No crumpets here

Just tea... green tea... jasmine green tea. There is nothing more uplifting, more radiantly beautiful to the nose, than a whiff of delicately brewed Chinese jasmine green tea. They say it's good for you, too.

I like this one pretty well: two leaves and a bud. I happened to find this brand for sale at World Market and thought I'd give it a try. I heart that store, by the way. If I had unlimited $$, I'd probably decorate my house with their stuff. I love Asian and African and Indian and all kinds of ethnic styles.

Back to the tea. I heat the water to about 135-150 degrees -- no more than that, because if the water's too hot it will leach out too many tannins and make the tea bitter. I check it with a candy thermometer, even. Then I only brew it for about four minutes, again because too long will also make the tea bitter.

Drinking this stuff is like drinking flowers. The first time I ever had jasmine tea, I likened it to a spiritual experience. It still has that effect on me.

Since I've been sick all day, I've been sleeping or just sitting bleary-eyed, and I haven't drunk as much as I should. So this evening, even though my arms ache terribly, I ventured into the kitchen and made myself some tea. I'm glad I did.