Lockdown & Tea: A Time to Identify One's Beloved Teas

[Ethan Kurland]

Not by myself, but never more alone, I am now able to know which teas I like (& do not like) better than ever (probably).

I am in a house taking care of a woman, my first love, with whom I lived for 6 1/2 years, ending in the early 80s. I only agree to be with her when she needs help. This time she had a knee replacement. 4 years ago, it was a punctured lung & broken ribs. This time I am not taking a break to go for a swim nearby. There is nothing for me to do outside of her home because of Covid 19.

In her home there is a CD player that she alone can operate. She has remembered to turn it on for me once. There is no television nor radio. There are hundreds of books, hundreds of magazines such as the New Yorker, & many reminders that I once loved being around intellectuals, people who read a lot & learned a lot. I was lazier than all of them & not as smart as most of them, but able to soak up some knowledge just by talking with them & the occasional reading that I would do that was inspired by them.

I came with Shanlinxi & Dayuling. The dayuling is what it has been, but I am not. I had been misunderstanding what I was tasting. E.g., I had not realized how much minerals were involved nor appreciating the hint of mint. I don't want to look at my past descriptions & identifications of flavors. I wish I had just said that the DYL that I drink & sell is excellent. (Vague words from a good guy like me should be efficient, yes?). I don't think I have ever said that I love it. Now I realize that I do.

I do not love the Shanlinxi. I like it. I enjoy drinking it. I won't buy it again. The floral flavor makes me feel as if heavy perfume was spilled on me & around me. I think I like a tiny bit of sweet flavor from tea but not what seems like sugared essence of flowers, which this makes me imagine. It is not bad really, but I am concentrating on flavor in this lockdown (to ignore the troubles that someone caused herself by not finishing her dissertation & allowing herself to become very strange & morbidly obese etc.).

When I return to my little studio, I will enjoy drinking aged roasted oolong & the best black tea of Taiwan. I know I am very lucky to be able to obtain them. I know that they are special. I also know that I like them vey much but do not love them. As for other teas, right now I think I can go without drinking any at all. (I like some beverages made from grains & molasses with milk. I am sure.)

I am in a house with someone who has dozens of teas from Harney & Sons, dozens of teas from Upton, & teas from other vendors. I don't like any of them. I think that the person who bought & stores so many teas & drinks them, does not love any of them. She loves to eat large quantities, her plants, & reading.

I will buy Longfanxia again. (Spelling correct?) I think I can love it. Perhaps as much as the DYL, I can love it. When home alone again, next week, in lockdown I'll order some, & soon after I will know. It's a good time to learn such things.

[LeoFox]

One day, please publish a tea memoir.

[Bok]

Nice train of thoughts...

[mbanu]

Old issues of the New Yorker have quite a bit to say about tea! New York was the heart of the American tea industry for many years. You may even find common ground between Harney & Sons and the rare teas of Taiwan. The history of Taiwanese tea and American tea are intertwined; you can't truly understand the history of either without learning the history of both.

[karma]

I've found something similar. During lockdown, my girlfriend and I bounced from place to place a month at a time for 5 months. Tea had to be taken, of course, but bringing the full pumidor to her parents house seemed ill advised. So for several of these places we only had a few teas: Hong Kong Henry Conscientious Perscription, 8582-801. And as we moved around, and the storage conditions changed, and now that we've come back and they've rested for months. All through that, the cakes changed (often not for the better, until back in proper storage). But it felt like getting to know a friend in a lot of ways and having the selection so limited made me realize how much familiarity and past experiences play in making a tea something cherished.

[d.manuk]

Da Yu Ling is the best tea

[Noonie]

I enjoyed reading your post @Ethan Kurland, thanks for sharing.

i feel like we have similar trains of thought, though I'm not as good at expressing myself through words.

Before lockdown, and during lockdown, nothing has changed in the number of tea sessions i have or the types of tea. What is different though, is how I have more time to spend (at home) on my session with sencha around lunch time, and a pu'er before dinner. And with more time comes more thought about the tea, and tea in general; not every session, but those where I'm not multi-tasking with work (on a call, etc.). I feel like this has been a double-edged sword though. I'm now more spoiled with time for tea, and access to all of my teaware and kettle, so I'm having more sessions without interuptions (like would happen at work). However, each session has in someway lost a quality that I cannot put my finger on. Kind of like my thoughts on working full time (still doing) vs. retirement: when I find time in a work week for something that I like (cycling, hiking, visiting a record shop) I really appreciate the activity, but I'm usually pressed for time before and after and as such time isn't as free flowing in that day as I would like; although, when I'm retired and have ample time for my interests, will I appreciate them the same way? Feels like it comes down to control--how much control I have (or not) over my time, what I want to do with it, and for how long. Most days are good, but sometimes I'm annoyed after a tea session, whereby I didn't think enough about the experience as I was distracted.

Snowing here outside Toronto and we're going tobogganing tonight - can't wait!