A bit of Keemun Sparkle

It is very quiet this morning, with the sort of silence that only comes with new snow fall. There is a drifting, dreaming quality to it as it slips and sifts through the trees.  Sunset last night was also special, as the last rays turned the bog pink, then gold and finally blue.

I hope you all have taken advantage of the myriad tea sales on the net and elsewhere.  Some sales are continuing until the end of November or into December, so you might want to check on your favorite venders.  Having more tea than I can drink in about 5 years, I did not, but it was a terrible temptation.

Today I am trying one of the Tea Trekker's tea, Keemun Mao Feng Premium.  This hails from Anhui Province in China and is organic.  The leaves are certainly black, twisted, thin and somewhat long.  They give off an aroma of oak, earth and cinnamon.  I brew it for about 4 minutes with water just off the boil.


This tea is as smooth as silk.  It indeed has a very oak wine barrel taste, with just a little hint of spice at the end - it leaves your tongue kind of sparkly.

These two old structures are in Durlach, Germany and date from the 1500s.  Europe really understands " Use it, use it up, re-use it."  While we were there, we had icecream in a fairly new structure - 1690.

Aah, Summer

For lunch today we had what could be considered the quintessential summer meal - corn on the cob, fried green tomatoes with buttermilk dressing, cucumber salad, raspberries and ice tea.  All seasonal, all from either our CSA or the Farmers' Market.  Well, the tea came from Uptons - ZK95, China Keemun Mao Feng Imperial. I made it on the light side and I must say, it is a delightful ice tea soft and winey, with a bit of floral..

In the same publication as yesterday, Delicious Living, I found a recipe for Chai Iced Tea Pops.  I modified the recipe some:


Simmer 8 chai tea bags or the equivalent tea and spices from your own recipe, with 1 cup coconut milk and 2 cups of water for 10 minutes, strain, add sugar to taste, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.  let cool for about 30 minutes and pour into pop molds, freeze about 3 hours.  You could also just use regular milk, it would be good either way.


Pop molds are in the grocery store, department store, craft store, almost every place and they are inexpensive - under $10 for 6 -8 of them.


Did you know the ancient Greeks had poetry, art, and architecture Olympics at the same time as the sports Olympics?     Remember the old concept, "sound body, sound mind"?  Greek concept.  In 1912 someone reinstated the poetry part in that year's Olympics.  It lasted until 1952.  It was discontinued mostly because the poetry was so awful.  NPR is having a poetry Olympics. We'll see if the poets are any better or should just fade away.


This morning I saw what looked like a deer family of poppa, momma and fawn, with gorgeous reddish brown coats and spots still on the fawn.  They are beautiful creatures, but I wish they would stick to woodland flowers and shrubs.


The wildflowers are early this year - the wild asters are already beginning to bloom and the purple loosestrife is running riot.  The chicory and Queen Ann's lace is having a superb year, with deep color on the chicory and more lace than usual.


My new lavender is blooming.  Not enough to do much with so I think I will just gather it and put the dried flower heads in with some Early Grey tea.  I first had this with some from Simpson and Vail Tea and I really like the combination.  I am hoping that next year I have a huge amount, both for tea and sleep pillows and all sorts of things

How's this for a casket?  Ravenna, Italy

Kool Kitties and Hot Tea

Although this is a summer picture, I know there is snow up above us and I am remembering the cool!

I had heard good things about Tea Vivre, so I ordered some sample packets from them.  Today I am having Organic Superfine Keemun Fragrant Black Tea.  It brewed in the time it took to type the name.  lol  It certainly is fragrant.  Sometimes flowery, sometimes biscuity, sometimes a bit like roasted corn, there's a lot going on here.  I brewed a pot with the sample at 194 (90C) degrees for 21/2 minutes.  The flavor is doing the same thing.  Each sip seems to have its own character.  Sometimes a trace of floral, sometimes biscuits, sometimes the roasted corn comes to the fore.  I am not getting any winey-ness and that I would like.  Nevertheless, it is a fine tea.

I know we are all hot.  I can tell - all the cats are lying in the breeze of the air conditioning.  Including one on the dresser, where it blows across his tummy.  He may no longer be the "good" kitty, but the Ernster is now the "smart" kitty.

It has been a regular riot out on the bird feeders, with everyone bringing their families to eat.  The poor little woodpeckers have gone to my neighbors to eat, there are too many jays and grackles here.  The adult jays have such a soft voice when they are talking to their young, it is amazing, since they really are terrible loudmouths the rest of the time.  The red-bellied woodpeckers are still here - no one wants to mess with their big bills.

I find myself practically somnolent in the afternoons - it feels like the heat just sits on my head and all I can think of is iced tea, a hammock and a simple book.  Not a time for improving my mind.

Filtered Happiness

I am once again an official "Happy Camper".  For some reason, PUR water filters will no longer stay on my water faucet.  So, I thought I would try Brita filter pitchers.  I thought they made my tea seem flat and somehow all tasting the same.  Then I discovered that PUR makes filter pitchers, also and now my teas again taste wonderful!  Happy tea, happy me.

Today I was waiting in the grocery line and spotted this tea party idea in a magazine:  when you are offering tea, offer a basket of edible flowers and herb stalks that people can choose to add to their teas, such as roses, nasturtiums, violas, pansies, thyme, mint, borage, and some of the others I've discussed before.  Probably best at a somewhat informal affair.  You could also add a few slices of ripe fruit or berries for folks to choose from..

Today I am having the first of my newly purchased Tea Trekker teas - Longevity Keemun, an organic black tea from Anhui Province, China.  In the packet it smells of fresh hay, but hay that has absorbed the aroma of wine barrels.  The leaves are a pretty mixed black, grey, brown and are somewhat long and twisted.  I used a heaping teaspoon per cup and water a bit under the boil, brewing it for 4 minutes.  It gave off a lovely aroma of dried corn/fresh wash, under girded with the wine barrel hay of the dry leaf.

This is a heavy, solid tea, going well with our fleeting coolness after a storm.  There is wine and dried corn, almost a heavily roasted taste.  Then it seems to soften and lighten, giving only fleeting hints of such things.  An intriguing tea!

This lovely church, Karl's Kirche, is in Vienna, one of the world's best cities.

One of Chicago's Best

Gosh, I hadn't realized it's been over a week since I last wrote.  I have been on an anti-new tea kick for some reason and some fine combination of lazy and doing too much.  However, I got some new teas in the mail and that has inspired me.  Today's is a Keemun "A" from the Chicago Tea Garden.  Sadly, they are closing, so they haven't got a lot of tea left.  It is all on sale, however.

The tea smelled lovely in the packet - a deep wineyness combined with a very nice good tobacco aroma.  I brewed it for 4 minutes with water just off the boil.  Now it has that lovely deep wine aroma coupled with something that reminds me of the smell of washing milking implements.  If you don't know, I grew up on a dairy farm and many of my "scent references" come from that time.  Hmmm, lovely tea taste that is very close to the aroma.  This is one fine cup of tea.  There's a bit of forest wood in it as well as the wine and tobacco, with some spice towards the end.  Excellent, excellent.

We are going on vacation on Sat. and so now I am trying to do all those things I should have done last week while I was admiring a rose garden and learning about old and antique roses.  My Master Gardener group went to see my friend Leon's rose nursery and we learned a lot.  Did you know there is a species of rose that grows up at the arctic circle?  Blows my mind.  I wish I could have more here, but between the deer and the soil, I guess three is my limit.  The deer ate off all the blooms on my newest rose last night.  See the gardener swear and get out the deer spray!

Did you know that woodpeckers like Hummingbird feeders and will drink the sugar water?  I heard it from 2 independent sources.  The downys, the hairys and the red-bellied are the culprits.  They are the three smallest here in the northeast, although the bill on the red-bellied isn't any too tiny.

Is It Assam or Keemun?

Today's tea is Winey Keemun English Breakfast from Grace Tea Company.  To me, it doesn't smell very winey, more a cross between tobacco and pickles. The leaves are small, black and chopped.  I brewed it, per recommendations, for 3 minutes with boiling water.  The resulting brew is a lovely yellow amber, not quite what I was expecting.

The tea isn't, either.  It smells like an Assam, malty.  There is a spring vegetal edge to it as well.  None of this is unpleasant, just not what I would call a Keemun.  To me, it just doesn't have a winey Keemun presence. Assam, yes.  Drat, I love Keemun.  I like Assam as well, it's just my mouth was ready for Keemun.  Maybe I just got some that wasn't mixed as well as it could be, as it is common for these 2 teas to be blended for English Breakfast.

The big news this weekend is the World Tea Expo in Las Vegas  Korean has sent it's largest delegation ever and there will be a big emphasis on Korean tea, which is generally of very high quality.  They've been making it since at least the 7th century, so they ought to be pretty good at it by now.  They are working to increase the tea world's knowledge of them, increase production and farmer's wages and benefits. Excellent goals.  Almost half of their tea farms are organic, always a plus, as far as I am concerned.

India is also going to be major player, with emphasis on its 4 major growing regions, Nilgiri, Darjeeling, Assam, and Kerala.  They are working towards brand recognition in the world market, emphasizing quality.  They are also pushing for an open route into Pakistan, which would ease delivery to one of their best customers.  Tea producers are also working towards having tea declared India's national drink.  At the moment, India only ranks 53rd in  per capita consumption, about 1 pound a year.  Compare that to the United Arab Emirates folk who, (are you ready?), drink 14 pounds per capita, per year.  I can't imagine drinking that much tea.

I have been very busy in the garden, establishing a lavender bed, planting roses, daylilies, miniature bearded iris and enough annuals to make it look less bare until things are established.  I've also been appreciating natures bounty, as the daisies and garlic mustard are blooming away, the may apples are fruiting and everything is so beautifully green.  Did you know you can make jelly from may apples?  You need a lot more than I have been able to find this year, but it is a lovely delicate confection, highly suitable for elegant tea parties.

On the bird front, there is nearly a daily riot at the feeders, as grackles, blue jays, red wing blackbirds, regular blackbirds and those awful starlings compete.  The woodpeckers come earlier and later, so they have a relatively easy time.  Our turkey population has grown to 3 and the Ernster kitty has been stalking them.  They totally ignore him, walking right past on their way elsewhere.  The first time that happened, he sat down very casually, as if that was his intention, and washed his tail, then bounded for the house for a snack, as though this wasn't a great blow to his hunter's ego!  LOLOLOL.  As if he was not the one doing the stalking.  Cats!

Here we are at Ballenberg Museum in Switzerland.  The woman is hauling a cart of bread from the bake house to the shop.  On the right is a barn with corn stored under it for the animals. Above it are the living quarters.  It is typical of Swiss farmhouses to have house and barn as one - winters are just too severe, otherwise.

A Banana In My Tea

Today can't decide if it should be sunny or cloudy.  Sadly, I think the clouds are winning.  However, I have the perfect antidote - tea!  Mine is from Upton's, their T151, Formosa Black Keemun.  I'll bet those Anhui farmers don't approve as they consider theirs to be the only authentic one.  The smallish dark leaves of this Keemun smell like - you'll never guess - bananas!  I had to sniff several times to make sure, but there it was.  Very strange.  However, as it brewed for 5 minutes with boiling water, it shifted very sharply away from fruit and down into very very darkly earthy.  None of this is the Keemun I am used to.

Howsomever, by the time it hit my cup it was very pleasant, still earthy, but moderately so, with well-rounded edges that finished off with a nice, old oaken barrel edge.  The entire experience was definitely new to me, with none of the wineiness or slight smokey character that generally denotes a Keemun.  Tea is so wonderfully itself, always ready to surprise and delight.

I got a funny cartoon in the mail.  A bunch of socks were in group therapy for lost socks.  Well, I need one for lost glue.  I have bought 3 things of Gorilla Glue in a year and had to go buy another one today.  This, after a great deal of effort to put tool and fix it things in ONE and only one place.  That has nothing to do with tea, as you might imagine.  It may one of these days, as I have far too much of it and I need to do another clear out.  Always put to good use for compost or helping clover seeds take hold in the lawn.

The potted ginger root report:  for several days there has been a bump on the top of the soil and today the first small green shoot has appeared.  Hooray!  Lots of nice ginger later this year for tea and goodies.

A very typical Swiss chalet.  This is probably one of the older ones, made from wood.  The new ones are made from concrete made to look like wood, because of the fear of fire in the mountains.  There aren't a lot of bodies of water available for fires.

Longing for Snow

I hope you all had very nice Christmases, with lots of wonderful tea gifts.  I certainly did.  My sister-in-law gave me a whole tea party, complete with Devonshire cream, lemon curd, scone mix and a pan to bake them in.  We're supposed to have company this week, so I am going to have afternoon tea with some of the goodies.  I'm dying to try the pan. 

My husband and I had to laugh - I bought him a bunch of good coffee and he practically cleaned the shelves of our local tea store.  We got lots of specialty food items as gifts, so we are going to party hearty with our friends.

Speaking of which, I just had a pretty hearty tea.  It is Keemun Encore, from Adagio Teas.  A Chinese black tea, the thin wiry black and brown leaves gave off an aroma of smoke, mixed with roasting corn and, of all things, onions - very faint, but I think it was there.  I brewed it up for 4 minutes with boiling water and the smoke remained, but the scent morphed also into red wine and that unmistakeable fresh tea smell.  You can imagine I was wondering what the taste would be! 

The taste was still smokey and the corn and wine were still there, but no onions.  It was deep and solid and hearty.  I happened to have it with a couple of Christmas cookies and I won't repeat the experience.  They really set each other off in an unpleasant way.  With a small ham sandwich, it was excellent.  I can't say I really liked this tea a lot, but it was certainly an experience.  That's what I like about tea, every cup is like an exotic trip.

See that white stuff on the mountain?  That's snow, which I wish we had.  I can say lots about being forced to notice things more carefully since we are in a gray/brown period, but my heart is longing for snow.  Maybe 6 inches.  Enough to cover everything nicely without it being too hard on  anyone.  Actually, I like lots and lots of snow, but I am trying to be nice  
We went out for dinner on Christmas with a bunch of friends.  We've never done that before, but I think we will again when our kids aren't here.  We had a lovely time, with excellent food, wine and company.  What more can you ask for?  And no prep, no clean-up.  Yum.

Tea on the Grill and in the Medicine Chest

No pictures today, the blogger thingy seems to be on vacation.

Oh my, it is definitely hot again today, upper 90's. The humidity is low, so it is not as bad as it could be. The Ernster cat is stretched out on my dresser where the air conditioning can blow on his tummy. Maybe I should try that.

If you are thinking of grilling, why not try marinating your meat in some fresh-brewed black tea? Add whatever herbs and spices you like and let it sit for an hour or so. The tea will tenderize it somewhat and if you use a meat fork to poke it all over, the marinade will penetrate more of it. Lapsang Souchong would be good, as would a Keemun or Assam. For chicken you might try one of the greens or a Darjeeling. If you use the Lapsang, make up a bit of bleu cheese butter for your steak, as the tea and bleu cheese go very well together. For dessert you could have grilled peaches or nectarines with some green tea ice cream. You could probably make your own by whizzing some vanilla ice cream with some matcha in a food processor until it is pale green and refreezing it. Do it quickly, so the ice cream doesn't melt too much.

Tea is also good for summer's mishaps, like bug bites and poison ivy. It helps stop the pain and itch and speeds along the drying of the ivy rash. If your eyes are tired and red, a cold wet tea bag does wonders. I can remember my grandmother using them that way very effectively, over 50 years ago.

Today was just cool enough that I could decide on a tea. But I am still not up for adventure, so I selected Upton's ZK17, China Congou, Keemun Hong Tao. The tea is organic, produced by a small group of Chinese farmers dedicated to organic farming. Upton's also says it is in the style of Anhui Province Keemun, which leads me to believe it is from another area. The Chinese say only Keemun from Anhui is authentic. I am all in favor of keeping these distinctions and I applaud Upton's for indicating this. For me, Swiss cheese, for example, comes from Switzerland, all others are Swiss type and simply don't have the same flavor. I am not enough of a tea person to know the differences, but I am sure that others are. It is a matter of terroir, the infinite variables of soil, water, air, that are only found in one area, whether it is French wine, Swiss Cheese or Chinese tea.


I followed instructions of 1 teaspoon, 5 minutes, boiling water. The dry leaves were quite small, an equal mix of tan and black. They gave off a subtle aroma of smoke, sweet and earthy. As it brewed, the scent shifted into a roasty, earthy one. The tea pretty much tastes that way. It is gentle, but a definite Keemun, with a solid earthy base, overlain with some sweetness. Those of you who don't like smoke, will like this one as that disappears. A very pleasant drink.

News With Tea

Beauty can be found in many shapes.

Contest Lovers -Teavana is having a contest for those who like to blend their own tea. Create the best summer blend to win new Teavana iced teas and accessories. Go to www.teavana.com/contest for details.

Over at http://www.teatable.com/ there is a new blog article about the mechanics of taste from the seminar they had at the World Tea Expo in June. They are also having a sale on teas for ice tea.

I discovered an interesting site http://tea4two.blog.co.uk/ . It is primarily a British site, but often carries US news as well. It has tea and tea shop reviews and recipes too.

The Tea Trekker has just announced that Korean green teas have arrived in their shop. They have 2 kinds available. These are the folks who wrote that excellent book The Story of Tea, a Cultural History and Drinking Guide, plus 3 others, all top notch. Their teas are excellent as well. http://www.teatrekker.com/

At the moment, however, I am going to turn to Upton Teas ZK95 China Keemun Mao Feng Imperial. What an aroma the dry leaves have, strong, mellow, roasted, like curing tobacco, with a slight floral edge. I did 1 teaspoon for 4 minutes and the scent shifted somewhat to an earthy, roasty, vegetable one. Sadly, for me I didn't think this had much of a Keemun taste, it seemed like it had been over-roasted. I was so busy being disappointed I didn't really taste it for itself, but I didn't like it. I shall have to try again and see what it's like without expectations, if i can manage it.

A New Kid on the Block

I didn't say yesterday, but these poppies line the Italian train
tracks.

I'm not sure this falls in the category of "now I've seen everything," but it's pretty nifty. A tea vender in Bagladesh has perfected a 7 layer tea drink, using different kinds of tea. If you'd like to read the article and see the teas, go to http://blogs.wsj/scene/2011/06/07/the-secret-of-the-seven-layer-tea/. It really is worth a moment of your time.


My Ernie has decided to live, eat, drink water, and howl because I won't let him out until he eats more. I am doing much better as well. All of the critters are out on the very hot back porch, having hot naps. Me, I go for AC.


There is a new iPhone app - Tea. Guess what it is for. There is a built in timer for different types of tea and places to keep notes on tea, brew settings and lots more. I have no iPhone, so I can't say anything about it other than it exists. If you try it, consider doing a review of it here as a guest blogger.


I could not resist the siren song of a new Keemun from Upton's - Mao Feng Imperial, which hails from Anhui Province, China. Hmm-mm, what an aroma - deep and winey and fresh - the true "burgundy of tea", which is its nickname. The leaves are quite long and thin and twisted - I discover later some are twigs, but no matter. I brew this up for about 4 minutes by the two pot method, so those big leaves have lots of room. What a scent - very roasted and winey, with a background of corn silk or roasted corn. The liquor was lighter than I expected, definitely more a red than a black.


The flavor was definitely intriguing. Light, but deep, with overtones of honey. It is very smooth and there is a hint of a warm spice. There is no smokiness, which I know many do not like, but which I do. This would make a great afternoon tea with some sweets or cheesy savories. I may try it iced, but I have my doubts about that.

Out in the Provinces

The new organ in Stephansdom, the Vienna cathedral.

Good morning all. It is a beautiful day today, with 50+ temperatures, sunny skies, naughty squirrels and flowers blooming. The colts foot is among them. It was named that way because the leaves reminded early folk of the hoofprint of colts. It is either the first or among the first of wild flowers to bloom. We've also seen some early tulips and daffodils. Hooray!

I am back among the Keemuns today, with the Tea Trekker's Keemun Congou. This is an organic tea, from Anhui Province in China, the home of Keemusn. The leaves are tiny, very black and have a smokey, winey, woodsy aroma. As it brewed there was more an aroma of cornsilk. The liquor was a very dark amber. The tea had a very full mouth feel and to me, tasted primarily of roasted corn. I think I brewed it too long, as it was beginning to get tannic. All the tes were brewed for 3.5 minutes with boiling water.

The next is Upton's ZK22 from Hubei Province, China - Keemun Ji Hong. Purists say this is not really Keemun as it doesn't come from Anhui Province. I would agree, it should be called Keemun style. I am in favor of foods being labeled according to their origin and others known as XXXtype or XXXstyle. I'm all for individuality in these cases. The dry leaves are a bit bigger , black mixxed with a bit of brown. They give off an odor of wet wood or wet hay, with some tobacco mixed in, altogether a very pleasant aroma. This carried through to the brewing scent. However, it doesn't really make it into the tea liquor, which just tastes like wet wood, while at the same time it is lightlysmokey. It's okay, but nothing to get excited about, although it is better cooler.

The last of the Keemuns I believe I have reviewed before. It is from Aura Teas and is their Organic Keemun, from Wuyan, Jianxi, China. It has the largest leaves and the greatest amount of brown ones. This one has an earthy, woody aroma. It brewed up the lightest amber and reminded me of my great-uncle John's cabin - a mix of earth, flowers, things aging gently in the sun. It is again a rather plain tea, with almost a citrus edge to it.

On the whole, I would rank these three near the bottom of the 7 Keemun chart, whereas the other four I've had in the past week would all rank at the top and I'm not at all sure where I would place them. You might have a very different reaction to all of them.

Keep Those Keemun Coming

How's that for a bit of Gothic tracery, complete with a saint on a pillar?

Blimey, but the birds are all a-twitter this morning, as are the peepers. I guess they are desperate for mates. The "bully boys" - grackles, blue jays, starlings - have been at the feeder, but the little birds just keep plugging away.

The deer are just too tame. Yesterday morning I chased them away from the bird feeders 6 times in the space of about 30 minutes. The feeders are only about 15 feet from the house, so you can see what I mean.

I am regularly hearing a pileated woodpecker and I am hoping that I will see one this year. A few trees are beginning to get reddish twigs and some have a few buds. It is supposed to be quite warm this week, so maybe we'll actually see some flowers and leaf buds. My church's daffodils will bloom this week for sure.

I am doing two more Keemuns today. I did do a scond wash on Tea Trekkers Keemun Mao Feng, but I don't know how long it brewed yesterday, as I got distracted. Maybe as long as 10 minutes. It didn't hurt it, as it was just so soft and smooth, really delicious. So, even though TT are a bit expensive, if you can get a good second brewing, the cost is really halved.

Today I am brewing up Tea Trekker's Keemun HaoYa 'A'. The leaves are tiny, black, mixed with some borwn. They have a faint wine smell. It brews up to a dark amber after 3.5 minutes and gives of an aroma that is somewhat earthy, somewhat fruity and floral. The taste is a earthy and with a bit of briskness, maybe something bisquity. It is a robust tea, suitable for mornings, but ones when you are awake enough to appreciate it.

The second offering is Upton's ZK15, China Keemun Hen Ru. Dry, it is floral and woody smelling at the same time. As it brews it gives off a floral and wet wood aroma, along with that of corn. The taste is also somewhat woody and while, okay, that's about as far as I could go with it.


On our walk today, we saw several neighbors' crocus blloming. It is so good to see flowers again.

Keemun to the Left of Me, Qimen to the Right of Me

An ancient house of the winemakers guild in Bacharach Germany

It's almost warm today and the weathermen say we will have a bit of sun. I sure hope so, it's been on the gloomy side around here. I have gotten a number of plants by mail in the assumptions we are ready to plant them. Hardly. I don't think the frost is out of the ground. So today I will be potting them up and will begin the great Spring Porch Shuffle. Plants out in the am, in before dark. By real planting time, I will be very sick of them all. Such is gardening. The rest of the shipped bits were only roots and they can go in the fridge.

I discovered I have 7-8 different Keemun or Qimen samples, so for the next several days I will be comparing groups. Or maybe just reporting, as they are all different. I brewed them all for 4 minutes with water about 205 degrees. They all come from Anhui Province, China

First up is Upton's ZK20 Keemun FOP, meaning Flowery Orange Pekoe, which in turn means it came from large leaves. Four minutes was a bit too long, as it has tannic edges, my standard 3.5 would have been better. The dry leaves were quite small, very black and smelled strongly of old barn wood, very rich. As it brewed the tea became very dark, with a smooth earthy aroma with a hint of cocoa. The tea is smooth, with the very very barest trace of smoke, maybe a touch of spice - one of the warm ones, like nutmeg. In spite of the tannic edge, it leaves an almost sweet finish in your mouth.

Next is Tea Trekker's Keemun Mao Feng Premium, an organic tea. The leaves are long and wirey, tightly held. The dry aroma is winey, and woody. After brewing, it was clear that not all had unfurled, so I will do a second wash. By now there was what I can only describe as a corn and wet bracken scent, maybe a cultured earthiness? This tea is considerably lighter in color and much sweeter with some real cocoa hints , although I might describe it as Nestle's Quick, that ubiquitous childhood chocolate milk maker. I loved it, so that is by no means a put down. There were still some elements of corn to it. It is very smooth and leaves your mouth wanting more.

I would not want to have to choose between these two, but I am a little more weighted towards the latter, for what that's worth.

Tomorrow I will do Upton's Keemun Hen Ru and tea trekker's Keemun Hao Ya 'A'.

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.

Here Come the Keemuns

Aaah, mountains!


Sunshine again! If this keeps up, we from the Great Northeast won't be able to complain nearly as much. Ah, but we are saved - snow tonight and tomorrow. I may complain, but I love the swing of the seasons. I love the rain, the snow, the colors of spring and fall, even the gray and white or sepia of winter. I just like it enlivened with sun.





In keeping with the Lunar New Year, I have 2 Chinese teas to compare today. They are both from Life in Teacup. The first is Superior Grade Keemun. The leaves are small, almost broken and pretty much brown. They smell very fresh, without much in the way of nuance. The brewing tea releases more of a winey scent. In the cup there is a very pleasant earthy wineyness, but it is somewhat subdued.





The second tea is Keemun Mao Feng and its superiority was evident as soon as the packet was opened. The leaves were mostly black, long and twisted. There was a deep scent of red wine barrel and a rich oaky undertone. The tea brewed up to a surprisingly light color, but not the taste, which was rich and full, deep and earthy, with the wine right along in there. Wonderful.





I have to say if I had only had the Superior, I would have thought I had a very nice cup of Keemun. However, tasting the second made me realize what I was missing. I do love Keemun. And to think I used to think it was awful stuff. But then, there were many teas I didn't like and have since grown to at least appreciate, if not downright love, while others have fallen by the way.

The Rabbit is Coming

In spite of the ground hog's prediction, I don't think this is for us
just yet. That's Punxsatawny Phil, who supposedly predicted an
early Spring.


Once again the weather mavens have gotten it wrong. No big deal, maybe 3 " with some ice on top - just enough to support the ravening squirrels, but not enough to support me. The cats are quite funny on it, as they have gotten used to having to hop over or plow through the snow and they look so confused walking on top. It was up to 48 about 2 hours ago and now it is 32 with a lot of wind and snow/ice/rain. The trees in the spinney are blowing every which way and look like they are doing some sort of mad dance.





Chinese, really Asian, New Year begins tomorrow. This is the year of the rabbit. I shall make some Shanghai soup and have spring rolls and perhaps a stir fry or maybe pot stickers to celebrate. And, Chinese tea, of course. Keemun, because that is my favorite. However, to get in the mood, I am having another green tea today.





Harney and Sons has always had quality tea and their Chinese Flower is no exception. I have one of their tag-a-long tins someone gave me, with 5 pyramidal sachets in it. Each is enough for a 12 ounce mug. The dry tea is a mix of Chinese green teas, accompanied by three flowers and some citrus. Citrus what is not clear. The dry scent is quite lemony. I brewed it for about 3.5 minutes and found it to be very tasty, almost exclusively citrus. This would be a good tea for those wanting to gently edge their way into green tea. Having said that, I have to wonder how it would help, as there is no taste of the tea, so you wouldn't really be experiencing it.

Mexico, Silver and Tea

It's really Wednesday January 12.

I love old stone work. I like to think about the people who shaped it and the strength of it and the age. Pretty impressive stuff.


We've been having some meals with a Mexican/Southwestern twist and I got to thinking about how you could do a Mexican themed tea party. Certainly there are enough foods that can be scaled down to do well as courses in a tea feast.


I was thinking of black bean soup, pureed, served with a small dollop of sour cream and a few of those corn chips that are long and skinny: A tropical fruit salad composed of pineapple, kiwi, mango or papaya with some raspberries or blueberries for color, drizzled with honey and lime juice: Taquitos, which are small and you can now get frozen, served with fresh homemade salsa: Homemade tortillias made from Masa Harina - small ones with Mexican style chicken and avocado slices and maybe grape tomatoes. You could also do small fried plantains or the ones made with peanuts and sour cream, or serve the tortillas with jam and butter or mock Devonshire cream. A small salad would be a pleasant addition.


For dessert there is flan or bunuelos or Tres Leches Cake, Mexican cookies or Jamaican bread pudding, made with a hefty dose of rum. For tea, I would definitely serve a good strong black. You could serve lime slices instead of lemon ones. With dessert, however, a nice chocolate tea with a dash of cinnamon would go very nicely. Mexican hot chocolate has cinnamon in it.



Okay, I have now heard enough about this and read enough that I can tell you. The best black tea is made in sterling silver teapots. Yup. Apparently this is a well-kept secret among the cognoscenti. It has something to do with chemical reactions and DOES NOT work with silverplate. Apparently black tea made in silverplate is absolutely awful. The only catch is that if you haven't inherited one or don't have beaucoup bucks you are out of luck, as sterling is astronomical in price. I have some teaspoons, but I don't think they'd do much for brewing the tea. Ah well, just one more reason to go junking. Such a sad thing to be forced to do. If you have a sterling teapot, please try it and leave me a note.


I do have some nice ceramic pots, however and I used one to brew up some of Culinary Teas Keemun Panda Grade 1 Black Tea. I used a little more than a teaspoon and did the usual 3.5 minutes with boiling water. The dry leaves had sort of an odd sharp smell I couldn't put my finger on. They were small and mostly black. As it brewed there was an aroma of old wood and a sour, but not unpleasant note, mixed with that fresh wash on the line scent. The taste was quite full and was something of a cross between hot toast and something deep and dark, but again, I can't think of the right word to describe it. Very frustrating. On the whole, it was a quite decent cup of tea.

Oh Well

Yes, indeedy, angels have smiled on us and we finally have enough snow
for everything to be pretty. There's about 5 inches and the trees and bushes and bird feeders are all capped. It is very quiet - that stillness that comes with new snow. It's wonderful. We'll go for a walk in a bit but I doubt we'll have company - the fur persons are content to watch from the back porch. Besides, we are taking down the Christmas decorations and there are all those boxes and that crinkly paper to play with!


Here I am again, with Far Western Trading Company's Grand Keemun China Black Tea. Today, there is nothing burning in the oven and no bad cat food smell to interfer. The dry tea still doesn't have much aroma - just a plain tea smell. The brewing tea has a kind of fresh wash, old wood scent, with a little something besides. Not sure what, though.

This is kind of an odd Keemun. Plain, it doesn't have anything distinctive about it - none of that winey deep flavor. I think it is a tad stale. It is somewhat acidic but not particularly pleasantly so. It is better with a touch of cream, but I have had much better Keemuns at better prices. I don't care for their packaging, either. The tea comes in a sealed, metallic sack, but you can't reseal it, so you need to hunt up a can for it.


Have your gardening catalogues started to arrive yet? Ours have and I want almost everything in them. However, good sense must prevail and I am going to buy some black raspberries, currants, and other small fruit I really want and just a few plants for the small patch in front. I'll get the other stuff locally. It's always such a trick to try and appreciate the now while looking forward. But if we don't, there is so much we can miss. Since I am at the older side of my life, with perhaps only 20-30 years left, I don't want to miss anything. My grandmother bought her last car - a red convertible at 85 and had her first motor boat ride at 90. You go, grannie!

Keemunin the Morning.

Monday Morning

More of Ballenberg


I was going to do my Northeast thing and complain about the gray, but the sun came out, so I can't. Sigh! We set up our second Darth Vader Composter and collected abunch of twigs and pine cones for the bottom. Our first one is almost full. In the spring we will have lovely stuff for the garden.

Last night we had eleven deer in our backyard. I think 5 of them were mamas. Some of them were obviously more wild than our usual crowd, as they got spooked when I spoke to them. It was about dusk, so it was really hard to see them with their winter coat.

Time for elevenses as the British name it. I am having Culinary Teas Organic Imperial Keemun. The third grade of Keemun, behind "A" and "B". In the packet it smelled very oaky with a lot of corn silage and wine. I brewed it for about 4 minutes with boiing water. The brewed tea's aroma was more just fresh tea than anything else. At first, I thought the tea was very harsh, but then it settled into a more typical Keemun style, much like the dry scent of oak and wine. I can't say much about it. It is okay, but I think I will blend it with some better teas and see if it improves.