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Somewhere in Fort Collins, I’ve misplaced my CANE. Usually I leave it at Happy Lucky’s Tea House, so last night on the way home from giving grandson Donovan his birthday gift is where I went hunting for it.

It wasn’t there. Oh No!

I had some tea though (which always makes things better)!

Joe was minding the shop and it was pretty empty except for one other regular. We sat at the bar talking now and then about dancing (she’s a 20 year old dancer) and about tea. We got along well.

Joe and I were discussing the Kenyan tea that I reviewed and how it tasted a little like an Oolong. I mentioned how I enjoyed the roasted Oolongs in the Fall and Winter. He asked if I had tasted the Strong Fire Tieguangin?
“What?” I let him know that I hadn’t been informed about that tea.
Off he went to pull the metal canister for me to smell the leaves.

“Um, yes…very roasty smelling leaves and dark too”, I thought. I’d try this one.

Joe prepared a large clay pot and I waited 4 minutes until the timer went off and the leaves were pulled out.

Gracious! The leaves were Black-Brown and looked more like Pu-erh!
The scent was charcoal and french roast coffee with a little tea sweetness. (I could have spent all my time smelling the leaves if I wasn’t worried about the tea getting cold.)

The flavor was not as smoky as the scent. It was sweet and roasty, savory (not vegital), nutty with an unsweetened chocolate undertone.

The second pot was steeped 3 minutes and the leaves were woody and still half unfurled, with an aroma that was more meaty like a good roast chicken.

The flavor was not as sweet or charcoal, dryer in the mouth but never becoming bitter or astringent. This tea was easy to drink.
I talked to Joe about how I could drink pots of tea with roasted chicken or with a savory rice dish, even something buttery where you need to cut through the fat texture and wash it down like when you eat a pulled pork sandwich.

Yes, this tea could stand up to food without being too heavy on it’s
own.

I liked the roastiness very much with a hint of smoke, not too sweet but with character.

Still looking for my CANE….