Thursday, November 23, 2023

1 day 1 tea: Day 23, DYL104K for Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all my tea friends in the US! For this special day, I'm brewing my Da Yu Ling 104K high mountain Oolong, spring 2021 for the second time this month! Today, I'm using my silver teapot and silver teapot in order to push the purity of this exceptional tea to its limits!

It's a sunny day again, which is a great fit for this tea, and the sunshine is cool, not hot, which is also in line with the high mountain climate. At 2500 meters elevation, the weather remains cool even on a bright sunny day. 

The dry leaves still exude their powerful, but fine freshness. Lavender scents and light flower fragrances carry a fresh sweetness.

There's another reason for brewing a high mountain Oolong on Thanksgiving: tea pairing. Indeed, a fine and powerful high mountain Oolong from Lishan, Fushou Shan or Da Yu Ling can do wonders with poultry (chicken, goose, duck or turkey)! This Chaxi serves as a kind of rehearsal or trial for the dinner.
 
Today, the Da Yu Ling 104K feels too refined to pair with my meal. I'm enjoying it greatly on its own, but I'm afraid it wouldn't suit this tea to be brewed more strongly. So, for the meal, I'll brew a 2017 Tsui Feng high mountain Oolong I recently found while going through my tea samples. A slightly aged high mountain Oolong is rounder and gains depth, so that it can better be brewed with a stronger concentration and be paired with the duck I'm baking in the oven.

Below, you can see a duck leg, some potatoes and carrots and the 2017 Tsui Feng Oolong. (The FuShou shan would also work well.) The sweet flowery aromas of the high mountain Oolong mingled nicely with the delicate and tender duck meat, slowly baked..
Thanksgiving is also the time of the year when I thank all the readers of this blog for their interest in my tea stories, education and tea selection. We are coming nearer to 1000 subscribers for my YouTube channel (subscribe if you want to watch a weekly tea class). On Instagram, you are over 2000! And 2700 on FaceBook! These are not large numbers, especially for someone who's been blogging since 2004! That's because, like for tea, my preference is quality over quantity. And it's really a pleasure to deal with tea friends who have a genuine and deep interest in tea and who have an open mind! Thank you! Merci beaucoup! Vielen herzlichen Dank!
This year, I want to do more than thank you just with words. I want to express my deepest gratitude with a month long festival of gifts, until December 22! (It can't be longer, because on December 23 I'm going to France to spend Christmas and New Year with my family!)

So, I will be giving away a Chabu or this excellent jazz CD by Oded Tzur or a this book in French (Le livre du thé) every day to the person with the highest order amount. And I will also be giving away tea accessories (mostly cups) and tea samples. Every order will receive an extra gift until December 22! The higher your order, the more valuable will be your gift, of course. And I'll take into account what you are ordering (and what you ordered in the past) to choose the right gift for you. Like this, it will be a Xmas surprise for you and I get to play Santa Claus! 
Happy Thanksgiving and have a merry Christmas Advent season! My November challenge continues tomorrow....

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