Sunday, April 8, 2012

What's for Easter?


On this religious and colourful holiday, I prepared a festive cha xi to pair with some good quality cooked ham and free-range eggs. (I did not forget wine, but that is another story.)


Earlier on, I spoke about tea cultivars from various tea regions in this article. The tea I drank today is labelled Taiwan No. 18 and comes from Yu Chi village in Nantou. Its leaves are very dark, almost black I would say. They smell good, a combination of honey flowery scents. A rather promising start.


This being a red tea, I used my zhuni pot to help the tea perform better and achieve a tastier result. The brew was a rich golden hue and smells a bit like concorde grapes and similar to gummy sweets. Interestingly, I picture dark purple orchids which come to mind because of its natural and rather floral scent as well.


In between brews, I dug into some savoury light bites that include hard boiled eggs and cooked ham. This red tea complements the richness of the meat very well, reminding me of the influence that tea can have in every facet of our lifestyle. The possibilities are infinite in the world of food and tea. 


In itself, the tea is rather smooth on the tongue and palate with an aftertaste that weakens significantly between brews. However, it is still possible to prepare this tea to a  maximum of 8 times in this case where the powerful overtones of floral and honeyed notes continue to be released during each infusion.

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