Saturday Morning Tea

Jul26

What a marvelous day – warm, not too humid with brilliant sunshine. Here in New England this past week, we’ve had some wild weather, including a couple of tornadoes that touched down in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. We experienced vivid lightning, crashing thunder and torrential downpours like I saw when I traveled to the Hawaiian rainforest. On our walk last night, we collected quite a few branches that had been knocked down. They’ll make great kindling for our fireplace once they’re dried out and seasoned. With all of this fire energy flying about, I decided to try a new type of tea for me – a smoky tea. I know that there are a lot of Lapsang Souchong fans out there but, alas, I am not one of them. That said, this tea has always intrigued me and I keep searching for one that I will enjoy. At my company, it is one of our best selling types of tea. I’m not reviewing a Lapsang this morning. Not yet. I have one in mind for an August review. This morning I am sipping a Formosa Oolong called Heavy-Baked Tie-Guan-Yin.

The full leaf is first processed as a Jade Oolong which is a slightly oxidized leaf. Still considered an Oolong tea, it is much more green in character than other Oolongs. This is because the leaf is allowed to oxidize only a little bit, approximately 10%, give or take. Some other Oolongs are oxidized 40-50%, giving them a much darker flavor and fuller body. I looked back on my tea archives and was surprised to discover that I haven’t reviewed a Jade Oolong yet. I’ll do that in August, too. I did review a Spring Dragon Oolong, another “greener” Oolong.

Once this tea is processed as a Jade Oolong, it is then roasted to give it a much different flavor. As you can see, the leaf is so very dark. In the processing, the leaf rolls up into little bundles which then release their shape a little during the steeping. I steeped the leaves for 4 minutes in 190 degree F filtered water.

The liquor is a deep reddish brown with a smoky aroma that has hints of tobacco. The taste is sweet and smoky but not overly so. For me, the smokiness is at just the right level. The full-bodied taste would probably stand up well to milk and sweetener. I am enjoying it plain.

Today is the perfect day for enjoying my tea out on our backyard deck. So, I will go sit and relax and work on a jewelry project. I have to set all of my other projects aside for the day and work on creating some jewelry to match a white and gold dress I have because tomorrow…………

My youngest son is getting married!

Saturday Morning Tea on Sunday

Jul6

Back to reality from my very relaxing trip down the Jersey Shore. I have this one more day of vacation, however, and I am going to savor every moment. I begin with a cup of one of my favorite China Oolongs called Bai Hao. Translating to mean “hairy crab”, I’m not sure why it’s called this but the leaf is rich and variegated.

After steeping in 180 degree water for 3 minutes, some of the leaves are still curled up and some have straightened to reveal their intact state.

The liquor is a buttery amber color with a sweet aroma. The taste is quite sweet with a fruitiness that lingers on the tongue. Many Chinese Oolongs that I’ve tried have a woodiness to their taste that I don’t really care for. I think it is probably connected to how long the leaf is oxidized. The darker leaves seem to produce that woody note. This tea, however, is light and fruity and very enjoyable.

It was an interesting experience to be away from my computer for a solid week. Of course, many vacations are taken with the intent of removing yourself from the busyness of your day to day life. If I had a laptop I probably would have brought it with me as there was internet access in the condo. I’m glad I didn’t though because it was a nice break from the electronic world and the distraction it so readily provides on a daily basis. For one week, my life was focused on walking on the beach, inhaling the salty air and listening to the sound of the waves. It gave me the opportunity to just “be” and listen to that voice deep within which sometimes gets drowned out by everything else in my life. I read and wrote in my journal a lot, too.

More on my Jersey Shore experience in the coming week…

Saturday Morning Tea

Apr12

As I gaze out my window on this cool rainy spring day, I see a mist has settled gently along the treetops. This morning I am getting ready to go visit Greyhound Rescue in Mendon, MA. They’re having their annual Spring Yard Sale soon and I have plenty to donate from my cleaning and purging. As I get ready, I’m sipping a cup of Formosa Fancy Oolong Imperial. It is an Oolong with a higher level of oxidation which means the leaves were allowed to turn darker. The photo above is a beautiful example of a “fine plucking” (new leaves). Its shape reminds me of a Bird of Paradise flower.

I steeped the leaves for 5 minutes in water between 180-190 degrees F. The liquor is a deep amber color with a sweet aroma. The flavor is nutty and peachy and lingers in my mouth.

Time to move more stuff!

Saturday Morning Tea

Feb9

A thin light threads through the clouds this morning, illuminating the light frosting of snow covering the ground and the trees. We’ve had snow showers on and off for the past week that will continue through this weekend. I love this kind of snow because it doesn’t muck up the driving and constantly gives everything a fresh coating, covering over the dinginess on the side of the road.

This morning I have brewed up a cup of a Chinese Oolong called Da Hong Pao. It is grown in the gorgeous Wu Yi mountain region, located in the Fujian province of China. Traditionally, it is an old and venerable high quality tea reserved especially for honored guests. So, this morning, I honor and raise my tea cup to you, dear tea readers.

The leaf is huge and very dark, even after steeping. I steeped for 4 minutes with 190 degree F water, revealing a dark amber liquor with a sweet chestnut aroma. The taste fills my mouth with buttery smooth honey and nutty notes.

This tea was reputed by some to help with weight loss. I’m not sure what was so different in the components of this particular kind of tea that it would act in this way. You can read extensively on the internet about the “miracles” of this tea, including a lot of articles explaining its weight loss secrets. If you’d like to read about debunking this myth, go here.