I’ve been busy all day. My grand daughter came to visit, we made raspberry chocolate chip almond flour muffins, we had tea, & for the most part, all of the teas I drank are teas I’ve reviewed numerous times, so I’m not writing anything about them.
Then there was this!
One of the oldest teas in my collection, & merely a sample (from Life in Teacup), I’ve pulled it out a few times, ready to give it a go, only to realize that it might be better to wait. This is a tea I really want to savor, to dedicate my full attention to. So this was how I spent my afternoon & evening.
The dry leaf is compact & brown, with no real aroma.
Warming it up in a hot yixing, it bloomed into a marine aroma, but not necessarily in a bad way. Basically, it smelled a lot like spiralina, & as I breathed it in, I also smelled Matcha…
& pickles!
Pickles?
Yes, pickles!
I gave it a rinse & then started in with short steepings, with were immediately a beautiful orange amber color, & I only took a few sips before I was instantly transformed to a cosmic state of mind. The first cup or 2 tasted of aged clean straw & chalk, but with successive steeps there was a rapidly growing menthol quality, a vaporous sensation, wood, leather, & gratefully not a trace of anything undesirable.
I lost track of the number of cups I drank, but somewhere in the middle I passed through a tangy citrus/tangerine element for awhile, followed by a slightly bitter round which passed quickly, a briefly soapy taste, & then a pristine sweet spring. That’s where I’m at now, & I dare not drink any more tonight. Tomorrow I’ll probably give a rinse & see what else I can wring out of these leaves with some longer steeps. The color of the tea is still a beautiful bring amber orange. Absolutely gorgeous!
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Speaking of pickles, my pickling cukes are now in production! I picked 6 today, & I predict by the end of the week I’ll start stuffing a crock of salt water with those, along with homegrown dill & garlic! Silly me, we still have cultured dills from last summer, I guess we’d better get serious about eating them!
I love dill. I plant it every couple of weeks, because it goes to seed so quickly, & so that I have a fresh supply of both herb & seed all season.
Menthol quality, a vaporous sensation and heightened state of consciousness: That’s about the holy grail of pu er in my book. Thanks for the added confirmation to put this at the top of my order list.
Pickles and cosmic state of mind? Yes please!!! ;-)
Speaking of pickles, my pickling cukes are now in production! I picked 6 today, & I predict by the end of the week I’ll start stuffing a crock of salt water with those, along with homegrown dill & garlic! Silly me, we still have cultured dills from last summer, I guess we’d better get serious about eating them!
Mmmmm…love me some dill and pickles!
I love dill. I plant it every couple of weeks, because it goes to seed so quickly, & so that I have a fresh supply of both herb & seed all season.
Shengs are cosmic!!!
They are! I’ve had a few Shu puerhs that were also cosmic, but only a few.
Menthol quality, a vaporous sensation and heightened state of consciousness: That’s about the holy grail of pu er in my book. Thanks for the added confirmation to put this at the top of my order list.
I’ll look forward to your review, Asaf! :)