Present Joys

It’s been three months since my last tea order, and I’m just about out of what I have! Time for some new summer teas. The theme for this order is low maintenance! Most of these teas will admirably take a beating. I can make a pot at 10am and finish drinking it at 5pm when it’s cold. Unfortunately, that’s how I roll in the summer.

Season’s Pick Keemun BOPF. “Season’s Pick” is code for “on sale”. I always like to have Keemun around, and since I bought a high grade last time, I figured I’d opt for something coarser this time around. Cheap Keemun is good cold, which is perfect for summer.

Lapsang Souchong. Until a few months ago, my cabinet was never without some kind of Lapsang Souchong, and I’d drink it every saturday morning, no exceptions. This february, I decided to take a little break from it. But I have missed it a lot and will be very happy to have it back in rotation.

No.1 Tippy Orthodox GFOP Darjeeling. I’m really not a Darjeeling connoisseur but this is a pretty safe bet. The most expensive tea I ordered this time around, but one of the least expensive Darjeelings.

Rose Congou. I ordered some of this last spring (originally discovered an alternative to Lychee tea) and really enjoyed it. It’s a somewhat astringent black tea with dried rose petals (which really do add a lot of flavor). Freakishly inexpensive: $3.90 for 125g!

Yunnan TGFOP. I haven’t had any Yunnans for a couple months and I’ve really missed them. This tea is unique among the rest of what I ordered because I’ll always put milk in this one. Good for when I want to pretend it isn’t summertime.

Summer Blend. According to my logs, I haven’t had this since aug 2009. It’s a great, refreshing black tea with juniper and bilberries. Really unique and delicious, but very sensitive to over-steeping.