39 Tasting Notes
Jury’s out on this. Despite the name, it’s not that fruity. It’s the color of a bloody shiraz, for certain, but the almost lawn-like flavor of the lemongrass and the tanniny rosehips dominate this cup. And minty undertones, no less. Good afternoon calm-down tea, I think.
Grabbed this tin on my way to work. It was 45 in Chicago this morning (June 2, ahem) and rainy. I needed to pamper myself at the office with a great cup of tea. An odd choice for the a.m., perhaps, but darn satisfying — the kick of green with a little oolong flirtation.
Studying today (I’m taking a grant-writing class), and needed a pick-me-up midway through the readings. I bought this Genmaicha recently to use in a shrimp recipe, but I’d rather drink it. The sencha is decent quality, the toasted rice adds a starchy flavor — it went nicely with a few squares of chocolate.
It just won the category in the World Tea Championship, and I used it to smoke a pork loin. It’s the most fragrant Earl Grey in the world, and makes a fabulous flavorful tea. But in this culinary experiment, it created a sweet, citrusy smoky flavor. Pretty amazing.
It’s spring on the calendar, but not outside in Chicago. A chilly, rainy Memorial Day here — so I reached for the canister I’d purchased recently from Dream About Tea (http://www.dreamabouttea.com/) full of fragrant, toasty spring-flush Dragonwell. If I can’t feel spring, I might as well taste it.
I usually avoid the much-acclaimed Metropolis coffee house here in Chicago because of its college study-hall vibe and corresponding attitude, but it’s chilly here today (these Chicago springs…) and I needed a cuppa on my way downtown to, er, another tea shop. Their Japanese sencha from Intelligentsia is just light enough, just strong enough, and plenty green to remind me it’s actually spring, as the cold lake wind slices right through me.
