Happy first day of August to you!
It’s a perfect day to celebrate the start of the arrival of the 2009 Assams.
This morning I am sipping a cup of black tea, an Assam from the Halmari estate in northeastern India. The dry leaf is quite dark with a sprinkling of golden leaf tips. A beautiful, earthy variegation.
I steeped the leaf for 4 minutes in boiling hot (212 degree F) water. The malty aroma is rich and dark.
Although you can drink an Assam tea at any time of the day, as you prefer, they are best known as a breakfast tea because of their hearty flavor which goes wonderfully with milk and sweetener. I wrote about another Assam tea here.
The steeped tea liquor’s gorgeous russet color speaks of harvest times and crisper fall days ahead.
The flavor of this tea is quite brisk and lively with notes of malt and a hint of bitter chocolate. As with most Assams, the astringency dries out my throat. Even though there have been reports that adding milk to tea reduces its health benefits, I am more interested in its taste so I will add a dollop of milk to my cup later to smooth out that astringency.
My DIL and granddaughter arrived this week for a visit from their home in New Mexico. We spent a wonderful day together yesterday enjoying each other’s company. At 9 months old, Ella is a delight! She’s constantly on the move, crawling, standing, exploring, laughing. I forgot how active a baby at that age can be! I was in heaven just being in her company and seeing the world through her eyes, so new and fresh and amazing. Even though she was sitting on the floor surrounded by colorful toys, her favorite thing to do was to crawl over to her car seat and play with its fascinating buckle. I am looking forward to my next visit tomorrow.
“Seek the wisdom of the ages,
but look at the world through the eyes of a child.”
~Ron Wild
Art and Tea 
As always I love the tea. Today, I loved meeting Ella. What a cutie!
What a cutie, Karen. As I sit here drinking iced tea and catching up on today’s blogs, I’m wishing I had a granddaughter too. I love my three grandsons dearly, but there is nothing like a baby girl. Guess I’ll have to wait until my 20 y/o GS gets married and has one for me. LOL. It will be a while as they want to finish school before getting married. At least they are both sensible.
Arline
I steep my assams to 2 or 2.5 min max. It nearly eliminates that astringency assams are noted for. Have you tried it for 2 min to compare with? I’d be interested in your evaluation of the difference in taste.
I look forward every week to your Saturday tea posts. It’s fun to be in another world, particularly one as ordered, calm and damp as yours. As we enter our third month of 100+F daily, fall feels years away and the only tea we drink is iced.
Ella is adorable!
Thanks Snap!
Thanks Arline! Grandchildren are such a gift, aren’t they? I hope that you are blessed with a granddaughter someday.
Thanks Bruce for that recommendation. I’ll try that!
Thanks Kathleen, I’m glad to hear that you are enjoying my tea posts. I wish cooler temps will come your way soon.
Thanks about Ella! She is such a little lovie.
Karen.. I definitely see you and your son in Ella’s face. Cute as a button, she is.
Thanks Judy! 🙂
I found your blog c/o Lisa’s Polka Dot Cottage… what a delight! Nothing’s better than a nice cup of tea…and polymer clay on the side- it’s perfect!
gera