Good...Really Good...Wow!

I'm so glad to be writing today. It's a spectacularly beautiful day. The sun is shining. It is warm. One child at school, one playing next to me (happily singing aloud without even realizing it), and the baby is exploring the toys on her playmat. It is a moment I want to capture...to stop time...In the midst of all the craziness in the world outside the house, it feel like drop of liquid gold.

I'm continuing to update my last post as tea companies announce efforts to support Japan. You can see the most complete version here.

The tea cabinet spring cleaning continues. Yes, I'm up to 25 teas. Just so you have some idea of the scope, here's a picture of the cabinet. And there's also a few shelves elsewhere. Again, much of this is tea that I've received as samples or gifts. I'm getting excited as I see space freeing up. My hope is to get down to one shelf of teas I really love, space for new samples coming in, and a place to display teaware.  I must say though that this is my favorite cleaning project to date. So fun to revisit teas I've loved. You can follow the progress on my twitter feed (username Teapages) or on our Facebook page. Since my last blog report here's the status:

Keeping:
Adagio's Anhui Keemun
Equal Exchange Darjeeling 1st Flush
Persimmon Tree Tea Company Mandarin Silk
Tavalon Tea's Genmai Cha
TeaZone Very Berry
Yogic Chai Coconut Masala Chai


Finished:
Indonique Earl Grey
Mighty Leaf Okayti Darjeeling Autumn Flush


Sharing:
Adagio Ceylon Sonata
Berrys' Tea English Breakfast - Shared this with my neighbor too
Mark T. Wendell Formosa Keemun - Gave to a neighbor


Tossing:
Aura Teas Formosa Mingjian GABA tea
Tealuxe Tiger Hill Nilgiri
Virtuous Teas Pu-er


Now, on to the title of today's post - Good...Really Good...Wow! This refers to some new samples I received from Persimmon Tree Tea Company. This California-based company offered to send me some samples and, even with the tea declutter, accepted. The first thing I want to mention is how beautiful their packaging is. The teas arrived in tall slender cylindrical tins. There's something elegant about the shape to me. The labels use earthy soft colors - sand, taupe, and cream with a bolder colored box for the tea name. Packaging doesn't usually receive this much attention from me, but this was just so well done. I noticed the prominent note about recycling, but was thinking that this is one I will certainly reuse, making it even more environmentally friendly.

I received four teas, but will only address three today. Let's start with the "Good." One package was labeled "Classic Black." It is a Nilgiri/Yunnan blend. It has a beautiful scent - fresh and slightly earthy. The leaves are a nice bold brown with some curl and some gold from the Yunnan. This black had a nice flavor, some strength but not astringent. It was a perfectly pleasant black. I didn't flip over it, but on the other hand, I don't always have to flip over it. "Good" is not a criticism. It is a very solid everyday tea. Classic Black is well-named and nicely representative of a daily tea. I'll likely share some of this one (but I'm keeping the container.)

Tea two I call "Really Good." It was the Coconut Cream, a white tea with coconut, safflowers, and cornflowers. You probably know by now that I'm a sucker for coconut tea. Usually, though, it has been in black teas and chai blends. I don't know that I've had a white tea/coconut combination before and it's a winner. The white tea is delicate enough to enhance, but not compete, and to add some sweetness. The coconut feels fresh in flavor, not cloying. It's a beautiful light tea that I think would be phenomenal iced. Sorry friends, I'm keeping this one for sure.

Number three is my "WOW!" This was the Mandarin Silk. It is a pouchong (a super light oolong - one of my favorites anyway) with lemon myrtle, marigolds, and vanilla. The vanilla sent was strong but I was also picking up a creamy aroma that I couldn't put my finger on. The leaves are long with green edges, with the golden marigold petals mixed in. When I brewed the tea the kitchen was filled with an absolutely heavenly scent. Then it hit me - BUTTERCREAM FROSTING. That's exactly what this tea smelled like to me. The taste did not disappoint. It reminded me of buttercream with a touch of orange. I have had other silk teas with very mixed results. Some have been truly awful to me. Some companies use silk and milk oolongs interchangeably although milk oolong has a very specific definition. I've had an occasional silk oolong that I like. (Tea forte - a company for whom I do paid work on occasion so take this comment as you will - had a loose leaf silk that I liked and I think it was the first that I found really notable.) But this one from Persimmon Tea I actually crave. Opening the tin almost makes me hungry. Definitely worth a try.

Well, I've definitely enjoyed this little writing session. Now I'm off to hurtle into the rest of the day - getting oldest from school along with his friend, gymnastics class, and trying to figure out how to make dinner when the fridge practically echoes.

Happy Friday!