Saturday Morning Tea

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Hello, my friends. The week has flown by and we are back together sharing another cup of tea.

I awoke very early this morning to the sound of a steady rain persistently tap, tap, tapping at my bedroom windows. As I prepared myself to get up, my sleep fogged brain remembered that it was the weekend and, oh joy, I could indulge in some extra sleep. Don’t you love those kind of mornings, especially when the rain can gently lull you back into your dreams?

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On this gray, drippy morning, I am warming myself with a cup of China black tea called Hubei Province Golden Tips. The profusion of beautiful, golden buds are shown off above on a paint chip called Caribbean Sunset. What do you think of the color?

All of this golden goodness is sure to ward off the dreariness of this sodden day.

Hubei Province is located right in the heart of central China. Its name means “north of the lake”, referring to Lake Dongting, famous for the origin of Dragon boat racing.

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Only the new growth, the tea buds, are plucked to produce this tea. The appearance of the dry leaf reminds me of a golden Yunnan black tea but, after steeping for 4 minutes with boiling point (212 F) water, I discover that the flavor is very different.

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I’ve been pouring over these paint chips trying to decide on a color to paint my new place. I want to be surrounded with warm, bright color.

The aroma of this tea is dark and sweet. As for its flavor, I have one word.

Smoky. Like hickory smoked bacon smoky.

That being said, it does not overwhelm in its smokiness but gently teases and entices you to want to try another cup.

And another. And another.

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Despite, or rather I should say because of, this flavor note, this unique tea has become a fast favorite amongst my colleagues and I and we have been drinking it for our morning tea everyday this past week. It seems strange that my vegetarian nature would enjoy the flavor note that lingers on in my mouth for quite some time like the memory of a haunting melody.

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This is the kind of tea that needs to be savored over a period of time so one can slowly get to know and appreciate it.

I thought that I would be painting my new place this weekend but still, no closing. Hopefully, I will be washing Caribbean Sunset onto my walls very soon. Instead, I will be putting the finishing touches on my Taos shrug. Photos soon!

A Voice Through the Door

Sometimes you hear a voice through

the door calling you, as fish out of

water hear the waves, or a hunting

falcon hears the drum’s come back.

This turning toward what you deeply

love saves you. Children fill their

shirts with rocks and carry them

around. We’re not children anymore.

Read the book of your life which has

been given you. A voice comes to

your soul saying, Lift your foot;

cross over; move into the emptiness

of question and answer and question.

~Rumi

Saturday Morning Tea

Sep26

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As our weather changes over from the warmth of summer to the crispness of autumn, I’ve been thinking about exactly what is the most ideal weather conditions for growing tea.

A study conducted at Zhejiang Agricultural University on famous tea growing areas in China came up with these ecological climactic characteristics:

“…more amounts of clouds and fog, less percentage of sunshine, abundant rainfall and high relative humidity in the air, temperatures that rise and fall slowly, daily and annual temperature ranges that are smaller, more days that are suitable for tea growing and low wind speeds in the lee-sides and valleys of mountains. All of these factors are favorable for growth of tea trees.”

It appears that high humidity, abundant rainfall, and a smaller range of temperature variables that rise and fall slowly are key to producing the best quality tea.

Another reason I was thinking about the weather is that the conditions in the Assam tea growing region in India this year were not ideal. Drought conditions resulted in a smaller crop and tea that has a harsher, much more intense and astringent flavor to it.

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My morning tea is a black tea called Meleng estate Assam. The Meleng tea estate, founded by a Mr. J.E. Jood in 1852, takes its name from a river that runs through the garden. Tea is planted on both sides of the river.

I find myself gravitating towards darker teas as the weather gets cooler and the light levels fall. Why is that, I wonder? Darker weather, darker tea?

With the more intense, astringent flavor in mind, I steeped my Assam leaves in 212 degree F (boiling point) water for only 3 minutes instead of my usual 4-5 minutes.

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I was delightfully surprised by how much the astringent factor was mellowed out at the shorter steeping time. The flavor was much smoother, revealing a whisper of cocoa. The leaves have a rich, malty aroma and, after steeping, a cooked sugar note wafted up from my teapot.

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The deep russet color of the tea blends with the glorious blue sky reflection in my teapot resulting in a dreamy lavender patch.

I love the colors of tea.

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I drank the whole pot of tea without a drop of milk. That said, my second pot will be steeped longer and enjoyed with milk.

Ah, the variations and joys of tea experimentation…

Only the heart knows how to find what is precious.

~Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Saturday Morning Tea

Sep19

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Hello friends! It’s wonderful to be back, sharing a cup of tea with you again. It seems that while I have been away in New Mexico, Fall has arrived on our doorstep and established itself here in New England.

While in Taos, I purchased a lovely lotus plate to display my tea leaves. The color reminds me of melted caramel, all ready to drizzle on a crisp red apple. Mmmm…

This morning I am sipping a cup of China green tea called Dong Yang Dong Bei. The intact leaf sets show the fine plucking and meticulous hand crafting that takes place during its processing.

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The tea is grown at approximately 2500 feet above sea level in Dong Yang county in Zhejiang Province in China. It is picked in the spring months of April and May right as the tea bushes are coming out of their winter dormancy.

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I steeped the leaf for 3 minutes in 180 degree F water. As I lifted the lid of my teapot to remove the steeping basket, a delicate, floral aroma greeted me. As you can see, the tea liquor is quite pale.

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The first word that came to mind as I poured my first cup was “soft”.

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Everything about this tea is so soft – the color, the aroma, the taste. It is the kind of tea that brings you fully into the present moment to enjoy its wonderfully delicate qualities. I detected sweet and floral in the flavor notes. As there is only a whisper of vegetal quality, this would be a perfect tea for those tea lovers who don’t especially enjoy a pronounced vegetal (green) flavor.

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After being constantly on the go during my 10-day vacation and then returning to work the day after my evening return, today is a good day for resting, relaxing and enjoying a gentle cup of tea. Or two. Or three.

Stay tuned, dear friends, for tales of my Taos journey…

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.

~Albert Einstein

Saturday Morning Tea

Sep5

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The hint of fall that was in the air at the beginning of the week has now left us and we are finally blessed with a perfectly glorious summer weekend, not too hot and humid, not too cool, juuuuust right. Even though it is officially considered the last weekend of summer.

Many are celebrating this weekend by going away or getting together with friends and family. As I shared in my last post, I am doing both. This time tomorrow I’ll be on my way to sunny New Mexico to visit my son and his family and also to attend a knitting retreat.

This morning’s tea is a black tea, a second flush Darjeeling from the Castleton estate, one of the most esteemed and well known tea gardens in the Darjeeling tea growing district in northeast India.

A “Castleton” is always a special treat.

“Second flush” is the summer harvest of the tea plants, after the leaves “flush” back from the “first flush”, or spring, harvest. The leaves of this tea are larger than normal with a rich variegation of color.

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Speaking of rich color, I am enchanted by the harvest pumpkin color of the chrysanthemum flowers I picked up yesterday to adorn our backyard deck. I must be on a color kick because I picked up that exact color in a skein of yarn while shopping with my daughter last night. I am a color slave. But I digress…

I steeped the leaves for 3 minutes in 212 degree F water (boiling).

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The steeped leaf is another gorgeous fall color. As the leaves are allowed to oxidize during their processing, they turn a dark reddish brown from their original deep green color. I wrote about second flush Darjeelings from other tea gardens here and here.

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The tea liquor is not quite as dark as last week’s China black tea but it comes pretty close, sharing that same reddish brown hue. It leans more towards amber, I think.

The aroma is fruity with a hint of tropical ripeness, reminiscent of a sweet pineapple. How perfect to go along with the CD I’m listening to this morning – a collection of Hawaiian music.

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The fruitiness carries through into the taste, with a pronounced sweetness, but what strikes me the most about this tea is its incredible smoothness, without a hint of that bright, astringent “bite” so characteristic of a Darjeeling tea.

So silky smooth, mmm…

I am sorry to say that I will not be able to join you for Saturday Morning tea next Saturday as I will be away from internet access while in the mountains of New Mexico. That said, I look forward to joining you once again to share tea and stories in 2 weeks.

Enjoy your holiday weekend!

It is good to have an end to journey towards;

but it is the journey that matters in the end.

~Ursula K. LeGuin

Saturday Morning Tea

Aug29

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Danny has been downgraded to a “tropical depression” and that’s exactly what the weather feels like since last evening.

Lots of rain cascading from gloomy skies.

A rainy day like this calls for a heartier tea than my usual summer cuppas so I’ve selected a China black Keemun called Hao-Ya “B”, the letter referring to its leaf grade. The leaf is dark and twisted (sounds like a character in a horror story, lol) but what really stuns me about this tea is the tea liquor color – a rich, warm red brown.

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I steeped the leaves for 4 minutes in boiling (212 degree F) water. My glass teapot shows off the amazing color of the tea.

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Isn’t that color just gorgeous?

Keemun tea, often called the “burgundy” of China black tea, has been produced since the late 1800s. I first wrote about it here.

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The aroma of the dry leaf has a rich, winey cocoa note that follows through into the taste. A hint of ripe fruit lingers in the full finish. It’s a wonderful tea for chasing the damp away on a day like today.

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This tea is hearty enough for the addition of milk and sweetener. I find it to be smooth enough and sweet enough on its own so I am enjoying it plain.

The weather forecast is calling for rain all weekend as Danny makes his way up the coast. It’s a great weekend for indoor activities. Time for another cup. Now, where are my pointy sticks?

Within your heart, keep one still, secret spot

where dreams may go.

~Louise Driscoll