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Bit of a bittersweet sipdown for me.

I had a large amount of the Spring 2018 harvest and put off drinking it because sometimes ye sheng can mess with me. Last summer, I was in the backseat of a taxi hurtling along the Caribbean coastline in Colombia, heading to the city of Barranquilla to fly back home the next day. I didn’t have cell reception the whole time I was there but suddenly on a fairly deserted stretch of road, I got a voicemail from an unknown number. I called them several times before I could connect for more than a few seconds. And when I was finally able to figure out who it was that kept cutting in and out, I heard from the cat sitter that the twin sister of my good old Sophia was found unconscious and breathing behind the bathroom door. She was on life support and I had to make an instant heartbreaking decision to let her go. I never saw Nyx again.

I felt terrible for the cat sitter having come across my girl in that state. As a token of appreciation for rushing Nyx to the vet, after finding out the cat sitter was a loose leaf black tea drinker, I bagged up most of what I had of this tea for her. I hadn’t tried it yet but based on the great reviews I was hoping she’d like it!

I can say I did. Though it does get me amped up in different ways depending on when I last ate and my mood. I had some earlier this week that I brewed western and poured in my thermos. I had slept restlessly the night before and didn’t eat breakfast. This tea saved my day. And at one point it had me really appreciating the view on my way home from class, like some weak psychedelics. Hm, yes.

Then I made a pot for me and the mechanic. It got me so physically amped up I spent hours tearing down an English ivy tree that had no business growing in the corner of the back yard. Once I clear out all that debris, I get to hack away at its subterranean remnants. Curse you, ivy.

I brewed the last of this tea today in my small gaiwan, 4g for 60mL. I’m amped up. And the flavor and aroma are just wonderful. Cherry wood, malt, black cherries, blueberries, blackberries, concord grapes, red grapes, musk, something herbaceous… cannabis? Later some chocolate comes in. Smooth and sweet. The muskiness is more animal based than a Darjeeling grapey muscatel. Whew. This tea is magical. I wonder what the cat sitter thought of it.

A farewell to Feng Qing, San Francisco and Nyx.