Spring Cherry

Wednesday night, the 24th

Here's the Spring Cherry black tea my mother got me with the Cinnamon Cardamom tea. If I'm going to be drinking more loose tea then I'll definitely need to go pick up a tea baller.
This Spring Cherry tea is very yummy. The taste is strong but gentle. My favorite thing about it may actually be the delicious aroma it gives off. Perfect for a relaxing evening curled up on the couch.

Oo-La-Long

I was really in need of some good tea yesterday, and I was really in the mood for some Chinese tea. I've been on a real English tea kick as of late, and honestly, English teas are probably my favorite, but sometimes you just need that particular brand of bold flavor and refreshing zing of Chinese tea. I neither had the time nor the money to stop at my local tea house, but I was in luck. My father offered to get me a snack when I visited him at work so I got to pick me up some Honest Tea. I really love Honest Tea. Some brands of bottled tea are really not quality, and I mean "why are my teeth tingly and squeeky and why is my tongue half numb?" not quality. Peach Oo-La-Long strikes a good balance in the sweetness department, and has a cute background story to boot!

I reealized I didn't know enough about how Oolong is made, so I had a little research time.



"・Manual production method supported by tradition and craftsmanship (China)
The production of delicious oolong tea requires time-honored tradition and outstanding craftsmanship. Tea leaves are picked on the morning of a clear day. They should be picked in units consisting of one bud and three leaves and exposed to the sun. This is the first stage. The second stage is to dry them indoors to promote fermentation. The most crucial part in the production of oolong tea is when to stop fermentation. As oolong tea is fermented to some extent, it is called semi-fermented tea. Experience is required to identify the best time to stop the fermentation, which is when the leaves are 30% red and 70% green. After this, they are rubbed repeatedly to generate good flavor, aroma, and texture. Then they are dried using charcoal. At
the final stage, a tea master grades the quality according to the flavor and characteristics of each batch. China's Fujian Chaye Jin Chukou Gongsi (Tea Import and Export Corporation and Fujian Tea Association) exports oolong tea to Japan.


・Flow of Production Stages
(China)
- Tea leaves are picked by hand in units of one bud and three
leaves
- First fermentation

- 30% red and 70% green
- Careful decision on when to stop fermentation
- Generation of the qualities unique to oolong tea
- Charcoal drying
- Grading by a tea master
- Export to Japan"

This is my tea from yesterday morning. Chamomile and more cream than I can come up with any real excuse for. A friend once told me that when I make tea with cream "it tastes like butter!"

I don't really deny it. When it's early morning, and I don't want to be out in the big, scary world, and my anxiety and OCD is just laying in wait to pounce on my mind, sometimes I want tea that tastes a little bit like butter.

I know Chamomile should traditionally not have milk or cream in it, but one thing I will never understand is people who don't like any English teas with milk or cream. The tea itself is good alone, of course, but the milk or cream is part of the natural English tea experience (unless it has something like citrus in it or is an herbal tea like Chamomile). It's one thing to criticize if someone insists on adding milk to chrysanthemum tea or Chamomile, but gawking at milk in Earl Grey : madness!

Cardamom and Cinnamon

A ways back, my mother bought me some nice, quality teas. This is the Cardamom and Cinnamon tea that she gave me. It is really a marvelous tea. The flavor is very strong, but not too overpowering- a real risk in both Cinnamon and Cardamom teas. The two flavors seem to compliment eachother perfectly.

Part of what I'd like to accomplish with this blog is to learn more about the tea I so enjoy. So, when I realized I didn't know very much about Cardamom, I did some research.

It is: "A Spice consisting of whole or ground dried fruit, or seeds, of Elettaria cardamomum , a perennial herb of the ginger family. The flavour is warm, slightly pungent, and highly aromatic. Cardamom is a popular seasoning. Native to moist forests of southern India, the fruit may be collected from wild plants, but most is cultivated. The whole fruit is a green, three-sided oval capsule containing 15–20 dark, hard, angular seeds."

"Warm, slightly pungent, and highly aromatic" is the perfect way to describe this Cardamom Cinnamon tea.

Nothing Stands Between Me and My Tea

I was absolutely desperate for tea the morning this happened. It had been something like two days without a real cup of tea. But alas, I couldn't find a mug and I was rushing.
I love this cup. It was a Valentine's Day gift from my mother (Valentine's Day is a big holiday in my family). It's hard enough plastic that I didn't need to worry about unfortunate melting, but if I'm being completely honest, I've been desperate enough and in posession of so little time that I've had my morning tea on the go in a Gaterade bottle. It was worth it.