The Melting Teapot

This is a tale of a finicky tea, one that took some time and a bit of thoughtful coaxing to bring forth its unique characteristics.  It was my first time trying this oolong, which I purchased from Brett of Black Dragon Tea Bar:  Lishan Ming Gang Tea Garden Winter 2009 High Mountain Oolong. Brett’s tasting notes listed “fruity (mostly peach and pear), rosy, sulfur (as in natural hotsprings), buttery, and mineral.”  

I filled my kettle and boiled the water, then prepared the tea gongfu style. The creamy, buttery texture of the tea was nice, but the aroma and the flavor were quite distant.  I hadn’t been able to tease much out with the first steeping.

Second Try: Longer Brew Time

I filled the pot with boiling water again.  This time the tea steeped for quite a while, perhaps even three minutes.

Unfortunately, while more flavor came through, it was now overly bitter from being overbrewed. Plus, as the temperature of the tea cooled in my cup, the flavors diminished even further.  I could still make out the minerality that seems to be a characteristic of all the Lishan teas I’ve sipped, but the higher floral and fruity notes just weren’t there. I sipped from my small cup but knew the tea wasn’t showing itself as well as it could.

It was definitely time to start over!  Perhaps I needed to use more leaves in order to get a bigger flavor without it going bitter from oversteeping?  

As I pulled the wet leaves from the ceramic teapot, the aroma of sulfur was very evident.   I’ve been told that Lishan Mountain has many natural hot springs, and I’ve gotten this sulfur aroma before from the region’s oolongs.  It is not a nasty rotten egg smell, more of a musky mineral element.  It really gives one a sense of the terroir of the tea.

Why was the fragrance of the leaves in the pot so strong, yet none of that was coming through in the cup? I began to wonder if I needed to switch to a different pot, so I pulled out a yixing to try instead.

Third Try: New Pot

I chose a yixing that I have used for Lishans and Alishans in the past.  It has a very wide mouth with a snub nose,  and it is round and squat (which I was hoping might allow the tea leaves to expand and unfurl easily and evenly).

Ahhhhhhhhhhh . . . much better!

I’m not sure if it was the shape of the pot, or if it was the yixing clay, but already this first short steeping had more character than what I'd tasted before.  I’ve noticed that yixing pots hold on to the heat more than porcelain ones, and it could be that this particular oolong needs to stay hot while it is steeping.  It could also be that using an unglazed clay pot helped work through the mineral flavors, promoting them at the same time as pulling the other elements out of the tea.

The fragrance was very nice, with a light touch of the sulfur, surrounded by wildflowers and something that is a bit grassy or weedy.  If this were a wine, I’d identify it as French or at least “old world” in style.  It was dry, tannic, kind of funky, and filled with complex secondary flavors.  The buttery element on the tea provided a creamy contrast to the drying sensation in the throat.

I’m very happy to have started over with this tea.  Let this be a personal lesson for me - - it is important to select a brewing vessel that compliments and enhances an individual tea.

This past weekend, Jeff and I attended the DeLille Spring Barrel Tasting in Woodinville.  This is the second time we’ve attended, and I think this year’s was even better than the last.   DeLille Cellars is one of my favorite Washington wineries, and I really enjoy getting a chance to taste a few of their wines before they get bottled.  It’s a great way to learn about the process that wine goes through, and I always take notes to compare later once the wine is bottled and ready to drink (and years later, after its been in the cellar for a while).

I took many photos with my iPhone, sipped wonderful wine, and enjoyed spending time with my husband on a beautiful afternoon. The two wines being sampled from the barrel Sunday were the upcoming releases of the DeLille Cellars D2 (Bordeaux-style red blend) and the Doyenne AIX (syrah, cab sauv, mourvedre).

The Aix was very nice, but the mourvedre seemed less pronounced this year and the wine was greener and a bit raw. It didn’t have the complex layers that I noted from last year’s barrel tasting, but it was quite easy to sip.  It still has some time to develop in the bottle, and it will be interesting to see where it ends up.

The D2 was really wonderful. It was lighter on the oak flavors than last year, which is a good thing in my book, and it had an interesting and complex profile.  We’ve been lucky enough to have tried D2s from just about every vintage they’ve had, and I can vouch for how well it ages.  It’s also a nice wine to drink early, if you want bigger fruit and and a wide awake style.

In addition to having the opportunity to taste wine from the barrel, we were also poured glasses of four other wines from their cellar:  Chaleur Estate Blanc, Chaleur Estate Red, Doyenne Syrah, and the last release of AIX.  We were happy to find that these wines were discounted for purchase that day, so we made sure to grab a few bottles to take home.

This year, instead of the standard cheese, crackers, and a few appetizers, we had a tasty lunch provided by Skillet Street Food.

People from the Seattle area are familiar with the popular street food purveyor, which changes locations each day (check their web site or follow them on twitter).  We had a choice between a pork sandwich or vegetarian risotto, plus handcut fries.  Jeff loved the sandwich, and I was very happy with the Spring Risotto loaded with golden beets and asparagus.  The risotto went perfectly with the Chaleur Estate Blanc I was sipping, but then I already knew the Chaleur Blanc always pairs well with food.  It is one of those go-to wines we select at restaurants or bring to dinners, always secure in knowing it will turn out beautifully.

There was also a fun local band, Four.  We’ve listened to them at previous DeLille tastings, and they were part of the reason I wanted to attend this event.  Four is made up of 4 very talented musicians who do great justice to classic rock.  They said they’ll be releasing a CD soon, and I’m really looking forward to hearing it.

Great band, nice wine, good food, and discounts on wines purchased.  All this, on a beautiful spring afternoon -- doesn't get much better than that! 

How beautiful the Earth is still
To thee–how full of Happiness
Emily Brontë

Clouds gave way to blue sky here, and the sun made the afternoon quite pleasant.  As the day became more and more gorgeous, it was definitely time to get myself outdoors. So, I made some oolong tea for a stroll around the yard, where I sniffed and enjoyed the many spring blossoms and new leaves.

I could hear the Bald Eagles that nest in a nearby tree, as well as various small birds trilling their intricate songs.  I listened to them and took a sip of my oolong.

2009 Spring Mu-Zha Tie Guan Yin, Hand-Harvested, from Hou de Asian Art & Tea

This tea was a light rusty-orange color.  The sweet aroma of the roasted oolong led into beautiful caramel notes when sipped, but this was tempered by a firm sense of citrus. Although it is a heavy-roast tie guan yin, the tea was not very smoky.

I was overly cautious in the first brewing and didn’t let it steep long enough, so the second steeping got an extra minute.  With the extra time, the citrus became more pronounced, moving toward a refreshing citrus peel as the taste extended for several minutes.  A creamy texture at the back of the throat was further evidence of a high quality oolong.

I sniffed again, this time catching the essence of blossoms on top of the caramel, quickly followed by the zing of citrus.  It reminded me of the orange caramel toffees that were one of my favorite candies as a child. This was a wonderfully complex cup of tea, one that was perfect for sipping and contemplating my world.

In the spirit of Earth Day, I began to wonder just how environmentally friendly my cup of Tie Guan Yin was.   Recently, I was pointed toward this blog post “Conversations About Organic Cultivation of Tea,” from Life in a Teacup, by Gingko.  If you click through to the blog, make sure you read the comments because they are as interesting as the original post.  It is good to know the tea agriculture community in China is becoming more aware of the need to control pesticides, and to respect and nurture our earth.

One last note: if you'd like to celebrate Tea on Earth Day, click over to Adagio Teas' Plant a Tea Tree-Reap the Harvest.  No purchase is necessary, and you get to choose your plot for a tea tree (and eventually sample tea from it!).

If you’re a wine geek like me, though, it is the Wine and Cheese Flights menu that draws you back.  You can experience these in the Brasserie restaurant, in its wine bar, or next door at the more laid back Artisanal Table (with its fabulous antipasto bar and a great Italian wine list).

Here is the “Luscious Flight" I had when we visited a few days ago:

From left to right: triple cream cheese with a rose champagne, a camembert with cote du rhone, and a creamy gorgonzola with madeira.

It was a wonderfully tasty flight, and I fell in love with the lush gorgonzola. When it came to the actual pairings between wine and cheese, my favorite was the middle one: a Cote du Rhone with Camembert.  The other two were very nice, but the CDR-Camembert combo is one that I am going to take with me to future wine-tasting parties.  It was one of those pairings that provided a contrasting flavor profile, where the wine and cheese were distinct from each other yet created an even more interesting flavor than they had on their own.

The chef-celeb of the place is Terrance Brennan, also chef/proprietor of the renowned Artisanal Fromagerie in New York City.  He must make fairly regular treks between the two coasts, since he often offers special classes or makes appearances at the local Sur La Table shop.

In my visits to the Artisanal Brasserie and Table, I’ve never actually met, or even seen Brennan. For me, the cheese master of the restaurant is Doug, the cheese & wine sommelier. I am so happy to find someone who not only wants to pair the food and wine, he wants to TALK about it.  He’ll come over to verify the choices you’ve made, or to ask what sorts of cheese and wines you prefer, then heads back to the cheese counter to create your plate.  A little while later, Doug almost always returns to make sure the choices suited the diners.  I’ve learned quite a few tidbits of pairing info and advice from him, which is always an added benefit for me. 


Now is a great time to try this restaurant because they are participating in Seattle Restaurant Week.  Over the next few days, they’ll be offering a 3-course lunch for just $15, dinner for $25.

Check their web site for other special offers, and for interesting classes and tasting events. It is worth taking advantage of any special deals and offers because the Artisanal Brasserie can get rather pricy, especially if you start adding on wine. Wine Geek Alert: on Monday evenings, bottles of wine are half-price, and corkage (on wine you bring yourself) is free.

I wanted something light and zippy to go with the Sole we were having for dinner last night.  After a quick look at what we had on hand, I came up with this Strawberry Arugula Salad.  It made my tastebuds very happy, so I made the salad again for today's lunch.

There is no formal recipe, but the necessary ingredients are:

• Arugula (small leaves or "baby" arugula)
• Lemon
• Sea salt
• Strawberries, cut into chunky halves or thirds
• Yogurt, plain or citrus flavor
• Optional: Honey to sweeten yogurt

Toss the arugula with a few squeezes of fresh lemon and a pinch of sea salt. In another bowl, mix the strawberries with a spoonful of yogurt.  To serve, put the arugula on a salad plate, creating sort of a nest.  Add a big scoop of the strawberries on top of the arugula.

The peppery arugula nicely contrasted the tartness of the early season strawberries, and the salad was a wonderful accompaniment to the fish. 

On its own the next day, I added a squeeze of honey to the yogurt to keep the salad from being too sour. This was partly because I was using a rather tangy yogurt, a new product discovered at a nearby grocery store:  siggi’s Icelandic style skyr.

This is an interesting yogurt with lots of natural goodness, live cultures, and only a few ingredients: skim milk, agave nectar, candied ginger, orange extract, live active cultures, vegetable rennet.  In spite of the agave nectar, it is quite a sour yogurt.  It reminds me of the yogurts we made at home when I was a kid, although the siggi is quite a bit thicker in density.

Wine Pairing

There was some Riesling already open in our frig, but that did not pair well at all!  After a couple of sips, I gave up and saved the glass for later.  My hope was that the minerality, sweetness, and petrol quality would provide a counterpoint to the salad.  Instead, the wine absolutely smothered it, making the strawberries taste too green and the arugula too bitter.

I did a bit of research after lunch and found one wine pairing web site that says bitter foods (like arugula) can “combine with the bitterness inherent in oak or from tannins, making oak-free, crisp, light intensity wines an ideal match.“

Next time I make this salad, I’ll open up an Alabarino or Torrontes.  They’re both aromatic white wines with a fresh, crisp taste.  A rosé or dry champagne would probably work nicely, also.