Tea of the Month for March- Lizi Hong Cha (Lychee Red tea)

I mentioned in the last tea of the month post, that I went to the tea market with my guest (klmnop)a week or so ago. While we were there, I thought it might be expedient to find the tea for this month as well. We went to the store on the street front where I bought the milky oolong, and the Kee mun teas. The original intention was to taste the Kee mun tea and send my guest home with some of it. Despite requesting it very clearly, I was unable to get the tea that I have purchased twice from them (different girls but same shop). Next time, I am going to bring a sample of the tea so that they can tell exactly what I want.

They did bring this Lizi(sounds like leedzuh)Hong cha. It looked very much like the Kee mun leaves (reddish bits of leaves and stems) but had a slightly different scent. The taste, while similar to Keemun is a whole lot fruiter. I think that the scent is even more fragrant. It also brews a dark red and responds well to milk. This tea reinforces for me my preference for a multifaceted tea: teas of course, must taste good, but I think that they must also smell good. It has a real strong flower and fruit aroma- which fortunately remain at taste time. Some of the web sites say that the tea is grown in the Yunan province and flavored in Anhui, while others just mention Anhui. If you wish to try it, many online stores carry the tea; just google Lychee red tea and loads of hits will come up.

I brewed this again at home a couple of days later, a to try out my brand new little tea pot and to report to you. While strolling around the tea market, we saw lots of truly beautiful and likely expensive tea pots (some windows exhibited a few truly exquisite celadon tea sets- still looking for a tea daddy!). This one was on a trolley with many others that resembled it, and had a bargain basement price on it. I was, of course attracted by the price, but also by the cute round shape. It made its way into my bag, and was perfect for this tea.

It brewed a dark brown red color and was just as fragrant as I remember. It is lovely to sip especially on a dark and stormy day- like today. I had it without milk in one of my porcelain cups, but it would be just as drinkable in a mug with some milk. I wish that it were possible for your to smell this tea right now or for you to drop by and try all of the teas that are in canisters on the shelf.

Here is an action shot of the new teapot!!