Rare Tea Co – Whole Leaf Green Tea
The weather has turned warm of late, so it’s time to break out the brisk, bright flavours of green tea.
That’s a fib of course. I mean, I am drinking green tea. That much is true, but my choice of tea has got nothing to do with the ambient temperature of The Outside.
There are people who do this. They review spicy blacks in winter, green citrusy teas in the spring and cold fruity brews in summer. I admire them. They seem like people who have got their shit together.
They are probably the same people who swap the clothes in their wardrobe over twice a year. They put away their winter wear and get out their “summer wardrobe” like they are two completely separate, non-interchangeable things.
Me, I just wear the same things all year round with slightly varying amounts of layers. It’s the same with tea. I’d be completely happy to drink Christmas tea all year round. I mean, black tea with citrus and spices – what’s not to love? It seems a pity to restrict it to the three months or so that seem to constitute Christmas these days.
And I’m mighty fond of a nice cup of green tea too. Although I drink a lot less of it than I do black tea. I’m not sure why that is. Whenever I drink green tea, I think “this is nice. I should do this more often”.
This whole leaf green tea from the Real Tea Company is very nice indeed. It just calls itself ‘green tea’ on the tin. But the blurb on the back tells me that it is from a Chinese tea variety known as ‘white monkey paw’.
It certainly looks the business. There are long, twisted rolls which unravel themselves into whole green leaves during steeping. I brewed it at 80 degrees but there was still a bit of astringent bitterness to it on the first go. But by the second steep, it had mellowed out completely and produced a lovely fresh flowery, flavourful brew.
It’s a lovely tea to drink in the garden on a late spring day. Or in front of a fire on a winter’s evening. Or in a caravan during a hailstorm in October, if that’s what takes your fancy. It’s always the right time to drink tea.
Today’s featured book is All The Tea in China by Wang Jian.
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