Of New Arrivals and Old Year

Hello everyone and happy New Year's Eve!!

Canada Post decided to be kind and surprise me with a tea delivery on this last day of the year.

Couple of weeks ago I ordered a bulk supply of my beloved Dragonwell green tea and Keemum black tea from Teavivre, both of them organic.  Today my purchase arrived.  In addition I got two free samples: The Golden Monkey and Flavoured Milk Oolong.  I've had all of them before except for Flavoured Milk Oolong which I'm very excited to try out.  So far I've had milk oolong from David's Tea and Mandala Tea, and I liked them both very much.  I wonder where Teavivre will score in comparison.

Now I'm sitting here sipping on a lovely Keemum black tea with a little maple syrup and milk.  The full name on the Teavivre site is Organic Superfine Keemum Fragrant Black Tea.  The steeped tea is just like they profess fragrant and may I add delicious.  I'm glad I stocked up.

While I'm writing my blog post my kids are curled up on the couch watching the finale of Avatar. The fireplace is buzzing and the cat is grooming in the nearby chair.  In two short hours the countdown will begin.

Happy New Year everyone!  See you all in 2015! :)

Relaxing minute with Dragonwell tea and a holiday cookie

I don't have to tell you what's going on at my house right now because the same thing is probably happening at yours.  I am cooking, baking, chopping, slicing and cleaning all in preparation for tomorrow's Christmas Eve.  Being from Poland, we always celebrate with family dinner on December 24.

Since I've been running around for six hours straight now, I decided to take a little break with a relaxing tea and  thumbprint cookies I baked couple of days ago.  I need a little sweetness right now.

My tea of choice is Dragonwell from Teavivre.  I've tried three different Dragonwells and this one is definitely the best.  The full name straight from Teavivre website is Organic Superfine Dragon Well Long Jing Green Tea.

This tea is delicious, smooth, delicate and creamy.  The dry leaves are mostly light green and have wonderful fresh, vegetal smell.

When steeping, I add a little more leaf, about tablespoon and a half and I steep it only for one minute at 79°C. I get about 3 wonderful steeps out of that.

The ready tea is pale green in colour and has a typical grassy, vegetal aroma.  The taste is smooth, buttery and creamy without any hint of bitterness.  Mind blowing goodness.  Yum!

The cookies that I made come from a recipe I picked up off of internet and tweaked it a bit.  The recipe called for butter only but I added half butter and half coconut oil.  I also included some vanilla. The family approved with mouthfuls of cookies and happy nods.

Thumbprint Cookie Recipe:

2 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 cup of white sugar
1 tsp of vanilla
1/2 cup of unsalted butter
1/2 cup of coconut oil
Your favourite jam


Melt butter and coconut oil and mix it with sugar and vanilla.  Add the flour and fold it in until the dough sticks well.  Make round balls around an inch in diameter and flatten them with your hand. Make a dent in the middle with your finger.  Place you creations on the cookie sheet.  Fill the dent with your favourite jam. For this batch I used black current jam with great results.

Bake at 375°C for 15 minutes.  When cooled you can sprinkle it with icing sugar.  Enjoy.

Of New Arrivals and Happiness

"You can't buy happiness but you can buy tea and that's kind of the same thing."

Yesterday almost felt like Christmas.  It always feels like that when the new tea order arrives.  It's really very difficult to comprehend but there are few things and far in between that could arrive by mail that will make me as happy as when I find a tea in my mailbox.

Why is it?  What does tea represent that make me feel this way?  

Is it comfort, that homey feeling when you sit with a hot cup of tea in front of the roaring fire on a cold winter morning?  

Or maybe it's when you're curled up on the couch in your pyjamas with a good book and a biscuit on a dark wintery afternoon while the snow storm rages outside.

Whatever it is when the tea order arrives it evokes all those feelings and more.

That's exactly how I felt yesterday when my David's Tea order arrived.  Inside was Coconut Oolong (goodness gracious I thought I will never see it again), black tea blend Brazillionaire and and green tea Dragonwell.  In addition there were three free samples that David's Tea always includes with every order.  This time I got herbal Midsummer Night's Dream, herbal Forever Nuts and Rooibos de Provence.

Over the next few days I'll be busy trying out these new teas.  My taste buds can't wait!

Cheers

Of Big Packages and Pretty Tea

Ohhhhh yes!! Another week and another order arrived on my doorstep today.  This package was bigger than usual as I ordered three varieties of tea and a silver tin.

I stuck a flower in the picture to show my love :)

The package included my beloved Dragonwell, Japanese Sencha and Creme Brule.  I just can't wait to try Creme Brule.  It's a mix of red and green rooibos with added safflowers, calendula and natural flavoring.  The label claims it to be organic... Hopefully. :)

I didn't know what calendula was so I googled it.  It is a variety of marigold in the daisy family Asteraceae, native to area from Macaronesia east through the Mediterranean to Iran.  It is said to be anti-inflammatory and anti-viral.  The petals are edible and can be used in salads, to color cheese or as a replacement for saffron.  Apparently, they can also be used in my tea. :)

Orange Calendula

I couldn't resist and opened the package of Creme Brule to sneak a peak... Beautiful aroma and very pretty looking tea.  Look at all the colorful flowers in there!  If I'm not mistaken, the yellow ones are from calendula  (which can also be yellow) and the red ones are safflowers.

My package as usual, besides the ordered tea, included three complimentary samples... the mystery tea...the present within a present. Today I got:

1. Orange Pekoe (Fine black tea from Sri Lanka and Assam, India)
2. The Skinny (Oolong tea, pu'erh tea, ginger, ginseng, orange peel and natural flavoring)
3. Coco Chai Rooibos: (Rooibos, coconut, cinnamon, ginger root, cardamom, red pepper, cloves, pink peppercorns, artificial and natural flavoring)

All of the above I already got before which is a bummer because I love trying new teas, but if I remember correctly The Skinny was pretty good and it's all natural.  Coco Chai was delish as well but I'm not crazy about the artificial flavoring.

There is another order on the way, somewhere between Minnesota and here.  It's pu'erh from Verdant Tea and I can't wait to get my hands on it.  Straight pu'erh tea is such a mystery to me, everything I heard about it makes me want to try it even more.  Hopefully it arrives soon.

Cheers!!!

My journey with Dragonwell

I love dragons.  I did since I was a kid.  If your tea has a word dragon in it I will definitely try it at least once.  Hopefully it will live up to the name.  To me a dragon means that it's something out of ordinary, exciting, something that will make me pay attention.

When I first got introduced to loose tea, I had no idea where to go to find me a good green.  Even with the bags it was hit and miss and mostly miss.  I didn't even know what I was looking for but I knew that if I found it I would know.  I researched the world of loose green tea and found out that Dragonwell is the most popular green tea in China.  I just had to try that!

I decided to go with DAVIDsTEA for my first time.

I have to say this tea has surprised me in more ways than one.  I can't really compare it to anything else because this is the first straight loose green tea that I've tried and the only one so far.  For sure I cannot compare it to the bags either.  This one is a whole new animal all on its own.

I still remember the day that I got this tea.  I was so excited, the leaves looked beautiful, their aroma was delicate and nice.

I brewed myself a nice pot.  I counted the minutes in anticipation.  The water in the pot was turning a lovely shade of green.  All was good.  I lifted a lid and took a whiff....

This couldn't be.  I went back to the package to re-check whether I got what I ordered.  Yes, this was Dragonwell, but if this was the most popular tea in China why did it smell like that?  I couldn't put my finger on the smell... It was vegetal, grassy, asparagus like, spinach, or maybe all four together?  Definitely not what I expected.  I was disappointed.

I tasted the tea and the taste was definitely going hand in hand with the aroma.  Vegetal, grassy, asparagus like, spinach or all four?  I finished the pot and contemplated whether I should return the tea or give it another shot.  I knew from reviews that people liked it.  Was there something wrong with me?

I decided to give it another shot.  And another.  And another.

This was about two weeks ago and I am pleased to say that this tea has grown on me.  It has wrapped itself around and plunged it's roots into the very core of my being.  I love this tea.  After about few days I couldn't wait to get up in the morning and steep myself a nice pot.  It became an integral part of my morning.

I know I have to keep trying other loose green teas because drinking bagged green tea all these years has definitely taught my palate nothing, but for now this one has won my heart.  It's very much vegetal and a little grassy with some earthy tones thrown in there for good measure.... and it's delicious.  I know I want Dragonwell in my cupboard.  Always.

Steeping temperature: 82C

Steeping time: 5 min

Steeped in: Clear glass teapot

Cheers!!