Brrrrrrr, Fall officially starts today & I need some hot tea.

It is getting colder and the days are getting shorter, one of my go to choices for Fall days is the Jade Oolong from Rishi tea and yes I do buy tea from Rishi for my tea house.  No matter what, I would seek out a oolong tea that is closer to a green tea that is my favorite tea type.  Jasmine and green teas are also some of my favorite teas, so the Jade Oolong is a natural choice for me.  Jade Oolong tea has a nice floral taste to it, which I love.  Though out of Rishi Teas I like the name of another tea the best.  How can you hate the name Iron Goddess of Mercy?  It just sounds cool and isn't bad either, but not my first choice.  Jade Oolong is.  Ok, many teas have cool names Monkey Picked Oolong, Longevity Eyebrow, etc....  Still just love the name Iron Goddess of Mercy.

Sipping Jasmine tea at the Milwaukee Art Museum

I was on a date at the Milwaukee Art Museum yesterday.  We took a break for some jasmine tea and to watch the fluffy white snow falling on Lake Michigan.  While breathing in the warm steam and light jasmine scent the place was filled with students singing Chopin. It was serene and other worldly.

Sitting at home on this cold Sunday thinking about yesterday and delaying shoveling the snow.  I was thinking about the ancient origins of jasmine tea.  It has been around for over 800 years, sometime during the Song Dynasty. It was the first flavored tea and unlike most flavored teas which are relatively recent in origin. Curious about the story and reason for adding jasmine flowers versus something else. Did a jasmine flower drop into someones tea like the legend about a tea leaf falling in Emperor Shen Nung's hot water?  Did a Chinese herbalist combine tea and jasmine?  Would like to know the reason or legend, but could not find it yet....