I just love my little glass teapot.

This morning dawned clear and bright so I ventured out onto our backyard deck with my teapot and my camera. The light is fabulous out there before the sun rises over the trees and the deck becomes bathed in full sun.

My teapot holds a China black tea called Bohea Classic. You can see why Chinese black teas are also called red teas. The liquor is a gorgeous warm reddish brown.

The name Bohea, pronounced bu-i or boo-hee, comes from the name of the hills in Fujian province in China where this tea originated and is grown. I have read that Bohea black tea was created because the Chinese needed a way to preserve the green leaf on its voyage from Canton to London. Thus, they oxidized and dried the leaf more than they had been doing and Bohea black tea was born. It is listed in newspapers and shipping records of the American colonies from the 1700s. You can read more about that here. It was also part of the shipment tossed into Boston Harbor during the famous Boston Tea Party. So, this tea has quite the history.

The leaf is very dark and even colored and has a faint smoky aroma. The liquor has an earthy fragrance and silky smooth full mouth feel with smoky nuances. This would be a good tea for the addition of milk and sweetener as it is very rich and strong. I steeped the leaves for 4 minutes in boiling water but you could steep them longer. I have never experienced a China black tea turning bitter from oversteeping. Another bonus if you don’t use a timer and get lost in a project while you’re making tea!

The color of the liquor matches the clay in my tea bowl. Time to go sit on the deck and enjoy another cup…

A good neighbor, even in this,

Is fatal sometimes, cuts your morning up

To mince-meat of the very smallest talk,

Then helps to sugar her Bohea at night

With your reputation.

-Elizabeth Barrett Browning

“Aurora Leigh”, Book 4