By Golly, Ollie!

  • Ancient Tree Green Puerh from Masters Teas

    Ancient Tree Green Puerh from Masters Teas

    The one thing I know about Pu-erh tea is I don’t know much about Pu-erh tea. So, I made it one of my resolutions to learn about it, taste it, explore it, and see if I could acquire a taste for it. My first experience with pu-erh was a flavored one, and it didn’t go very well (I’m looking at you, S’mores Chai). In my defense, I didn’t intend to drink a flavored pu-erh; I’m not entirely sure I realized S’mores Chai had a pu-erh base when I purchased it. But, I digress.

    My second experience with puerh, the one I’m sharing with you now, was entirely different. First, it was unflavored. Second, it was a sheng puerh instead of, and I’m assuming based on color and what I’ve read about the taste, a shou puerh.

    Also, in hindsight, I probably should have read a little more before diving into my first cup of sheng pu-erh, but sometimes it’s fun to go in blind, unaffected by expectations based on other peoples’ experiences. I guess it’s sort of like when I visit a new city for the first time. I like to wander around without direction just to get a sense of the place, and sometimes I even accidentally stumble upon something I didn’t know to look for. Like the doggy playdate in a park nestled between skyscrapers in Chicago. Or the pinball machines tucked at the back of Coast City Comics in Portland, Maine. Oh, but I digress again.

    Ancient Tree Green Puerh from Masters Teas
    Origin: Yunnan, China
    Elevation: 800m*
    Harvest: April 2019

    *elevation currently means nothing to me because I’m not knowledgeble about how that affects tea. Also, it’s in metric, which I haven’t used outside of 11th grade chemistry, and we definitely were not measuring anything in meters.

    The Masters Teas website goes on to explain that the tea was hand-plucked from 150-year old trees (which don’t really sound that ancient), and this pu-erh goes through a 10 minute firing followed by roasting for 5-6 hours.

    My tasting notes regarding temperatures and infusion times are inconsistently recorded. I’m going to say it is because I was meandering my way through this tea, much like the way I meander through cities without maps, but really I’m just bad at logging that information. I need to get better at that as I practice with my gaiwan.

    The dry leaf is tightly twisted two leaves and a bud. They are brown, spinach and pea green, and occasionally there is a leaf covered in soft, silver fuzz. Their fragrance reminds me of the greenhouse I worked at for a season back in college. It is the scent that would stick to my fingers after deadheading flowers– vegetal and sour but somewhere buried is a hint of sweetness.

    I put the dry leaf into a warm gaiwan and shake it. A new fragrance surfaces, and it smells sweet, powdery, and floral. Is it orange blossoms? Is it budding magnolias? It’s something that reminds me of Florida in February.

    After steeping, the wet leaf smells sour and like steamed vegetables. Wilted spinach and lemon came to mind, and I find myself reluctant to drink.

    Infusions 1 and 2

    The liquor is pale, golden yellow, and the aromas are earthy and vegetal although my novice tongue can’t point to anything more specific than that. There is an astringency that makes me salivate and a bitterness and sourness on the back of my tongue that makes me think about eating the skin from a purple plum.

    Infusion 3

    The liquor sits in the fill cup for a while as I try to process my first two infusions. I can’t tell if I steeped this incorrectly or if this is the nature of a sheng pu-erh, but while I sit there, notes of sweetness and “green”, like I’m chewing on leaves, linger on my tongue. When I finally tip the liquor out of the fill cup, the light bounces off it, and it looks like I’m pouring liquid sunshine into my cup.

    There is an energy in this infusion that I have never experienced before. My toes and cheeks are humming, and it feels like there is cotton in my ears and in the space between my eyes. I am so distracted by this that I forget to write down tasting notes.

    Infusions 4 and 5

    I took a break to take Oliver to the library and then to settle him down for a nap. But, when I return to the tea, I shut myself up in a bedroom for proper alone time. Infusions 4 and 5 are still pretty astringent but the earth and sour, vegetal aromas give way to something faintly like a sweet apricot.

    Infusions 6 to 8

    These final infusions were lovely, with infusion 6 being my favorite. The astringency has drifted away, and now all I taste are dried apricots. The finish is sweet, like I’m sucking on sugar cubes stolen from the tea tray during a Girl Scout meeting decades ago. The sensation stays with me quite some time after I have finished the tea.

    As I have no other sheng pu-erhs to compare this to, I can’t comment on quality and value. But, I suspect if you are new to this type of tea, like I am, Ancient Tree Green Pu-erh from Masters Teas is a good place to start. Adagio Teas and Masters Teas make better quality teas more accessible and inviting to those just starting on their tea journey. Even though I technically started my tea journey a decade ago, I let myself grow complacent and stagnant. I have learned more about tea in the past few months than I did during the past decade thanks to the wonderful tea community over on Instagram. And, it’s worth noting that the Ancient Tree Green Pu-erh from Masters Teas has made sheng pu-erh slightly less intimidating, which is good because I have a 2017 IPA from white2tea with my name on it.

    Thank you to Masters Teas for sending me a sample of this tea for free in exchange for a review.

    Looking for more about Masters Teas? Check out my thoughts on their Formosa Fancy Bai Hao and their Muzha Tie Guan Yin!

  • Gyokuro from Japanese Green Tea Co.

    Gyokuro from Japanese Green Tea Co.

    I really enjoy my mugs of delicious, flavored teas and tisanes. I will always reach for a Hot Cinnamon Spice when winter settles in. I will happily chug honeybush dessert teas that taste like banana nut bread and cotton candy. And of course, how could I not indulge in a spiced chai latte when visiting coffee shops? But, the kind of tea I love most of all? Those unflavored, single origin teas that demand slow, intentional sips so I don’t miss a note in its array of aromas. Those teas that transform across multiple infusions, and I can’t help but scribble barely legible tasting notes because I’m too excited to explore a tea to care about neatness. Those teas that transport me to a time and place that isn’t now, but instead some distant memory. Some as clear as day, others a bit muddled– possibly an amalgamation of memories, but whatever it was, brought joy and wonder. I experienced all of that recently while sipping a Gyokuro from Japanese Green Tea Company.

    The first sips are savory umami. They are sultry summer afternoons in north Georgia, where the heat index is 108. Humidity hangs heavy in the air and thunderheads grow in the sky, but I am outside anyway seeking refuge in the woods behind my house where I can follow the creek and the shade of the tall, skinny pine trees all the way down to the shore of Lake Allatoona. I don’t meander to the lake very often, but when I do, there is a humming in my chest and my legs– a sensation of being thrilled because I’ve ventured somewhere I’m not supposed to be.

    The finish is slightly sweet and grassy, and now it’s no longer sultry summer afternoons. It is a late Spring morning instead. It is soft, freshly mowed grass clippings– the kind that sticks to bare feet eager to run to the park to spend the afternoon poolside. It is a fist full of quarters for the vending machine. It is pool toys teetering out of over-stuffed tote bags. It is sitting impatiently at the edge of the deep end until adult swim is over. It is somersaulting into the pool the moment the whistle is blown.

    The second cup takes me someplace entirely different. It’s further back on my timeline and further north, too. Only the best teas take me here– back to central Ohio, back to my foolhardiest days. The second cup has lost most of the umami and is instead mostly sweet and vegetal. It is listless summer afternoons, chewing on the end of tall, tasseled grass on the front porch of the babysitter’s house. The kind with seeds we plucked off and stuck on our tongues, and when we said “caterpillar, caterpillar, caterpillar”, the seed would inch its way to the back of the mouth.

    The Gyokuro from Japanese Green Tea Co. feels like a luxury both in aroma and experience– one I want to indulge in all the time but through sheer willpower, manage to save for the rare quiet moments when Jon and Oliver are snoozing and I can just sit and exist and reflect.

    This tea was sent to me for free in exchange for a review. Thoughts are ever my own. If you are interested in learning more about Japanese Green Tea Co. and Gyokuro, or you like your tasting notes a little more concrete, be sure to check the video at the top of the post. You can also check out my review for their Fukamushi Sencha!

  • Five January Favorites

    Five January Favorites

    The first month of the Roaring Twenties is over! And so soon, too. It usually seems like January drags by, but I don’t even know where this month went. Hopefully, that won’t become a mantra for this year– I don’t even know where this month went.

    January was a cold and soggy month filled with ice and snowstorms and perhaps going a little stir crazy so even spending the afternoon grocery shopping sounded fun. But, not everything in January was so dreary. It’s always good to take a moment to reflect on all of the positives, so here are my Five January Favorites:

    Discovering the Great Start Parent Coalition

    I said I wanted to both explore in 2020 and find new experiences to bring enrichment to Oliver’s days, and I discovered a wonderful program– the Great Start Parent Coalition, which provides a plethora of resources to families in the community.

    There will always be this thought badgering me about whether or not being a work-at-home-mom was the best decision for Oliver. I often feel selfish for keeping him home with me, and I feel like being in daycare, at least at his current age, would provide him more enrichment and definitely more socialization. Lately, I have been considering enrolling him in a morning program two or three times a week so he has the opportunity to be around other children more, and also so I can have a few hours of uninterrupted work without all the mom guilt associated with not giving him my undivided attention. But, until I finally make that decision, I have the Great Start Parent Coalition and their biweekly play dates to break up the week.

    I’m not sure if this is something Great Start does in the summer, but at least in the winter, kids from infants to five years old meet up every other week on a giant indoor soccer field and run around like little maniacs. Oliver loved his first play date, and we are eagerly waiting to go back next week.

    Watching Oliver Turn into a Tiny Human

    One of the reasons I love staying home with Oliver is I get to watch him accomplish new things. This January, he learned how to point to his belly button, ears, nose, teeth, and head. He jumped for the first time, and he loves to stomp his feet. He is obsessed with climbing steps (with mom right behind him, of course). And he knows how to hiss like a snake, growl like a lion, and quack like a duck!

    Family Dinners

    Every Parenting 101 book emphasizes the importance of family dinners, but we have been without a kitchen table ever since Jon and I moved into the house three years ago. We’ve spent the last year hovering around Oliver’s highchair and the kitchen counters while eating, but we finally bought a kitchen table.

    It feels like the family dynamic shifted the first day we sat down to dinner together. We were forced to tune into each other, and it was great. I think Oliver appreciated that we were finally sitting at his level too because he just kept whipping his head back and forth to look and Jon and I, and he had this huge smile on his face.

    #TeaMail

    Japanese Green Tea Co.
    CraftedLeaf Teas
    Plum Deluxe
    Matcha Life Co.
    white2tea
    white2tea
    Esteas

    I think I received packages every week with tea-related goodies. Some of them were sent for review (thank you Japanese Green Tea Co., Esteas, and Plum Deluxe). Some were sent to test the interest in a new subscription service, like the Adagio communiTea. And some I purchased because I wanted to step out of my comfort zone; I wanted to explore more single-origin teas and new steeping styles. I am so excited to dig into all of it though.

    The Burgeoning Desire to Create

    This really started back in December when I overhauled my blog, but I haven’t stopped since. Granted, I took a break from blogging last week, but in my defense, I was filming, editing, and posting a daily YouTube video! I have also made it a point to post daily over on Instagram, and I’m just really loving the tea community over there right now. I’m learning and discovering so much!

    Honorable Mentions

    Visits from family. Re-establishing my 8 glasses of water routine. Finally tackling the stairs which became shelves at the end of my pregnancy. Destroying Jon in a game of Rummikub…twice. Finishing the Flatshare by Beth O’Leary. Amy’s Black Bean Burritos. The library, always the library.

    How was your January? Share with me in the comments!

  • Five Picture Books We Have Read for the 500th Time This Week

    Five Picture Books We Have Read for the 500th Time This Week

    Oliver is sick. Again. Which means I am too. This also means Oliver only wants mom-and-dad-snuggles and comfort reads despite a teetering stack of library books we borrowed over the weekend. Here are five favorites that we are re-reading this week for the…well, I’ve lost count, really…

    Your Baby’s First Word Will Be Dada by Jimmy Fallon, illustrated by Miguel Ordonez

    Oliver’s first word was “dada” despite my efforts to make “mama” his first word. Your Baby’s First Word Will Be Dada explains to me exactly how it happened! It shows animal dads try to teach their animal children how to say “dada”.

    It’s funny, I was on Goodreads to capture the link for this book, and I found myself in the comments section. This is such a polarizing book, I suspect because of the star power behind it. It’s always amusing to read comments and reviews from people who are not the intended audience. This book caught so much grief for being “boring”. I bought this book during Oliver’s infant days, but he seems to appreciate much more at 15 months. We read this book (and Everything is Mama) almost daily. There isn’t too much to this story– the text is almost entirely the word “dada” and animal sounds. But, simple and repetitive with bold illustrations are important none-the-less for developing minds! (Goodreads | Indiebound)

    Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle, illustrated by Jill McElmurry

    When a dump truck, who believes he’s too important for the countryside animals, gets stuck in the mud, Little Blue Truck is the only one willing to help. Until he gets stuck too! Little Blue Truck, a story about the power of friendship, features wonderful rhyme and rhythm, truck sounds, and animal sounds. Oliver was hooked from the first time I read this story to him. Our collection of Little Blue Truck stories has since grown. (Goodreads | Indiebound)

    Hooray for Hat by Brian Won

    When Elephant wakes up, he is very grumpy until he discovers a surprise package on his doorstep. When he opens the box, the gift inside brightens his day, and he cannot resist sharing with his friends. This story is all about sharing, and how giving gifts to a friend can sometimes feel better than receiving a gift for yourself. (Goodreads | Indiebound)

    The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood

    This is a favorite story from my childhood, that Oliver loves now, too. An unseen narrator scares a little mouse into sharing his strawberry by convincing him that a big hungry bear is going to STOMP STOMP STOMP through the forest to find the freshly picked strawberry. The story and illustrations are the cutest! (Goodreads | Indiebound)

    I Love All of Me by Lorie Ann Grover, illustrated by Carolina Buizo

    I Love All of Me is a recent addition to our personal library, but it quickly became Oliver’s favorite. The story celebrates loving their whole selves from wiggle toes to waggle rumps! Pointing to the parts of the body as we read along makes this book even more fun. The cherry on top? I add a creative spin at the end by saying “I love olive-you, Oliv-er!”, and Oliver crawls up to me and gives me a BIG BEAR HUG. It melts my heart. (Goodreads | Indiebound)

    What stories do your little ones find irresistible?

  • Five Books that Teach Colors We Are Reading

    Five Books that Teach Colors We Are Reading

    Before Oliver, my experience with little kids was essentially ZILCH, and that’s being generous and rounding up. So, I’m always researching child development and monthly milestones, which to be honest, causes a lot of anxiety because from what I can tell, I’m doing everything absolutely wrong. However, I read recently that even if they cannot communicate it well, children start understanding different colors around 18-months old, which is right around the corner for Oliver. Of course, I couldn’t resist finding books that focus on color, so here are five books that teach color we are reading:

    Bear Sees Colors by Karma Wilson, illustrated by Jane Chapman

    I don’t know about you, but in our household, stories featuring woodland creatures are always a hit. Bear and Mouse explore the woods and meet their friends along the way. Each page is dedicated to one color, and children are invited to seek out things in the picture that are certain colors. (Goodreads | Indiebound)

    Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr., illustrated by Eric Carle

    Can any list about learning colors be complete without this classic?! Simple sentence and big, colorful pictures of animals entrance Oliver. We’ve been reading this one since he was born. (Goodreads | Indiebound)

    Mixed: a Colorful Story by Aree Chung

    Reds, Yellows, and Blues used to get along until Reds started shouting that they were the best. Then, their community becomes divided until one day and Blue and Yellow fall in love and mix. This is one part story that teaches colors and one part analogy about the importance of diversity in the community. (Goodreads | Indiebound)

    The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers

    When Duncan goes to retrieve his crayons, he finds instead a letter from his colorful pals informing him they have quit because they are tired of only being used to color wheat, or they are exhausted from coloring massive grey animals like elephants and rhinos. This is such a cute story, and any book that features illustrations by Oliver Jeffers is a must-read. (Goodreads | Indiebound)

    Monsters Love Colors by Mike Austin

    The only thing monsters like more than colors is to scribble, scribble, mix, dance, and wiggle to come up with new colors for their grey monster pals. This book also associates color with more abstract ideas, like “Red is the color of ROAR and SNORE and more, More, MORE!” We will be purchasing this one next time we go to a book store because it is Oliver’s new favorite book. I have to read this at least four times a day. (Goodreads | Indiebound)

    What are some of your favorite books that teach colors?

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About the Blogger

My name is Jackie, and I am a millennial / mother / Michigander / blogger / wannabe runner / accountant / local library enthusiast / gamer, kinda. This is a personal blog, which means I’m not entirely certain what you’ll find here, but it will definitely not show up on the first page of Google search results.