'Blackbird singing in the dead of night...'

There's a Ceylon that doesn't seem to be named after an estate. Instead, from what I can surmise, they gave it the name of a bird. It's called Ceylon Blackbird, and although it's not the highest quality tea I've ever tried, it's a nice change from the Assams and Darjeelings I normally drink and write about.

But as long as I'm taking about blackbirds, I'll go ahead and mention that this is also a Paul McCartney song that I like. Didn't realise until I looked it up that this was written in 1968 and is the songwriter's reaction to racial tensions in the US at the time.

I'm not normally drawn to Paul's songs, although I do think another one of his songs, For No One, is a masterpiece. But I was talking about Blackbird. Both the tea and the song.

There's something so alluring about the simplicity of this solo acoustic guitar and voice. Even without knowing what the song's background is, it's a beautiful melody and accompaniment. So here I am on a late summer's evening, sipping my Ceylon Blackbird with a bit of cream and listening to Sir Paul.

Can't think of anything more appropriate.

Developing one's palate

As I expected, the more varieties of tea I drink the more my palate is changing. Several months ago, I liked green tea but the more pungent the better. And black tea had to be strong and dark. Slowly, as I drank specific Ceylons and read about what to look for, or I should say taste for, I was able to choose ones that were more to my liking.

Any Assam was acceptable before, whereas now I'm not able to happily drink some of the non-descript ones that used to please me. The biggest change has been my complete about face on Darjeeling. When I first started, I suggested drinking black tea with milk if you weren't used to tea yet. There are still some Assams and Ceylons that taste ok without milk, but really good with a splash or two.

I'm sure Darjeeling would be ok with a bit of milk, but the delicate taste of the ones I like most seem to be covered up as soon as you add milk. Maybe you've always drunk tea with a bit of milk. My suggestion would be to try the first sip of whatever you drink without milk.

And any time you're trying some new tea, do the same thing. Even if you resolve to add milk immediately after that sip, breathe in deeply as you slurp one big sip of unadulterated black tea. My experience is that you'll slowly start to appreciate the taste of your favorites. And what's been more shocking to me is that some teas, which used to be perfectly acceptable, have become almost undrinkable.

There's a blend that Claus Kröger sells called Ceylon Blackbird that I drank so happily in early days. Today it need a lot of milk.