Mock Orange Never Had It So Good

1,000 year old mosaic floor. I wish my floors would look this good for so long.

Oh my, I am drinking the nicest ice tea. It is Simpson & Vail's Rose Kissed Jasmine. It is one of my favorite hot teas and now it will be one of the all time favorite ice teas. I cold-brewed it overnight in the fridge. Before I even got it in there the water was turning a pretty green, with lots of pink rosebuds floating in it. It tastes exactly like what it says it is, jasmine green tea, with an overlay of rose. However, altogether, to me, it takes like the old-fashioned shrub, Philadelpheus, smells. A perfect summer drink. Since we are all sweltering from the extended heat, we need lots of really good ice teas. Next time I do this, I think I will cut down on the brew time - this went for about 12 hours and is a tiny bit tannic. I think doing it in the morning for the afternoon or evening would be better

One of the things I often mention is what a particular tea smells like, both dry leaves and as it is brewing. I find this adds more dimension to the tea, as a stand alone scent and as part of the taste. It's not enough to just pass the container under my nose, I really stick it in as far as I can can without inhaling the leaves. For one thing, it keeps out other scents and for another, my warm breath releases more of the tea scent. Try it the next time you have tea.

You lucky folks in the Chicago area will soon be able to buy Adagio Teas from an actual store. it is to be located at 27 West Jefferson Ave. in Napierville, IL One of their aims is to be able to interact more with customers and encourage experimentation, such as customers blending their own tea. That is something I would like to do. I tend to be too heavy-handed, so my home blends haven't been great successes. There is a book I have had my eye on however -Tea For You : Blending Custom Teas to Savor and Share by Tracy Sloan. I probably will get it and see what I come up with.

Your Basic Little Black Tea

More mosaic. The gold doesn't show up too well in the photos, but
in person, it just shines.


I was shelling peas I bought at the farmer's market today. I was struck by the uneven quality of them – some were far too old, some too undeveloped and not nearly enough were just right. I got thinking about the knowledge one needs to judge the readiness of garden produce and fruit and of course, segued into tea.

It requires not only a great deal of knowledge, but also experience to first grow the bushes and then to recognize the exact day to pluck the tea, and then to process it into a high quality brew. Knowing how long it took me to really know how to garden, pick and prepare my veggies and fruit, I am really in awe of the tea growers and processors. There are so many, many factors to take into account. And just when you may have figured something out, the weather throws you a huge curve ball and BLAM! all your hard work for nothing. But then, there are the good years, when everything works out and your garden, or your tea is the very best its ever been. As gardeners or tea drinkers, those are the years we wait for.


While I was writing that I was listening to the Gramercy Brass play “American Anthems”. Such familiar music. I kept waiting for the elephants to come parading in or to ride on the carousel. Good stuff, though, and my favorite instruments. Probably because all of my McDuffee cousins played a brass instrument and there was always someone tootling away when I visited them. I also like music in the lower keys. When my son was playing the flute we had to be in separate rooms for me to be able to listen, because the flute is pitched so high.


Okay that had nothing to do with tea, except we all have certain types of tea that are our favorites. If you've been reading this for a while, you know I love black tea above all. I am gaining a real appreciation for Oolong and green teas and a bit for Pu-erh. However, white tea will probably always remain too finely pitched for me. However, today's tea strikes a good base note.

It is the Assam Tea Company's Kama Black. With great long black leaves, smelling of old wood, wine barrels and perhaps a hint of vinegar. I brewed up about a teaspoon and a half, as the leaves were so large, with boiling water, about 3.5 minutes. There is that wonderful "clean laundry on a windy day" smell, coupled with almost a corn smell, and still some hints of old wood. It never stops interesting me that the tea will give off so many scents before you even get to taste it. There aren't a lot of nuances to this particular tea. It's a good straight forward tea for when you just need a "cuppa". I am finding it exactly what I need today.

There is an article in the British newspaper, The Guardian, that says the British medical system has identified a new mental disorder, Nervous Healthy Eating Disorder. If you care about the amount of chemicals and junk food that goes into your system you have an eating disorder. I assume they mean people who are severely troubled by this and not us ordinary (if that exists) folk. So all you people who drink tea at least partly for its health benefits had better stop or we'll all be taken away, ho ho, and be forced to drink milkshakes while eating our bacon and sausages, (not that we all don't have our indulgences). I certainly know that anything carried to extreme can be unhealthy, but can't we just be a little neurotic and insist on good tea?

Breakfast Tea in the Afternoon

The Bishop's throne in Ravenna. I hope he had a cushion! All those designs you see, everything except the glass, is inlaid marble, 1,000 years old and still in good shape.

Today cannot make up its mind to be cloudy or sunny or both at once. A nice day, however, with big puffy clouds and not too hot or humid, so I can dare to have hot tea.

Thanks to the good folks at the Boston Tea Company (from New Jersey!) I have lots more samples to try. Today's is their English Breakfast, a mix of Indian and China teas. The dry leaves are long and skinny and mostly quite black, although there is some brown in there. Altogether they almost look midnight blue. The aroma is winey and dark smelling - a sure sign of some Keemun in there. As it was brewing, it smelled so fresh, with the addition of a corn silk scent.

The tea brews up after 3.5 minutes, with boiling water, into a fairly light amber, almost a pumpkin color. The tea tastes as good as it smells. There is the deep winey taste of the Keemun and the lighter notes of either a late Darjeeling or a Nilgiri. To me, it seems somewhat light for an English Breakfast, but that's ok. The directions say to brew it 4-5 minutes, but I chickened out. It is a tasty tea and would suit for either breakfast or afternoon. i had it both with cream and without and I don't think it makes much difference.

Check out these two items currently on the Sereni(tea) and Puri(tea) blog from June 25, 2010 http://theteaemporium.wordpress.com/ They have just got to be seen, so hop on over there. I think the hangers are cute, but I am also not enamored of the cigarettea.

I don't know if any of you are rhubarb fans, but I am. Sometimes when I am making a sauce on top of the stove, it sticks and burns way too soon and I have to pitch it. I have discovered that it cooks beautifully in the micro! With minimum amounts of water, too. On a similar note, if you like to make applebutter or thick applesauce, do it in the oven just before you clean it. Almost no stirring and you can basically just forget about it for long periods.

Oh, woe is I!!! I have no more PG Tips tea bags. Whatever shall I do on brain dead mornings?

Two Teas on a Summer's Day

Still in Ravenna, the other side of the altar from yesterday's mosaic.

We just had one of the quickest thunderstorms on record - about 3 minutes of downpour, enough to make it muggy. Phoo. We need about 2 days worth of a gentle soaking.



Today I am doing a tea from an old friend - Uptons. It is part of a lot I bought a while ago -Organic China Keemun Heng Ru. Supposedly an old Chinese black tea - they started making it in the 1860's. I'm not sure it's the oldest, as I don't know when China started making black teas. The leaves are very small, very black and smell a bit smokey and somewhat like a hay barn in the early summer, before the new hay is in. There is also a bit of cork and resin, like you might find on a boat. I brewed it up with boiling water for 4 minutes and the result is a nice red-brown liquor. The Chinese call this red tea and it is easy to see why. The pleasant hay smell is continuing, but the smokiness has lessened considerably.



Oh, this tea is so fresh tasting. Those sample packets from Uptons really do the job. There is almost no smoke, but a touch of astringency and some of the resin, which balances out the hints of fruitiness and sweetness; not sugary or cloying, but sweet nevertheless. This is a complex tea and one I think would make a very nice afternoon tea, with some sturdy sweets, as it is a sturdy tea. I wouldn't recommend it for ice tea, however.



The other tea for today is just old Cold Brew Lipton's, but I added several packets of Raspberry Lemonade from True Lemon. Very nice, the lemon and berry add some accent and sweetness, as does the Truvia the packets are sweetened with. It is a very refreshing drink. In my ice teas, I allow some sweetener, but if it is too much, I just pretend it is soda or I don't drink it. I really am bad about sweet tea.

Their Forte is Tea

Ravenna, Italy, some of the jaw-droppingly gorgeous mosaics. By
the time we arrived here, we had had a surfeit of Italian churches, but these mosaics were beyond spectacular. Our whole experience in this ancient port was wonderful: the churches, the food, our total marble room [even the closet doors were marble] and the crazy way people parked.

Today I am exploring the rich gift from my neighbor, Carol - Tea Forte. I noticed my sampler had Black Currant tea, so I decided to try that first. I used to love it, but in the past few years, it has all smelled like cat spray, which, of course, affects how I would approach the taste. Woo Hoo, it smells fruity and rich and NOT nasty. This is a definitely cute tea - a nice stiff pyramid, holding a goodly amount of tea with a neat little tea leaf on a stem to rescue it from your cup.

I brewed it for about 3 minutes with boiling water and it smelled wonderful all the time. This has a black tea base and the liquor is a nice deep reddish brown. Lovely taste, rich and fruity and dare I say it, like black currants! Woo Hoo indeed. I couldn't find any info on the black tea base, but it is good and in addition to the black currant, there are blackberry leaves. The flavor comes from natural flavoring and there is NO chemical after taste. Well done, Tea Forte. On the website it can be purchased as a loose tea, so I may just get some, as I have missed having this old favorite.

This is a very attractive tea, with an attractive presentation, sure to wow almost anyone. However, I have to give them low marks for using so much stuff to package it with, layer upon layer. Life is full of compromises. As a gift, this is a star, as eco-consciousness, it isn't. The loose tea would definitely get higher marks in the latter category.

All the kitties have gone to the vet and I seem to be forgiven for such incredible meanness. Everyone is out from under the bed, so all is well for another 6 months, when we can do this all over again. Ernie - the one in the bed springs, slept in the carrying cage the night after he did that. Cats!!!

Hello All -
I have what appears to be galloping consumption or some mythic form of cold/cough/bronchitis and everything tastes awful. Therefore, I am not tasting teas. Be back when I can.
Chokingly yours,
Marlena

Tea With the Queen

This is about the clearest picture I got of Vesuvius. This is taken
from the southern side of Naples Bay, in Sorrento, close to the Isle of Capri. The island my husband's grandfather came from is Ischia, to the west of the peninsula above.



I am really feeling rich today. One of my new neighbors brought me a welcome present of a sampler box of Tea Forte, plus 2 of their handy little square ceramic teabag holders. As you know this tea comes in very stiff pyramids, with a small leaf attached, so you can pull it out when it's done brewing. I've only tried one of them before and it was pretty good, so you will soon be hearing about them. They get an A+ for pretty packaging.

My tea today is again iced, Culinary Teas Buckingham Palace Tea. Supposedly, this is the blend the Queen serves at her mammoth garden parties. I can't say, as I have never been invited. This is one of my favorite teas and I made a pot of it yesterday, but we only each had a cup, so I put the rest in the fridge. I have to say, it is every bit as good iced as it is hot. It is a blend of teas, with hints of Earl Gray and jasmine to lighten it. More of the bergamot than the jasmine comes out in the cold, but they both make it very refreshing on a hot afternoon, after a rigerous morning of taking a hissing, spitting, scratching cat to the vet for her annual shots and exam. Tomorrow it is the 3 boys' turn, but they are much nicer about it all.