Drink to feel healthy

Because I still have a whole ounce of the Genmalcha tea left, I didn't buy any more loose leaf tea today. Instead, I decided to purchase a single cup to try, and this week's is an Oolong, dubbed Dung ti. Oolong, as I discovered today, is the type of tea between green and black in oxidation level, although it is best steeped for the shorter time of a green tea. 

The first thing I noticed was the tea's rich, warm hue. I was reminded of all the times I have put a bottle of honey in the microwave to warm up and make dispensing honey easier, only to accidently burn myself of the runny honey because I left it in the microwave too long. I was surprised at the amber color, but then again, as this is the first Oolong tea I remember drinking, I'm not sure what I was expecting.

To my uneducated taste buds, Dung ti seemed a natural flavor, grassy with a hint of straw, or as my friend C. described it, "like a meadow." If I hadn't known it to be Oolong, I would probably have erroneously assumed it a green tea. The taste was light and rested on the middle of my tongue instead of spreading out and around the sides. However, my mouth seemed drier after I finished the tea than before, but perhaps that's a unique quirk of mine. 

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture. But here's the cup!

As she measured out leaves and pushed them into the small brewing bag, the barista told me the story of the customer who lived in China for years and drank Dung ti multiple times a day. When he moved back to the United States, he searched everywhere for a comparable blend, but he eventually had to resort to ordering Dung ti online. Upon drinking this tea from the shop, though, he confessed it was one of the closest things he'd found in the US. "And I take that as a compliment," said the barista.

While not a tea I might drink on a regular basis, I did enjoy it for the most part. Something about the flavor made me feel healthy, perhaps even healthier than when I drink green tea. Maybe Dung ti will become my After-Eating-Junk-Food-Tea, to make myself feel better. 

Tea leaves

The other day, I purchased my very first tea infuser and my very first packet of loose-leaf tea. My best friend K., who is a tea enthusiast, was quite proud to hear that I was finally venturing in her footsteps.

The tea I bought was a green blend dubbed Genmalcha. I have not found myself to be a fan of green tea in the past, not iced and not hot. Typically, I don't enjoy the usual taste of green tea, but I hear no end to the benefits of drinking it. I managed to conjure up enough courage to ask the woman in the shop that I stopped in if she could recommend a good green tea for me to try, and she pointed out several for me to smell. I was most intrigued by one that boasted a description of "sweet & unique blended with toasted rice!" To me, it smelled lightly of grass and popcorn.

As she weighed out 2oz for me, the woman explained that the Genmalcha tea dated all the way back to the time of the Chinese Emperors. Once, a servant accidently spilled rice into the emperor's tea, and the infuriated ruler had the servant beheaded immediately. On a whim, the emperor tasted the tea, and to his surprise, he found the rice added a delightful flavor. Filled with remorse at his hasty punishment, the emperor named the new blend after the dead servant, Genmalcha.

Using my infuser for the first time!

Brewed, the pale green tea still had the grass and popcorn aroma from before, and the taste was similar. It was light and delicate, a soothing flavor that did not distract or confuse. To me, Genmalcha seems to be a tea well suited to reading or writing, where the brain is occupied elsewhere. I think it will soon become a staple in my tea collection, for the brew is perfect unsweetened and does not leave an aftertaste at all. It is a kind of haiku, there on your tongue for a moment, and then gone. But I enjoy the moment.