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!
