29 June, 2012

Wulong and the Willow

Against all the odds, the sun has been shining on England for a day or so.  Wasting no time, the good doctor and I sprinted out into the garden for some husband-and-wife teatime.


Xiaohu


Separating the two halves of our garden is an old willow tree, which sways dramatically in the wind and gives the whole garden a soothing feeling of gentle motion, much like a seaview.  The rustling sound from the leaves is much the same.

The garden plays a background role in my tea drinking, as my teatable in the house looks out on it.  Perhaps you've come across it before: you may remember a haiku on Chinese characters growing in our flowerbeds.  Many times do I stop to listen to that ever-present rustling.  Sometimes, it reminds me of gentle sunshine, sometimes it is the tree losing its leaves in winter.  Sometimes, it reminds me of my wife and her mother.

Always, the willow tree is there, drinking tea with me from a distance.


Wulong and the Willow


With the arrival of good weather, Lei and I managed to drink tea on the arrangement that Chinese Mama had created under our willow tree, during her last visit (pictured above and below). 

The logs were rescued from a nearby chap who had felled one of his larger trees; rather than see them combust, Lei thought that they would make excellent companions for the garden.  As always, she was right...


Wulong and the Willow


To celebrate our journey into the garden, we needed some tea to suit the mood.  Given that the aroma is dominated by a wall-full of honeysuckle, it would be hard to drink something other than fresh wulong, which has an aroma almost identical to the honeysuckle.


Wulong and the Willow


With thanks to Tom, a teachum from near to my hometown in East Anglia, we started on a "high mountain" wulong, which may have been produced by someone named Xu.  It could have come from Postcard Teas, the lovely little London shop that I have mentioned before.


Wulong and the Willow



It is a fresh wulong in the "exceedingly green" genre, which was both very friendly and most enjoyable.  "Wulong is the perfect tea for the garden", quoth the raven-haired lady.


Wulong and the Willow


With time on our side, we headed into roasted wulong territory, thanks to Superhans, our teachum from an American orchestra of international repute.  When not making sweet music, Superhans clearly enjoys a good tea, pictured below.


Wulong and the Willow


This is a lively recent picking, it seems, with a very decent roast that complements, rather than overpowers, the character of the leaves.


Wulong and the Willow


The hours set along with the sun, and before we knew it, our wulong adventure was to come to an end, with the return of our (much beloved) family time.


Wulong and the Willow


With special thanks to Tom and Hans.

7 comments:

sp1key said...

What a nice place!!! I'm sorry I just need to add a few more !!!!!

GN? said...

. Willows trees are my favorite tree to sit under. Well I haven't sat under a tea tree yet. I think I might enjoy that more, but maybe not.

Anonymous said...

What a lovely garden for drinking tea!!!
I am very fond of willow trees!

That arrangement under the willow looks special...


Take care, Maxwell2079

Centranthus said...

What an awesome post, Hobbes. Pics probably don't do the serenity and beauty justice.

Hobbes said...

Thank'ee, all - it's definitely worthwhile getting outside to drink tea. I find that it always tastes better in the open air, even the ropiest tea. :)

P.s. The roasted wulong from Hans came from Chawangshop - thanks, Honza!

Su Ming said...

You have a beautiful garden and a lovely set up for drinking tea outside.Looks like great weather for it too!

Hobbes said...

Thank you, Su Ming; I'm afraid that there are not many days on which the photographs would look so sunny. :)


Toodlepip,

Hobbes