Bonnie

When I’m not feeling very well I drink tea and feel better.

My comfort the past few days has been pots of the very best black tea sipped while watching ‘Call The Midwife’ on Netflix.

If you haven’t seen this British series, test it out. The series is full of compassion and reminds me of how kind life was in the 1950’s when I was young. Neighbors looked out for each other and hope was abundant.

Laoshan Black was my warm hug in a cup.

I never have to wonder what I’m going to get when I brew up a big pot of tea…settling down…warming my hands around the mug and inhaling the vapor. I wait as long as I can before taking the first of many satisfying gulps, unable to resist such rich chocolaty flavor.

I crave dessert when I don’t feel well. Salted dark chocolate, gooey fudge brownies and Laoshan Black Tea by the pot are some of my favorites.

The first two desserts I shouldn’t have, but the third I spend neither thought of guilt nor shame indulging myself repeatedly.

I haven’t been visible on Steepster much over the past few weeks which is odd since most of you know that I love tea, and care about the people in this unique meeting place.

Spring brings dramatic changes to the weather! Thunder and lightning, late snow and the first warm days worthy of stripping off my sweater.

For me, these weather fluctuations are physically painful. The weather triggers migraines and fibromyalgia pain. Sleep is disturbed, my bones ache and through brain fog I have the hardest time making a decent cup of tea.

Today I was lucky!

I woke with usual painful bones at 4AM then fell asleep on the couch at 10:00. The weather had dipped from 67 degrees to 19 degrees in 13 hours. When I rose again, I didn’t have faith that I could make a decent cup of tea but I tried anyway.

Ajiri is strong tea! I’m fond of it in the morning with milk.

For days, I had been over-steeping, under-leafing, screwing up every tea I touched. It had been discouraging. I had gone to my tea-bar a couple of times just to have someone else fix tea for me.

I carefully measured the tea (which I seldom do anymore) into a 20oz pot and steeped 2 minutes (longer than the 1 recommended). Failure wasn’t an option anymore. This needed to be done right!

When I poured the first cup, the flavor was perfect! Strong, brisk and bready. I added evaporated milk and some sweetening to balance the richness.

Of course I’ll get through this physical slump, I’ve had this happen before…but I thought I should say something. You might know someone who goes through this too and could use a little understanding or help fixing a cup of tea.

A couple of people had noticed that I had been absent from Steepster. Writing thoughtful reviews when I’m not well and my bones ache isn’t fair to the tea. This situation will end soon enough.

About this Ajiri tea though…for anyone who isn’t a fan of malty tea’s but has been searching for a strong tea that isn’t bitter and stands up well to milk…this would be a good choice.

I met Annalisa and all 5 boys at Horsetooth Park this afternoon, armed with crackers and hugs.
It was a warm, cloudy day, perfect for playing without the worry of sunburn.
The park has a water play area, a tunnel mountain, various playgrounds for different ages, hiking trails and a dog park with fenced in swimming lake for dogs.

To both 2 year old’s, I’m “Dama” and to everyone else I’m “Grandma”.

After playtime, I took 8 year old Micah for some time alone. It’s important for him to know how special he is to me. His life has been difficult. Being 8 and bipolar, makes you feel different in a way that isn’t always good. He loves coming to my house and being my special boy.
I drove the long way home, stopped by the lower lake and we took a walk talking about fishing and why there were holes in the rocks. Then we went off to Happy Lucky’s for tea.

I brought my new Chai Spice with me. Who brings tea to a tea shop, or Chai Spice? I do!

For some reason, Happy Lucky’s was empty when we arrived and stayed that way. Maybe it was the clouds in the sky…sending streaks of lightening further out on the Prairie that was keeping people away. Whatever the case, Eric…Sam…Micah and I had Happy Lucky’s Tea House to ourselves!

Eric made the Chai in a fancy pot using a malty black tea base, milk and honey for all of us to enjoy.
Micah and I sat at the tea-bar and I poured tea very high above the little teacups from the copper teapot with it’s long curved spout. The 3 ft. stream of tea hit the cups creating froth without spilling a drop! (I’ve done this before) Everyone enjoys seeing me pour Chai!

This Chai was subtle, not too spicy or peppery. I could tell this was a Verdant Chai. Some Chai’s are ‘in your face’. By that I mean, there’s ‘lots’ of clove or cardamom or pepper and sometimes I feel like I’ve had Chai mouthwash!
Verdant Chai’s are gentle. Not weak, but not raw and rough either.
I can’t wait to try the Chai blend with Laoshan Black Tea. I know magic will happen with this Chai blend and Laoshan Black, who knows why…but it will happen. It’s a mystery! Maybe a miracle.

There are recipes so subtle that you might be tempted to rush past without consideration. We have become that kind of society. Rushing on to the huge tastes, the bold flavors. Refinement and restraint is something that I’m learning to appreciate and this blend is more refined.

Micah, my tea-guy friends and I all enjoyed our late afternoon Chai, and I’m looking forward to many more cups and some experimentation.

As Micah began to get over-active, I took him to the bins of tea and we began to go through the samplers, experimenting with the scents of mint and cacao, then lemon and ginger…and on and on until he forgot where he was and became interested in the tea. He calmed down and enjoyed himself again.

My daughter came and picked him up at the shop. Teatime with grandma is a memory I’m creating with my grandchildren. http://flic.kr/p/e8ZT4i

Tea
Mrmopar sent me a few small Tuo cha’s around Christmas (nice of him) so this morning I rinsed one piece for 20 seconds in boiling water, poking it gently with my Puer knife. I used a small pot for brewing tea instead of a Gaiwan.

The steep time was 1 minute because I prefer a strong brew.

Surprisingly, the flavor wasn’t strong but bland. Uninteresting, bland Puer is something I rarely encounter.

Recently, I put together a bin of herbs, spices and berries for adding to tea when I feel like experimenting with flavor.

The list contains:
Elderberry, tulsi and various kinds of mint, goji berries, lavendar, cinnamon bark chips, dry ginger, burdock root, jasmine flowers,
chrysanthemum blossoms, cranberries, orange peel, cassia seeds and cocoa hulls. (Most items cost about $2 an ounce)

I had this blah tasting Puer and I knew that I could do something to improve the flavor with an ingredient from my bin of goodies.
I chose the packet of cocoa hulls and steeped a very small amount in the brew basket with the bland Puer tuo cha.

The addition worked! I created a tasty pot of very Cocoa PU! I added cream and sweetened the cocoa pu to make it even more delicious.

Can’t wait to see what else can be created from this bin of flavor boosters!

Humility:
My daughter called…

“Mom, guess what? We just got a ‘Star Award’ for best Foster Parents and I don’t know what to say? How can I accept the award when I get mad and frustrated at my children and lose it sometimes?”

It didn’t surprise me that she and my son-in-law recieved the award, or that she would say that she didn’t deserve it. People who deserve awards usually don’t realize that what they do is special, or heroic. It’s in their character to go beyond normal.

That same day, she got another call and was informed that they had received ‘Foster Parents of the Year’ for our County.

Now she was complaining again! “How could this be?!”

Blubber, blubber, blubber!

Calmly I explained that life has to have balance. The many nights sitting up with the bi-polar 8 year old who can’t sleep and is bouncing off the walls. The baby on oxygen who was crying. Then I remembered the baby who was thrown out the window and had broken bones, and the many newborns they had nursed off drugs.

The rest is on www.teaandincense.com with a picture…

REVEW 600…time sips by when I’m drinking tea!

If you’ve lost your way and can’t remember where your journey began, drink very good tea and your memory will return.

Tea Tasting 1
I took the first half of my packet of Mr. He’s 1st Picking Laoshan Black to share with my tea shop friends on a quiet Friday afternoon, just a big snowstorm descended on Old Town.
The flurries were heavy outside while I sat at the tea-bar gloating. I had picked the best time and had the Happy Lucky’s all to myself with Joe, Andy, Eric and Preston to sip tea with me behind the bar.

Eric was Gaiwan Master that evening…pouring for all of us.

We were a loud chorus of tea slurpers, spraying the liquid up and around the inside of our mouths to insure a contact to every tastebud.

Andy (who is the main tea blender and manager of the shop) was the first to comment on how much the tea reminded him of sweet, malty Brewery grains (reminder that this is a Brewery town and within walking distance of the teahouse are many breweries such as New Belgium, Odell, Equinox, Fort Collins, FunkWerks, Pateros, Coopersmiths).

These young men became very animated, curious about the flavor of the tea and the malty, grainy quality that smelled like their other favorite beverage besides tea and a dessert pastry.

I was not paying close attention to what Preston was doing with the Gaiwan, so I missed his comment that he was going to steep the tea leaves longer.

He steeped them a full 2.5 minutes! Espresso strength!!

Wow! I had no idea until I took a sip and… my eyebrows stood on end!

The flavor was fantastic! Everyone liked it!

A condensed, huge, BITE of tea packed with fruit, grain, sweet malt and caramel that lingered on and on as though I had popped a truffle in my mouth and let it melt!

Eric commented that in all his years of drinking tea, going from Black Tea to Green, then Puerh, it’s ‘Hand Crafted Black Tea’ that’s bringing him back to his first love.

I went home, intending to write a review, and got a bad cold!
I’ve been absent for the past week or so…sick, sick sick! I don’t write reviews when I can’t taste tea.

Now that I’m well, I’ve had a chance to think about Mr. He’s Tea.
One thing that I love about regular Laoshan Black is drinking it Western Style and not Gongfu (not using a Gaiwan). So, I asked myself, what if this 1st picking was better Western Style also?

Tea Tasting 2
Using the rest of my packet of tea, I prepared a small pot for Western Style Brewing.

(Laoshan Black Leaves are long and wiry,the 1st picking are almost like rolled oolong, curled up tight and smell peppery-savory)

As much as I enjoyed the previous Gaiwan preparation with my friends, I have to say that the teapot brew tasted better.
Laoshan Black is more chocolate and grainy tasting than Mr. He’s 1st Picking, which was also smoother with caramel. This tea tasted similar to Golden Fleece.

In my 600 reviews here on Steepster I’ve learned from all the people here (including the many tea vendors who so lovingly teach about their tea’s).

I could probably give up tea easier than I could give up the people I’ve met here on Steepser, and that’s the truth!

Thank you!

Thank you Teajo Teas for this generous Sample!

With open arms I’m enjoying the first Spring arrival of high mountain rain.
Next to my desk as I was looking outside the window the very bottom of the Rocky Mountain’s settled their jagged bones and smoothed out to a gradually descending plain.

I am in love with the drama of Frontrange weather! The romantic in me wants to pair the right tea with what’s happening in the atmosphere.

Black Manas arrived in the mail right on time for my imaginings.

With black and billowing clouds rolling overhead, I prepared a pot of tea and a 3.5 minute steep (I am a dark brew lover).

Taking my tea-tray to the largest window, I sat watching the sky. Tea is part of what is outside after all, more than what is in my heated, electronic filled house.

When I poured, the tea was very dark. I expected a strong and malty flavor, but was pleasantly surprised with a light, sweet and brisk taste that wasn’t very malty. Huh?

“What’s this?”, I asked myself. Had I assumed from the reviews that this was going to be a malty tea like so many other’s? This wasn’t the case.
For me, the tea was barely malty and had a clean citrus essense with delicious rose and butter cookie flavor.

The tea was strong, full bodied… yet gentle and smooth.

Sweetened and with cream…Superb!

As much as I love very strong Kenyan Tea when I need my jolt of caffeine, I really like the floral background in this tea very much!

For strong black tea lovers like me who want smooth superior flavor, this has it all!

For a rainy day, nothing could beat a tea like this one!

All eyes have been on ROME for the past few weeks and especially today!

I’ve enjoyed seeing the place that I’ve been to and wish to return on TV. It’s my dream to take my granddaughters to Rome (and Greece if I could). Unless there’s a miracle this won’t happen, but I hope they get to go one day.

I wrote about my adventure on my blog www.teaandincense.com with a link to a song by il volo and a few pictures by me.

I like the message of the new Pope. Blessed are the Poor! Remember the Poor!

Even though I am not Catholic, and you may not be Catholic either, I love to hear all words of Mercy. I am reminded and inspired to be better than I am.

My tea today reminded me of the goodness of the smallest of things, in the little leaves that we enjoy as tea.

This tea in particular gave me head to toe warming, like a broom had swept out an interior chill.

I shivered.

Have you ever lifted your cup of tea, taken a sip and shivered with delight?

I am a dark chocolate junkie, a salted chocolate lover.
This tea provided effortless imaginations of salted butterscotch with my beloved dark chocolate.

In my delighted fanciful imaginations, I wanted a buttery, flaky cheese croissant paired with the richness of my tea. I craved the flavors blending together.

Tea for memories, for memorable days…and then again…reminding me that such small things are gloriously important and wondrous…even when they don’t look like much. A small leaf, a dry and plain thing.

What person looks so plain and poor, observed as debris yet has such glorious importance when kindness and attention is given.

It makes me shiver.

photo’s http://flic.kr/s/aHsjEmFABA

Il Volo (Young singers from Rome) http://youtu.be/vFyaa5AB2sA

(My blog link was down but is working again.)

Thank you mrmopar for this pu-erh sample!

Yikes! What a hardened packet of pu-erh nibs! I had to SOAK the little devils for a bit to soften them enough to break apart, all the while letting no color from the nibs leech into the water.

As I said, “Hard!”

Once they were pliable, color began to swirl rapidly in my glass pot and timing began.

A minute later, I pulled my basket and took a sip of the dark coffee brown liquor.

The flavor was savory mushrooms, sweet and salty. When I moved my head back from the cup, I smelled vanilla tobacco as the scent of the mushrooms mixed with vanilla wafer.

Late in the tasting, the feel of spice tingled my tongue the way cinnamon feels.

I wasn’t expecting this much complexity out of the work I put in breaking up the nibs. They were pretty ugly and the liquor was uninteresting to look at.

People can be like tea. Not much to look at and uninteresting on the surface. Some are very hard and take time to get to know! If time is taken, and if we can look past that initial hardness they can be the most interesting, unique and memorable people of our lives.

Like always, tea is an awesome teacher.

UH OH! 00

I was cleaning the linen closet and smelled smoke. Following my super nose like a hound-dog, I went outside and there was a huge plume of smoke up where the big fires were last Summer that lasted a month.
It’s only MARCH!

Some people have been evacuated, but we’re hoping for the first rains to arrive tomorrow (without lightening).

The smell of smoke…ugh!

I needed to go out and meet my family for dinner, so I picked Ajiri to give me the jolt I needed to face the smoke and get moving.

This is that one tea you want when you have to study late at night or when you have to drive a long distance. It will keep you running.

I’m not affected by caffeine for very long. The deep straightforward black tea flavor is what really appeals to me.

Thank you Janet for this sample of your new tea creation!

Everybody knows that I’m a Puerh Nerd and proud of it!
A Puerh Nerd is a Tea Nerd that smells like dirt! (That’s a joke!)

It was another Georgeous Morning on the Frontrange today! Birds singing and traffic reports to beware of SUN GLARE (which I think is amusing since my home in California wasn’t as close to the sun as living in the Rocky Mountains!).

Cinnamon Swirl Bread sounded like a festive and fresh beginning to my day.
Right when I was setting up my teapot, I almost missed the first ingredient ‘2008 loose Puerh’, thinking the tea had a black tea base. (Good thing I read the label more carefully!)

Janet ‘only’ uses organic, fair-trade ingredients, listing them on the package. The label explained timing, how to do multiple steeps and suggested 5 (or more) making this a great tea value.

Could the flavor really deliver though? I’ve tried so many blended Puerh’s that get it wrong!

A lot of thought went into the ingredients. I was confident that the puerh, cocoa nibs and cinnamon would do well through multiple steeping, but the black tea was also hearty and didn’t become weak through 40 ounces of testing.

Taste:
Janet created a delicious cinnamon bakery bread tea, no doubt about it!

The cinnamon isn’t sour or overdone! The tea doesn’t taste like chai or cinnamon tea, it’s what it says…bread! KUDO’s!

(I added some more sweetener and milk to make my tea even richer but you wouldn’t have to…)

Would order this tea? Absolutely! It’s one that I’d play around with even, adding a little ginger now and then, or orange. It’s what I do.

The body is smooth, rich and substantial because of the puerh.

Ah that word came up didn’t it, Puerh! What about that?

If you’re a puerh lover and want a punch of puerh flavor, forget it. You can’t really taste the puerh. It’s lending body and richness to this blend. It’s one of those wheat-bread puerh’s.

Anyone fearful of puerh, who might have pulled back from trying this blend anticipating an earthy or fishy taste is safe!

You can’t taste the Puerh, but you get all the health benefits!

This tea is a winner from sTEApShoppe!

I’ve tried to be open about my tea journey. I am still a beginner, and one tea that has intimidated me is Sheng Pu’er.

Why?

I look at a package of Sheng and feel like I’ve been called into the Principals office! (Some people feel this way about ALL Pu’er!)

Because I’m such a chicken, I took a sample of this to share with Joe on Tuesday because nobody would be at the tea shop in the morning. He loves Sheng! (And he would do all the serving)

Steep 1 and 2 were 10-15 seconds long.

The leaves smelled musty like damp concrete.

Steep one tasted thick and salty like whipped butter. I felt a cooling sensation in my mouth but Joe didn’t. (We hurried on)

The second steep was “black-teaish’ (not proper English but I’m quoting) and sweet vanilla-nut. We felt nut oil instead of butter that was a blend of brazil nut and cashew, adding sweetness and some creamy body.

Joe over-steeped the third round at 20 seconds…yuck! This one smelled very sweet like paste, and was super astringent…blech!

Steeps 4-5 were Savory…like dark meat chicken and potato skin. The sweetness and fattiness were gone.
(This was still tasty tea, but the 3rd long pour stripped some of the flavor out.)

We stopped at this point, one of my better experiences with Sheng Puer!

So many prior Shengs have been young, smoky (and somewhat harsh!).
Master Han’s Sheng had body with complex flavor, creamy texture and black-tea quality. I liked it!

The only way to get over being afraid of tea, is to drink it.

Thanks to Claire for this Sample Tea!

It’s a beautiful Spring-like morning…one of those throw open the window beginnings that lift the spirit. I rummaged past my boots and the ever-ready close-toe shoes of Winter to find ‘SANDALS’!

It’s inspiring to make tea in a Gaiwan on such a day.

I’ve become obsessed with warming my Gaiwan with boiling water, dumping the water out…then putting the tea leaves in to sit with the lid on for a minute.

What comes from this one step of preparation is tea seduction. It is what leads to wanting the tea so much that you can hardly contain yourself.

The next step was actual steeping which was short.

When I smelled the scent of the leaves they were fruity and sweet, but soon changed to the aroma of light curry. Going back to check the scent later, I could still smell the curry resting in the leaves.

The flavor was roasted freestone peach with the tang of guava membrillo. (Another way to discribe it would be the taste of peach leather and plum if you’re not familiar with membrillo?)
Sweet and tangy, luscious and smooth with a dripping honey quality to it.

Ah, the color in my glass cup. I had almost forgotten.
Polished brass flickering in candle-light. It reminded me of looking into a stream on a bright Summer day with the sun reflecting back glints and sparkles of gold.

This was a worthy tea, a Big Red Robe without the cinder taste that some dark roasts have. No burned flavor or smoke, just smooth stone-fruit and juice.

Joe at Happy Lucky’s and I shared 2 small pieces of this exquisite tea placed in a little white gaiwan.
The small pieces were the size of the tip of my little finger and amazingly fragrant.

We leaned towards the vessel, eyes lit with a glow that you see in the eyes of children when they’re about to blow out the candles on their birthday cake.

POOF! Our small gaiwan was ready to pour tea in a flash.

The first sip unfurled like a flower at the back of my throat, spicy and sweet. Lingering….

Cool, sweet, buttery jasmine and fresh rain.

Smooth and rich in my mouth…every steep drenched with sweet floral juice as though I had squeezed citrus.

The aroma was curious. Yellow delicious apple? Pineapple Mango?
Possibly a combination of both with the floral jasmine.

Mind wandering:
On very warm Summer evenings, I used to like to walk around the neighborhood right before sunset. I’d listen to the sounds of dogs barking and people making noises. Lawn mowers would turn off and mothers would be calling children in to dinner.
The air was warm enough to lift the scent of jasmine as I passed by the many scrubs common to my city. I loved that aroma and would breathe in deeply….ah! It gave me the same feeling of comfort as pulling the covers up over me on a Saturday morning and going back to sleep.

Jasmine has always smelled like PIE!

If those 2 small braided pieces of jasmine tasted so splendid, what would 4 pieces taste like?! I can’t imagine, but another time…I’ll try, and I’ll be back with more notes!

tea, tea, tea, tea, tea LAOSHAN BLACK tea, tea, tea, tea, tea.

There’s a list of tea’s that I could be satisfied with having and be happy with them for the rest of my life. (There are just over 15 I’ve been tinkering with.)

Laoshan Black would be in my top 5. It’s a staple in my diet.

Have you looked at the Verdant website alchemy blends?
Three have Laoshan Black in them. This is one of the reasons this tea is a staple in my cupboard…BLENDABILITY!

My local tea shop has herbs and spices at reasonable prices ranging from $1-$2 an ounce (and Eric always makes sure I have the freshest).
I received my new Laoshan Black in the mail yesterday on the way to tea, and thought I’d buy some of these interesting additions for adding to tea. I’ve been mixing elderberries, ginger, chysanthemum, fennel, jasmine, burduck root, cassia to pu’er on occasion, whipping up tasty brews to satisfy my creative nature (this seems to work best with milder pu-er).

A big pinch of Laoshan Black added into Ginger Sage Winter Spa Blend is delicious (one of my favorites)!
My cocoa hull pu’er (called choco pu) with a pinch of Laoshan Black is amazingly rich.

This morning, I made a big pot of tea which I drank Naked. Laoshan Black and nothing added to it!.
It was an especially sensual tea drinking experience! (The guttural tea noises you can make when nobody is around!) A-hum!
You know what I’m talking about…come on, don’t pretend you don’t!

How could I have forgotten the cocoa goodness? Had it been so long since my last cup of Laoshan Black tea?

The new batch has to be even richer and creamier than before.
DD (David Duckler) is up to something, I know he is! That grainy texture mentioned by many people in earlier reviews was missing.
Maybe it was just Me? (Hope not!) But this was richer and creamier than I remembered.

No, this isn’t a hyped review of a tea. This isn’t an undeserved review.

It is as good as hundreds of people say. Even…Better!

Thank you Janet for this sample tea!

I had this for my morning tea, propped my feet up next to my tea tray with my Kindle Fire so that I could check Steepster, make notes and sip. Ahhhhh!

Can I get an AMEN to lazy Winter mornings!!!

My tray was fitted with everything that I could think of to taste this tea with. Half & Half, sweetener, Almond Vanilla Milk and Clover Honey.

First, as I ALWAYS DO, I drink my tea without anything in it…NAKED (the tea)!
This was a good naked tea! It’s mild enough with a light raisin or current flavor.

I added Sweetener and it brought out a grape-raisin taste. Next, I added Half & Half which still was kind of grapy.

I was looking for a raisin bread flavor…HUM? How could I make that happen?

The next cup was Honey and Almond Vanilla Milk.
YIKES! No…no…no…not ok! (This did not taste good. Yucky. Not for me…no!) The honey with the grape tasted sour. Blech!

Backing away from that cup of tea slowly…

I tried Sugar, Almond Vanilla Milk in the tea…AND IT WAS…GOOD! (Hooray!)
There was the bakey raisen bread flavor that I had wanted.

Sometimes, I don’t taste the grape in Darjeelings but here, in this tea, I did.

A good rule is to never be afraid to play around with black tea’s especially. Try different milks and sweeten them or not as you wish. Prepare the tea in a pot and try using a gaiwan now and then. It’s surprising how different methods will change your experience.

The one thing that I never do is use strong honey (like wildflower) unless the tea is chai or ginger with lots of spice. Strong honey overpowers the taste of tea. (This isn’t just my opinion)

Set your clocks tonight!

There was supposed to be almost a blizzard today…but it whistled on by, preferring to thump tumbleweeds on the Plains with howling wind and pelting snow.

I bundled up in layers, called Schey to meet me at Happy Lucky’s at 2PM for tea, and selected several new tea’s for my green tea pouch. Without that pouch and a “What did you bring us today Bonnie?” the visit wouldn’t be complete.

Five people were in and out behind the tea-bar when I arrived (including the owner, George).
Joe picked a group favorite (this Tieguanyin) and brought out complete aroma sets, a gaiwan and small fairness pitcher.

The Oolong Symphony Began. 170 degrees and short steeps.

At first the tea was delicate, a blend of linen…squash blossom and cucumber flesh. I commented that the taste was subtle in the beginning, then stalled like a wave gathering more water before unfurling on the sand.

The second steep was very floral without being old and tired, thickening on the finish. There was a feel of unsalted butter (so said Joe and I). The aroma was so heavy with orchids and honey, it pulled me deep down into the cup and I was lost.

One steep was vanilla cream scented and another orchids and jasmine.

The color, floral aroma and flavor were the same as we approached the 6th steeping.

One of the things that Eric mentioned was the size of the leaves and the amount of flavor. “Someone has taken very good care of these leaves to get them to give this kind of flavor for this long. This is very good Tieguanyin.” (Eric is the scientist, one of the people I’ve dissected tea’s and ingredients with. He’s also a West Coast Bay Area person like me).

We’ve had Tieguanyin (Oolongs in general) discussions about how the climate on the Frontrange is PERFECT for aging. It’s DRY and Oolongs like DRY storage.

George drifted over to the gaiwan and made a round for everyone. As the owner, he’s tasted LOTS of tea, and his eyebrows tweeked up like the Rocky Mountains. He was impressed at the look of the leaves after many steeps.

What sets this apart and makes this different that any other?

The aroma is complex and lingering.
It’s a warm day in May, and just before the morning becomes humid…I’ve gone into the garden to pick flowers for my table.
There’s a fence with honeysuckle. Sweet jasmine, lily of the valley and orchids in the garden. White cotton sheets are drying on the clothesline, flapping in the wind.

The aroma lingers. That was the first thing I noticed.

The flavor grabs attention in a subtle way.
Buttered squash blossom, diced peeled and seeded cucumber, clover honey with the scent of all the garden flowers and linen.

The flavor moves so slowly through the mouth, informing the brain with a ‘seven-second delay’ that “An event has taken place, tastebuds wake up”!

This is the point, that the tea is sneeky! It doesn’t behave the way you are expecting a Tieguanyin to behave.

This is NOT a Boring OOLONG!

And, the flavor goes on forever!

Aha! I found a crouching foil sample in the corner of my ‘to be reviewed’ organizor. You can run, but you can’t hide from me for long.

I jumped onto the Rocky Mountain Roller-Coaster at 66 degrees yesterday and am holding on…WHEEEEE as the dip is about to hit with a snow-storm tonight. DOWN we’ll plunge with 5-6 inches of snow and then WHEEEEE back up to the 60’s most of next week!

What do you do on this wild ride? Make soup and drink tea! (Uh and watch a good movie!)

So, a long time ago before I knew from Gaiwan’s and such, I always made tea in a teapot with a brew basket ‘Western Style’. I was happy.
About 6 months ago, I began to brew more black tea’s in my Gaiwan and was shocked at how different the flavor was compared to the teapot method.
Since that time, I’ve been revisiting those same tea’s I tasted before to brew the ‘new’ way with greater enjoyment in most cases.

Zhu Rhong was a tea that I had tasted ‘Western Style’.

After fixing some Thai coconut curry fish soup for today and tomorrow, I made tea.

As soon as I poured the tea through my small strainer into the porcelain pitcher, I bent over to smell the leaves and the leaves
mocked me with a scent so potently delicious that I turned my head and sneezed!

Bugger!

Wow, are there words to describe the scent of these leaves?!

Chocolate covered dry fruit dipped in honey and oozing (or melting in the sun). I can’t think of anything other than this and it’s a lame attempt at the aroma.

I picked up the pitcher and poured the tea into my cup. There was a sheen, a coating of tea on the pitcher that was silky when I touched it.

The silkiness was in my mouth all the way through the swallowing of the tea, not butter but the way an emolliant feels on your skin when it’s dry…soothing and light, gliding easily.

If the Zhu Rhong was music, it would be Gershwin or Brubeck, rich and full with unexpected notes of flavor. Classic.

Zhu Rhong is the DARK CHOCOLATE LOVER"S TEA! That’s where I reside.
I love Laoshan Black and all the other fabulous Black Tea’s, but Zhu Rhong is in my top 10 list because of the dark bittersweet edge.

I hope this returns, but if not…the adventure in tea is always exciting.

Last night my granddaughter Megan (who I’ve mentioned before many times as a young composer) conducted an original piece of music (she did the arrangement also). The original was 1840 Irish song (A Nation Once Again) by Thomas Davis ( a protest song before the days of the IRA) and Megan used his words. Here’s the link if you want to see it performed… http://youtu.be/6wAv_p3eP_o

Thank you Claire for this sample Pu’er!

Claire sent me a nice sample of this Mandala Tuocha (for anybody who hasn’t anyone to ask how to pronounce tea words it’s two-oh-cha). The tea was black/brown like bakers chocolate and pretty darn hard but not dusty smelling.

My ritual is the same each time I prepare Pu’er.
4oz. Gaiwan, S.S.filter, fairness pitcher (or small 4oz. cup if I’m alone), filtered boiling water and pick.

Because this was a hard Pu’er I rinsed it twice, taking the rinse water and washing my hands in the liquor, also washing around my face to make sure there was no scent of anything other than the tea.

Pet Peeve which most can/will ignore-
Don’t brush your teeth, put on perfumes, lip gloss or eat strong food before writing reviews. People do it, and I can’t understand how you can drink a mint tea, eat curry and write about a delicate oolong or 5 different types of tea right after each other…Pumpkin, Chai and Oolong? Tastebuds get confused.

I’m less rigid about steeping Pu’er and timing than most people.
Something in me wants to let the tea tell me what to do as I go along and adjust to the voice I hear.

My usual practice with a Shou is to steep 20-30 seconds and see what happens, then change timing if needed.

The liquor was the color of rootbeer and sparkling clear throughout.

1. At 25 seconds, the feel was slightly dry and light with the flavor of pecan and cedar. Not well developed.

2. I added 5 seconds and the tea was creamy but still light. there was slightly sweet raisin nut bread and cedar on the finish.

3. 5 more seconds and the creaminess was almost gone. The tea was refreshing and lite but without much flavor.

4. I added 5 seconds again which increased astringency and cedar on the finish.

5. 1 minute. The Pu’er was lighter than I had anticipated through all but the first two steeps. I thought that increasing the time to a minute might deepen the flavor, but it didn’t change very much.
There was a creamy texture and a mild current or raisin taste and slight cedar finish, which had been there before. This was smooth and delightful but again, very easy and light.

What was this Pu’er teaching through these steepings?

I thought about this for awhile.

It’s more common for me to drink Shou Pu’er that’s heavy with cedar flavor and often too sweet. Other Pu’er’s have a tang that can really tweek your taste buds. It’s something of an acquired taste that I like, but not everyone else might like tea quite as strong as I do.

I’d call this 2005 Xiaguan Crane an ‘intro to cedar Pu’er’, because it’s extremely light, mellow, creamy and gently sweet. There isn’t a whole cedar tree in the mouth to scare a person away!

I have a little left that I’ll share with Eric at the tea shop and steep much longer. I’m wondering how a longer steep in the beginning will taste.

Let the Pu’er guide the journey!

BTW, my newest addition to my blog is a memory of a trip to Ancash, Peru years ago in the Andes. www.teaandincense.com

For those of you who haven’t been reading my notes over the past year, I’ll repeat a couple of things that some long-time Steepster friends already know (patience).

Other than trips to my tea shop Happy Luckys (where everyone knows my name, kind of like ‘Cheers’) and Church (where I can sit in the back away from bright migraine-inducing-light), I stay by myself and am afraid of people. (Terrified is a better word for how I feel.)
I’ve been working on this ‘terrified of people’ issue, and Steepster has been a big help to me.
My Priest (Fr. Evan) noticed that drinking tea and writing has changed my interaction with people. I’ve become gradually more sociable hanging around after Church longer to chat for a few minutes.
My fears are associated with forgetting words mid-sentence, the sudden onset of migraines with dizziness, and brain-fog from fibromyalgia. I gave in to the terror and it took over my life.

Finally, a few weeks ago, I’d had enough!
After Church one Sunday, I invited a Doctor and her 72 year old mother ( who was an Industrial Chemist in Romania) to tea.
These women weren’t even tea drinkers, they were coffee drinkers!

With no idea what to do with the time, I decided to share my life in the tea world with them (and I invited my granddaughter Schey to join in as my back-up).

I set up a tray with several kinds of tea to pass around. A beeng of puerh, some black pearls, fragrant oolong and lapsang souchong.

For tasting, we began with Wild Oriental Beauty Gonfu Style which they enjoyed very much.

The next tea was a large pot of Chocolate Phoenix Chai slowly steeped in milk with local clover honey. (I’ve written about this tea before, and the richness in milk with honey is the only way I drink Chocolate Phoenix Chai!)

The Chai was a hit! My guests had never had Chai before!
They commented on the chocolate flavor and gentle spice which I paired with a baked cheese and crackers and Dutch waffle cookies.

We had a good conversation about the health benefits of tea, life under Communism in Romania and immigration to the United States. I gave them a gift of Chai and made plans to meet at my tea shop in the near future.

Reading this is probably one of the most boring reviews to read that I’ve ever written….but to those of you who know me, it’s a real victory story!

If I failed to write about it here on Steepster, I wouldn’t be sharing with all of you who made it possible for me to break out of my shell!

THANK YOU!

It is the kindness of TEA PEOPLE that has given me confidence!

Thank you to Ze_Teamaker for sharing this ‘windfall’ tea with me!

My flavor imagination was quivering with anticipation when Ze_Teamaker let me know this tea was on the way through the Postal System.

I’m a big fan of Laoshan Black…cocoa and bread, malt and light black pepper (sometimes). Genmaicha isn’t a tea I sit down and drink. I cook with genmaicha.
For whatever reason, a savory tea makes me hungry and I begin thinking up recipes…invariably ending up in the kitchen cooking (and eating).

When the tea arrived, I took it to share with Joe at the tea shop.

We drank a little over half the sample, enjoying the tea without talking much.

What I loved was the classic sweet Laoshan Black up front, no genmaicha flavor at all, and then at the back of my mouth…rice.
Smooth genmaicha rice with a very long finish pushed by the bread flavor of the Laoshan Black.

This was like drinking two tea’s, one sweeter and one savory. (A nice surprise)

I couldn’t help dreaming (as I do) about what I would create with the Genmaicha in my kitchen.

When I arrived at my home, I began to experiment.
I infused some rice wine vinegar with the Genmaicha, hoping to create an interesting flavor. The idea was good, but the vinegar needed to be lighter and I needed more tea to infuse more flavor.
(The sweet, cocoa malty Laoshan Black and Minnisota Rice would make a great infusion!)

Here’s hoping Verdant will release this blend! I’d like more!

Thank you Stacy for this sample tea!

I’m not going to compare this Assam to the other Butiki Assam Tea’s. It would be unfair and disrespectful. The leaves are grown in different regions, and the trees along with climate are giving their best.

I’m looking at the liquor in a glass mug.

The clarity of it’s topaz color is very fine, and when the light catches a corner of the glass…gold and peach tones glisten.

I can smell maltiness.

Lifting the cup to drink, the malt smoothes to milk chocolate and finishes with caramel corn.

The flavor is soft and smooth.

Slurping the tea on the second sip (which I should have done in the beginning), I taste light citrus…very clean and fresh.

I’ve tasted an Assam Blend from Taiwan before, but not a pure Assam.

This tea is sweet and light. A tea that I would reserve for warmer months because of the liquid honey sweetness and clean varied flavors.

Thank you to Claire for this sample!

I was eyeing the reviews on Noble Mark. What a clever name (these Mandala tea’s have the best names…Phatty Cake, Wild Monk are favorites)!

The other day I tasted this Pu’er with Eric at the tea shop, and then I had some again today.
Both sessions tasted about the same. A quick rinse and 10-20 second steep each produced a very light tasting tea.

This was one of the lightest pu’er’s I’ve ever had and the silkiest.

There’s a difference between buttery and silky. Buttery tea’s coat the mouth and lips while silky tea’s glide through the mouth in such a smooth way that you almost can’t feel the tea at all.

I tasted slight cedar and italian latte foam mixed together as a light, warm, tea gelato.

Etherial tea…..

Dreamers should drink this before dreaming, and lovers in the afternoon when the weather is warm.

I’m a Winter thick Pu-erh drinker, a mug of brew and cedarwood. Somwhat of an ancient Library or Cathedral in a cup.

To each their own, and I admit this is an appealing tea. I can envision it’s popular, comfortable use. Applause to Noble Mark.

Thank you mrmopar for this Pu-erh tea!

I received a box of single serving Pu-erh tea bags from my friend mrmopar (who as you and I know is the biggest PU fan on Steepster).

PU TEABAGS?! REALLY?! (What was mrmopar thinking?!)

Looking around for a tea to drink, I picked up the box of Pu-erh and decided it was about time to see what the tea tasted like.

Even though the tea was bagged, I rinsed it quickly…then let it steep for several minutes until the liquor was deep red-ocre.

This was NOT going to be a good cup of Pu-erh…I was very sure of myself…and I was so WRONG. (Down with tea-snobbery!)

The flavor reminded me a little of Red Aura, smooth without bitterness or ‘fishy’ taste and a very nice cup of Pu-erh.

Who would have imagined the bagged tea would be so flavorful?

This is a great idea for a working person, so handy to keep portable Pu-erh in a desk drawer to pop in a mug of hot water!

Yes, yes, yes…I liked it!

Thank you to Claire for this sample of Mandala Black Pearl Tea!

I used to get my Black Pearl Tea from China until I found a similar tea with the same taste at my local tea shop (with no shipping cost).

Today, I was going to a shop in Old Town to refill my bottle of vanilla-orange vinegar (I use the vinegar when baking cranberry bread and in Swedish pancake batter along with cardamom), I thought I’d walk around the corner through the melting snow from Sunday’s storm… to my tea shop.
I’d ask Preston to do a side-by-side comparison between their Black Pearl Tea and the Mandala sample.

Preston was glad to accommodate my request because the shop wasn’t busy at the time.
He warmed 2 Gaiwans, 2 small porcelain teapots and several small tasting cups.

First we tasted the Mandala Tea…which was surprisingly smoky.
I was expecting a cocoa sweet, malty tea…but instead the tea was very much like a lightly smoked tea, very smooth and so thick that it coated the inside of my whole mouth.

Next, we tasted the Tea House Black Pearls, which were sweet and cocoa-malty.
This was the type of Black Pearl I’ve tasted from several vendors…all very good.
I had expected a similar flavor from the Mandala Pearls…but they didn’t taste the same.

The flavor comparison of the two were so dissimilar, that they seemed like different tea’s. One smoky-buttery and the other cocoa-malty.

Mandala’s Black Pearls would be enjoyed by people love the tease of subtle smokiness…a thick, rich buttery coating in the mouth and an ultra- smooth finish.

I wonder if brewing by another method might not be as successful as using a Gaiwan. I’ll have to see.

NOTE…For those who use lots of Black Pearls when they brew, I wouldn’t do that with these Pearls. We used 3 in a Gaiwan and that was enough! They unfurl rapidly.

For me, the flavor was refined and very enjoyable.