Feb 24, 2006

Time for tea.

Illustration Friday theme of 'Tea'.

3 comments:

Elwood H. Smith said...

Lovely, Vonster. The delicacy of your linear art fits tea to a T. I'm a big fan of tea, drinking 3 to 9 cups daily. For green, I drink loose tea--Fine Lung Ching. And English Breakfast is tops to jump start the gray cells first thing in the AM. Of course, on the days I pass the coffee shop during my 3 mile walk, I begin the morning with high octane caffeine!
-ES

Vonster said...

So Elwood is the brand called 'Fine Lung Ching'? I've recently taken a fancy to tea too. But I've just bought TAZO I'd like to try what you use, can you recommend one? I do like Earl Grey.

Elwood H. Smith said...

Vonster-

I'm sure there are many fine tea purveyors on the web, but I've been buying my loose tea from a fine company called Special Teas:

http://www.specialteas.com/

Along the left, click on Green Tea You can experiment with green teas from China, Japan and Taiwan/Formosa. I tried some Japanese teas, but locked in on a couple of favorites from China. At this writing, Special Teas is offering 31 greens from China.

For health reasons (real or imagined) I prefer to buy organic teas.

#523 is maybe my favorite all-around, daily green tea, but it isn't organic. I believe it was at one point, but it doesn't seem to be. The teas are often available one month and not the next--mus be seasonal or something.

Here's what SpecialTeas has to say about it:

The Lung Ching or "Dragons Well" with its subtle, chestnut flavor is probably the most renowned green tea in the world. Its mellow, slightly sweet taste makes it very enjoyable, even for the green tea novice. The leaves are dried in a hot wok. Skillful hands press the leaves against the sides of the wok and turn them repeatedly until they obtain their characteristically flat shape. This basic Lung Ching from the Chinese Zehjiang Province is an excellent value. Entirely handmade, it has the fresh aroma and beautiful jade-green color usually found in significantly more expensive grades.

They show a color photo of each brewed tea so you can see the color. They tell you how to brew it and how it is make and other details about the teas.

I'd suggest getting a small amount of those that appeal to you and, once you've found favorite ones, buying bigger bags. The Fine Lung Ching, by the way, is a very inexpensive tea, but great.

One thing I've learned is to brew it like they suggest--sometimes even for a shorter time--otherwise they can become bitter.

The following green teas ARE organic and each one is tasty.

# 520 China Gunpowder Organic is delicious.

#522 China Chun Mee Organic is even tastier in my opinion.

# 582 China Cui Ya Special Green Organic is excellent.

I get a great tasting black tea blend (in a handy tea bag, for first thing in the morning, sleepy-headed convenience) from Stash (good price, too!) called Organic Breakfast Blend. Deeelicious!
I usually start my day with a cup and then turn to green for my next several cups throughout the day. Guaranteed to make you more creative.

Here's a link to Stash:
http://shopstashtea.com/

And to the Organic Breakfast Blend:
http://shopstashtea.com/281800.html

Happy sipping!
-Elwood