of an oaky wine finish to it, without being grapey in the least. It is like some Ceylons, but I think it is lighter and brighter, somehow, if that makes any sense to you. Any way, it is a very pleasant tea and one I would recommend.

On a less happy note, I just bought a bunch of Twinings Prince of Wales tea, the standard by which I measure all other Princes. I had a cup this morning and it tasted nothing like I expected! Oh woe. It may just be me, so I will have more, but I was sadly disconcerted. Especially since I bought 3 tins worth. You don't suppose my palate may have grown past it? That would be nice, but I'd hate to lose my Prince, even for sentiment's sake. I'll keep you posted.

I will not be writing again until the Monday after Easter, as I take time for silence, to remember the suffering of my Lord and to celebrate His day of Reurrection! Let the earth be glad and the heavens ring with praise and thanksgiving!