Elizabeth Darcy Jones - Distinguished Leaves: Poems for Tea Lovers

However, now I have embarked on a new relationship with the delicate leaves and infinite variety of aromas that make up our national drink. I sup on builders tea first thing, to kick-start the day, followed by a cup of tasty Darjeeling for breakfast with a little milk. Nothing beats Lapsang Souchong at teatime, sometimes with a spoonful of honey if energy levels are flagging. After dinner I favour the palest Jasmine before retiring to bed and dreams of the Italian Stallion turning into an equally dashing thoroughbred! I hope the contents of this exquisite and unusual little book will inspire you to put tea to the fore.

Its ability to be prepared and drunk in so many different ways is one reason why tea is the worlds favourite hot drink. Brewing loose leaf tea is easy and so much more rewarding than a tasteless tea bag. It is also the first step to discovering more about the remarkable people, places, processes, and plants that make the tea leaves in your pot. Welcome to a wonderful world of flavour, culture and nature!

Ah help is at hand! Pausing at the open door I breathe in the pungent smells of wood smoke and damp earth, the night rain has ceased and among the dripping trees the birds are filling the air with sweet, tentative song. Pouring the boiled water onto the tea leaves releases another familiar fragrance. A few more precious brewing minutes and, cup in hand, I retire to my meditation cushion for the first sip of the day.

Perhaps the only thing to add is that loose leaf tea has its particular preferences when it comes to how hot the water is! Very generally speaking, the less processed the tea (especially white and green) the cooler it likes its water. Theres a wealth of advice on the subject enough to fill a book but most quality leaf teas will be accompanied with specific how to instructions. And of course hundreds of tea-lovers are only too keen to offer you their preferred methods! PS For those hesitating over a long menu of loose leaf teas for the first time, these poems provide a lead, a hint of character, but little more. Every tea is individual and all manner of things will affect the flavour from the water to the attention of both maker and drinker. For the cost-conscious, dont forget that loose leaf tea is often cheaper than its bagged counterparts and the leaves of many teas can be used more than once, making them even more economical!

All these poems concern one plant, Camellia sinsensis. The two varieties that we associate with tea are Camellia sinensis sinensis and Camellia sinensis assamica. From them, thousands of producing varieties have been cultivated. These tea bushes produce leaves that differ depending on their terroir and then acquire different characteristics through the way theyre processed and blended.

The types of tea we refer to form a glorious rainbow of colours that I have used loosely to group the poems. This is not a straightforward matter, especially for a loose leaf tea virgin! I leave it to the Tea Artisan and serious tea connoisseur to enjoy debating whether or not the following tea characters occupy their rightful places. In the meantime, rest assured that most teas seem to be endowed with some kind of health-promoting quality. The library of positive research based evidence confirming benefits to our well-being is growing. But however strong the health arguments may be, for me they come secondary to taste. Just let the leaves loose

Through the chink of the curtain of recessionary fears Beneath the dirty blanket of economies and tears There are people just like me and theyre claiming that success Lies in loving all the little things and knowing more is less And theyre vital and theyre free and theyre loving poetryAnd theyre brewing up a steaming cup of Loose Leaf Tea! Do you think that life is certain and the sum of all your years Is best spent online surfing til your eyesight disappears? Well, youve missed the revolution, but Ill tell you nonetheless Theres a crowd of potty strangers and they simply dont do stress