Tea and laughter for three

A few weeks when I was up against a writing deadline and in the middle of flamboyantly dusting my oak desk that states: This desk was loaned to Howard County Civilian Defense Council, Kokomo, Indiana by Continental Steel 7-1-42 and stamped with FILE D.E.A.

I was instantly distracted by a pop-up notification with eight little words that magically appeared on my phone:

“Tea’s Me Indy Tea Tasting 101 with Joi”

I realize most “normal” human beings would have immediately seen two choices:

A) Chuck the phone and finish writing like a responsible adult.

or

B) Daydream about the 1940s man who use to sit at this very desk, probably in his blue and green plaid sports coat worn with high-waisted, wide-leg, double pleated trousers, two-tone oxfords and a grey fedora hat.

But not me. I immediately seized the opportunity and texted my daughters to see, “Who’s in for Tea Tasting 101 with Joi?” Two of three texted: “I’m in,” so last Saturday afternoon Alex, Chloe and I met at Tea’s Me Indy for a lesson on tea.

Joi DeFrantz, who was a chemist for over a decade before joining Tea’s Me as their General Manager, meticulously led the café full of tea-lovers through tasting five major teas: first, take in the aroma, then inspect the tea color and third, taste and describe the flavor. We also examined the differing tea leaves and sampled:

Champagne Raspberry — white tea

Maple Walnut — green tea

Jasmine — Oolong tea

Cinnamon Orange Spice — black tea

Vanilla Rooibus — Herbal or tisane. Herbals are actually not tea at all — but are usually dried flowers, fruits or herbs steeped in boiling water, like chamomile and peppermint.

When Joi asked participants how they would describe the flavor of the Champagne Raspberry white tea, descriptions abounded: “lightly raspberry,” “smooth.” After tasting other teas, descriptions whirled around the room like steeping tea: “sweet,” “maple,” “earthy,” “cinnamon,” “vanilla,” “crisp,” and “soft.”

But our favorite answer was from fellow tea-drinker Angelique, who after sipping the Jasmine Oolong, answered pointedly: “It tastes like a barn!”

After the eruption of laughter subsided and nods of agreement, Joi gave us a second cup of the same exact Jasmine Oolong tea that was steeped for only two minutes at 175 degrees. The first cup of woodsy tasting “barn” tea was steeped for four minutes in 195 degree water.

Amazingly, the second cup of Jasmine was a delicate and subtle sweet floral flavor with notes of a perfumed aroma.

Joi proved the point that with tea, as in chemistry, details make the difference. The visit to Tea’s Me Café on 22nd Street in Indy was a reminder that details matter, but that messing up those details isn’t the end of the world. After all, you can always rebrew another pot of tea. And most importantly, details are best enjoyed when shared with others and not taken too seriously.

Cheers!