This is a single-sourced tea from Himachal Pradesh in India. I bought it because one of the characters in my novel comes from this beautiful place. His parents regularly send him tea from home and I wanted to know what he was getting in his care packages. (Of course, now I am absolutely compelled to try all manner of Indian sweets and teas that can be placed in care packages.)
The dry leaves smell grassy. Steeped the tea brews a golden liquor that smells of flowers, honey, and a very slight note of citrus. The taste is slightly nutty with a slight vegetal and a very, very slight aftertaste of orchid. Nicely satisfying, though I wish more of the exotic fragrances could be found in the tea as well.
Update: As the tea cools the flowery taste becomes more pronounced.
Preparation
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What an awesome reason to order a tea!
It is a solemn duty to try the good stuff your character eats or drinks. ;)
Seriously though, it is a fun reason and it does make me feel a bit closer to my imaginary character, even if he does have an evil streak.
Oh the things we do for our works!
That’s awesome on so many levels, Carolyn! I need to find excuses like that to purchase more tea/things.
Yes. I am a deeply honorable artist committed so thoroughly to my work that I am willing to try any amazing tea or even make the ultimate sacrifice and be feted with delightful desserts.
My beloved is writing a book set in Ancient Greece and Rome and I keep suggesting that we have a perfectly authentic dinners from both ancient Greece and ancient Rome, but he is not as dedicated to his art as I am. ;)
I don’t know about food from ANCIENT Greece, but I love me some spanakopita.
This tea sounds delicious. Pray tell, what does orchid taste like? That may be an unanswerable question, because it likely tastes like orchid, so if it is, what do you consume to get a feeling for what orchid tastes like?
Also, your novel sounds like something I would like to read.
It’s not how orchids taste (as I recall from the time I nervously nibbled on my corsage they taste like bitter vegetables) it’s how orchids smell. Or rather, how some orchids smell, which is a dark floral smell.
As to how the tea tastes, I think it would very much appeal to you. It has some of that oolong floweriness but is not as vegetal and has more green tea flavor than oolong.
You’re writing a book? That is so cool!
Might I suggest you try almond or cashew burfi, sohan papdi, and laddu? Those are my three favorite “care package”-able Indian sweets. A box of brightly colored burfi (pink, green, white and tan) is what I think of first when I hear Indian sweets. Not sure if they are specific to a particular region, but I think most people buy their sweets from a sweets shop rather than make them homemade, and that those sweets are popular/universal across India. Some North Indian desserts that don’t travel well, but are awesome and worth trying – gulab jamin, kheer, jalebi, kulfi, ras malai, various kinds of halwa….mmmm. Don’t even get me started on South Indian sweets. :)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indian_sweets_and_desserts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_sweets
Yes, that’s right, wikipedia has TWO whole pages dedicated to this topic. :)
@Shanti Book writing is way over-rated.
I will definitely try the almond or cashew burfi. I believe I had that a few years ago at a Hare Krishna restaurant in Denver and it was yummy. I haven’t heard of sohan papdi or laddu but will definitely ask about them. My partner at work is Indian so he is my go-to guy when it comes to Indian food. We’ve had gulab jamin (my beloved’s favorite dessert), carrot halwa, and kheer. Those don’t seem as if they would travel well, though. (But they are wonderful.) I will look at the rest that you mention. Thanks for the information!
What an awesome reason to order a tea!
It is a solemn duty to try the good stuff your character eats or drinks. ;)
Seriously though, it is a fun reason and it does make me feel a bit closer to my imaginary character, even if he does have an evil streak.
Oh the things we do for our works!
That’s awesome on so many levels, Carolyn! I need to find excuses like that to purchase more tea/things.
Yes. I am a deeply honorable artist committed so thoroughly to my work that I am willing to try any amazing tea or even make the ultimate sacrifice and be feted with delightful desserts.
My beloved is writing a book set in Ancient Greece and Rome and I keep suggesting that we have a perfectly authentic dinners from both ancient Greece and ancient Rome, but he is not as dedicated to his art as I am. ;)
I don’t know about food from ANCIENT Greece, but I love me some spanakopita.
This tea sounds delicious. Pray tell, what does orchid taste like? That may be an unanswerable question, because it likely tastes like orchid, so if it is, what do you consume to get a feeling for what orchid tastes like?
Also, your novel sounds like something I would like to read.
It’s not how orchids taste (as I recall from the time I nervously nibbled on my corsage they taste like bitter vegetables) it’s how orchids smell. Or rather, how some orchids smell, which is a dark floral smell.
As to how the tea tastes, I think it would very much appeal to you. It has some of that oolong floweriness but is not as vegetal and has more green tea flavor than oolong.
You’re writing a book? That is so cool!
Might I suggest you try almond or cashew burfi, sohan papdi, and laddu? Those are my three favorite “care package”-able Indian sweets. A box of brightly colored burfi (pink, green, white and tan) is what I think of first when I hear Indian sweets. Not sure if they are specific to a particular region, but I think most people buy their sweets from a sweets shop rather than make them homemade, and that those sweets are popular/universal across India. Some North Indian desserts that don’t travel well, but are awesome and worth trying – gulab jamin, kheer, jalebi, kulfi, ras malai, various kinds of halwa….mmmm. Don’t even get me started on South Indian sweets. :)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indian_sweets_and_desserts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_sweets
Yes, that’s right, wikipedia has TWO whole pages dedicated to this topic. :)
@Shanti Book writing is way over-rated.
I will definitely try the almond or cashew burfi. I believe I had that a few years ago at a Hare Krishna restaurant in Denver and it was yummy. I haven’t heard of sohan papdi or laddu but will definitely ask about them. My partner at work is Indian so he is my go-to guy when it comes to Indian food. We’ve had gulab jamin (my beloved’s favorite dessert), carrot halwa, and kheer. Those don’t seem as if they would travel well, though. (But they are wonderful.) I will look at the rest that you mention. Thanks for the information!