Darjeeling Avongrove - Tea Gschwendner

It's definitely a winter wonderland around here. We didn't get nearly the amount of snow that was predicted -- only about 5 inches rather than the 12"+ we thought we might get -- but it's enough to be very beautiful. The kids didn't play outside too long today. I think the blowing snow was making them cold pretty quickly but I'm sure we'll be out in it quite a bit over the next few days.

I must confess that I didn't go outside on today's great snow adventure. I stayed in, baking cookies for Christmas, and sipping tea. (Chocolate chip/rice krispie cookies, frosted sugar cookies, and Mexican cinnamon/sugar cookies in case you were curious.) But I know you're actually much more interested in the tea.

Today's tea was a tea I've mentioned a few times since my October trip to Chicago - Darjeeling Avongrove from Tea Gschwendner. It is an organic 2nd flush Darjeeling FTGFOP-1 (Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe - grade 1).

The dry leaf is a mix of dark browns, light greens, rusts, and silver in thick meandering curves and waves. The scent was fresh and slightly lemon. I picked up notes of grape and even of fresh sawn lumber.

I brewed 1 1/2 tsp of the tea with 8 ounces of water just at boiling for 2 1/2 minutes. The tea's liquor was like golden honey with peach tones. The scent was like honey. I kept thinking of the word nectar. The wet leaf was more of a reddish brown. The leaves were flat with serrated edges. They were moderately sized leaves that had been broken into smaller pieces.

The taste was rich and malty with very little astringency. Warming. Cozy. Familiar, yet there was still something surprising about it. Haunting. I continue to be very intrigued by this tea. It is completely drinkable. It is not inexpensive but I certainly felt that it was worth its price.