Saturday Morning Tea

Aug30

When I got up this morning, I discovered that it had rained overnight. The sky now looks like a big gray blanket, overhanging a very wet world outside. The air is very still and a few birds call to one another in the treetops. As we enter the Labor Day weekend, the official end of summer, I can feel a change in the air. Lazy, hazy is being replaced by a cooler more “get down to business” type of energy as school starts again. When I was young, I always loved the start of school because it meant a shiny new pencilcase and a bright box of Crayola crayons with the sharpener on the back. Oh, how I loved to draw and color!

In honor of this ripe, harvest time of year, this morning I am sipping a cup of second flush Darjeeling from the Makaibari estate. The Darjeeling tea growing district is located in northeastern India. When I think of second flushes, words like ripe, grape, heavy and lush pop into my mind. As I gaze out my window, I see our garden, a riot of color, a sea of golden yellow, ruby red and rich magenta.

2nd flush Darjeelings are harvested in the summertime after the tea bush has “flushed” again after the spring picking. With a rich, amber colored liquor, the taste represents the more mature taste of the leaf as opposed to the greener, brighter taste of a first flush. For tea drinkers who enjoy their tea British style with milk, most 2nd flushes offer a stronger taste that one can taste through the milk. I always recommend to try the tea plain first so you can discover what it really tastes like.

A rich fruity aroma greets me as I take my first sip. What is called a muscatel flavor note predominates the taste. Some Darjeelings are described as “muscatel”, a flavor note which speaks of the Muscat grape, said to be the oldest domesticated grape variety.

With this tea, I also detect a slight nutty note with a crisp finish that lingers in the back of my throat. The pungent character of this tea would go very well with rich food, especially a rich dessert like a dark chocolate torte or something incredibly decadent like that. Mmmmm…

Saturday Morning Tea

May31

After a cool very springlike May, temperatures have started to slowly creep up this past week so now mornings are in the 50s when I leave for work. With temps in the 40s every morning for the longest time, I was beginning to feel that I had put away that winter jacket way too early! Last week I tried a first flush black Darjeeling from the Arya estate. This morning I am continuing with my Arya theme by trying their white tea called White Pearl. Its processing is as precious as its name. The full leaf sets are plucked at dawn when the dew is still wet on the leaves. After drying in the sun for several hours they are then carefully rolled in silk cloth and then allowed more drying time. This is truly a very unique artisan tea.

The beauty and quality of the leaf is apparent in this full leaf set I extracted from my steeped leaf. Guidelines call for an 8-11 minute steeping time in 180 degree F water. As I only had a precious 4 grams of this tea, I wanted to be able to resteep the leaves so my first steeping was at 3 minutes. The resulting liquor is a pale straw color with crisp delicate vegetal notes. It was very light tasting.

I decided to resteep the leaves for 8 minutes and lowered the water temperature to 170 degrees F. The resulting liquor is stronger with a more pronounced crisp fruitiness that reminds me of a light crisp white wine. This tea would be fabulous iced with a floating slice of lemon in your glass and a wedge of melon on the side. Summer is coming!

Saturday Morning Tea

May24

I think I mentioned this before but one of the experiences I love the most about springtime besides all of the colorful blooms, is the arrival of the first flush Darjeelings. This morning I am sipping a cup of Arya estate Aroma Darjeeling. The Arya tea garden is located in the Darjeeling district in northeast India. I wrote a little about its history in a former post. To me, its name even conjures up images of a fairytale kingdom high in the misty mountains.

I was so excited to find this intact large leaf in my cup. The color and quality of the leaf is outstanding. The amber colored liquor smells like delicate fruit and flowers and its taste fills my mouth with a slight hint of sweet bananas and other tropical fruits. A heavenly treat to start out the long holiday weekend.

Today I am attending my polymer clay guild meeting where I will try and get some work done on my March journal page. “Try” is the key word here as I will probably be visiting and sharing with my fellow guild members for the first few hours! A veritable gab fest, if you know what I mean. I’ll post a photo soon of the progress I make today on my page.

Saturday Morning Tea

Nov3

As the wind and rain whip against my windows this morning, I am thankful and happy to be cozy and warm inside sipping a cup of a new second flush Darjeeling from the Makaibari estate. I watch the tree outside my window which has lost all of its leaves now. It reaches its skeletal branches towards the sky in what appears to be a gesture of praise and gratitude for the water soaking the earth around it.

This tea comes from the biodynamic Fair Trade Makaibari estate in the Darjeeling tea growing district in northeastern India. It has long leaves with the look of an Oolong tea, not a typical Darjeeling leaf which appears smaller. The dry leaf has a fair amount of tip giving it a variegated look. I place my nose inside my cup and I am transported to a fragrant orchard as I inhale the lush ripe aroma of a peach. The liquor is a beautiful honey color with the taste of ripe fruits and muscatel. I usually find a muscatel flavor note to be pungent but the taste is buttery smooth. What a treat for a gloomy November day!