Down to Earth

Enlarge Image Image Gallery An introduction to herbal teas at the Eigerwand.

Jim Long welcomes readers’ questions or
comments; you may e-mail him directly at
lcherbs@tri-lakes.net, or tour his gardens at
www.longcreekherbs.com.

My introduction to herbal teas came when I was in college majoring in art and industrial design. I was carrying a heavy class load and before and after classes each day I drove a school bus. On the weekends I worked for a farmer. I was a few years older than most of the students and I didn’t live on campus, so I wasn’t really a part of the usual college life.

In the midst of my busy schedule, I began walking downtown during lunchtime for a little relaxation. On one of my walks, I discovered a little café that wasn’t crowded. The Eigerwand café became my daily lunch place. Quiet, with local artwork on the walls, it offered food I liked.

But the main attractions for me were the owner, Peggy Means, and the shelves she had lined with gallon jars full of teas. Peggy was about my mother’s age and she spoke with a delightful rolling Welsh brogue. She had sparkling dark-brown eyes and a quick wit. Peggy had assembled 103 varieties of tea—more tea than I ever knew existed.

For the first few days, I was content to drink a familiar tea. Then, after Peggy had begun to see me as a regular customer, she asked, “Do you know about gunpowder tea? Would you like to try a pot? It’s a bit more expensive than some of the others, but it’s well worth the price.” I had no idea what gunpowder tea was. It sounded decadent, dangerous, and enticing. Once I tasted it, I liked it immediately. It is robust and rich-tasting, with a wonderful green-mahogony color and delightful aroma. The processing of the tea also piqued my interest. The leaves are harvested while still small and delicate. The rolling process, between thumb and forefinger, seals the aromatic oils inside during the drying process so that each leaf looks like a grain of gunpowder.

Gunpowder tea would have become my “usual,” but Peggy gently nudged me to try young hyson tea. While we waited for the tea to steep, I got a lesson. “Hyson tea,” Peggy explained, “is simply the older leaves. Young hyson is the first picking, the smallest leaves and the most flavorful.” Next, she had me explore English Breakfast tea and then the aromatic Earl Grey with its mellow bergamot flavor. “It’s not the bergamot that grows along the roadsides, either,” she said. “This bergamot is a citrus plant, although the aroma is similar to the plant you know.”