Feeding my habit…
Am I buying ceramics to fulfill my need for beautiful tea ware?
Or, am I studying and buying tea to justify my ceramic purchases? That is the question!
Here are some of the teas I’ve been trying over the past month:
The Japanese Yabukita Black is from the Japanese words ‘yabu’ meaning bamboo grove and ‘kita’ meaning north. [1] I enjoyed this black tea which I will describe as ‘caramel’ - dark caramel in colour, and both aroma and flavour had hints of caramel. I could really appreciate this tea after dinner, with or without a splash of milk.
Wild Lapsang Souchong [2] is a black tea from Wuyi Mountain, China in the northern part of the Fujian province.
Just delicious, with a hint of molasses!
White Vanilla Coconut [3] - white tea (Pai Mu Tan), shredded coconut🥥, blue mallow flowers, rosebuds🌹, natural and artificial flavours [4]
The floral and coconut scents overpower the aroma of the tea (when dry), but when brewed that bright taste of white tea comes through. This is a lovely blend, probably more so because of my love of coconut and my penchant for floral teas. It has a very smooth mouth feel, and a sweet, custard flavour. The tea lasts on the tongue. I could drink this (unadorned) as a nice afternoon tea. I’d like to try it iced in the summer.
“Tea is a religion of the art of life.”
Recent Pottery Purchases
I really liked all my new pieces, but the ones from Umi Tea Sets were just stunning. Not only were they beautifully crafted, but they were very well packaged and arrived in perfect form. They may have taken a little longer to get here, but definitely worth the wait. As a ceramic specialist I have to say these pieces are outstanding, and I will treasure them forever.
[1] Both the Yabukita Black and Wild Lapsang Souchong were purchased at Tea Trader in Calgary. The desciption of Yabukita Black can be found here: https://mrmaxeystea.com/product/yabukita-black/
[2] https://mrmaxeystea.com/?s=wild+lapsang
[3] The blended White Vanilla Coconut was purchased at Oolong Tea Shop in Calgary.
[4] The fact this tea has artificial flavours means I likely will not buy it again. It’s my own fault for smelling the sample but not reading the ingredient list before purchase. My purchase was definitely influenced by the fact it has shredded coconut in it.
