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Happy Firework Day Weekend, the one time of year where firework legality and fire common sense is thrown out the window in a clear celebration of gunpowder. Thank you China for inventing such epic displays of color and light, your method of scaring away bad spirits has lived on and transformed beautifully. All silliness aside, it has been nonstop booming fireworks all day, starting yesterday really, and just intensifying, I never thought I would say this, but for the love of my favorite explosive, knock it off people! Ugh, I think that means I am getting old, but really I am just tired of comforting a terrified cat, poor Espeon is not a fan of all the booming. There is a chance I might take the weekend off to party, and by party I mean cuddle my cat, get very tea drunk, and play Minecraft and board games all weekend!

It is with a heavy heart that I announce today’s tea from the Tea Shelf, only heavy because it is the last of their tea samples, clearly I will have to get more! Palampore Kangra Black a second flush black tea from Kangra Valley on the slopes of the Dhauladhar Range of the Himalayas. Apparently this tea is the only crop in India to grow the same variety of tea introduced 160 years ago by Dr Jameson, which is a fantastic little bit of knowledge. Also fun little snippet of knowledge, a Palampore is a bed cover made in India back in the late 18th to early 19th century, they were super fancy and expensive, and not many examples exist today. So, enough info snippets, time for tea! The aroma of the fairly small leaves is very refreshing and sweet, blending tangy notes of citrus peel (specifically a strong note of grapefruit) with sweet juicy white grapes and distant peony flowers. The citrus notes almost give the tea a effervescent quality, it certainly livens up the nose.

Steeping the tea brings a creamy quality to the leaves, no longer effervescent but still just as sweet. Adding notes of orange blossom, pepper, and lettuce to the notes of grapefruit and grapes, it is still refreshing, but the other notes give it a slight heaviness. Holy moly, the liquid is a nose party! Super sweet with strong notes of honey and juicy grapes with orange blossoms, zingy grapefruits and sweet oranges. It smells pretty yummy.

And you know, it tastes pretty yummy! Like really yummy, like I am really sad that I tore through my sample already because I want more yummy. It is very creamy and sweet, with a smooth mouthfeel, it starts with juicy white grapes and honey, this transitions to a refreshing crisp lettuce and grapefruit zest and blossoms. The finish is a blend of gentle almonds and orange blossoms with just a tiny hint of pepper; This tea mixed refreshing notes and sweet notes quite perfectly, I am not going to say this is the best tea I have ever had, but it is one of those that just fit perfectly for the mood I was in while tasting it. I think I will have to order some of this for my private stash to drink once in a while, especially on cool days with a gentle breeze and a need to just relax while being refreshed.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-tea-shelf-palampore-kangra-black.html