Starwest

I’ve been giggling at the “pantry staple” sipdown prompt, because with my favorite staples, if I’m at 1/4 of a tin, I hyperventilate until I’ve filled it back up!

However, if there’s one that’s close to sipdown levels in the kitchen, this is it. I’ve had a jar of this Ceylon in progress with continual refills for years. It’s not as beefy as I prefer for morning wake-ups; it has a thinner, sharper (but pleasant) tang to it with maybe a bit of apple peel in the flavor. Has always been good for blending and as a base for various mints in the summer. That’s likely how the rest will be used—my apple mint is growing like gangbusters on the back steps.

The jar is more empty than full, and while it’s still readily available for order, I’m not sure my local source carries it any more. So maybe it’s time to free up a teeny bit of pantry space. Ecclesiastes 3:6 and all that. (a time to keep, and a time to throw away…)

I hope this is still in the bulk section at our local indie grocery store; it’s about time to replenish the jar I keep on hand for “just stuff.” It’s a nicely balanced Ceylon, not sharp or acidic; good “just tea” for icing down and blending. This morning, I used it to beef up a final steep of my good strawberry Dublin Cream. Did the trick without messing with the flavor.

Simple is best some days. This is. It isn’t stellar, there aren’t rocketships and moonbeams dancing on my tastebuds, I can’t pick out any distinguishing flavors, but it’s just good, dependable, hot leaf juice. Though I love my teas that cause me to pause and ponder, one doesn’t always need tea that requires deep thought.

Guess you can tell you’ve hit the tea-dious dog days of summer when you have bins and baskets of perfectly acceptable and flavorful fancy stuff and you just shrug, say “eh,” and make yourself a cup of plain brown leaf juice.

This was the leaf juice of choice this morning; not unpleasant; just nondescript. Likely a good base for blending, but that would require thinking. It’s too hot to think.

Fox Farm (local health food grocery) has significantly expanded its tea selection (oh, darn!) so I am dutifully sipping away at all my scraps and samples in order to justify a significant shopping excursion soon.

This one isn’t top-of-the-heap but it is tasty and an easy steeper, maybe leans to the more astringent side. A good inexpensive staple.

Grabbed a (cheap!) couple ounces of this at favorite Fox Farm Whole Food store. It exceeded expectations—no particular flavor comparison, but it has a bright, sharp, crisp personality. A good, plain-brown-wrapper pantry tea.