Saturday Morning Tea

Nov15

On this rainy, misty morning, I am sipping the rarest variety of all teas, a yellow tea. Called Jun Shan Yin Zhen, its name translates to “Silver Needles of Jun Shan Mountain”. Jun Shan is actually an island located in Dong Ting lake in China’s Hunan province. The climate and soil on this small island, along with the special processing of the tea, create a unique aroma and flavor.

For steeping the yellow tea leaves, I chose my gaiwan, a lidded teabowl popular for enjoying the delicate aroma and taste of white, green and yellow teas. After steeping, the leaves are left in the bowl and the lid is used for sweeping them out of the way for ease of sipping.

I like the wide opening of this little bowl so I can watch the leaves as they infuse. I used 165 degree F water and steeped for 3 minutes. The aroma is delicate and soft with wisps of fruitiness. The taste is sweet and smooth with a hint of fruit.

The flavor is closer to a white tea than a green tea because there isn’t any vegetal quality to it.

The leaves are plucked in the early spring. To stop oxidation, they are quickly fried in small batches and then wrapped in a very thin old yellow paper while still moist. They dry naturally for several hours and then this process is repeated several times. This way of processing the tea leaves was first developed during the Tang dynasty, over 1300 years ago. Because this tea is created by such a tedious hand process, only small lots are made. I am honored to experience such a rare treat, created so artistically. The liquor lives up to its name with its delicate golden color.

This morning I was tagged by Autumn to list 8 random things about myself. Since I’ve done this a couple of times already, I direct you to these posts if you’d like to read random things about me, here and here.

Next Saturday I will be displaying and selling my jewelry at the 14th annual Arts and Crafts show at the Middlesex Community College in Bedford, MA, from 10am-4pm. If you happen to be in the area, I’d love for you to stop by and say hello. As I’ll be leaving for the show that day before the sun comes up, my tea review will be postponed to the following day, next Sunday.

Saturday Morning Tea

Nov8

This has been a truly amazing week.

Last Tuesday, history was made with the election of Barack Obama as the first African American man to be president. And, on a more personal note, I became a grandmother for the first time on Thursday night with the birth of my granddaughter, Gabriella, to my son, Brendan, and his wife, Brianna. All is well with Mom and baby and I’ll be happy to share pictures very soon.

I feel hope and new beginnings.

Even the temperature outside is gentle and hopeful, hovering around 60 degrees last night when we left the hospital.

This morning I’ve brewed up a steaming cup of a Golden Tip Yunnan black tea, recently arrived. It was a real challenge finding high quality Yunnan black teas back in 2007 but that seems to have resolved in 2008, and there are some wonderful teas coming in.

The long dry leaves are soft golden leaf tips with fine white hairs. Many leaves come in leaf sets like the one in my photo. Even though the dry leaf can resemble white tea because of the fine downy hair, this tea is fully processed as a black tea. The sage-y white look of a white tea leaf becomes a brownish golden color in a black tea due to the oxidation of the leaf.

I steeped the leaves in my little glass teapot for 5 minutes in boiling water. The liquor is a deep rust brown color with a sweet fragrance of fall leaf and earth. Each sip of tea fills my mouth with its full body and notes of peppery spice. It’s very smooth and can be enjoyed with a small amount of milk or cream added. With its natural molasses sweetness, there’s no need to add any sugar.

Today will be a full day in my studio with my teacup by my side as I prepare for an arts and crafts show scheduled for November 22nd at Middlesex Community College in Bedford, MA. Of course, there will have to be breaks in my work so I can go over to the hospital and hold a sweet little angel named Ella.

Saturday Morning Tea

Nov1

“So I must rise at early dawn, as busy as can be, to get my daily labor done, and pluck the leafy tea.”

– Le Yih, Ballad of the Tea Pickers, Early Ch’ing Dynasty, 1644

This morning I am welcoming the month of November with a cup of Ruan Zhi Thai Oolong. Tea cultivation and production in the high mountains of Thailand was started and established in the 1980s by Chinese immigrants. What began as small economic activity has grown to a strong community of independent tea gardens.You can read more about the story of the arrival of tea in Thailand in this article.

The tea is plucked from Taiwanese bushes that were brought over for Oolong tea production and the whole leaves are carefully rolled in the tradition of Taiwan tea crafting. Steeping for 3 minutes in 190 degree water, the leaf gently unfurls to reveal itself beautifully intact. As I lifted the lid of my teapot, I inhaled the delicate scent of lilacs and orchids. The tea liquor is golden yellow with exotic flavor notes of spicy flowers. It reminds me of a Formosa Jade Oolong. You can read my review of that tea here.

I was poking around in my cupboard this morning and found this simply designed teabowl that I completely forgot I had. I purchased it last year at the Kaji Aso studio in Boston when I attended the Japanese Tea ceremony. The clay is dark brown with white speckles and the glaze looks like it has been applied with a sponge in washes of white, yellow and brown. At the bottom of my bowl lies a shape that one moment looks like a fish and the next moment a leaf. I find myself drawn more and more to bowls and pots of simple Asian design with Wabi Sabi elements of perfection in imperfection.

For the first time in weeks, I have a weekend that is stretched before me with no plans at all. Possibilities…

Have you still got your space?

your soul, your own and necessary place

where your own voices may speak to you,

you alone, where you may dream.

Oh, hold onto it, don’t let it go.

-Doris Lessing

Saturday Morning Tea

Oct18

With each passing fall day, the weather is getting cooler. Sometimes I forget and open the door onto our backyard deck, thinking I will be gently greeted by the soft warm air. The crisp cool rush of air against my face quickly reminds me that those even 60 degree days are now past. So, I slept in this morning, so reluctant to emerge from my warm cocoon of blankets and comforter. Do people hibernate? This time of year puts me in that mode.

This late morning I am sipping a cup of rich darkness, an Assam from the Nahorhabi estate. As you can see from its photo, it has a good amount of leaf tip (the yellow parts) to it. I think that this brings smoothness and more complexity to the cup.

I steeped the leaves for 5 minutes in boiling water. The leaves are a German chocolate brown color and the aroma is distinctively malty and sweet. The tea itself is a warm russet brown and fills my mouth with rich malty notes that linger with a gentle pungency. This tea is so incredibly rich that I think it would stand up very well to milk or cream.

I’ve added some half and half to my cup. Its creaminess brings out even more maltiness in the tea. I usually don’t add milk or cream to my Darjeeling tea but I do like it in the darker, more full-bodied teas like Assam. For me, it smooths out the astringency that I find present in most Assams.

Today I am treating myself with a trip to the hair salon. Between the gorgeous color of this Assam and the blazing leaves outside, I am getting some interesting ideas.