Drinking tea is one of my favorite moments of the day. I like to take my time to be fully present when I’m brewing my cup of tea. That’s my short moment of relaxation throughout the day.
What can make it an even more special moment?
Enjoying very good quality tea. Knowing that the tea you’re drinking has been grown with love and pure passion for tea. That’s what makes you your tea taste surprisingly better.
Masters Teas review
I recently received some tea to review from Masters Teas.
Here’s how they describe themselves :
“The intention of Masters Teas is to share the finest, freshest specialty teas direct from the farms where they grow. We invite you to get to know the artisans who tender them and learn their stories. It is not necessary to be a tea connoisseur to enjoy these exceptional productions, as we intend to offer as much information as possible to help you on a journey of tea discovery. Masters Teas is proud to offer you our 2019 fresh-from-the-field teas the moment they arrive. Each offering is a limited edition, small lot production.”
It’s difficult to resist such a description!
What I love about the Masters Teas, besides the quality of their tea, is that they show you the story behind the tea you’re buying.
For each tea, you can see who is the farmer that grown and picked up your tea and when. You know where are they from, you even see a picture of them!
This got me so excited to try their tea! This simple fact of knowing who put the effort and love to grow the tea leaves that I’m holding in my hand, makes me enjoy my tea even more.
Every cup of tea is special, making you more aware of the whole process behind your teacup knowing that I didn’t get a mass product tea.
Shi Feng long jing
Description: Crisp, delicately nutty body, with a hint of sweet grass and apricot blossoms.
Mindful moment when opening the tea bag:
Close your eyes and smell the tea leaves inside the bag
Strong grassy base with hints of sweet flowery smell. It made me think of summer days in my grandparents’ garden. It did put a smile on my face thinking about those moments when I was a happy kid running in the grass.
Smell:
After steeping, it has an initial sweet smell and after you let it sit for a few more minutes the grassy smell is more accentuated
Taste: It makes a pale-colored tea with a refreshing and strong green tea flavor.
Steep: 2-3 minutes at 76°C (160°F)
Farmer:
Guo Ya Ling is from Zhejiang, China and she started working with tea when she was 20. She definitely enjoys her everyday tea and she recommends to keep Shi Feng long jing tea in the fridge.
Shincha genmaicha
Description: Toast, candied nuts, and light vegetal spring greens.
Mindful moment when opening the tea bag:
I felt the relaxation of a cozy evening cuddled up with a bowl of popcorn and the person I love next to me.
Smell: The smell of roasted puffed rice is predominant. Hidden behind it there is a light grassy smell.
Taste: I know that the tea experts might disagree with my following description but for me, this tea tastes like freshly out of the oven bread.
Steep: 2-3 minutes at 82°C (180°F)
Farmer:
Katahira is from Shizuoka, Japan and he has been growing tea for 15 years.
His advice for brewing your best cup of tea is to “Brew a cup of tea with love, That would be the best extra flavor”
Da fo long jing
Description: Light bodied with soft chestnut and a lovely floral undertone.
Mindful moment when opening the tea bag:
It makes me think of a hot summer day, in a garden filled with the smell of hay drying in the warm rays of the sun.
Smell: it has a fresh and crispy smell surrounded by sweet floral tones.
Taste:
This tea has a very subtle flavor, you will feel like a thin veil of green tea aroma is tickling your taste buds
Steep: 2-3 minutes at 76°C (170°F)
Farmer:
Liu Yi Qian is from Zhejiang, China and she started working with tea right after graduating from high school.
Her advice for brewing your best cup of tea is to use spring water or mineral water with a temperature of 80-90 degrees Celcius.
Jin kong que
Description: Intricate notes of honey, toastiness, cocoa, and roasted sweet potato.
Mindful moment when opening the tea bag:
It has a strong sweet smell almost like you’re smelling candies
Smell: Subtle sweet smell at the base of the warming black tea. Right after steeping you can also feel the smell of roasted sweet potato.
Taste:
It has a full black tea flavor with smooth sweet after taste.
Steep: 2-3 minutes at 100°C (212°F)
Farmer:
Zhao Ji Lin from Yunnan, China. He is 53 yo and his parents were tea farmers. He started to help them when he was 10.
His advice for brewing your best cup of tea: use gai wan and tea set. That will make you feel very relax and enjoy everything about the teas, such as tea leaves, tea smell, tea taste and tea liquor etc.
Tea Meditation Steps
These amazing teas are the perfect companion for practicing Tea Meditation (read all about it here). Here are the steps to follow for practicing Tea meditation:
1. Focus on preparing the water for your tea
Pour the water in your kettle or any other tool you’re using to boil it. Listen to the sound of water bubbling and try to not focus on anything else around you.
2. Prepare your mug for brewing the tea in it.
Having a mug that you love will help with the entire process. It can be a mug you got from a dear friend; it can be just a colorful one that brings positive vibes, one with a mindful message or any other type, which makes you happy to use it. When you take that mug in your hands and you feel a positive vibe. It will just brighten up your short period of time when you’re using it. This also teaches you to enjoy the little things around you.
3. Choose your tea
Prepare your tea bag or put the loose leaves in the infuser. The main thing to remember during each step is to just be aware of every move and enjoy the anticipation of drinking your tea, which will soon warm you up, on the inside.
4. Pour the water and observe
When the water is ready, just pour it in the mug and watch the slow color transformation. It is beautiful how the water turns into the amber-like brew. Enjoy the moment of peace and take a few deep breaths.
5. Your tea is ready
Your tea is almost ready now, but there is no reason to rush. Take out the tea leaves and you now have a great cup of freshly brewed tea. Enjoy its smell for a few seconds and carefully let it guide you back to your day.
6. Be grateful
Give thanks to the tea in front of you for giving you this moment of peace, to yourself for making time for this tea meditation in your life and to the universe for making this possible. Remember that there are people around the world, who don’t have clean water to drink, be grateful for this moment.
7. Tea meditation
Enjoy one of my tea meditation while drinking your warm cup of tea.
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