Every year, we host an International student who comes to attend our local university. They stay with us for a few days until their dorm rooms open or their apartments are ready. We have a lot of Asian international students which, when they learn of my deep and abiding love of green tea, results in them exposing me to their area’s best teas.
This year, we hosted Alex from Beijing. He surprised me about a week after he moved into his own apartment with a special package of green tea he’d asked his Mom to send. Part of the fun was figuring out what the tea was. Alex isn’t a big tea drinker, and it’s all written in kanji. I could tell the Dragon’s Well tea simply by the scent and cut of the leaves. The other tea was more of a mystery. There were only two kanji I could recognize on the container, three and mountain. Alex translated the rest of the kanji, but it was a proper name, the company. He couldn’t figure out what kind of tea it was. So, it was up to me to experiment.
I’m happy to announce, I’ve finally cracked the code of how to brew it. I still don’t know what it is, yet I can tell you what it isn’t. I can actually eliminate a whole slew of tea types and still have too many left to make an ID. Many Chinese greens are best in a 90 degree C steep, this one had no taste at that temperature. I reduced it to 85 degrees and hit it’s flavor point. It also likes a 2-minute steep on the first pour. The only other Chinese tea I know that likes 85 degrees is Dragon’s Well, so I’m wondering if it is a breed of this.
Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.
MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!
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