(Death), Taxes, and Tea
Tax season brings with it storm clouds at once ominous and despairing, ones fit for an Edgar Allan Poe short story. What to drink when you see more than a third of your hard-earned dollars and cents get unceremoniously scooped away by the tentacles of the federal government to fill the coffers of various entitlement programs or politician reelection campaigns or missile programs that you may or may not support? And all the while fully aware that Warren Buffet pays a lower percentage out to Uncle Sam than you do--no financial shenanigans or offshore entities, mind you, just by the book tax code. He himself admitted that he pays the least amount by percent in his Omaha office.
Meanwhile, pathetic fallacy is at play on the east coast where winter has not yet bid farewell. More or less cold and blustery... 'bleak' was the adjective one friend used.
There are times to comfort and times to fight. This, is a time to fight. A lightly oxidized Taiwanese high mountain oolong is my weapon of choice, one that will remind you sunnier Spring days replete with the scent of orange blossoms and jasmine in the air, are just around the corner.
Close your eyes and inhale. Let the full floral might of a high mountain oolong flood your nostrils. Take a sip and let the sometimes creamy, vegetal, non-astringent, non-bitter flavors roll through your mouth. Allow it to cleanse your mind of all those numbers. And wait 30 seconds after you swallow for that softly scented 回甘 (sweetly floral aftertaste) almost like a bouquet of flowers in your mouth. In judging competitions, that aftertaste is a crucial part of scoring; it is not only what separates the very good from the truly exceptional.
The liquor color is between a pale green and light yellow, depending on steep time. You'll notice that I don't filter the tea as I know the producer well. When there's trust, when there's no doubt of the quality and purity of the tea, I find no need to do a first wash. After all, it's just fragments of tea leaves. If you like matcha, that's just 100% ground up green tea leaves, so the only difference is optics.
Just because this oolong harvested last winter (read: older) doesn't mean it's cheap either. The mountain, Li Shan, on which the tea trees grow is popular amongst oolong connoisseurs for its aroma, which is best tasted than explained stiltedly with adjectives. Simply based on the laws of supply and demand, high mountain oolong will always command a premium to jinxuan, four seasons, dongding, etc. Careful though, especially of the tea sold in tourist districts. Much of that comes from tea plantations in Southeast Asia where labor and land are cheaper and pesticides are used liberally to increase yields. Tea is shipped to Taiwan and packaged for the unaware, undiscerning customer.
There is something about these old Yixing clay teapots, in their design and feel -- the simplicity yet undeniable artfulness. I love that these teapots are interactive in a tactile way. Art subtly integrates itself into otherwise mundane life. Plus, teapots offer more utility than a Van Gogh hanging on the wall of a temperature-controlled room, though both serve to lift spirits.