Blooming teas are so fun! Just like a flower bulb ready to bloom, each tightly wrapped and hand-tied green tea leaf bulb holds a colorful surprise inside. Today’s blooming tea is called The First Kiss, scented with aromatic Lychee fruit.

Photo credit: Lychee from en wiki , Photo by en wiki user en:user:sannse

This blooming tea design has a spreading apron of green leaves topped with an arch of white osmanthus flowers and crimson globe amaranth over a central, pale yellow chrysanthemum.

Out of the package, First Kiss has a spicy sweet scent and upon blooming, delivers a fruity, slightly acidic tea that to my palate is kissed with a hint for pineapple.

TEA TIME ETIQUETTE

When stirring the contents of your tea, the spoon should be moved from the 12 to 6 o’clock positions. Never in a circular rotation and the spoon should not touch the side of the cup. Place your spoon on the saucer BEHIND your cup when finished.

Notice: There are no Etiquette Police, but before you can break the rules, you have to first know them!!!

British Tea Drinking ~ The drinking of tea in England began back in the late 1600’s when Catherine of Braganza married Charles II of England. She favored drinking tea and brought this preference with her to her new country. At the time, tea was very expensive so only the upper class drank it but by the 1750’s the masses were drinking tea and it became the national drink of England.

British High Tea ~ But where did the term High Tea originate? It was actually a hearty meal eaten by the English servants about 6:00 p.m. after they had served the afternoon tea upstairs. It was eaten at a regular “high” table versus the low table that was used for afternoon tea in the drawing room. Not very glamorous but the American tea houses and upscale hotels have taken to calling “Afternoon Tea” a “High Tea” for better marketing.

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Most everyone has heard of the popular English tea, Earl Grey with its taste and scent of bergamot, but it was not invented by the Earl of Grey or even English. I love stories, and the tale of this tea begins with Charles Grey, 2^nd Earl of Grey and Prime Minister of the UK from 1830-1834.  The Grey family recounts the origins of the tea, saying a Chinese Mandarin tea master blended the tea as a special gift for the Prime Minister. The Chinese have long held a tradition of scenting and flavoring teas to make them more exotic and unique, often for the purpose of becoming noticed by reigning emperors of the time. This Chinese tea master used bergamot to offset the lime flavor of the well water at Howick Hall on the Grey’s estate. The tea was so loved by the Lady Grey that she abstained from using any other tea for her social entertainments and only used their namesake special blend. Eventually she asked an English tea merchant to recreate the tea blend making it available to London society and thereafter establishing it as an iconic tea for tea drinkers everywhere

Today, tea manufactures have a variety of ways to make Earl Grey tea, therefore none will be exactly alike, but traditionally it is a black tea flavored with bergamot. The tea can be a single source or it can be a blend of teas from around the world.

The bergamot can be either synthetic or natural depending on the tea manufacture. Natural bergamot can vary immensely in taste depending where it was cultivated and how it was processed. The oil from the rinds of the bergamot orange is often described as an intensely sharp citrus flavor between an orange and lemon with a high note of grapefruit and lime. Synthetic bergamot contains no actual citrus but is often used because the flavor is consistent.

My lovely teapot, a gift from my friend Melissa, is as delightful to look at as the beautiful pink petals of the Redbud tree blooming profusely this time of year. My bees have also been enjoying them for their nectar.

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“…whatever is lovely…think on these things.” For Earth Day 2019, I think upon the beauty and diversity of God’s creation. I dwell upon the scent of spring flowers and the satisfaction of a tasteful cup of tea. This morning, Bao Zhong tea is very lovely to ponder, sip by sip.

This oolong tea is from Nantou, Taiwan. Its oxidation level is less than 20% making it one of the “greener” oolong teas, which helps it to maintain a light, sweet taste even though the scent is more vegetal. The name Bao Zhong means “wrapped style” in which the leaves undergo a very light rolling in order to keep the twisted leaf shape. See my post on March 20, which explains the processing method for oolong teas.

Since this is a lighter, greener oolong, I steep this with a lower water temperature of about 180 degrees F. Steeping time is approximately 3 minutes because of the looser, twisted leaf shape. It produces a very light liqueur, which will darken as it mellows in the pot. See my post on March 21 for how to brew an oolong tea.

 “…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8

I took the opportunity to try a new tea while visiting my friend Melissa yesterday. Lapsang Souchong is produced in the Wuyi Mountains of Fujian province of China. This heavily forested and sparsely populated area is famous for its timber and bamboo as well as for the fine tea grown there.

Lapsang Souchong is distinct from other black teas not only in its taste but also in how it is processed to achieve its unique characteristics. The first difference is in how the tea is harvested from the Camellia sinensis tea shrub. Instead of the buds and/or top leaves being used as is customary for tea, the third and fourth leaves below the flower buds are picked. This courser leaf is not usually used for tea because of its lack of aromatic notes that leaves closer to the buds possess

Black teas are usually processed by withering, rolling, oxidation and drying, but for Lapsang Souchong, the fresh leaves are placed in bamboo baskets over cypress or pine wood fires to wither. To continue the oxidation process and develop the smoky flavors, the leaves are place in barrels. Afterward, the leaves are pan fried to stop oxidation, then once again are placed in flat bamboo baskets to roast over open smoky fires. Just before the leaves are dry, the fire is smothered producing an amber smoke that permeates the leaves. The finished tea leaves are thick and black in color with a highly smoky scent. This smokiness translates into a unique tea that some say must meet with an acquired taste

Lapsang Souchong is brewed with boiling water for 1-5 minutes. Tasting the tea after the first minute and there after every 30 seconds until your preferred flavor is reached. 2 ½ minutes is usually optimal. Long brewing times will produce more bitter and bold flavors whereas shorter times will produce a mild brew. Recommended amounts of dry tea range from 1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons per cup.

This is the first time I have tried Lapsang Souchong and I believe I need to do some experimenting with it as far as perhaps trying a better grade of tea leaves. The smokiness in this tea definitely reached the nose put did not seem to reach the taste buds. My brewing technique for this tea may also need to be refined. The Lapsang Souchong did pair well with the meal even with its campfire scent. It also couples pleasantly with an addition of milk and sugar.

My friend Melissa has a collection of 1950’s era snack or luncheon plates that we employed for our lunch. It was fun to do a little vintage dining. Glass snack plates were mandatory for ladies luncheons, book clubs, baby shows or anytime women gathered during the 1940’s through the mid 1960’s. Every lady had at least one set and would borrow her neighbors if she needed to serve more guests. Sets were marked for identification with a small piece of tape or a different color of nail polish.

My first thought this morning upon awakening was Maple! Maple Walnut Sencha and French toast!

Just like honey, Maple syrup is labor intensive to harvest and process needing 30-40 gallons of sap to make approximately one gallon of maple syrup. Similarly, honey requires the labor of the bees to collect the nectar and convert it into honey through a process of enzymes in their honey stomachs and dehydration of the nectar.  Then the bee keeper must collect and extract the honey. It takes bees visiting 2 million flowers to make a pound of honey with each bee only contributing 1/12 teaspoon in her lifetime. A full hive of bees in Kansas can produce 30-100 pounds of honey depending on the year.

There are a number of Japanese Senchas, all of which are steamed for various lengths of time to produce different varieties, but of course, the tea all comes from the same plant Camellia sinensis.  Sencha is best brewed at a lower temperature, 150-170 degrees F with higher grades of Sencha steeped at the lowest temperatures and for 1 -2 minutes. The color of this Maple Walnut Sencha from The London Tea Room of St Louis is not as bright a green as some of the Senchas thus it is not of the highest quality, which of course is more expensive. However, it still makes a delightful morning breakfast tea.

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Everywhere in my yard, the trees are blooming and the bees are having a bonanza of nectar sources from which to choose. Standing under my Purple Plum Leaf tree is a feast for the eyes with its delicate pink blossoms, and a heavenly scent of nature’s flowery perfume. Not only are my honey bees visiting these short-lived beauties but all sorts of pollinators including other bees, butterflies and various flies. Standing under the tree’s branches humming with the sound of buzzing insects is like entering another world, enveloping the senses with scent, sight and sound.

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Spring is a time of first: the first bird songs heralding their return; the first daffodil to open its buttery face. Spring reawakens energy and life to all of God’s creations. In recognition of firsts, I am using a new-to-me teapot bequeathed to me by my friend Nancy who is the inspiration for this blog (see first post). Nancy knew my delight in sharing tea with others and in traveling. We had both been to Europe at different times and she had purchased this teapot on one of her trips. So there was a double connection as to why she wanted me to have her teapot. I have always found that it is the stories of our possessions that make them special and not the thing itself.

I am also sharing with you today the first sip of a new tea from the Spice Merchant in Wichita, KS. It is Jasmine Dragon Phoenix Pearls. I love Jasmine tea and, for some reason, only drink it for special occasions. This tea is labor intensive to produce, thus its price is also higher but well worth it. The base of Jasmine teas is usually green tea. The bud and first two leaves are hand rolled to small, consistent sized pearls. One person can hand roll one pound of tea per day (2,000 pearls). This base tea is stored for 4 months until the Jasmine flowers are blooming in the summer. The Jasmine flowers and handpicked during the day, while they are still closed, then placed on top of a layer of tea pearls. When the flowers open in the evening, their scent is released and it infuses with the tea. Each morning the flowers are separated from the tea and the process is repeated with fresh flowers for at least three times and sometimes many more depending on the processor. The flowers must be removed from the tea, otherwise when it is brewed, it would impart a bitter taste to the tea. So you can see how this is a labor-intensive process, which only makes me appreciate this delicate tea that much more.

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One teaspoon of pearls is steeped at 176 degrees F for about 2-3 minutes. As soon as the water is poured over the pearls, the scent of Jasmine immediately blooms but enough time must be allowed for the tight balls to unfurl. Each sip this mooring was an “Oh, my! This is good!” experience. The tea can be re-steeped a couple of times when brewing in the Western style (using a teapot not a gaiwan). If you like Jasmine, this tea will delight your nose and your taste buds to the awakening of spring.

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If I told you my rose bush was blooming, I’d have to say April Fool on this first day of April. But we can imagine the roses are out with this vintage inspired, blooming rose teapot and cup. One of my favorite thrift store finds. Our tea this morning was just made for this teapot. It is called Sussex from The London Tea Room in St. Louis, MO. This is a house blended tea that mingles Jasmine Dragon Pearls, my favorite (more on that in another post), and pretty pink rose petals. The dry tea’s aroma has a hint of mint hidden in the blend as well.

Since the Jasmine Pearls is a rolled green tea, we will steep it at 175 degrees F for about 3 minutes. This is when the Jasmine and roses bloom as the aroma rises with the wisps of steam! The scent and taste immediately takes us to the flowering garden which should be just around the corner as the cold, wet Kansas spring melts into warm sunshine. I leave you with this parting thought.

No time for morning tea today so I will be sharing my afternoon tea with you. This lovely tisane (pronounced  tee-zan or in French tee-zahn) is from The Spice Merchant in Wichita, Kansas. When the tea canister is opened, the aroma makes it clear why it is called Orange Grapefruit. The delightful, pungent scent of fresh grapefruit first meets the nose. After steeping for about 5 minutes, the grapefruit is somewhat muted and the orange takes center stage in this warm citrusy tisane. The color is a vivid pink, almost red. What makes this, hug-the-cup-to-your-chest and settle-down-with-a-good-book drink is apple pieces, carrot flakes, blackberry and eucalyptus leaves, beetroot pieces, hibiscus flowers, lemon grass, freeze-dried tangerine and orange pieces, all imported from Germany.