A week of settling in. I sit here in one of my straight backed kitchen chairs, looking out onto a robin’s egg sky and ponder how I fit into this new place. My own place. Sometimes I feel like it is not real and I am living in a dream. And I sip my tea…
This morning I crave a tea to wake my mouth (and the rest of me) and chose the best tea for that job, a second flush Darjeeling from The Namring Upper estate. Located in northeast India amidst the majestic, towering Himalayan peaks, this estate is one of the more well known in Darjeeling district. I reviewed last year’s Namring second flush here.
Second flush Darjeelings are harvested in the summer after the leaves have “flushed” back from the first flush (spring) harvest. Usually, the appearance and taste is darker, richer, fuller.
This tea is all that and more.
After spooning the tea into my small glass teapot, I steeped the leaves for 3 minutes in boiling point (212 F) water. I like to use bottled spring water for steeping. I find that gives the most consistent, true taste. The tap water in my town is unreliable for brewing tea.
The aroma is rich and fruity with a taste of ripe muscatel grapes. The finish has notes of wood and nut in a pungent bite that lingers, drawing all of the moisture out of my mouth.
Oooo…this would be marvelous with rich desserts.
While many folks are making resolutions this time of year, there are others who choose a word for the year. A word to guide. A word to contemplate. A word to open awareness. If I had to choose one word for this tea, it would be
rich
Even the color is rich, a dark amber which glows like a precious jewel. Serve this tea with dessert at your next dinner gathering.
Today I am spending the whole day in my new studio, unwrapping the many boxes piled in there and finding a place for each precious art supply.
“There are times to cultivate and create, when you nurture your world and give birth to new ideas and ventures. There are times of flourishing and abundance, when life feels in full bloom, energized and expanding. And there are times of fruition, when things come to an end. They have reached their climax and must be harvested before they begin to fade. And finally of course, there are times that are cold, and cutting and empty, times when the spring of new beginnings seems like a distant dream. Those rhythms in life are natural events. They weave into one another as day follows night, bringing, not messages of hope and fear, but messages of how things are.” ~Chogyam Trungpa
I steeped the dark leaf for 3 minutes in 212 degree F (boiling) water, resulting in a glowing amber liquid. The thing that I like best about Darjeelings from the Namring estate is that they always have that classic, rich Darjeeling aroma and flavor. Sometimes I am in the mood for an astringent tea that echos in my mouth for awhile after I’ve taken my first sip. This is perfect, with nutty almond, fruity richness. Second flush Darjeelings are harvested in the summertime and are usually fuller with the more mature taste of the summer leaf, as opposed to first flushes, harvested in the springtime.
As I was pouring my cup of tea, Dave offered me a piece of pumpernickel toast. It went perfectly with the rich flavor of this tea. The bare tree branches of our backyard trees look like they’d like to warm themselves in my steaming cup. This is the time of year when I never feel quite warm enough. My favorite spot is next to the fireplace with my hands perpetually wrapped around a hot mug and a good book opened in my lap.
Art and Tea 
