Good morning, dear tea friends! This morning I’m enjoying another tea that was harvested before Qingming (Chingming) day, an Oolong called Fenghuang Don Cong, from Fujian province in China. Having a long and auspicious history, this tea was once given in tribute to Chinese Emperors.

Its leaves are enormous, each about an inch and a half long and well twisted. The dry leaf is dark, however, as you can see from the above photo, they lighten up to a beautiful olive green as they’re steeping.

I steeped the leaf for 4 minutes in 190 F water and used about 3 teaspoons per cup. The leaf is so big that it doesn’t even fit in my teaspoon so I used my fingers and estimated. One of these days I’ll have to get myself a tea scale. Do any of you have one? If so, do you like it? Sure would make measuring huge tea leaves like this so much easier!

I love the russet edging on this leaf. That must happen as the leaf is allowed to oxidize. I’m not sure exactly how much percentage-wise this leaf is oxidized. The tea liquor is similar in color to that of a lighter first flush Darjeeling.

The fragrant aroma smells of peaches and flowers. The flavor is smooth and light with notes of peaches and apricots and a pronounced honey sweetness. It feels silky on my tongue.

It’s a gorgeous spring day outside, the deep blue sky reflected in my teabowl. My garden is abloom with phlox, daffodils, tulips, pansies and white bleeding heart. We haven’t had much rain lately so I’m going to spend the afternoon spreading a thick layer of brown mulch in all of the beds.

As always, thanks for stopping by and sharing a cuppa with me!

“A garden to walk in and immensity to dream in–what more could he ask? A few flowers at his feet and above him the stars.”

~Victor Hugo, Les Miserables