Who Has Seen The Wind?

It's another perfect day for tea while I watch the snow devils kicked up by the wind, as it howls and moans and keens its way across the long length of our back yards and on across the wide 50 acre pasture.  It's been quietly snowing all day, but there isn't any more than 3 inches, if you can find a place it's neither piled high nor scoured away by the wind. 

I have always loved the wind.  I love to see it ripple through long grass and set the trees and clouds flying against the sky.  I love its sounds, from the barest murmur to raging tempos.  I love to open my windows to hear it and feel it move across me as I go to sleep.  There is nothing quite like being snug in a warm bed while a storm rages.

You would think I would have a strong, sturdy tea for such a day, but no, I am having Jasmine Pearl Oolong from the puriTea.  I won't say a lot about it, because I have reviewed it before.  However, it is still wonderful, sharing the top spot with another from Life in Teacup.  Lovely jasmine, sweet and floral.  Lovely little green and white pearls, like miniature balls of yarn, unfolding in my pot.

It is worth having some glass teapots so you can watch your tea unfold or dance around or hop up and down as it brews.  More action seems to happen with greens and Oolongs, but some of the tightly twisted black teas are fun to watch, also.  This is often called "the agony of the leaves", but I rather think they are enjoying themselves, stretching out to do their job of enriching our day.

A.C. Cargill wrote an article recently at the English Tea Shop blog about tea and the Scottish games.  I was reminded that I haven't been to any for too long, so I am marking my calendar to go with my cousins to the ones on Labor Day weekend near Albany, NY.  The last time we went, it rained and it was mud to our ankles.  Not much fun, so we listened to some rousing bands, drank beer and ate 5 different kinds of french fries. (Ye gods!) There was only 1 clan tent still braving the elements and we were cheered to see their tartan is uglier than ours.  One or two at a time, ours - the MacDuffee - isn't so bad, but en masse, the weird reddish orange or orangeish red can be quite an eyeful.  This time I shall look for some good Scottish tea and biscuits and hope for harp players.

A poem I loved as a child, perfect for today:



By Christina Rossetti 1830–1894
Who Has Seen the Wind?


Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you:
But when the leaves hang trembling,
The wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I:
But when the trees bow down their heads,
The wind is passing by.

The small Swiss town of Darstetten, in Kanton Bern.

Good Bye, Old Friend

OK, so these are spring flowers.  They are still pretty and an antidote to the gray uglies out my window.

What a sad week.  One of my oldest friends has expired.  Before you feel too bad for me, I should say it is my Kitchen Aid mixer.  Only 25, but then my last one which I bought used, lasted for 40 years.  I did get a new one, but I shall miss my old faithful friend who gave me so many wonderful cakes, cookies, scones, bread, mashed potatoes, whipped cream, ice cream, profiteroles.  I'm on my second Cuisinart, also.  It always pays to buy the best you can afford.  I always recommend to new kitchen folks to go to an industrial or professional cookware shop - the stuff is made to last and they have everything one needs to have a well-equipped kitchen.  Or an over-equipped kitchen, as my case may be.

We tried to go for a walk today - I even got out my winter jacket - rats.  It was just too cold, with the wind blowing a howling gale.  I had to hurry home and have some tea to warm my toes and fingers.

I have reviewed this tea before, but it is a new year's batch, so...  It is Pearl Jasmine from the puriTea - yes, that is the way they spell it.  Two minutes at 180, or 3 1/2 if you mess up, like I did.  It didn't matter, which is amazing, since Oolongs and greens can be picky.  This is the same wonderful stuff that smells absolutely like jasmine flowers and tastes like them, too.  It is a green tea that doesn't get bitter if you over do it or if your cup is very large.  It is one of my 2 favorites.  I must warn you, this is comparatively strong, but I don't find it overwhelming and it isn't sickly sweet or like perfume.  it is simply, wonderful.

A Pearl of a Girl's Tea

I need flowers today, it is so gloomy.  However, the blue jays are definitely adding a bit of brazen brightness - they are alternating screaming their heads off at Ernie and eating great gobs of suet.  Them I wish he would go after.  Maybe they wouldn't be such show-offs.

It is a good day for tea - not only gray, but pretty chilly.  Jasmine tea sounds about right and I have the last of the Steepster Select monthly teas, their Dragon Pearl Jasmine from Red Blossom Tea Company.  The green and white balls give off a strong aroma of Jasmine, which seems surprisingly heavy and more along savory lines than overly floral. This is a white tea, instead of the usual green.  I brewed it up for 2 minutes at 180 degrees.  The resulting liquor was a soft gold, with a pleasant Jasmine scent.

The brew was smooth and soft, with a delicate, sweet taste of jasmine and a small surprising hint of some warm, sweet spice.  Maybe ginger, maybe cardamom.  Whatever it is, it is a very pleasant tea.

I have noticed something about brewed teas that I let cool on the counter before I put them in the fridge.  They get quite dark, even this light Jasmine.  Does anyone know why?  If so, please tell me.

This is quite likely my last post until next Tuesday or Wednesday.  We are leaving Thursday for Philly and tomorrow is packed with far too many things to do, including a visit to the vet for the Ernster, oh happy day.

I wish you all well and I'll be back with all sorts of good reports from World Tea East!

Wowee Kazowee, What a Jasmine

See how your eyes are drawn to the altar!

Well, my friends, today it is going to be in the 50's - in New York, in February! Who could imagine? Our Old Lady Cat, Sarah Sweetface, is celebrating by having a series of cat fits where she runs around the house, out the door, around the house and back in. I guess we have all gotten a bit sick of winter. However, lest we enjoy ourselves too much, Old Man Winter is arriving again on Saturday, so we shall frolic today and tomorrow. Maybe our 5' by 15' foot pile of snow will even melt a bit.

As taken as I am with Life in Teacup's Snowflakes on Green Lake Jasmine, I may have found a real competitor in The puriTea's Jasmine Pearl. These beautiful pea-sized green and white pearls release a jasmine aroma that will knock your socks and shoes right off. It is incredibly rich and sweet, the very essence-of-jasmine. It is such fun to watch the little pearls unroll, twisting and turning as they do, until they become quite large leaves. I brewed them for 2 minutes with 200 degree water. Oh my, the taste does live up to the promise! It is so smooth, so sweet (but not sugary) so jasmine! This is a full-bodied tea as well, which leaves a wonderful aftertaste of a jasmine wilderness in your mouth. There is almost a taste of rose in it, like the oft-mentioned Mock Orange bush. I don't know what that tastes like, I am really extrapolating from the scent. Another plus is that the bottom of the cup is as good as its beginning, without getting bitter.

Actually this is not a competitor, but an worthy companion with LIT's Jasmine. They are very very different. This is sweeter and heavier, whereas Gingko's is light and delicate. Two superb teas for different moods, perhaps.

Luck, lucky me to have some of each!

Jasmine for Celebration

Spring, Spring, Spring. Crocuses are up! Trees along the river are budding! Hooray!




Jasmine tea has long been one of my favorites, in spite of there being so many that aren't particularly good and my taking so long to learn how to brew it without bitterness. So, I am having another one today, to celebrate Spring. I think I may have found one of the best – Golden Moon Tea's Jasmine Pearls. It smells divine, it tastes divine, and it is not overly expensive, what more can I ask for.


The dry tea is very tightly rolled balls of green and white, smelling of very fresh jasmine blossoms. I brewed it for about 2.5 minutes with water at about 175. I kept tasting it after a minute and a half to make sure I didn't brew it too long, as my sample was small. The leaves had not finished unfurling so I quickly got out another cup and added more water for a second steep. It was better than the first! With more floral coming out. This tea has a nice mouth feel, very light and delicate without being wimpy. It just is an all round great cup of jasmine tea.
I have to say that most of the teas I have had from this sample pack have been really top-notch. Good work, Golden Moon. This sampler pack is $19.95 and you get 31 samples in a handy lidded basket. The only drawback is it makes me want to buy more tea, which I really should not.

Some new teas have been added to the upper ranks of tea - Ceremonie Teas. They come in individual little black boxes with gorgeous colorful seals on them. They look very classy. The Teatropolitan blog has more info on them. http://teatropolitan.wordpress.com

Jazzy Jasmine

That's kinda what it looks like here today, but Switzerland's moun-
tains are prettier.


Jasmine tea has long been one of my favorites, in spite of there being so many that aren't particularly good and my taking so long to learn how to brew it without bitterness. I think I may have found one of the best – Golden Moon Tea's Jasmine Pearls. It smells divine, it tastes divine, and it is not overly expensive, what more can I ask for.
The dry tea is very tightly rolled balls of green and white, smelling of very fresh jasmine blossoms. I brewed it for about 2.5 minutes with water at about 175. I kept tasting it after a minute and a half to make sure I didn't brew it too long, as my sample was small and green tea can get nasty if you over steep. The leaves had not finished unfurling so I quickly got out another cup and added more water for a second steep. It was better than the first! With more floral coming out. This tea has a nice mouth feel, very light and delicate without being wimpy. It just is an all round great cup of jasmine tea.

I have to say that most of the teas I have had from this sample pack have been really top-notch. Good work, Golden Moon. This sampler pack is $19.95 and you get 31 samples in a handy lidded basket. The only drawback is it makes me want to buy more tea, which I really should not.