The interior of the Meieringen Church, with its perfect acoustics.


I have discovered a new use for my large tea sock. If you don't know what this is, it is a handy little gadget that looks like the toe and arch part of a sock, with a metal ring around the top. I first discovered these when my friend, Ruth, married her husband, who is from Puerto Rico, where such socks are used to brew coffee. Upton's carries them in 2 sizes - mug and teapot. http://www.uptontea.com/







I have not been happy with my usual way of making ice tea directly in the pitcher as it involved pouring the tea through a strainer into another container and then back into my pitcher. It always seemed to involve spilling enough to be annoying. I tried using my largest teapot and it was okay, but still lacking. However, this method works very well, the ring rests on an inner ring in the pitcher, secured by the sock's hook. When I am done, I squeeze the sock, turn it inside out over the compost, rinse well and I am done. I only need two - one for green and one for black.







While I was at Wegman's, I noticed they had an aisle just for bottled teas. I usually ignore these, as they tend to be awful. However, I noticed that they had some from Ito En, which has a good reputation. They were also unsweetened, hooray, hooray.! I decided to try the Jasmine Green Tea. It comes in an attractive, recyclable plastic bottle. The label states there is only green tea, jasmine flowers and ascorbic acid in it. It further states it is brewed tea. The tea is a pretty pale gold and smells like jasmine. It tastes like a good jasmine tea, delicate and flowery, with a good balance between the flowers and the tea. You can actually taste that you are drinking green tea. I think I shall have to try some more, since this is so good.

Chasing Dragons at the Well

Greetings! I know some of you have been concerned about tea from Japan. Roy Fong of Imperial Tea Court was in the Far East on a buying trip and talked with a Japanese tea merchant about this. If you go to his blog http://camelliasinensisblog.blogspot.com/ you can read about his trip, see some pictures of tea fields and learn there is nothing to fear, as the nearest tea fields to Fukishima are much too far away to be affected.

It seems a great deal of the world is celebrating the upcoming Royal Wedding. Even our little Owego is having a wedding brunch in honor of Will and Kate. http://www.worldteanews.com/ has a section where you can read about more celebrations. Even I will probably watch the wedding. This site is aimed mostly at people in the tea business, but there is a lot of information about tea to be had.

Are our teabags really compostable? This is certainly a question I have had, as I compost as much as I can. Good for less trash and truly " Black Gold" for the garden. Apparently some composters have been finding otherwise, in spite of claims on the tea boxes. Paper ones will, but I shall have to examine my compost when it is ready to put on the garden and see if indeed they are. Loose tea is always compostable, another good reason to use it.

Even if you have a tiny backyard, you can still compost in a bucket or dig a hole and alternate the hole's dirt with what you're composting. Then you have a perfect place to plant something next year. If you have room to grow tomatoes, plant them around your compost bin - they will thrive. In case you're wondering, I was out aerating the compost yesterday, which always brings up the issue. We have 2 compost bins - they look exactly like Darth Vader's head, complete with grill.

That was a far enough wander off the beaten path to tea. What goes with a cold windy day with the sun struggling to shine through? Gotta do greens, to encourage the softer aspects of Spring.

I am having some Dragonwell from Ito En. I got this in a swap from Steph. I just love the leaves, so flat, and they feel like silk sliding on my fingers. They have a very fresh green scent, almost spicy. I brewed it up with a bit over a teaspoon with water about 170 for 2 minutes. The brewing aroma was that of a crisp winter night when everything is frozen and it is about to snow. So much for Spring. It is a lovely pale old gold color. It tastes like a cross between summer squash and asparagus, but not, if you understand. There was almost a metallic edge to it. Words can only approximate. I found it to be very pleasant, somehow a soothing and comforting cup.

Long Live the King

Bacharach, Germany



We just got back from seeing a very special movie - "The King's Speech". It was so well done, with many tender moments, many of joy, many of pain. I thought all the actors did a superb job. I would really highly recommend it. The director wanted to do this about 25 years ago, but the Queen Mum asked him to wait until after her death, as she didn't think she could go through such awful pain again.





When I was tidying my tea drawer, I realized I have an awful lot of green teas that I need to report one, so for the next few days, that is just what I am going to do. I chose Ito En's Dragonwell for today. I got this from from friend Stephanie way out in Washington. This is one of the "Famous Teas" of China, a list of the top 10. Except it isn't really as there are about 15-20 that are on the list, many of them changing places as to whether they are on it or not. This one, however, seems to make the list all the time. It comes from Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province, plucked in the spring and panfired in a wok..








I brewed the Dragonwell for about 2 minutes, with water about 180 degrees. The dry leaves smelled a bit like stone fruits and asparagus, but over all there was what I can only describe as a winter smell, with something of a metallic edge to it. As it brewed there was a scent of floral, along with the winter smell - a herald of spring? The tea tasted somewhat grassy, somewhat of asparagus, somewhat of citrus. Altogether a light, warming brew, carrying with it hints of spring weather. Much needed, as we appear to be in for some snow and freezing rain.

By the way, Ito En is considered to be an excellent source of good green teas.

Gingko leaf sugar tongs

Have you seen the gingko leaf sugar tongs on Ito En's website - under tea accessories?!!!!!!
They are exquisite. I love gingko tree leaves, they are one of nature's true masterpieces, each one perfect in itself. If I had $100 to spend on anything I wanted, I would be soooooooooooo tempted to get these. Just to look at - maybe I'd even have a lump of sugar in my tea to celebrate.
I have a friend, Lee, who is a rosarian [see Der Rosenmeister] who has at least 11 varieties of gingko. They are truly amazing. It is always so refreshing to be around him, he has so many enthusiasms.
So, this has little to do with tea, but surely sugar tongs count?