Today I’m relaxing at home (against all odds I might add; thank you ye smirking braided snow gods!) after an exhausting weekend on the road. To say that today is a red letter blue moon would be an understatement: it’s the first day since the late 1970s that my workplace has been closed on account of snow. For decades the University of Michigan has laboured under the preposterous hubris that our fleet of snow movers and melters was more than adequate to the task of keeping campus open. When it comes to an institution as large as the Univeristy, time isn’t just money, it’s prestige. *rolls eyes* When my father who’d retired from the same institution after being on the job for 25 years heard about this he told me i was lying and playing hooky. Not true! xO
To celebrate I’m enjoying a fabulous if toxic Oolong. I used to be a huge fan of Jun Chiyabari, before i realized that Oolong is particularly insidious to my digestive system. It’s woody, like a White but nutty and gritty like an Oolong. This Jun Chiyabari that hails from Nepal (swoon) is a TGFOP. In the obscure/all-but-dead language of Tea Leaf Grading, TGFOP translates to “Twiggy Golden Flowery main grade”. There are few among us who yet speak this ancient tongue fluently, so please don’t worry about trying to understand what any of that means. Basically my rough translation is “complex and fun”, so i like to think it suits me. ;)
Jun Chiyabari tends to be more bitter than other Oolongs, and the twiggier it is, the woodier (better) the texture. This Jun Chiyabari has a dirty, moss-like aroma and similarly muddy taste. Definitely not recommended if you’re someone who often sweetens your tea. Otherwise, it’s all kinds of terrific and unique. Since I purchased mine from a local international market, By The Pound, that doesn’t retail online, here’s one I’d easily endorse. ;)
選別 parting.gifts 