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.

Saturday Morning Tea

Oct4

October has always been one of my favorite months. With the trees peaking into a full glory of warm colors, it is a time filled with everything ripe and rich and delicious. Which brings me to my morning tea, this year’s second flush Darjeeling from the Margaret’s Hope estate. Designated as a “muscatel” tea, it has a ripe fruitiness that fills my mouth with each sip.

About 5 weeks ago, I reviewed another second flush Darjeeling, from the Makaibari estate, here. These teas are similar in color; a deep, rich amber, and the taste of harvest fruits. That said, this tea has a more pronounced grapeness that lingers into the finish, staying in my throat long after my sip. There is also a note of sweet, dark currants.

I have a big bag of MacIntosh apples sitting on my kitchen counter and everytime I pass the bag, I think about a nice slice of apple spice bread. Mmmmm, a perfect complement to a rich tea like this.

Next weekend I am headed to San Antonio, TX for my son’s graduation from basic training at Lackland AFB. As I won’t be home until late on Saturday night, my Saturday Morning tea will be postponed until Sunday morning.

Time to go slice some apples!

Saturday Morning Tea

Sep27

Happy Fall! This morning I am enjoying a cup of rich, dark Yunnan Golden Tips black tea. While the tea itself is a dark chocolate color, the leaves are a beautiful golden yellow. These are the very tips, the new growth, of the tea tree. In Yunnan province, the particular type of tea plants that grow there are actually trees with very large leaves. The tips are carefully plucked and processed to create special lots of this tea.

I had some fun arranging the wet leaf on this misty rainy morning.

The aroma and taste is of exotic spices and dark honey with a silky smooth mouth feel. There is a hint of earthy smoke in the finish. This tea would go very well with milk or cream but I don’t think it needs a sweetener because of its natural sweetness. I steeped the leaves for 5 minutes in boiling water.

There was a period of time last year where this type of tea was very challenging to obtain. I think it was because of the quickly growing popularity of Pu-ehr teas. The leaf used in the processing of this tea comes from the same area and tea trees as Pu-ehr tea. I’m happy to say that there is a return of the Yunnan blacks this year but a lot of what I’ve seen so far is very special and more expensive.

The weather forecast is for rainy skies all weekend as 2 storms head up the coast to New England. I am going to devote most of my weekend to working (and hopefully finishing) a knitted blanket for my soon to be born granddaughter Ella. That’s why I’ve been quiet this week. All of my free time has been filled with knitting needles and yarn! I’ll post a picture soon.

I’m also headed off to the Whole Bead show in Providence this weekend, too. I’ll post a picture of my newly acquired treasures as soon as I can!

Saturday Morning Tea

Sep20

While Labor Day weekend marks what most consider the official end of summer, this is the actual last weekend of summer. While I am feeling somewhat wistful thinking about the passing of all of those deliciously warm days spent outside in the garden and lazing on the backyard deck afterwards, iced tea in hand, I am also looking forward to the crisp, colorful fall and a cup of a darker, spicier tea warming my hands. Not quite yet though.

In honor of the summer’s passing, this morning I’m sipping a very very light tea, a white Ceylon from the Adam’s Peak estate. The leaf is gorgeous, long thin slightly curved pieces resembling the delicate ribs of a fan. This represents the newest leaf on the tea plant, the tender budding leaf.

This tea is entirely processed by hand from the careful plucking to drying in the sun to the heating process to stop oxidation. Here is an interesting article from the BBC news about the processing of a white tea from a Sri Lankan tea estate.

A soft sweet aroma drifts up from my white porcelain teabowl as I savor my first sip. I have steeped the leaves in 165 degree F water for 3 1/2 minutes. The liquor holds a hint of color and tastes smooth with light fruity flavor notes.

The softness and delicacy of my white tea slows me down to focus on each sip, helping me transition from a very busy workweek to the more relaxed pace of my weekend. A perfect tea for meditating on the most recent happenings of my life and the change I can feel in the air.