The tea is in my possession

What a roller coaster of emotions. Was absolutely convinced that the tea for tomorrow's tasting wouldn't arrive in time. Several days ago, it made the lion's share of the journey when it flew from Delhi to Leipzig. I thought we were home free at that point. It's actually in Germany-it'll be here tomorrow. Maybe the next day.

Then the tracking page said it was 'on hold' in cold, snowy Saxony. Didn't they know I needed that tea for a very important event here on Saturday afternoon? Most of the time when I've ordered something online, I'm very nonchalant about when it arrives. It'll be here when it's here. The more logistics are developed in our globalised world, the more astounded I am that things jet around the globe so quickly and easily.

Think about it: Monday afternoon this tea was still sitting in the possession of @DarjeelingTeaXp, a day later it cleared the beaurocracy of the subcontinent (can one still say that word?) and on it's way to the city of J.S. Bach's Thomaskirche. I'm probably making too big a deal of this. Planes fly from continent to continent daily. Not such a big deal, eh? While you're fyling to Germany anyway, could you take this tea with you?



Here's a photo of the package right after it arrived (Can you see the relief on my face?):








So, the tasting is upon us. I've looked up the most common terms used to describe tea generally and Darjeeling specifically, and I found a nice list at the website of our tea supplier, so I thought it'd be appropriate to link to it here:

Terms Describing Tea Liquor

Hope we won't be needing the terms 'sweaty' or 'weedy'. Am rather confident we won't.

Here's a photo of the attractive sacks that the tea were packed in:

Goomtee Tea Estate

Goomtee enjoys a family relationship with its workers spreading over generations. The Estate had (sic) always ensured the well being of their workers as well as their families. All workers receive free housing and medical care for the family along with the supply of cereals at heavily subsidized prices.

source: DarjeelingTeaExpress.com

So whenever I read something about how well an estate treats its workers, I wonder if that says anything about the other estates that say nothing on the subject. Have read multiple places that generations of tea workers have dedicated their passion to this exceptional tea. I've mentioned blaming Shiva for this tea's unique taste. The empirical among us would explain it away as a matter of the soil and crisp mountain air. In addition to all of that, I'd say one of the truly crucial factors is the people who lovingly tend the tea plant, as well as processing it once it's been picked.

I don't want to get too esoteric here, but sometimes while drinking Darjeeling I do let my thoughts wander to what gentle and experienced hands have manipulated the leaves floating in my teapot. This is exactly the part that cannot be intellectually proven. But if I had to choose between an estate that made a concerted effort to honour its workers and one that didn't see that as such a priority, I can't imagine taking long to decide. I can't imagine who would.

Here's the complete description at Darjeeling Tea Express:

Goomtee Tea Estate

Darjeeling Tea Tasting

There'll probably be a bit more talk of Darjeeling in the next few weeks. Someone I know from twitter (@DarjeelingTeaXp) is launching a website offering authentic Darjeeling tea. The reason that authenticity is important is that although 40,000 tons of tea is sold globally with the name Darjeeling, they only grow about 10,000 tons.

I've documented my slow-developing love affair with Darjeeling here in earlier posts, but I'll give you the thumbnail sketch. Early on in my tea obsession, I tried a few teas from this region. I was so accustomed to darker/stronger teas that, at first, these teas were just too weak. Or so I thought. The more teas I tried, the more sensitive my taste became. Eventually, when I came back to Darjeelings, I was astounded at the delicate floral tastes in the tea.

Once my tongue could finally appreciate these teas, I became obsessed. I tried every Darjeeling I could find and read every Darjeeling website I came across. @DarjeelingTeaXp was one of the connections I made during that time.

On Saturday 4 December 2010, I'll be serving Darjeelings from various tea estates. If you happen to be in Munich then, you're certainly welcome. More details to follow.