A Nice Cuppa

I had to make a health food store run yesterday to stock up the pantry. My favorite, Mama Jean’s Natural Market, is a bit of a drive for me so when I’m there I usually peruse the aisles much like I wander joyously through the library on a Saturday morning. At both places, I am always touched by the wonder of all that is available to me and from how far away, and I am moved by the blessing of living in a time and place of so much beauty and abundance.

Since the last time I was there, they’ve added many new lines and items, particularly to the tea section, so I was more like a kid in the proverbial candy store. That would be candy from unrefined sugar, of course. At least a dozen new labels of commercially prepared teas sat next to a dozen or more new bulk loose leaves and dried florals. I was in heaven. I stood there taking deep breaths for probably a full minute before I realized I might not look quite so crazy-lady if I pretended to read labels while I sniffed. There was a woman near me, scooping out herbes de’Provence, who seemd quite nervous. She looked at me sidelong several times, me standing there sniffing the air with my orgasmic demeanor, and then she hurried out of the section. I want to believe I wasn’t acting like I had my freak all on, but I think I need to face reality. So the next time you’re out shopping and see the crazy lady in the tea section, be kind because it might be me.

David Rio teas pulled my attention away from all the other commercially packed products. I love the simplicity of the packaging, the tall slender cylinder caught my eye right before I noticed the name “Dragon Pearls”, which I’d never heard before. I was hooked and I knew I had to have it, even though the $22.49 price tag for 3.1 oz did make me hesitate with it in my hand for a few seconds.

Let’s talk about Dragon Pearls. Originating in the Fujian Province of northern China, dragon pearls are made from the highest quality, youngest tea leaves. These leaves are picked within the first few weeks of each new growing season in the spring. After processing, each dragon pearl is rolled from two green tea leaves and one jasmine bud. Dragon Pearls are the most simply designed of the display teas, which are tea leaves that have been sewn together, sometimes along with dried floral blooms, to create blooming designs inside the cup when steeped. These are often presented in wine glasses rather than cups or mugs as a centerpiece dinner beverage. This example is available from Adagio Teas.

David Rio Teas began in 1996, first selling in Japanese catalogs and then being shelved domestically when demand became high enough here in the states. David Rio Fine Teas has won awards for Best of Show by the Seattle Coffee Fest, Best Packaging and Presentation by the Specialty Coffee Association of America, and Employer of the Year from the San Fransisco Mayor’s Committee for the Employment of People with Disabilities.

My first experience with Dragon Pearls came by following the directions carefully. I wasn’t sure what I was getting into so I didn’t want to do it wrong and then wonder if I’d experienced the tea to the fullest. I even used a thermometer to make sure my water heated to a perfect 185 degrees as directed on the label before pouring it over the 4 pearls in the bottom of the cup, and I timed the steep to exactly three minutes. None of that would be amazing to most people but this is me and my themes in life usually come from the back of t-shirts. The applicable one in this case is “If all else fails, follow directions.” I did follow directions this time, and to my amazement, it worked.

Although, I have to admit I wasn’t a believer at first. I was very doubtful that four of the little pearls would steep to any flavor at all. It seemed like such a miniscule amount in my hand. Delightedly, I can announce that I was wrong. While, in the future, I may use more pearls for my personal taste preferences, the label doesn’t lie. Four is an adequate amount.

I sat back and happily sipped for a few seconds, wondering why I was suddenly thinking about my summer childhood days at my grandmother’s house. I realized after half of a cup that the biggest reason I love green tea isn’t the taste itself or the antioxidant health benefits, it’s the emotional relaxation it brings to the surface. The taste of green tea reminds me of the smell of fresh cut grass down deep at the roots in a yard full of flowers, just like my grandmother’s yard when I was little. When I was a kid I was a Miss Priss in some ways but very much a Tom Boy in others. One of my Tom Boy inclinations was rolling around in the grass near the flower beds, closing my eyes, and smelling the dirt at the grass roots. That’s what green tea tastes like to me, and the David Rio was truly lovely.

After that first cup, the desire to make scones forced me into the kitchen. It’s hot - outside, inside - right now it seems hot just about everywhere, but after I drank that first cup of tea, I knew I wanted a real “tea time” more than I cared about turning on the stove and heating up the kitchen a bit. At Mama Jean’s, I’d also bought a scoop of lavender buds. Within 20 minutes I sat down to my second cup of tea with a hot lavender scone topped with real butter and ginger orange marmalade from France. I went all out, serving myself with my grandmother’s china and a cloth napkin. I may not be Meredith Baxter, but some days “I’m worth it”, even at $22.49 for 3.1 ounces.

Glenna Muse