Bonnie

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Thank you Invader Zim for this wonderful tea gift sample!

I saved this ‘Experimental Pressing Sample’ that Invader Zim shared with me from her Tea Club offering for tonight, New Year’s Eve!
(If I saved every tea to drink on special occasions that I’ve received from friends here on Steepster, each day would have to be a Holiday!)

Steepster people are the BEST!

The little cube of pressed Pu’er is beautiful. It looks like a jewel. You really can’t tell from the picture, but there’s a sheen…a brilliance that I’ve never seen before as though delicate silk threads are woven into the leaves.

My instructions were to use half the small square jewel, boiling water…1 rinse and then steep 6-8 seconds in 4 oz. water multiple times.

The aroma after the rinse was different than any Pu’er I’ve had before. It smelled like a light black tea with honey and malt and no aroma of typical earthy Pu’er. This was altogether peculiar.

The liquor was pure bright gold, which sparkled in my glass mug. (It’s worth it to have clear glass to see the color on this tea!)

My first sip was sweet and juicy, more like a light Nepalese Black Tea with a hint of Darjeeling than Pu’er. Brisk and clean, not astringent or dry.
How could this be a Pu-er? I’d never tasted anything like this before. No earthiness! No barn or stable, no mushrooms, cedar, bread or cake. What was this all about?

The second steep revealed raw sugar crystals…the kind I sometimes don’t put into my tea but just pop into my mouth like little candies with their faint taste of molasses. Smooth, clean and lovely tasting.

For the third pour I added a few seconds on the steep time and thought there was a fruity flavor, very faint but there. I couldn’t figure out what it was because every time I went… “That’s the one!”, it was too strong. Not peach, apricot or any other flavor, so…I changed my mind. I concluded that the taste was honey/agave. Mixed together agave reduces the honey taste which is what I imagined tasting this delicate tea.

As I was pouring the 4th steep into my glass, I was mumbling to myself…“What’s the fruit flavor in this tea, something is in there, I know it from somewhere?”

I was turning to sit at the table where I was making my notes…and the answer came to my mind.

“Ripe…yellow Golden Delicious Apple Pulp!” Just like that.

That was it! These sweet apples grew outside my bedroom window in California from age 7-20. A dwarf golden tree that spread out branches horizontally and had to be propped up on stakes because there were so many apples. I had eaten my share of sweet, warm fleshed goodness and this Pu-er tasted remarkably like them.
Other apples are tart and may have tart skins but not these apples. Everything is sweet like candy and juicy. The sunshine comes inside to such an extent that you can almost hand-squeeze the apple juice out of them. Nothing in the stores can compare with these lovelies.

(If you’re not familiar with this taste, it’s a bit like the flesh of a sweet Bosc Pear).

To be more certain, I added a few grains of sugar and the tea flavor didn’t turn into caramel. It stayed apple.

This is a unique and absolutely outstanding Pu’er!

Personal Note
The Best Thing to happen to me in many years has been finding the people here on Steepster!
I am amazed at how generous and caring everyone is!
If I were able to do it, I’d rent a resort and fly everyone in for
a vacation where we could all share tea and good food. You are the
best and I couldn’t be more proud or humbled to be a part of such
a place as this.

Thank you to the creators of Steepster!

With Great Affection for All of You, Happy New Year!

http://youtu.be/STqDowSbSTQ Auld Lang Syne on Bagpipes (What can I say, I’m a Scot)

Thank you Ashmanra for this sample tea!

I found this in the sample bin…having lost it’s way…poor dear! I have reviewed this tea before but it was 7 months ago…a tea lifetime!

I have changed (haven’t we all!). Talking to myself (nobody else is here so that’s not a stretch), I was thinking about how we are so plugged in to flavor. We live in a world that over salts and over sugars with artifical flavor enhancers in almost everything we eat and drink…yet we tea drinkers are inspecting our favorite tea beverages for every little nuance of aroma and taste. We seek the best.

I got on a cooking kick today. It was all about spices in my house.
There was a recipe for Vadouvan Indian Spice Blend (onions, garlic and shallots sauteed in spices and baked until dry). http://flic.kr/p/dG1Kvy
Then I made gingerbread with ginger chai in it, layered with toffee in the middle. (I made toffee for Christmas and had small pieces left over in the freezer steeped with Laoshan Black Tea).

My house smelled really good!

While the oven was doing it’s job (I had chopped the onions etc. by hand and ground all the spices with mortar and pestal), I made a pot of this Pu-erh!

Yikes! I had forgotten that this is like having a good cup of coffee in the old days before I discovered tea!

Dark, rich and bready…no bitterness. Smooth.

My mood was not about making notes about how many steepings I could get out of this pu-erh…hah…I wanted to drink mugs full of tea…lots of it with cream and sugar! That’s what I did! Gulps of tea sweet and caramel, creamy…good!

What’s better than this?!

A good cuppa PU, Spicy Smells filling up my house and gingerbread baking in the oven!

Yum! www.janespice.com/recipes/vadouvan-indian-spice-blend

Thank you ‘mystery person’ for this Tuo Cha!

This was the first Tuo Cha that I disasembled completely with my
Pu-erh knife. It wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. Tough critter!
I was trying to be careful to lift off leaf sections so that I’d end up with chunks of Pu’erh instead of dust.

It took about 15 minutes but I finally worked the knife and now have 100 grams of Pu-erh in a tight canister. Phew! (I’m glad I watched a video first about how to break apart Pu-erh)

I rewarded myself with cups and cups of tea.

Because this tea was in hard chunks, I rinsed it twice…then steeped 30 seconds…poking the hard mass with my Pu-erh knife.

My usual method (the way of a lazy woman) is to use a small purple clay Gaiwan that I use only for Pu-erh, a small strainer and a white mug. That’s all.
Steep-Pour and Strain into my mug the tea goes.
Some mornings, I might put several steepings in the mug all together and fill it up. (Not the first time I taste the tea though)

The liquor this time was very dark and sweet smelling like cookies or cake. Even the leaves smelled like baked goods.

When I read the directions on this Pu-erh earlier, it said 1-2 minutes for each steep…I choked…ha ha no way! Not the way I drink it! It’s strong enough at 30 seconds! I used about 4 grams leaf for 4 oz water.

The flavor like the aroma was like sugar cookies. Not the sort with pronounced vanilla, but sweet and smooth without any typical Pu-erh cedar or earthy flavor at all.

Every pour was sweet and delicious, juicy and full bodied.

This is a good Pu-erh! Thank you to my ‘friend’!

I don’t drink many White Tea’s. The few I have are very special.
They seem mystical with an energy that is healing and complex.

I used a Gaiwan to brew this tea. My timing was 20 seconds for the first three steeps then I added 5 seconds for additional steeps.(If you go too long the tea gets bitter )

The liquor began as light pastel yellow gradually becoming deeper gold with each pour.
The scent of the wet leaves was savory becoming milder, and finally having a light vegital aroma.

Artichoke was the first flavor I tasted, savory and delicate like the memory of something eaten earlier in the day that was delightful.
Hidden behind the artichoke flavor was the taste of lilac with a peppery bite.
My mouth was full of an energy that I sometimes feel with a very good tea.

The second pour was less savory and more floral with a cool Pine vapor to it. This type of Pine I associate with wild herbs and sand at my feet, Pacific Coast Fog oozing in through the scruff on a hot Summer day, spritzing and fluffing the wilted branches back to life.

By the third steep, the artichoke and lilac flavors were back… dancing around each other with flirtatious abandon. One was brisk, the other creamy. So very good together that I drank them down with an “ah that was good”!
The pictures in my mind that went with the tea and mental imaginings as I savored the flavor :

My grandmothers house…

The story part is on the blog www.teaandincense.com

When I first tasted this tea it was called Laoshan Green.

This savory Green Tea changed my mind about Green Tea’s because I used to think Green Tea was a bit boring. (Some of you shudder)

I had never tasted a tea as savory or smelled wet leaves that had the aroma of roast chicken before this Laoshan Green Tea!

Today I was running around town…going to the bank, the pharmacy, the grocery… before New Years and more snow flurries.

At 3:30 pm, I had gone through my whole day without any TEA!
I stopped in at my tea shop to drop off some Pu-erh samples to a new shop employee, and found that the ‘guys’ were sampling 4 Oolongs and 4 Black Tea’s from Nepal.
They set all 8 bowls and leaves in front of me to sample. (I love the sweet Darjeeling-like flavors from Nepal) A few will end up on the Tea Wall for sale. (I should have taken a picture, it looked like I was on a tea binge at a BAR!)

When I returned home, cold (25 degrees) and hungry I made some Summer Laoshan Green Tea. (I had enough Black Tea to drown Nepal!)

This was such a savory tea…really a meal in a cup.
I get very creative thinking of how I can transform recipes using this tea. I can’t help myself! I’ve melted butter in some tea and drizzled it over squash. I’ve steeped it in cream. I’ve added a few drops of sesame oil and poured it over chicken.
Drinking the tea always comes first for inspiration of course. Then I cook something with it!

I know this is a revisit of a tea, something that I’ve reviewed before…but in the middle of a cold Winter night…a luscious green Summer Tea that’s savory like broth hits the spot!

Thank you Roughage for this wonderful tea sample!

I haven’t written in a few days with all the excitement of Christmas.
I must write about it, I am after all a grandmother and it’s in my grandmother disposition to do so.

Christmas Eve:
The Weather Man predicted SNOW! I had finished the last of giftwrapping (some small Skylander Giants for 3 small grandsons), then stopped by the grocery to get sausage for gumbo.
I was already dressed in Black Christmas Velvet, pretty Snow Boots and a Handmade Red Sweater from Sweden with Black Fur Collar.
Granddaughter Schey called to meet for tea before Happy Lucky’s Closed. When I arrived, the Servers were drinking an Oolong that I had gifted them and they treated Schey and I to a pot of tea.

Church was early (4pm).
After the service, we sang Carols…and various members of the choir sang solo’s. A man from Georgia (former U.S.S.R.), someone from Germany. (We sing in English, sometimes Greek, but the tunes of the Church are ancient Byzantine and beautiful)

Driving home, the snow began and continued all night. A rare White Christmas even for this part of the Country. I loved it…exciting even at my age to feel like a child with snow on Christmas!

Christmas: http://flic.kr/p/dEPKHb
I got up at 6AM to make Gumbo…rushing off as soon as I was done to my daughter’s home so that the 8 grandkids could open presents.
Half the kids had the flu! Grandma (ME)…had her flu shot this year!!!

We had a great time, opening gifts and Skyping with my son in San Francisco. I got a Kindle Fire HD so that I can keep up with my Tea Peeps anywhere I go!!! Nice gift!!!

We ate ribs, made lots of noise and bonded the way families should.

One other thing happened this Christmas…something that I have no words to express!

A Steepster sent me a Yixing Teapot (My First One Ever!), another sent me some Stamps so that I could send out samples to people, and I received tea samples, and Scot’s Shortbread and tea samples all the way from England!

If this isn’t enough to make a grown grandma cry…well..I’d have to be the grinch!

I could not believe it! Shock, real shock! The loving care of people who I’ve never met in person…who have no idea what I’m going through right now…and are so nice!

I feel like I got propelled into a movie with Jimmy Stewart…“It’s a Wonderful Life, Bonnie Johnstone!”

You know how thankful I am for all of you who over the past year have slipped me some tea as a surprise. Sometimes I don’t mention much because maybe you can’t do that all the time for everyone.
I know I can’t either.
Much of the tea I have is only a tablespoon of this and that.

A BIG THANK YOU

Reviewing This Tea:
I decided to begin with this new Christmas Gift Tea from Roughage…
and right off, I have to admit my experience with Darjeelings is still pretty limited.
When I read Darjeeling reviews it seems that there are references to muscat, muscat, muscat. I’ve had California muscat desert wines which were very good from Sonoma and Murphy’s.
In season I love eating the pale pink small grapes which are fragile, sticky with natural sugars and super sweet. Delicious and warm in the mouth (like apricots)!
When I started sipping this tea, I forgot all about the muscat references to Darjeelings. I had just eaten a Scots Shortbread cookie…buttery and sweet. (Very rich too)

The tea was clean but not astringent, and reminded me of an Earl Grey without the Bergamot.
The fragrance has a slight musky fruitiness like an empty dry wine barrel with floral which I think is the way I’d like men to smell. (Roughage has just fallen off his chair laughing)
I didn’t find anything acidic about the tea. It’s sweet enough, no nonsense and perfect for concentration. You can begin the day or a meeting with a tea like this one.

Very good Mr. R !

Thank you mrmopar for this fantastic Pu-erh Sample!

I really should read up on Puerh’s before I go off brewing up on my own. Somehow, a purist will probably be horrified at my methods here.

I was enjoying myself, having a great time with this Puerh!

I have a lovely little seasoned purple clay Gaiwan that I use for Puerh. A pick, strainer and cup is all I need for a good session.

Usually I use less leaf than other people because fibromyalgia has made me very sensitive to taste. I make quantity adjustments because of that and use 3 grams of Puerh when others use 5 grams with the same taste results.

Today, I wanted to try a larger amount of leaves. I used 5 grams, which is a huge quantity for me, then did 2 quick washes.
(I poked the hard nugget of Puerh during the first 30 second steeping to break it up a bit.)
The liquor was dark golden brown with a hint of red throughout.

Steepings 30 seconds unless noted otherwise.

1. First steepings are usually not my favorite. They can knock you down with a fuzzy cedar or redwood taste and texture that’s very strong and sometimes bitter.
But this Puerh…HA!
This tea was extremely Smooth, Juicy and Semi-Sweet, with a light cocoa, sugar date flavor! I was pleasantly surprised!

2. The second steep flavor was like Bittersweet Chocolate or a light Pinot Noir. There was no grit or earthy flavor, but a thick mouth feel that made me think of sipping chocolate.
I added a few grains of sugar and the caramel flavor came up with a richness that I had suspected was hiding deep in the thick, smooth tea.

3. As an experiment, I tried a quick immediate steep.
The color was dark, the flavor…a bit dryer and spicy on my tongue like cinnamon and clove. The creaminess wasn’t as strong and the richness was lighter.
There was more of a wood cedar taste than when I steeped the leaves longer. I liked the longer steeping better.

4. Returning to the longer steeps, this time at 40 seconds, the Puerh was spicier.
Cinnamon, clove and allspice. A bright Paso Robles Zinfandel with Sunshine and Ripeness in the bones of the flavor.
This tea was beginning to remind me of…a Chai base, or Sangria.

It’s the Holidays…and I remembered that the person who sent this Puerh to me…who has become a true friend…has at his side the love of his life. She is fond of Chai.

So, I did what anyone other than me would NEVER do with a great Puerh! I made some Puerh Chai in honor of her, hoping that this is something that he’ll try. Here goes…

I made 2 steepings of Puerh, added half and half, then a little sugar and a little honey (I don’t like too much honey because it can overpower the taste of the tea). Stirred it up…and YUM!

Caramel, smooth, spicy, creamy…(Hey mrmopar, you have 5 cakes of this Puerh, so tell me if you make this for your sweetheart!)

This Puerh is great stuff! Probably the smoothest I’ve ever had and the closest to the experience of drinking wine.

Thanks again mrmopar my friend!

Thank you Invader Zim for sharing some of this with me!

I have trouble tasting special tea’s alone. If at all possible, I prefer tasting with other people who appreciate tea as much as I do. I’ll usually taste the tea first, then take the rest for a comparison tasting with other people. It’s fun!

I took some of this sample to share with Joe, Eric, Sam and George while the tea shop was quiet. It had snowed and business slowed down for a few hours. This was perfect timing.

Eric set up a Gaiwan and some small tasting cups, washed the leaves and began pourings. We accomplished 6 steepings with great success.

What amazed me first was the scent of the wet leaves. The aroma almost knocked me off the high bar stool I was sitting on!
Man-o-man this was some strong but delicious scented tea!

Floral, a little savory, orchid, honey. It had little scent droplets with wings that fly way up into your sinus’s and explode like pop rocks! Honest!

I told the tea guys that if I pass out, put the wet leaves under my nose. I’ll revive!

The flavor of the tea was milder than the aroma. Hallelujah!
It had a sweet, juicy floral bouquet with a slight roasted finish. (You can see the light roasting on the edges of the leaves)

There’s orchid…and honeysuckle fading in and out…changing, elusive.
Every steeping was like scarves being pulled off a belly dancer one by one as she weaves and turns mystically around and around dancing to the music… with her eyes enticing you to follow her, hands and feet moving with grace.

An exotic floral taste, one that doesn’t give up after two or three steepings.

Everyone was impressed. Quality tea.

I have some more tea left to drink alone.
Really good tea is something I like to taste several times and savor.

Thank you Invador Zim!

I just wrote a story on my blog called Christmas Eve Call. It’s about a call I got from the Police Department one Christmas Eve.
My children were small and a waitress where I had breakfast had remembered my name when she was attacked in her home…
THERE IS MORE www.teaandincense.com

The last of my shopping is done! I found the ‘Mister Potato Head’ and the ‘Stuffed Puffy Gorilla’ for the two little bitty 2 year old grandsons. (Don’t worry, the potato head is for preschoolers!)

It’s interesting to have 2 year old boys with completely different needs. One (Hayden) is zooming ahead in his development and one (Owen) is slower.
Owen has Williams Syndrome. He likes soft and cuddly textures so the 3 foot tall gorilla will make him really happy!

Earlier today I took 8 year old Micah and 10 year old Donovan out for tea. We always have fun together! They met all my favorite servers at Happy Luckys, and ate scones. http://flic.kr/p/dDij7X

At one point, I held up my cup…and the boys held up theirs also.
I said, “Let’s make a toast. What would you like to toast Micah?”
“PIZZA!”,he said without any hesitation.
I couldn’t stop laughing! Of course he would like to toast pizza. He had no idea what a toast was! (I’m such a dorky Grandma)

We walked around town looking in all the store windows. The rock store, the dog cookie store, the Christmas decor store. Fun!

I dropped the boys off…came home and sortly began nodding off on the couch.
You know what I’m talking about. You turn on CNN and snooze!
It was pitiful!

I woke up amused at being an old lady napping on the couch, and decided to make a pot of tea.

There’s a plastic shoebox of Butiki Tea’s in my Cupboard. I pulled the box down, and remembered that I had some Ghirardelli Chocolate Chips in the freezer. What could I do with them?

Some tea companies mix mini chocolate chips into their tea blends so why couldn’t I mix in some of my own with Almond Indulgence Tea?

This idea sounded good to me and worth trying. It’s Christmas after all and Stacy wouldn’t mind!

I got the ingredients ready and popped some chocolate morsels into the basket with the tea to steep.

While waiting, I thought about what a wonderful person Stacy at Butiki Tea’s is. I can count on one hand the vendors that are really special, going beyond people I buy tea from, becoming people I care about.
Now and then, getting an email from Stacy asking how I’m feeling is something I never expected from the owner of a tea company. Stacy was one of the people long ago who welcomed me (and many of you) into the world of tea.

Thanks Stacy!

The tea was ready!

The taste was yummy (of course it was!) but not as chocolaty as I wanted so I plopped in some more chocolate chips, a little milk and stirred the whole thing together.
Yep, even Santa would be proud to drink this with his cookies on Christmas Eve! Creamy, almondy and chocolaty.

Oh boy! I’m awake now!

http://flic.kr/p/dDijjk OK…this is Preston, another server at Happy Luckys, single…24 and really nice! Merry Christmas I-Bloom and friends!

This was a nice little sample that came with the chocolate sampler last month. Thank you!

Many of us are looking out the windows at SNOW today. I’m loving it!

Snow arrived a few days ago in the Rocky’s and the next is coming Christmas Eve. It’s half way melted already leaving just enough to look pretty.

Granddaughter Schey came over last night and we went to the monthly Downtown Free ‘Food Walk’.
We were bundled up in boots and warm coats http://flic.kr/p/dD4h7t, walking first into the ‘Welsh Rabbit’ for Cheese Tasting (naturally smoked Wisconson Gouda and English Chedder). http://flic.kr/p/dD9EoU
When we left the cheese shop there was a man with a tray of hot cinnamon waffles from ‘The Waffle Lab’ on the street corner handing out free big waffle sections. http://flic.kr/p/dD9Eef YUM! Hot cinnamon waffles while walking down the street!
We wound up at the end of our ‘Food Walk’ at ‘Happy Lucky’s Tea House’ where Joe was giving samples of flavored, pressed grape oil paired with tea. (my favorite was Russian Caravan Tea paired with Habanaro Chili Oil).

Schey and I finally sat at the bar and ordered a pot of holiday tea and a cookie to share…(which Sam paid for before leaving for the day. His ’on-the-house gift to us).

Today, I’m picking up grandsons Micah and Donovan for a trip back to the tea shop for TEA WITH GRANDMA! A wonderful thing to do right before Christmas! The boys love going out for tea!

To get in the mood, I decided to drink this flavored tea. (I know, a shock!) I don’t dislike flavored tea’s, I’ve gotten more selective I guess.
I appreciate that Della Terra has samplers where you can try lots of different tea’s at a reasonable price. There were some of the chocolate sampler tea’s (like the Chocolate Puerh) that I was pretty fond of.

The Raspberry Truffle was full of flavor. Chocolate, raspberry…all very rich and strong. You know what the tea is all about. FLAVOR!

When you read the ingredients on the package, it says chocolate flavoring and raspberry flavoring. You can taste them.
Some of the other Della Terra tea’s use natural ingredients for flavor and I like that more.
To tame the sourness of the artificial flavoring, I added half and half which helped a great deal. Then I sweetened my tea.

I don’t think this will disappoint anyone who wants a dessert tea. The flavor is exactly what is in the name. You can’t taste any tea but you taste lots of flavoring.

This is the first of the Chocolate tea series that I can REALLY taste the chocolate…very strongly. The play of both flavors (chocolate and raspberry) works.

Not a thumbs down or a thumbs up cuppa tea.

Thank you mrmopar for this puerh sample tuo cha!

The Tea
This morning, I popped this mini into my purple clay gaiwan, that’s only used for puerh. It was a new tuo cha and I enjoy drinking these when I’ve got a busy day ahead.

As always, I did a rinse, then because the tuo cha was pretty hard I did another quick rinse. I poked the lump of hard leaves a bit after pouring on more boiling water and waited a little more than 30 seconds. (I like to help the steeping along in the beginning)

The wet leaves smelled more like an old book store or library than most. Leather, a little musty and a bit of dirt. Good smells though.

When I sipped my first taste of the dark red brown brew, the liquor was dense like a paint stain, but light and smooth with some faint sweetness.
I expected a cedar flavor which wasn’t present in the tea. No woodsy or earthy flavor, just a mellow…even light American coffee smoothness. Unexpected but nice.

I filled my cup again and again, still holding the same flavor each time without change. A good little tuo cha…thanks mrmopar!

Soapbox
I went to Steepster to begin writing a review about this tea.
When I pulled up the review from the previous evening, something bad had happened.

My review had a comment from someone I didn’t know. He said I was a liar here on Steepster, and that I had an agenda which was to promote only certain tea companies.
It also said that I hide behind my glasses, that I don’t tell the truth about anything. It even misquoted my blog story about the Children’s Shelter Christmas, and said that I beat my children. He said he would like to press charges against me. (The kids were beaten by their parents, not by me!) There was much more!

I couldn’t believe what I was reading.

Several Steepster people saw what was happening, as the attack suddenly went live… and came to my defense, Bless them.

At first I was shocked. Then, I realized that the person had to have planned this for some time. They knew things about me.
A troll or someone with an agenda was out to slam me. But Why?
I chose not to engage with any anger.

So sad for them really. What sadness to carry that kind of poison inside towards others.

You who have known me for the past year have seen me go from Celestial Seasonings Tea, to Davids Tea’s and Kally, Butiki,
Steap Shoppe, Teavivre, Whispering Pines and Verdant to name some of the more common ones. (I’ve left out lots of puer from different sources).

Like you, I drink the tea I like. That’s it.

Some of you love Davids Tea or 52 tea’s or Harney & Son’s. You love what you love. I applaud you for that freedom to choose and I enjoy your reviews. Sometimes, I get to try those favorites of yours in a tea swap!

The comments of the troll disappeared off my reviews. POOF, GONE!
So, I removed my comments also. Why confuse people I thought.

I think this issue isn’t done with. It will probably return.

Other people are going to get slammed or insulted by these trolls now and then so here is what you need to know.

They are not who we are.

We are a kind community and one that is free.

We write our own reviews based on our own opinions and I for one am not for sale, and I can’t be intimidated. I am not afraid of drinking tea and writing honestly what I think. I choose the companies that I buy my tea from.

mrmopar, Indigobloom (who saw what happened) and JC who saw too,
and all the most kind people I’ve ever encountered…and I’m not going to run for the hills in fear.

(Stepping off my soapbox now..) Kumbaya! (Well I do have a sense of humor too!)

With 4 inches of ‘New Snow’, I hunkered down yesterday, enjoying TV, and drinking a mini tuo cha and some Lapsang. I didn’t write a review, I just watched the snow. http://youtu.be/25mLJSC1oUQ Ray Charles ‘Winter Wonderland’

Today, my Winter Wonderland was safer to venture out into. Roads and sidewalks had been cleared, the sun was out and shining. It was cold, but at 3:00 PM it was 40 degrees.
Off I went with a Christmas Card for my favorite tea professionals at Happy Lucky’s Tea House.
Burr! It was beautiful but cold in the shadows, with the wind blowing frigid air off the pockets of icy snow. I had forgotten to walk on the sunny side of the street to keep warm!

Eric, Sam, Andy and Diane were working at Happy Lucky’s today and Owner George had a chat with me too. I often bring a sample of some tea to share, and today was no exception.
Eric set up a Gaiwan and cups for everyone, we had several steepings of my tea and discussed the flavor and sometime later, I ordered tea.

I was having a hard time deciding what to drink. After a fragrant and floral tasting, what would I drink? It should be something completely different!

At the end of the tea bar, was a large pot of hot Chai in a dispenser that keeps it hot and has an automatic blending arm that goes around and around, keeping the milk moving. A small sign invites customers to try a sample of Chai, or you can pick a mug and have a full cup.

Most of the Chai’s have ingredients that I’m allergic to. Rooibos is the one that’s the worse for me.
I wasn’t aware that there was a Black Chai on the tea menu that was Rooibos free!
Today, for some reason, I asked Eric if there was a Chai without ingredients that I’m allergic to. He said yes, India 500 Mile Chai!
Great news! I love Chai in the Winter!

Then he asked how I wanted my Chai prepared?
“Indian Style, traditional with whole milk, and honey,” I said.

He went to the espresso machine and ‘steam scalded’ my milk without frothing it, steeped the black Chai (which had no black pepper in it) then added a moderate amount of local honey.

Eric said, “Real Indian Chai should be made with scalded milk so always ask for it to be made this way.”

I took a sip and noticed how mellow the Chai was. Not too spicy and not bland either. Just a nice medium Chai, round and balanced.

Some of my own stock of Chai’s at home knock your socks off with cinnamon, cardamon, clove or chocolate and orange. I like the spicy Chai’s…but sometimes, I want a Chai like this one. I want to taste the milk and honey without having the spices nip at my my tongue.

I’ll have this again and again when I stop at my favorite tea house.

The rest of the Chai was poured into a large cup to go (I had already had a chocolate matcha latte…it’s a long story, but caffeine helps migraines for people like me who are temperature sensitive) and off I went.

I set my tea-to-go cup on the roof of my car, went to the end of the block with my camera, and took a few pictures of Old Town at night. http://flic.kr/p/dCU6ry

What a great way to spend time on a cold evening!

PS…you will see notes below from someone who does not know me
and began ranting…a troll that I’m going to ignore. He posted the
same information on another review of mine. Poor guy. I just feel sorry for him. OK he removed his comments so I’ll remove mine.

http://youtu.be/_NLCbqP6HjE Oh Yes,, Let it snow!!!!

I’m so excited, like a little kid! It’s finally snowing! Big huge flakes of snow (not snowkles!). 3-6 inches tonight (which will melt by Thursday or Friday) and then…the Weather Lady said the next snow is expected CHRISTMAS EVE! It’s my childhood Christmas dream!

You have to understand. Growing up in Northern California and watching all the programs about Santa and Christmas with snow.
I probably asked (begged) God a time or two for a miracle. Oh He heard me alright, but waited for me to need snow. Waited for me to be a child in an old woman’s body. Now, I appreciate the wonder of it all even more because I’ve waited so long!

I plugged in my Christmas Tree and opened the curtains so that everyone driving home in the snow could see my lights as they come down Elizabeth Street.
Then I plugged in the little tree on my tea table (it has an antique mirror behind it) and opened the side curtains in the dining room for people driving into Saddle Ridge to see.

Festivity, lights, sparkle and delight! Snow!

Next, I made a big pot of Ginger Sage Winter Sage Spa Blend Tea with 1 tsp. Laoshan Black added, and a few chunks of 04 Yanxin Reserve Shu Nuggets.(I find that this is a perfect combo…somewhat like the Imperial Summer Breakfast Blend but more savory, spicy).

The Laoshan Black, Puer and Herbal Blend together is so rich, full and robust. (You can add Honey or Milk without weakening the tea.)

Your mood will be elevated, it will make you feel warm all over and relaxed. It’s so delicious…one of my favorites for Winter!

If you’ve looked at the ingredients and thought…“Well, not now,” or if you drank some without adding Honey or Black Tea to it or a little Puer nugget…give it a try. (Plain isn’t nearly as tasty in my opinion, as it is with Honey!)

Happy Snow!

Backlog Sunday 12-16-2012

Yesterday, there was a scheduled celebration at St. Spyridon’s in Loveland for the feast day of our parish. Metropolitan Isaiah (Bishop of Denver which also covers 12 States) was coming…
and then…

Sandyhill…and the killings!

I woke up early. Granddaughter Schey wanted to go to church with me and spent the night on the couch.

I quietly went to the kitchen and made a large pot of Laoshan Black Tea. This was serious tea for a serious time. The Best! A tea that’s good for contemplation and caffeine (both needed today)!
With a large pot and 2 glass mugs on my tray I set the tray on the coffee table bench and whispered Schey… to wake her up.

The tea was a perfect start to our day. (The only thing we would have for the next 6 hours)
Cocoa chocolate, potato….the best rich full bodied tea ever.
We were focused and this tea is focused too. I’ve loved Laoshan Black for so long that it was comforting to drink before going forward with my day.

When we walked into St. Spyridons, the first thing I saw was an Icon of Jesus with many children, a candle and note…
‘In Memory of those Killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School’.

It is comforting to smell incense, to have candles and flowers, hushed tones and chanting at such times.

It struck me that here in Colorado, the Bishop has had to comfort people since the Columbine massacre, and the Aurora shootings and now…to speak about Sandy Hook. His sermon was not just a bunch or empty words.

At the end of the Liturgy, there was a ‘Service for the Departed’ for those at Sandy Hook. This is the beginning of a ‘40 Day Memorial’ in our tradition. A vigil of remembrance.

All over the United States, others were remembering and thinking about what happened in many different ways. This is what my community does and has done.

Watching the President name the names of the Children and Educators made us as a Nation weep. Blessed are those who mourn…

I had a conversation with my 11 year old grandson about what happened…he’s the one who was directing the conversation.
We talked about how to be sure you’re safe and not be afraid.

I told him (without going into detail) about being jumped by a stranger and having that stranger try to kill me. I was afraid!
I stayed afraid until I began to believe that I have so many
days given to me.
Nobody can take them from me or add to them except me!(By that I mean that if I smoke or do things harmful to my body, I can shorten my life).

He seemed to be thinking it all over and thinking about how many good people there were at the Sandy Hook school…helpers…too. The helpers are hero’s!

I’ve rambled…but I had things I wanted to say. I wanted to share what the experience in my corner of Colorado has been.

http://flic.kr/p/dBLy6z (service for the departed)

Backlog:

Friday: After the horrible news hit CNN, I had places to go like most people. First the Post Office and then other errands around town before stopping off to watch my grandson Ian in his school play. He had landed the starring roll in ‘A Christmas Carol’. Ian was Scrooge!

At Happy Lucky’s I ordered something ‘children would like’, a tea that a mom or dad or grandma would share with a 6 or 7 year old.
(I was thinking about the little ones killed in the Connecticut shooting, and contemplating that event.)

Peppermint Pat-Tea was my tea choice. It has mint and cocoa hulls with chamomile which makes a tea that is very yummy. However, tea server JOE told me that when you add another half measure of cocoa hulls and let the tea steep longer (7-9 minutes) it’s ‘super’ chocolaty.

I had server JOE fix me a pot of his ‘special blend’ and then I had some blended to take home for sharing with my grandchildren over the Holidays.
I like to sweeten and add a little milk to this cocoa minty tea. It’s almost like cool-mint hot chocolate! Creamy, warming without the need for artificial flavors to give a ‘Welcome to Winter’ taste that I look for when my mood needs a pick-up.
It’s hard to believe that this is an herbal blend! The cocoa hulls have a little kick…but otherwise you are warm and relaxed by the chamomile.

I left the shop with my tea for home, just as the sun set and the thousands of white lights in the trees downtown turned on. It was COLD! A few more stops and I was still too early for the play.
I stopped again, this time at ‘cough…’ Starbucks…and locked my keys in the car for the first time in my life.

UGH!

(Shortening the story) Daughter picked me up, saw play (Ian was great), called Insurance which sent towing to open my door…no charge, went home.

When I FINALLY got home, I didn’t want to be on my computer. I watched the news and drank more tea. I prayed and went to bed.

At my age, I’ve had news of many tragedies. A President, his brother and Dr. King killed by gunmen, Wars and more Wars from Korea and Vietnam on. Killings from Jim Jones, the Manson Murders to Columbine and Aurora now this latest horror. I thought of all those we don’t hear about. Children in Syria being killed…the children who are starving in many parts of the world, the missing children here in the U.S.

I’ve thought about this. Sadness, depression and Sadness again.

Long ago, I decided that the evil in the World is not going to steal my joy!
If you’ve ever had a pet dog, you know how they’re in the moment. They hug, jump…wanting attention and love. They give so much affection. In a way, (without the licking and jumping…ha) we need to be like that. In the ‘now’…hugging, oblivious to everything else but the joy of life and love.

Modeling this kind of love can change the people around us.

Ah…

I’m here again with my dear friends.

I love you guys!

It’s difficult to come behind Paul and his Pulitzer Prize winning review… such a lovely write-up of this fine tea, but I’ll do a little follow-up.

Paul was so right…the leaves are beautiful.

Sometimes, I look at the leaves and marvel. Long and twisted, blackish/brown with a light smoky scent. I mean it, light smoke.

I love Lapsang. I’ve sent out so much China Lapsang Souchong from my local tea shop (Happy Lucky’s) that many of you have tasted it and know what I’m talking about. It’s been all over the United States, Canada and the U.K. (I even sent some to..gulp…David Duckler!)
I have some nerve don’t I!

My favorite Lapsang has been my favorite because it’s smoky and sweet. I use Lapsang Souchong mainly to COOK with! (David Duckler used what I sent him for a fish rub which is something that I do ground together with Urfa Chili, Peppercorns and Sea Salt)

Master Bi’s Lapsang is NOT for cooking (unless I win the lottery and go to China and buy up all of Master Bi’s stock)! This tea is for DRINKING!

When I was drinking the tea, the flavor wasn’t harsh or flat, but smooth…velvety smooth with a gentle sweetness that’s in a different league than any Lapsang I’ve had… ever.

The Smokiness is like the aftertaste of great bacon or bbq…not the firepit smoke in your face. No smoke knocks you down!

Here’s the part that got my ‘eyes wide open’…I could still taste the ‘tea’ under the smoke. Yes, a raisin, floral, bakery goodness that was present, wafting around in the aroma and taste.
Such complexity is not there in Lapsangs most of the time (IF EVER)!

Oh David Duckler, if you can get this as an item for regular ordering…it’s the BEST LAPSANG I’ve ever tasted!

(As an experiment for those who love Lapsang’s, I added some milk and the flavor wasn’t diminished at all. Still spectacular!)

Update
Further steepings are amazing!!! The roasty oolong flavor with a slight smokiness is the best of the best taste! This is not like anything you can imagine when you think of a Lapsang. Please, don’t just stop at the first steep!

I just wrote a story on my blog if anyone is interested: www.teaandincense.com

Here’s an excerpt:
Our first Christmas…living in the forest community of Paradise…we went on an adventure to cut down a tree together. We bundled up nice and warm and piled into my car.
Christmas carols were blasting from my tape deck and I had a big thermos of hot cider to share. The tree farm was decked out with lights and decorations… welcoming the 6 of us to cut down any tree for $10. (they had Christmas music playing too and a fire pit for warming hands and eating free cookies)

We took our time… going from tree to tree. Which one would it be? Too tall? Too short, too bare or too fat?! Our tree had to be perfect! We all had to agree! For these girls, Christmas wasn’t always a happy time. Someone was often drunk or high or missing at home (if there was a home at all). Some were beaten at holidays.

Finally, the nod was given and we drank some cider to seal the deal. The tree was tied to the top of the car and off we went to decorate our tree!

When we got home, someone had come by with a note that they wanted to give us a tree. I had to make a quick call of thanks and head them off. How nice of them though!

The next day, when I returned from work…the girls were all excited!

“Mom, look what’s in the kitchen…come and see…!”

12-12-12 Whoopie! My youngest turned 40 today! Good Grief!

None of you have gotten to that place in your own lives, (you’re still young) but let me tell you…it’s odd, sitting in a French Restaurant, having a Birthday lunch of Crepes Breton with a woman you gave birth to long ago who’s 40 years old! Yikes! Kinda Strange!

So, I’m supposed to say all kinds of wonderful things about that, and about her. (I do that all the time, say wonderful things I mean here on Steepster!) It’s true.! 8 kids, she’s written 2 books that have been published, bakes bread…blah blah blah. Good stuff!

What I want to say is, that when I write about my great and caring daughter (and my son Aaron too), I’m the one who’s been on the receiving end of a miracle. They aren’t great people because of me.

I wasn’t always the best mother.

Sure I fed, clothed, housed my children and loved them…but I had a lack of self esteem and depression. I was a single mom and dated some guys that I should have stayed clear of. I was an emotionally needy, confused young mom. Not the person you think of here on Steepster.

I never did drugs, alcohol or beat my children, but sometimes they parented me, sad to say.

Do they blame me now? No.

My daughter has always said, “Mom…your mother had low self esteem so you caught it from her.”
Always, compassion. Always, an open heart. Annalisa- 12-12-12.

The Tea
I received this tea packet from David Duckler around my Birthday last May and saved it for a special occasion. He said this is the favorite tea of Wei Wei!

I prepared the tea in my Gaiwan.
Rinsed the emerald green Tie Guan Yin leaves quickly two times.

The perfume from the wet leaves was one of those rare experiences.
Powdery, sweet, very floral…carnation and orchid with honeysuckle
but not funeral flowers…not nauseating floral overload.

This was the best floral scent in the World! Love and life smells like this! It was breathtaking! If you were walking on the outskirts of heaven barefoot, the scent that would rise up would be this scent…I’m certain.

I took a sip of tea and the aroma was so wrapped up in the flavor that they were the same. Floral, incense, sweet and smooth with a little buttery mouth-feel.

No astringency, no dryness. No acidity or vegital flavor.
Pure ‘Garden of the Gods’!

Incredible Tea! Hot, warm, cold…the same. Gorgeous.

Oh Mr. Duckler…if you could get more of this tea for Verdant?!

Thank you David for this tea which has made this 40th Birthday celebration of my daughter Annalisa even more memorable.

Here’s a picture I took on the way home today of some Snow Geese on the frozen part of a small lake in Central Park. THOUSANDS come through here every year!!!
http://flic.kr/p/dAyPdB

This morning, I was drinking Verdant’s Earl of Anxi Tea…The one that has Frankincense in it.
As I was drinking my tea, tasting the tea leaves…sweet and juicy, smooth with a light citrus from the goji berry and orange…then the floral jasmine and oolong.
In the next moment I was transported by the frankincense…the exotic and spiritual. I am used to the scent of incense in Church. To drink in the scent is different though. Something like the difference between hearing about prayer and praying. The scent and the taste are different but the same, only the experience of drinking the incense is intense. Holy somehow.

I sat sipping my tea with the evocative ancient, fragrant taste. I was thinking about my son and how much I love him and how glad I am that he cares for others, especially the poor. For me, as his mother, this truly is a blessing. This morning the tea and the memories were an offering, a prayer of thanksgiving.

---

I wrote a story on my blog about my son Aaron and Christmas
called Uncle Aarons Santa Sack. It’s a nice story. I’ll begin it here:

I’ve written stories about my grandchildren and my daughter because I see them more often and they live close to me here in Colorado.
However, I haven’t written much about my firstborn…my son Aaron.

Aaron and I are alike in many ways. Creative, artistic, stubborn, smart and funny. We’re both tall, and have the same small eyes and Highland Scot’s nose (not small). Boggle is our game (or any word game), and old movies!
Aaron is smarter than I am though. He has ADD ADHD and life has been very challenging for him. He has been brave, never giving up and is successfully running his own small business.

One Christmas, when all of us were still living in Northern California, Uncle Aaron arrived on Christmas Day at sister Annalisa’s cabin home which was in the Redwood’s. I was already there, along with my brother Steve, his wife Kathy and my Nieces.

It was a big crowd! My daughters cabin was small and we had at least 20 people jammed inside for dinner.

Before opening presents, we ate!

First, big platters of ribs were passed around! Anna’s homemade french bread, potato salad and greens, all sorts of side dishes…and more ribs. There were those children who always put olives on all their finger tips. Everyone was noisy, laughing and happy.

Rolls of paper towels were passed around for cleaning BBQ sauce from faces and fingers. Groans and smiles at dessert cakes and pies.

The living and dining room had been converted into a combined eating area with several long tables. When dinner was finished, the chairs were removed and formed into a circle to view the children (who were seated on the carpet) opening gifts and for settling with coffee, tea and beer. (The children had already opened family gifts in the morning, so this was an opening of gifts from grandma and went quickly!)

When the children were done with the gifts and were about ready to go off and play…Uncle Aaron got up from his spot on the couch, put toddler Micah down and said, “Not so fast!”

“What do you mean?” his sister asked.

“We’re not done with the gifts yet, I have something else to do. Wait right here!” he said.

www.teaandincense.com

There’s a picture there with the sack too.

I’m having an odd day.

I began with this tea, one that I like but had tucked away too long and should have been drinking. It’s not old or anything like that…but has escaped from my vision. We do that, forget a tea in the back of some other tea that we’ve taken to heart.
I shared a pot of Tangerine Guayusa with my granddaughter last night
while we made tea and chocolate dusted toffee and watched ‘The Artist’ on Netflix.
There was the Guranse…so I put it out for the morning pot of tea.

This is a yum Winter tea. It has all the maple black tea taste I remember with a bit of malt. Very nice on a cold day.

Then I read a Facebook note from my daughter. A reminder of something that happened 24 years ago today. A horror.

My daughter and 3 other girls were driving down Skyway from Paradise, CA to Chico. The road is on a ridge with canyons on both sides, quite beautiful. Two lanes up the mountain and two down with a wide buffer between. The division of upward and downward lanes wasn’t even. At times, you could look uphill or downhill on the oncoming traffic.
Katrina turned 17 on Dec. 7th and my daughter was turning 17 on the 12th. I knew the driver a little. The other girl I didn’t know. In fact, I had no idea the girls were going to Chico.

It’s amazing that all 4 girls wore their seat belts in a new convertable. California hadn’t passed a seatbelt law yet.

At some time, on one of the mountain turns…the driver lost control, flipped over and over the median and ended up in the uphill lane upside down. The driver and front seat passanger got out and my daughter and Katrina were trapped in the back.
A fire started and someone stopped with an extinguisher and put out the fire.
A tow truck driver arrived and had a heart attack and died on the spot.
The fire department arrived and used the jaws of life and cut out my daughter and Katrina.

I received a call to get to the hospital in Chico but nobody would say anything else. My son had my car and I couldn’t reach anyone to take me to the hospital for quite a bit…until I found a friend of my mom’s.
Going down Skyway, all we could see was a massive traffic jam for miles and miles…not knowing that this had anything to do with my
daughter.

At the hospital I was briefed. My daughter was in shock but fine. Katrina was dead. She died instantly. My daughter didn’t know and was not to be told yet, she was still too fragile.

When I was allowed to tell her the next day, she somehow knew. She remembered and was heartbroken. What grief for such a young girl, and what a big heart she has always had full of compassion.

Every year my daughter still misses Katrina. A sweet daughter of Hawaii who lived in a difficult situation at home, but had such a pure heart and deep love for others just like my Annalisa.

I sat with her mother in a bar while she got drunk. Me, drinking coffee, making sure she got home safely. She was mad for awhile that my daughter had lived.

I can’t imagine such sadness.

Memory Eternal Katrina Afong.

The only alarm clock needed this morning was the bright sun! Those of us fortunate enough to live in higher altitude’s know about sun glare and the need to wear sun glasses year around. It’s really bright out today!
My condo looked like an alien spaceship was outside shining lights under the doors and windows trying to get a beam on me in my pajama’s. No deal! No alien was going to separate me from my tea cupboard!

A nice warm sunny day usually comes right before snow, someone pointed out yesterday. (Heck, we’ve had nothing but nice sunny days
for the past year!)
It’s December! The forecast looks promising for this weekend…we hope! I that December magic with a couple of inches of snow!
I have my camera ready!

The Tea:
This morning, I wanted to practice my Gaiwan skills with the new Verdant Sheng I purchased during the Black Friday sale.

I’ve been watching the new Verdant video and practicing how to pour and strain tea, shaking off all the water from the leaves so that there is none left. (Which causes bitterness in the next steeping)

I have a small 4oz. FAT (easy to handle) white Gaiwan, and I used a small amount of hard sheng (about 1.5 tsp). Boiling water.
(It is important that the water is filtered or you may have bitter tea.) A strainer is very useful. Always rinse the leaves once first.

My infusions were as quick as I could manage (5 seconds).
The liquor was a light yellow green, and the leaves smelled like sweet salty tobacco then changed and had a sweet herb scent.

The small amount of hard Sheng I used almost filled my Gaiwan half way with big green leaves when it expanded fully.

My first tasting was smoky, salty but not harsh. The scent was light tobacco, but the leaves were still tight and hard, waiting to expand. Not much to comment on as yet.

The second tasting was softer than I imagined it would be…sweet and savory on the finish with a smoky tinge and vegital something that reminded me of the feeling when drinking a Gyokuro.

For the third and forth infusions, the light smoke and saltiness settled down and an herb flavor, Greek Oregano came to mind… with a peppery bite. The tea never became dry or harsh but stayed smooth and very easy to drink.

As I went through each steeping (now on the fifth) I realized just how smooth this Sheng was. Something that I don’t always experience with a young Sheng.
The flavors were rolling around in my head for a long time because there was a definite umami quality about it!
There, I’ve said it!
Usually this is only a term used for Green Tea, but I experienced umami as this tea hit all the sweet, salty, savory, slightly bitter taste points.

This reminded me of roasting root vegetables like potato, red onions, sweet potato, parsnips with olive oil and butter, Greek oregano and sea salt. The vegetables retain the savory quality but roasting brings out the sweetness and smokiness too.

One thing that I don’t understand much about is aging Pu’er. That’s something I have to study up on. Right now though, this is a tasty
Sheng. You just have to be careful not to oversteep or you’ll have a bitter cup.

Thank you mrmopar for this sample Pu-er!

What a lovely gift I received one day a about a month ago from my friend mrmopar. Samples of Pu-er! Tears of delight, really!

Tucked into the package were little tuo cha’s that I can’t read the names of (written in Chinese) so I won’t be reviewing them, but they look like pieces of candy. Colored wrappers full of mystery.
I’m having so much fun with them!

This morning, I picked one of the chunky samples in a labeled zip bag. It looked like dark, hard and gnarly Shu Pu-erh bark. Excellent!

A quick wash first, and I was set for several infusions in my purple clay Gaiwan.

Only the first infusion had a lighter brown color. The rest was deep red-brown. The wet leaf scent was mild, more on the vanilla bread side than leather.

Taste:

My first impression was, this is a good Pu-erh.

I could tell right away with the first light steeping, that there was something different about the taste. It was slightly sweet, very juicy with a spice to it that I couldn’t sort out and pin down.

The feeling of the tea in my mouth was light and smooth…with the flavor of banana skin way off in the background. At first I wasn’t convinced of that, and I walked around the room to make sure I wasn’t picking up a scent from somewhere else. Banana skin, yes.

Steeping again, a much thicker brew this time, and quite red-brown. The flavor was still not earthy or woody and no flavor of cedar either.(This was another surprise because I would have expected woodiness with such vibrant color.)
What I tasted was vanilla cream, some salt and a hint of caramel.
There was something else. Spice or herb, a savory something that I could not identify. The Pu-erh was playing with me gently.

Pouring a third time, the thick and rich broth tasted more like cedar wood with a tang that lasted just a moment…then melted away into a smooth, sweet velvety finish.

I am always tempted to add a few (very few) grains of sugar when a Pu-erh comes to the caramel, cedar, salty stage. I know what will happen next! The same flavor that you taste with quality caramels is what this Pu-erh tastes like with just a little sweetness added to it. (a little cream is nice too). I love salted creamy caramel!

Don’t misunderstand, I like my Pu-erh straight, but sometimes…it becomes dessert towards the last of the steepings.

This is a very good Pu-erh!

I wrote a story for my blog and here’s an intro if you want to read more, it’s about a time long ago when I was working at the Children’s Shelter School, Christmas (1979). www.teaandincense.com

Shelter School Christmas

Our facility was a room in an abandoned Psychiatric Hospital from the 1930’s. A big, drafty, wood and plaster building that creaked and groaned. It looked like a set from an old Hollywood movie!

Two social workers sat in the hallway at all times, while the teacher and I were alone with 10-15 students in a classroom lined with floor to ceiling bookshelves and tall windows, (a scene right out of a Harry Potter movie set). If you peeked in, you’d agree it was a strange looking scene, old radiators and wood planking.

During the Christmas Holidays I decided to plan a party. Without a kitchen, I was still able to teach the kids to make snacks. Then, we decorated by cutting colored paper rings and streamed them across the room. We made strings of popcorn and glittery stars. Each student made a soft, stuffed ornament that was theirs to keep and take to whichever group home or foster home they would be sent to.

It was important to show how to create something from little or nothing, how to celebrate when life is frightening and uncertain. It’s a great lesson in life.

We were going to finish with a party!

I taught some of the tougher hard to reach boys how to properly serve tea and snacks. We even used serving trays for our party.
These boys took their job seriously, practicing over and over again.

(the story continues)

Oh, by the way…Happy St. Nicholas Day! Dec. 6th this is celebrated in many places around the World. 4th Century Nicholas of Myra gave to the poor and defended children and women. He paid the dowery for poor women to marry (something important back then).

Last night I set up a tea tray for watching a 3 hr 25 min. long Indian movie called Jodhaa Akbar, that my daughter had recommended.

I required a large pot of tea naturally, but also the right type of tea for setting the mood.

The movie was a historical epic. Palaces, battles, silk, incense, beautiful women and handsome men of course…with music and romance (just what I want in an Indian Movie!).

I didn’t have the right Chai for this movie. I needed something exotic, a little different twist, so I created my own.

I began with a large teapot (24oz) and created a blend:
2TB Ginger Sage Winter Spa Blend
1 teaspoon of Laoshan Black
Yanxin Reserve ’04 Shu Nuggets…1 small 3/4 inch piece broken up.

I knew this was going to make a hearty brew, able to stand up to the addition of honey and cream…the same way a Chai would.

I used a glass pot so I was able to eyeball the strength I wanted, but I think about 3 minutes was the steep time. (Maybe more)

This was so good! Sweet, savory from the sage, spicy from ginger and the added tea’s and comforting. The Shu and Black tea’s gave great body creating the wonderful full, warm broth that you want in a tea mug while watching a long movie.

I filled my pot for 3 steepings without any loss of flavor. What a
great companion!

Standing on the Rim

When I ordered my brick of Pu’er, I made sure to buy a .7 oz packet for sampling right away.
I’m so new at storing larger cakes and bricks of PU that I never would have had patience to wait before diving in with my Pu’er knife like an impatient tea Zorro.

Having purchased a large brick is a leap of faith. Is this tea going to be one of those special Pu’er’s that will grow richer in time and dazzle me with exceptional flavor?

I’ve waited to read the notes from Verdant on taste until after I had tried my sample.

I used my fat, white 4oz Gaiwan and 4 grams leaf. I always use Spring Water.

The liquor was an intensely rich Auburn Brown color through all 5 infusions.

The infusions were quirky (like me).
I began with 20 seconds on the first infusion which was fine (the first infusion is usually light), but the second steeping was very strong.
I cut back the time to 10 seconds on the 3rd infusion (which is the same as an ‘instant’ steep for me since I’m a bit slow) and that was most successful!
Keep the infusions at 5-10 seconds, not longer, for best results.

Even though I went from light to heavy and back to light strength, the flavor never went weird. (No hidden boxing glove came out on that second strong steeping and popped me in the nose with a bitter left hook.)

Had I drained the energy and flavor from the tea? The oversteeping could have diluted the Pu’er.

Thankfully, the third infusion was very good, and from that point on the shorter 10 second steep times produced smooth, juicy and flavorful tastings.

All along I tasted soft, sweet ginger with a bite on the front of my tongue that lingered long after drinking the tea.
Some might say there’s a cedar wood flavor but I tasted redwood. That redwood taste is warm and sunny with a tang to it and has more body than cedar.

There was a creamy, light saltiness on the last steeping.

When I drink tea I stand on the rim of the memories in my mind. It’s like looking over the edge of a canyon at pictures far below… with signs such as these:
The Grand Canyon, Santorini, Golden Gate Bridge, Rome, Peru, Alaska, Redwood Forests, Monterey Bay.

Under these signs and pictures are sub headings such as:
Golden Gate Park, The Aurora Borialis and Hiking in the Andes. Places I’ve been and things I’ve done…like my own mental NETFLIX.

When I begin to drink a tea, I stand on that rim waiting for the tea to take me to the place it wants to go and the tea always takes me to a good memory, never a bad one.

Today, I thought about the Redwoods. Inside the Redwoods main heading was a subtitle: Santa’s Village (Scotts Valley, CA.)

This place doesn’t exist anymore, but when I was young it was a magical place tucked into the forest with real Raindeer and a Santa House with Santa Claus. The sweet smell of the enormous redwood trees and the fresh baked Gingerbread scent coming from Mrs. Claus’s pastry shoppe sounds like a strange thought to pair up with a fine Pu’er.
But wait… Redwood, ginger, earthy forest…it wasn’t that far removed from the taste of the tea!

You don’t get to choose what the journey will be. The tea does the picking.

Over the rim I gooooo and I look forward to more leaps!

If you take time with tea, you can learn to listen to what it wants to say.

If you’re new to the world of tea this may seem like an odd statement. How can tea speak?

If I said that eating Turkey on Thanksgiving reminded me of my childhood home in California you would understand. And if I told you that hot chocolate with mini marshmallows on a snowy day made me think of being a kid again…picking up ice skates and going out with friends for a game of hockey…the picture would form in your mind. The Turkey and cocoa didn’t speak to me but eating and drinking them brought memories to mind.

Tea can speak to our memory also, taking us to places long forgotten but stored like jewels ready for discovery.

Pu’er tea is like an interesting memory key. The right tea opens up complex chambers often with earthy flavors that flash and turn like wood sprites.

My brewing method today was a fat 4oz white Gaiwan.
There were 7 steepings.
I played with the time beginning (after a wash) at 10 seconds then 15, 15, 20, 45, 20, 1 minute and lastly 30 seconds.
The color was light golden caramel brown changing to deep amber and back to lighter golden with the shorter steep time.

About the color: The tea glitters like the famous Amber Room of Catherine the Great!

Flavor:
The leaves smelled creamy and sweet. I wasn’t expecting the flavor to be as lightly sweet and smooth as it was for a first pour with a hint of vanilla honey.

I was tempted to drink quickly…in a hurry to jump into the pool of richer steepings. So impatient…forgetting the polite behavior required with my tea.

Someone far away had worked very hard for me to have this cup.

Slowly, I moved on to more steepings, remembering to look at the color, smell the leaves and enjoy each inhaled slurp tossed to the back of my throat. Ah yes, smooth and juicy…full of light brown sugar.

Halfway through the tasting, there were some memories of water …coastlines and trees, fields of flowers and mountains. Hum. I dismissed the thoughts.

I drank more tea, which was becoming more like clover honey mixed with light brown sugar. The flavor never became bitter even with the longest steep time and never became dry.

I looked for spice and there was a vapor…and poof, gone. I could not put my finger (or nose or mouth) on it. Some other time maybe.

At the bottom of the 5th steeping I noticed a chewiness and a golden raisin taste. “So,” I chuckled, “it couldn’t be that.” I decided to stick to my opinion though, and later when I read the notes on the Verdent Website and saw the flavor profile mention ‘Raisin’, I smiled.

Again, I was having those wandering thoughts about the Sea and Mountains but stopped this time to consider my tea and what it was saying.

The thoughts floating in and out…the pictures in my memory were of visits to family in Washington State.
It’s so GREEN there with lush forests and farms! The fields of flowers in the Skagit Valley go on forever, and there is WATER everywhere!

Why was I thinking about the seashore, green fields and the trees of Washington? Remembering sitting on a bench in Anacortes looking out to Orca’s Island with the sun glittering on the water? Sailing through the San Juan Islands? A drive up to the snowline of Mt. Baker?

It’s calming, restful and beautiful! http://flic.kr/p/dyqRX9

Was it the juiciness of the tea and the smooth slightly sweet flavor that brought me there? Was this my jewel and a gift from the tea?

I think so. I became rested and calm. Happy with my memories.

One thing that I’ve been known to do with Pu’er that has a hint of salt (there is just a hint here) and slight caramel (I think this is more buttery than caramel) is add a few grains of sugar.
Stand back and see what happens…few grains in…and..CARAMEL!
Very delicious!

I bought 1 cake and it’s fabulous! (This tasting is from a 7oz. sample I bought to go with it.)