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I learned something important

I just learned something important today, something I never even thought of. I took my glass of Emperor Long Jing outside. It's not hot out, I think it's about 65 F, and there's a slight wind blowing, it's cloudy and there's no smog or smells I can detect out there (except for the new-mown grass, but that's when I pull my nose OUT of my glass) Anyway, suddenly the tea came alive for me...I detected something like baked winter squash with sweet (but not lots of sweet.) I think the air in my house might be too stale or something for me to grasp the scents. The difference was amazing.

Strange hmm?

Melinda

Reply to
Melinda
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Melinda,

Not strange at all, rather a valuable observation, I'd say. First, these LJ's are delicate teas and can be easily overwhelmed. Second, there is no accounting for these things. I'm much more alive to tea nuance in the early morning. Go know. While you're at it, try brewing the tea in water around the same temperature as the ambient air. Before a few minutes, you'll have a nice cup of tea. In the summer I find cool water in my Chinese glass carry-along thing works wonderfully well.

Michael

Michael

Reply to
Michael Plant

I really do believe that discovering tea is a spiritual journey. When you are least expecting it, the qualities of a tea will surprise you. It's not something that you can plan. But I think this is one of the reasons why I recommend drinking the same type of tea during the week or perhaps comparing two or three different types of tea from the same region at once. You get to drink the tea at different times and perhaps in different places.

Perhaps our minds and bodies get more and more used to what we are drinking as well. Notice how it's hard to describe the flavor of something, but how easily you can picture it in your mind.

Once, I tasted a 40 year old port. It's was deliciously caramel. The experience was incredible, but I could never reproduce it again.

In any case, the discovery of tea is a journey that will take you to many different people, and to different places. Perhaps it is a medium for something greater.

Reply to
teadrinker

Hello, Melinda,

It's proverbial among campers that everything tastes better outdoors :) Earlier humans were outdoor beings; we had lived our lives and taken our sustenance from this fascinating planet. Artificial environments cannot duplicate the qualities without.

To live too much indoors, a recent thing, I think, is like having the indoor cat: there's the yearning to just get outside where we belong...

I'm new here, by the way... reading the wonderful past posts... I agree with Teadrinker that tea has spiritual aspects :)

Carl / tooo many 'o's in yahoo ;p

Reply to
carl

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