It’s so funny how the weather affects people’s lives. No matter where you live around the globe, the one thing we all have in common is weather talk. And it seems we are never happy about it…
It rained everyday here last week. I love, love the rain, but a full week was getting depressing and I complained a little about it. This week, we got 4 days of hot sun in a row, and I couldn’t handle it anymore, I am beyond happy to find miss Rain this morning. Rainy days make my trees lush and pollen free, to quote a friend :-)
So it’s tea day today, cause I want to make up for yesterday.
I wanted to get outside old habits and start my day with something unusual instead of my typical strong black of the morning. I chose one I’ve never drank before, a Japanese Oolong.
This looks like Pouchong Baozhong, the greenest type of oolong. The colour of the dry leaf is beautiful, a nice silver teal.
First steep (using gaiwan) is very interesting. It’s almost a traditional Japanese green tea, vegetal and grassy.
The distinction comes from its floral body, it’s not orchid or lilac like most Chinese or Taiwanese oolong, but a different variety that I can’t really name. The end of the sip is nutmeg, a note I often find in greener oolong.
The second and third steeps are evolving into a sweet and soft mineral taste, it has an almost syrupy texture. Strong florals lingers for a long time after I swallow.
Later steeps bring some sweet cherry notes, I know it sounds silly, and it’s probably the fruit of my imagination (no pun intended) but it reminds me of Bath & Body Works hand cream Japanese Cherry Blossom fragrance. You’re probably going yikes, hand cream, right? What can I say, tea has a strange way of bringing olfactory hallucinations to life :-)
Bottom line, if you like a good Wenshan Baozhong, you will adore this tea.
It was only a sample I purchased from Tealux, but it will be on my shopping list, that’s for sure.
Comments
Also, weather talk. It cloudy and dreary looking but quite humid when I went into the grocery store to pick up lunch today. (I love their salad bar. Really reasonably priced at $4.99/lb and full of things that I don’t want to have to buy a whole one of that I like on a salad occasionally, like cauliflower.) When I came back out, it had rained hard and was still sprinkling, but the sun was shining brightly.
Ooh, this sounds lovely. And MAN, it’s annoyingly hot here. And humid. I’ve got bean salad marinating in the fridge.
Sami, I know it’s easy to say once summer has arrived, but I’ll take minus 20 celsius of cold over any overly hot and humid temperature!
Lol, it’s salad day among Steepterites, enjoy yours! I’m having tomato, basil, pine nuts and fresh mozzarella salad.
Completely, completely. There’s only so much you can take off, and if you’re still hot, you’re still hot. Boo. I wilt like an arctic lily.
That sounds really good. I’m going to add it to my wish list.
Also, weather talk. It cloudy and dreary looking but quite humid when I went into the grocery store to pick up lunch today. (I love their salad bar. Really reasonably priced at $4.99/lb and full of things that I don’t want to have to buy a whole one of that I like on a salad occasionally, like cauliflower.) When I came back out, it had rained hard and was still sprinkling, but the sun was shining brightly.
Mmmm, cauliflower, I made a cauliflower almond curry last night, so good! Enjoy your salad :-)
I hate cauliflower cooked, but I love it raw. Go figure. But the salad was awesome.
Ooh, this sounds lovely. And MAN, it’s annoyingly hot here. And humid. I’ve got bean salad marinating in the fridge.
Sami, I know it’s easy to say once summer has arrived, but I’ll take minus 20 celsius of cold over any overly hot and humid temperature!
Lol, it’s salad day among Steepterites, enjoy yours! I’m having tomato, basil, pine nuts and fresh mozzarella salad.
I can always put more layers on. There comes a point when I can’t take off any more layers.
Cheri, exactly!!!
Ooooh japanese oolong? How neat!
Completely, completely. There’s only so much you can take off, and if you’re still hot, you’re still hot. Boo. I wilt like an arctic lily.
This sounds really good.