A clear, bright day dawned today with the promise of warmer temps and a long walk on the bike path for this tea lover. Only a thin, wet layer of snow remains as the only trace of yesterday’s April Fool’s Day snowfall. I bet it’ll be all melted away by day’s end.

This morning’s tea is another selection from the Nepal Jun Chiyabari estate called Pine. Back in February, I reviewed their Pouchong Jade.

Whereas the Jade is a Pouchong tea, meaning a slightly oxidized green tea, this Pine is processed as a true green tea, meaning no oxidation of the leaf at all.

I steeped the beautiful spring green leaf for 3 minutes in 180 degree F water. The aroma arising from my glass teapot is light and vegetal.

The liquor is the color of morning sunshine. Its flavor is light and smooth with only a vegetal whisper. A sweetness lingers in my mouth with each sip from my teabowl.

With April’s arrival and, hopefully, some warmth here in New England, I’m beginning to think of teas that would be great iced and this is surely one of them!

Perhaps you’ve noticed that I’m now marking my photos with a copyright symbol. I think the reason that I’ve never done that before is because I didn’t want to take away from the photo’s appearance. However, I’ve lately discovered that a website is lifting my blog posts on a regular basis and will not stop even though I’ve sent them a letter asking them to do so. I also saw that someone lifted one of my photos to use as their Facebook avatar. In that case, if the person had asked me first, I probably would’ve said yes but they never asked. I find this all very discouraging and have even considered just giving up my blog and bowing away from having an internet presence altogether. However, what’s really stopped me from doing so is that I so enjoy sharing my love of tea with you all. And also my art, of course. So, I will move forward and not let these thieves stop me from doing something I love. Thanks for being there, my dear tea friends.

“April, the Angel of the Months.” ~Vita Sackville-West

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