Bio
If you’re an aspiring or current tea grower, let’s talk! I am slowly beginning a tea farm here in Northern California. Currently growing are young plants pulled from the ground and gifted to me after a visit to Fairhope Tea Plantation in Alabama. The parent plants are sinensis variety from a defunct Lipton research project. I’ve also started seeds from Camellia Forest Nursery in North Carolina. The types include Camellia taliensis, an assamica variety, and 3 sinensis varieties including “Small leaf” “Large leaf” and “Black Sea.” I also picked up 2 older plants from a a local nursery. They were grown from seed supposedly acquired from a tea farm in Washington. To learn how to process tea into different styles, I plan on traveling to China and Taiwan if/when COVID becomes a relative non-issue. I’m taking Mandarin classes to aid in this journey.
Tea became a hobby and my daily drink of choice some time late in the last decade. My introduction to loose leaf came, following a lone tin of some Tie Guan Yin oolong many years prior, in the form of dumpster-dived Wuyi oolong packets that somebody left upon moving out of an apartment building. From there, my palate expanded to teas from across China and the world. I used to focus more on taste and still harbor the habit, but after trying sheng pu’er, I tend to focus more on how a tea feels in my body. Does it complement my constitution? Does it change my mood or does it enhance my current mindstate? While I may not mention those effects in tea notes, it is what I value most.
Flavored teas are not a favorite but I do drink them intermittently. Drink a variety of teabags at work. Herbal teas/tisanes provide balance. Unfiltered tap water heathen (it’s good here).
In terms of who I am, you could consider me a jill of all trades. Specialty is not my strength, as can be seen in the spread of my tea notes.
One thing I will always love is riding a bicycle.
Location
Sonoma County, California, USA
:) Beautifully captured! (I’ve tried this, too.)
Their Yorkshire Gold is solid, though.
I’ve never done a side-by-side, but I think I like the plain old un-Gold Yorkshire a little better, but now I can’t remember why.
I buy Yorkshire Gold, but if it isn’t available I’m never unhappy with redbox Yorkshire either. Not sure if I can tell the difference either.
Apathy in a bag! Omg, I need to write this down and borrow it on occasion.
Too bad. Jasmine green tea when done right is a glorious thing.
I was checking them other day and not sure if they do other teas than Yorkshire Gold anymore. I am not sure though!
LOL! Short and to the point. :)