Saturday Morning Tea on Sunday

Dec2

On this cold Sunday morning as we anticipate the arrival of wintry weather tonight, I have prepared a cup of Japanese Genmai Cha tea . As you can see from my photo, it is a blend of Japanese sencha (green) tea and roasted brown rice. This particular type of tea came about from necessity rather than invention. During a time when tea was an expensive luxury to the average person, roasted brown rice was added to green tea to make more of it. What resulted was and is today a delicious nutty, toasty brew with lower caffeine. Sometimes, the brown rice pops and the tea is decorated with what looks like small popcorn.

The liquor is a pale yellow and the toasty aroma makes me feel all warm inside. The mellow nuttiness the roasted rice imparts to the tea smooths the pungency of the green tea, making an excellent blend of flavors. If you’ve never had Genmai Cha before, I recommend it highly as an afternoon refresher when our circadian and ultradian rhythms are at their lowest point. Enjoy!

Saturday Morning Tea

Nov24

As the full moon set on this frosty morning, I rose out of bed and wrapped myself in a big fluffy robe to greet the day. A perfect morning for something spicy to warm me up, I simmered some Chai in a pan on the stove while I made breakfast.

Masala chai is a traditional Indian blend of black tea and spices – cardamon seed pods, cinnamon pieces, clove, ginger and black pepper. An Indian gentleman once told me that they would add the black tea leaves to the sweetened milk and then go to their spices and throw this and that in to simmer. So, each family had their own recipe and that could vary from day to day.

I used Chai Spice blend and added a couple of spoonfuls to a cup of organic 2% milk. I simmered this mixture for 10 minutes and then added sweetener to taste. This results in a very spicy cup so it is one of the rare occasions where I will add sweetener to my tea. It smooths out the sharpness of the spices, especially my extra spicy version. Demerara sugar is unrefined with a high molasses content and works especially well.

Mmmmm, delicious!

Japanese Tea Ceremony

Nov24

Last Sunday I had the honor, along with 3 of my work colleagues, of attending a Japanese Tea Ceremony at the Kaji Aso studio in Boston. Excitement was mounting all week as we eagerly looked forward to our visit. The studio is located right off of Huntington Ave. so it is very easy to find.

Jane, one of the tea apprentices, greeted us at the door as we arrived. She was beautifully dressed in a silk kimono and obi. We were graciously shown into the front room gallery of the brownstone, where the students display and sell their work. Rows of shelving on both sides of the room are filled with beautiful tea bowls, plates and ceramic vessels, created in their studio. After we looked around a little, we were led down a flight of stairs through the ceramics studio and out into the backyard. As we carefully stepped along the worn stone path, I felt my body and spirit relax and slip into that moment in time. I was already getting into “tea mind”.

We entered the vestibule of the “House of Flower Wind” tea house by way of its beautiful garden, complete with koi pond and bamboo water fountains. We were instructed to remove our shoes before we entered the teahouse. A beautiful calligraphy scroll on the wall translates to “One moment, one life” or “One moment, full of friendship”. This principal of tea ceremony expresses the relationship of tea & Zen.

One at a time, we entered the teahouse on our knees, bowed to the teamaster and sat down on the soft mat. We quietly watched as Kate made the tea – dip the bamboo ladle into the water kettle, pour, rinse and clean the tea bowl, spoon the powdered matcha with the bamboo scoop into the bowl, dip and pour the water, whisk the tea into a froth. Her movements were like a graceful dance, so mesmerizing and calming to watch. This first tea was prepared lightly with small sweets to enjoy before drinking the tea. The sweet is a nice balance to the pungency of the matcha. Before the stronger second tea, we had a pastry called “ohagi”, sweetened red beans over sweet rice sprinkled with soy powder. We also had a sweet rice rolled in ground black sesame. These delectable treats were served in 220 year old black lacquer covered bowls. Each tea was served in a tea bowl over 1000 years old. As each one of us in turn quietly drank from each bowl, we felt the ancient venerable energy infusing our tea experience. The tea tasted fresh, clean and delightfully pungent.

Kate, Jane and Jennifer were delightful hosts, each taking a turn to make and serve the tea. We enjoyed chatting with them, during and after tea, learning about the tradition and history of the tea ceremony and about Mr. Aso and the studio he created. We are truly grateful for their kindness and hospitality. They created an amazing experience for us, one that we will never forget!

“I thought I saw you but then the moon hid behind the clouds and I lost you.” -Murasaki Shikibu

Saturday Morning Tea

Nov17

Pouchong tea. Is it a green tea or is it an Oolong tea? Technically, it is described as a slightly oxidized, or fermented, green tea. Well, so is Jade Oolong tea lightly oxidized. Hmmmm, isn’t it interesting how we as humans always like to put things in a category? Give a label? I like the idea of this tea being in its own little group, its own little tribe. The leaf is very large and twisted and pleated. I had fun arranging the wet leaf in a curling pattern, one leading to the other. The dance of the leaf tribe.

Pouchong tea is produced in the Fujian province of China and also in Pinglin Township near Taipei, Taiwan. This tea is often used in scented tea such as jasmine. It doesn’t have the vegetal quality of a green tea but is more floral like a green Oolong.

This morning as I get ready for my show, I am sipping a Formosa Pouchong tea. The liquor is light and fragrant and the aroma of flowers gently drifts from my cup. The floral quality is also apparent in the taste with a light honey note. It reminds me of Jade Oolong but not as heavy sweet. A perfect cuppa to start the day as I venture out to my show on this cold clear morning!

Saturday Morning Tea

Nov10

My kindred friend Laura adores Earl Grey tea so this Saturday Morning’s cuppa is in honor of her. As the pigeon tribe from the building across the street wheels across the sky, I look out over the treetops onto a cloudy cool mid-fall day and open my journal to a new page. There is still a blaze or two scattered across the countryside but most of the trees have now muted to a rusty color. Nature is starting her slumber.

Earl Grey tea is traditionally a black tea that has been scented with the essential oil of the bergamot orange, a small fragrant citrus fruit grown in the Calabria province of Italy. The bergamot orange is not a variety of the sweet orange that most of us are familiar with eating but a hybrid between a pear lemon and a Seville orange, or bitter orange.

Legend has it that the son of a Chinese bureaucrat was rescued from drowning by a servant of the second Earl Grey, Charles Grey, Prime Minister of England from 1830-1834. The man was so grateful that he presented Earl Grey with a special tea. Earl Grey liked it so much that he gave a sample of it to his favorite tea purveyor and asked them to replicate the flavor.

I am enjoying a cup of a flavored Earl Grey called Creme Vanilla. The aroma is sweet and creamy, reminding me of the cream sodas I used to love when I was young. The flavor is an interesting blend of citrus and vanilla which I especially like. It’s strong enough for milk but sweet enough for no sweetener added.

I really like the story behind this tea – a gift of a special tea bestowed in gratitude for saving a life.

What is your experience with Earl Grey tea?