Steeping myself in Dragon Pearls tea
"When the tea came it was of a strength and darkness that reminded one more of meat extract than of some delicate infusion of leaves from India or Ceylon."
-Barbara Pym, The Sweet Dove Died
***
A few days ago, I impulsively opted to buy some $68-a-pound Dragon Pearls green tea. I only bought $2.50 worth, but it still made me feel like a rock star.
I don't know much about tea, because I tend to gravitate towards the toe-curling English breakfast varieties (PG Tips, Typhoo and Safeway Red Label, which I force my friend Adam to bring me whenever he comes to visit from London; he calls it "pure crap" but I choose to ignore him). The whole spectrum of Asian green varieties is a giant mystery to me and I often find them disappointingly subtle, probably because I have blown out my tastebuds on "pure crap". I always just end up choosing them based on the name, and anything with "monkey" in the title usually wins.
I brewed up some Dragon Pearls this afternoon, and I am now enamored of them despite their initially frightening appearance. Look:
At first, I thought I'd opened a jar of some weirdo hippie hairball treatment. Apparently they are hand-rolled into that shape, but I don't think monkeys (or dragons, for that matter) have anything to do with it. Slightly disappointing, I know. When they are immersed in hot water, they unfurl and begin to resemble crabs or spiders:
You can resuse the buds over and over. The tea that resulted was excellent: smooth, potent, and not bitter in the least. I am a convert.
-Barbara Pym, The Sweet Dove Died
***
A few days ago, I impulsively opted to buy some $68-a-pound Dragon Pearls green tea. I only bought $2.50 worth, but it still made me feel like a rock star.
I don't know much about tea, because I tend to gravitate towards the toe-curling English breakfast varieties (PG Tips, Typhoo and Safeway Red Label, which I force my friend Adam to bring me whenever he comes to visit from London; he calls it "pure crap" but I choose to ignore him). The whole spectrum of Asian green varieties is a giant mystery to me and I often find them disappointingly subtle, probably because I have blown out my tastebuds on "pure crap". I always just end up choosing them based on the name, and anything with "monkey" in the title usually wins.
I brewed up some Dragon Pearls this afternoon, and I am now enamored of them despite their initially frightening appearance. Look:
At first, I thought I'd opened a jar of some weirdo hippie hairball treatment. Apparently they are hand-rolled into that shape, but I don't think monkeys (or dragons, for that matter) have anything to do with it. Slightly disappointing, I know. When they are immersed in hot water, they unfurl and begin to resemble crabs or spiders:
You can resuse the buds over and over. The tea that resulted was excellent: smooth, potent, and not bitter in the least. I am a convert.
posted by cindym at 7:04 PM
3 Comments:
your blog is funny!
keep up the entertaining writing.
(I am with you on the tea, my mum sends me Tetley)
you should also try the jasmine balls (also only a splurge item). steep them in a glass and watch them unfurl into flowers. and the smell is beyond divine.
although, come to think of it, jasmine balls have also been called dragon pearls, maybe... and they do look like claws, maybe...
ok, now i'm confused. but either way, don't pass up on tea balls that are called jasmine anything!
cheers, raspberry sour
yeah, you're right. jasmine anything IS good. i'm not sure if the ones i bought were jasmine. i will investigate. isn't the world of tea daunting?
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