Saturday Morning Tea

Nov13

This morning we travel to the Yunnan province of China for a cup of black tea called Yunnan Golden Snail. A careful plucking of the top leaves on the tea bush is handcrafted into beautiful curls. The leaf looks like the black tea version of Pi Lo Chun, a China green tea whose name translates to Green Snail Spring. You can read my review of that tea here.

I steeped the leaves in boiling point (212 degrees F) water for 4 minutes. Unlike the twisted, “spider leg” tea leaves from last week, these leaves fully unfurled during steeping in what’s called the “agony of the leaf”.

My teapot shows the tree in my neighbor’s backyard that still holds a lot of its golden leaf. I just love those colors against the brilliant blue late autumn sky!

Oh, just look at that gorgeous leaf! It imparts a light smoky aroma, reminiscent of cooked bacon. This smoky quality comes through in the flavor as well. It’s not the fireplace smoky of Lapsang Souchong nor is it the tobacco smoky of gunpowder tea. It’s definitely…bacon…mmmm…and to a confirmed vegetarian like myself, an interesting treat to taste that once again.

The russet liquor glows in my teapot as I pour my first cup. Notes of spice and raisin fill my mouth with a bright astringency in the finish that lingers very nicely. This tea tastes great plain but would definitely stand up to a dollop of milk, if desired.

I sit and gaze out the window, my cup warming my hands, and think of my coming trip to New Mexico. I leave in 2 days time to visit my son and his family, including my brand new grandson, Landon, who came into this world last Monday. My son now has his own son and the circle of life continues…

I won’t return from my trip until next Sunday evening so I’m sorry to say that there won’t be any Saturday Morning Tea post next week. However, I will look forward to sharing another cup of tea with you in 2 weeks time when I believe it will be time to review another Pi Lo Chun tea. What do you think? As always, if you ever have any requests for tea reviews or questions about tea, I am always happy to receive them.

Happy tea drinking, dear friends!

“Let us imagine care of the soul, then, as an application of poetics to everyday life.” ~Thomas Moore

Saturday Morning Tea

Feb21

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As winter unwinds and we reach out towards spring, I am thinking of spirals once again. How you can come around full circle in your life and you are not exactly at the place where you began but a notch up and further along on your journey. It isn’t a circle but more like a spiral. Time isn’t linear at all because it brings us back around to experiences that keep whispering their messages to us.

So, in all my musings on spirals, I chose this morning’s tea because it has an amazing leaf artfully shaped into spirals. The leaf appearance reminds me of a black tea version of Pi Lo Chun, Green Snail Spring. It is called Yunnan Spiral Buds from Yunnan province in China.

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I steeped the leaves for 5 minutes in boiling temp water. The spirals released into long thinly rolled threads.

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The dry leaf has a pistachio fragrance with a cocoa undertone. The cocoa tone steps to the forefront in the steeped tea’s aroma and lends itself to the taste as well.

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The tea liquor is not as dark as other Yunnan black teas I have tried. Its rich amber glow reminds me of a Darjeeling color but the flavor is very different.

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While the color is lighter, the taste is very full-bodied with that dark cocoa richness. I am enjoying my tea in one of the teabowls from the set I purchased from In Pursuit of Tea. I love everything about these small 4 oz. teabowls – from the rough texture of the glaze to how they cradle perfectly in my hand.

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Today I am attending a Mystical Art Tea Party at my dear friend Laura’s house. A wonderful gathering of kindred art spirits enjoying tea and delicious food, conversation and hugs.

There is no hope of joy except in human relations.
– Antoine de Sainte-Exupery

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.