On Christmas Trees
Today’s tea was a maple syrup oolong. It’s a promising name and it brews up a lovely, nutty oolong. Confused? The nuttiness comes from the chicory; this and the fermented oolong leaves work to keep the tea becoming cloying. You do taste the maple, but it’s a subtle flavour. The whole thing combines into a lovely desert tea.
It’s also not worlds away from last year’s caramel robois, or even cardamon french toast blend, but we liked both of those selections and aren’t complaining. Nothing wrong with a good oolong. This one also brews up to a nice strength. We were reading the Scottish Country Dancer over our tea and it was probably ten or so minutes before we got to the second cup. It still wasn’t stewed, though. A bit rounder, a little richer, and while we wouldn’t leave it sitting much longer, it was a lovely cup of tea. It can be tricky to judge steeping on a first pot of a new tea, and this held up nicely to scrutiny.
We drank it off the back of an excursion to select a Christmas tree and post the beginnings of the long-distance parcels. Now there are no poems on the dismal thing that is Canada Post, and frankly we dare anyone to write one on the theme. But we did yield up a piece by David Keig on the Christmas tree. So, pour out your tea, maybe mix in a little maple or honey, and enjoy.
A Christmas Tree! A Christmas Tree!
David Keig
With dark green needled memories
Of childhood dreams and mysteries
Wrapped present-like in front of me.
A Christmas tree! A Christmas tree!
I glimpse a past wherein I see
The child that then grew into me
Not forward fast but haltingly.
A Christmas tree! A Christmas tree!
A time for being with family
A time that’s gone so fleetingly
Yet lives for always deep in me.
A Christmas tree! A Christmas tree!
When twelfth night comes whole hauntingly
One lingered look and then I see
No Christmas tree where it would be.
A Christmas tree! A Christmas tree!
With feelings now felt longingly
No corner in my house to see
The magic of that Christmas tree.
