Seeing that big brown envelope from +Global Tea Hut sticking out of my mailbox puts a smile on my face every month. Even if I’m having a bad day, my mood lifts immediately and I rush inside to dive into the contents. This month is particular was one I was looking forward to because it the one and only tea that they repeat every year. Last year’s Elevation was phenomenal so my expectations were set a bit high. Global Tea Hut has this tea especially made by Mr. Su with less withering than usual. Weather has a huge effect on the finished tea during processing and this tea was a great lesson in that. Due to a lack of rainfall, last year’s offering was more oxidized than this year’s. That was definitely visible in the leaves, especially after brewing.
Bowl brewing is absolutely the way to go with this one. The leaves were beautiful to watch unfurl and they were absolutely huge. It made me wish that there was some way to preserve them. The accompanying issue of Tea & Tao Magazine focused on fire, the teacher of tea. I have no way of safely burning charcoal to make tea but the articles were still very interesting. The gift this month was postcards with the beautiful artwork of Stephanie Ayres. The art cards in her Etsy shop are definitely on my wishlist.
It’s hard to believe but this is my 16th shipment from Global Tea Hut. It’s been an incredible journey, teaching me so much about both tea and myself. I don’t know if you guys get tired of hearing me talk about it but I really can’t recommend their subscription service enough.