Tea from the Garden

 Did you know tea grows in my garden?

The official name is camellia sinensis.

It is in the camellia family.

Can you see the similarity?

It takes about 5 years for a plant to mature enough to pick.

Some of my plants are about 9 years old now.

I have plucked them in the spring for about 4 years. 

Then there are some new plants that I am waiting to mature.

All together there are 7 or 8 plants in the garden.

In 2019 I pick one flush (picking) in early spring.

I processed it by stir frying in a cast iron skillet.

It was a hot day.

The tea had a slight smoky flavor and made about two small pots of tea.

Later in the spring I decided to pick once again, usually I only pick once.

This time I processed it by wrapping it tightly in a cotton tea towel

and forming a small ball of tea.

For some reason I hadn't tasted it; so today was the day to steep the tea.

It made one small pot of about 3 cups of tea.

I cozied up in my comfy chair and sipped.

Of course there was a treat too, a carrot cupcake.

The tea had a much different taste just by the difference in processing.

It was slightly green, but more like a white tea.

My "live-in gardener" said it tasted like a high end tea.

Now that was a compliment.

It did taste quite delightful and I enjoyed my home-grown tea in my cup.

Do you ever make something from scratch that you are proud of?

It is quite rewarding!

Dear friends, hope you weekend is delightful!