Global Tea Time

It's winter. Life is crappy in winter. I'm drinking my way through the decaf side of the box faster because I'm craving something warm to drink in the evening. I find it vaguely entertaining that this has a lavendar pouch. I've seen versions of Earl Grey with lavender, but this is straight Earl Grey, but the decaf version. Sometimes decaf teas, especially black teas can have an off flavor. It's been a while since I had the regular Earl Grey, so this tastes like a run of the mill bagged Earl Grey to me. A friend who has helped me with a lot of stuff wanted a copy of my phases of the moon doily. While this one was much faster to make than the original, I estimate that it still took somewhere around 20 hours. I found a background that I like for framing it. One more thing to do today. I have a friend coming over this afternoon to work on crafts, so hopefully I will get it done then.

Mao feng is a light, Chinese green tea. It has a pleasant scent, and a long, narrow leaf. This is what just over 3 grams of leaf looks like. That's about the equivalent of 2 teaspoons of a cut tear curl tea. This looks like a huge amount of leaves, but imagine how few of these leaves would fit in a teaspoon, or even a tablespoon. This is the type of leaf where you really need scales. It makes a beautiful, light brew, and can be brewed a few times. It's a very light, refreshing tea. Now I'm facing a dilemma. I have a code for 10% off an online purchase from my favorite tea shop. Do I order tea again? I just got some 2 months ago, but I just finished drinking up my favorite winter tea. I could also get some of my favorite spring teas in the box. Cherry sencha and ryokucha sound so good right now, along with more of my beloved ginger puerh. I wonder if they will offer a 10% discount for St Patrick's day. Otherwise, the next discount won't come until May for moth...

Today's tea comes from Nepal. Specifically the Himalayan mountains just over the border from Darjeeling India. It is billed as being very similar to Darjeeling teas, but the rules for foods from specific regions of the world apply so it cannot be called Darjeeling tea. It's slightly cheaper than Darjeeling tea, so I decided to try a bag since I just bought a home, and was looking to economize on my last tea buying trip. In the winter I tend to crave black teas. Technically this is a black tea, but it's lighter than most black teas. In the depth of winter, I also tend to crave teas with a floral note to them. This is the only time of year I will drink jasmine tea even though I'm not a huge fan of it. Something about the cold and dark makes me want a little whiff of summer. I got this tea as a compromise. Darjeeling teas usually have a floral note to them without being overwhelming. I set up my Himalayan tea to brew several times using a gaiwan. The first brew had a f...