Seeing an envelope from +Global Tea Hut sticking out of the mail box always puts a smile on my face. I always enjoy the tea and “gift” immensely but as time has gone by I’ve come to appreciate Tea & Tao Magazine more and more. So much hard work is put into sharing knowledge in a beautiful full color magazine. The depth of information that I find in its pages each month is invaluable. I really haven’t found any other resource that comes close. It reminds me of purchasing several issues of The Art of Tea when I first got into serious tea drinking. I barely understood most of the contents but I was so thirsty for knowledge of more than just the basics. What is even more amazing is that past issues are made available online for free.
June’s tea selection is a Wuyi Mountain oolong called Bai Ji Guan, or White Cockscomb. Reading about their recent trip to Wuyi while drinking really made the region and the tea come alive. I brewed it using the gongfu method in my teeny tiny Petr Novák teapot. I love this pot because it brews exactly one very small cup of tea. Initial sips were crisp and somewhat dry with a strong mineral note. A few infusions in this gave way to an almost fruit-like sweetness that lingered in my palate long after each sip. I found myself continuing to drink even after the flavor started to fade because it was still quite pleasant. This month’s gift was a handmade bookmark that contained a single tea leaf. The rough texture was quite striking. I’m inspired to try making tea leaf paper so you may see a post about that soon.
You can find our more about Global Tea Hut here.
