キャミー・タング著「戌年」連載小説 プロのドッグトレーナーであるマリ・ムトウは、厄年を迎えている。 犬小屋と訓練所の改築をしながら、いつも不服そうにしている家族と同居することになった。母と姉に言わせれば、犬の毛とよだれかけにまみれる仕事は、家族にとって恥ずべきものだという。彼女は元カレを説得し、数ヶ月間犬を預かってもらうことにした。しかし、彼の兄は、数週間前に彼女が誤って車に追突した、怒り狂ったセキュリティ専門家であることが判明する。 アシュウィン・ケイトウは十分な問題を抱えている。叔母が玄関先に現れ、同居を希望している。彼は彼女にすべてを借りているので、断ることができません。母親が家を出て行った後、ネルおばさんはアシュウィンと弟を引き取り、愛のあるキリスト教の家庭で育てた。しかも、弟のダスティもアパートを追い出され、居場所を求めている。しかし、彼は犬を飼っている。そして、その犬の飼い主は誰だと思いますか? しかし、旧友でオアフ島のノースショアでデイスパを経営する私立探偵のエディサ・ゲレロから依頼を受ける。マリの施設で奇妙な破壊行為があり、3年前に失踪したエディサの妹の財布を発見する。エディサはマリが危険な目に遭っているのではと心配する。警備の専門家であるアシュウィンがすでにマリを知っていることを知ったエディサは、忙しい若い女性を密かに監視することを彼に依頼する。 アシュウィンは、活発でのんびりとしたドッグトレーナーに不本意ながら惹かれていく。彼女は、幸せそうな母親を思い出させる。その母親の裏切りによって、彼は人と距離を置くようになったのだ。マリは、アシュウィンの冷たい外見を見抜き、彼が家族に忠実な男であることを認める。彼は、彼女のキャリア選択を批判するだけの母親や姉とは違う。 マリのバラバラな家庭とアシュウィンのバラバラな家庭の中で、過去を隠そうとする人たちから、彼らの周りに危険が迫ってくるようになる。彼らは、影で動く秘密に光を当てることができるのか? 過去に発表されたパートへのリンクはこちら。 *** 第8章 - 恐ろしくも真っ白な不動産書類 『みんな仲良くできないのかな?』 マリは無用に力を込めて箱に本を投げ入れた。最近、なぜ彼女は人生の中で全員と言い争いをしているのだろう?もしかすると、これは本当に悪いアイデア
Today’s blog post is another review of the teas I received from Masters by Adagio Teas. Today I am reviewing the Yu Qian Anji Bai Cha green tea.
See here for my thoughts on Masters Teas and its website in general.
I took pictures of the tea before steeping and after steeping, but because the light is different on different days, I also included some rosemary and chocolate mint sprigs so you can compare the color of the tea.
Yu Qian Anji Bai Cha:
According to the website:
“With its exquisite spear-like leaves, our Yu Qian Anji Bai Cha is a very young plucking. A gentle yet complex cup, it offers notes of spring flowers, sweet grass with traces of lychee. A beautiful tea for those who want the experience of a green tea without the sharp grassiness found in other styles.”
“This tea contains a moderate level of caffeine. Steep at 170° for 2-3 minutes.”
I put 1 heaping tablespoon of tea in 235 mL (about 1 cup) of 170℉ water for 3 minutes. Since the leaves are extremely long, 1 tablespoon was actually quite airy, so I put a heaping tablespoon rather than just a level tablespoon. For reference, when I typically make sencha, I put two level teaspoons per cup of hot water.
This tea is quite delicate, and without the strong grassiness of a typical sencha. I can definitely taste the hint of sweetness. It had a warm mouth feel that went well with Japanese youkan, a sweet jellied bean paste dessert bar.
I wasn’t sure if the delicate flavor was because there were fewer tea leaves per pot, since the leaves are so long that 1 heaping tablespoon isn’t actually that much tea. So I weighed the tea for the second pot, adding 3 g of tea to 1 cup of hot water, steeped for 3 minutes.
I think 3 g was a little too much of this tea for my personal taste, since the grassiness was stronger. But compared to the other Japanese sencha teas that I’ve tasted, this was definitely on the more delicate side, and even the stronger cup still had that hint of sweetness. Again, this was perfect to eat with Japanese sweets like youkan.
This tea resteeped quite well (170℉ water for 5 minutes), tasting almost exactly like the first cup. The next resteeping (170℉ water for 7 minutes) wasn’t bad, but it was a little weak for my taste. I was impressed by the ability of this tea to steep multiple times, because most sencha I drink does not resteep well at all.
The only thing I was a little disappointed with was that if the tea was not completely poured out of the pot at the end of the steeping time, the tea left in the pot oversteeped and started to become bitter if it was left for longer than 5-7 minutes. Other high-grade sencha teas I’ve tasted have not become bitter despite the water being left in the pot, but granted, most of the time I completely pour the tea out of the pot when the steeping time is over.
When I usually make sencha, I use 2 teaspoons of tea (which weighs between 2 and 3 g) and 1 cup of water at a temperature of 190℉ for 2 minutes. This green tea recommends water at 170℉, which is cooler than I’m used to. I didn’t mind the cooler temperature of the tea, but some tea drinkers like my mom really dislike the cooler water temperature, regardless of how the tea tastes. So I decided to try to make it at a higher temperature just to see how it tastes in comparison to the lower temperature. I also weighed the tea for the third pot, but I only added a little more than 2 g of tea to 1 cup of 190℉ water, steeped for 3 minutes.
The tea tasted very much like it had at 170℉, although there might have been a slight harshness to the flavor because of the higher water temperature. It lost some of delicateness and sweetness of the flavor. I resteeped it for 5 minutes, and it wasn’t bad, but a little weaker than the first pot. The tea definitely tasted better at the lower water temperature, but if I were to brew this tea for my mother, for example, the taste wouldn’t be terrible at the higher water temperature.
Overall, this was a very light and delicate tea. It’s not something I’d drink with a meal or after a meal, because it doesn’t have the strong brightness that I prefer to compliment food. However, this tea was very good with sweets or on its own as a sanity break.
See here for my thoughts on Masters Teas and its website in general.
I took pictures of the tea before steeping and after steeping, but because the light is different on different days, I also included some rosemary and chocolate mint sprigs so you can compare the color of the tea.
Yu Qian Anji Bai Cha:
According to the website:
“With its exquisite spear-like leaves, our Yu Qian Anji Bai Cha is a very young plucking. A gentle yet complex cup, it offers notes of spring flowers, sweet grass with traces of lychee. A beautiful tea for those who want the experience of a green tea without the sharp grassiness found in other styles.”
“This tea contains a moderate level of caffeine. Steep at 170° for 2-3 minutes.”
I put 1 heaping tablespoon of tea in 235 mL (about 1 cup) of 170℉ water for 3 minutes. Since the leaves are extremely long, 1 tablespoon was actually quite airy, so I put a heaping tablespoon rather than just a level tablespoon. For reference, when I typically make sencha, I put two level teaspoons per cup of hot water.
This tea is quite delicate, and without the strong grassiness of a typical sencha. I can definitely taste the hint of sweetness. It had a warm mouth feel that went well with Japanese youkan, a sweet jellied bean paste dessert bar.
I wasn’t sure if the delicate flavor was because there were fewer tea leaves per pot, since the leaves are so long that 1 heaping tablespoon isn’t actually that much tea. So I weighed the tea for the second pot, adding 3 g of tea to 1 cup of hot water, steeped for 3 minutes.
I think 3 g was a little too much of this tea for my personal taste, since the grassiness was stronger. But compared to the other Japanese sencha teas that I’ve tasted, this was definitely on the more delicate side, and even the stronger cup still had that hint of sweetness. Again, this was perfect to eat with Japanese sweets like youkan.
This tea resteeped quite well (170℉ water for 5 minutes), tasting almost exactly like the first cup. The next resteeping (170℉ water for 7 minutes) wasn’t bad, but it was a little weak for my taste. I was impressed by the ability of this tea to steep multiple times, because most sencha I drink does not resteep well at all.
The only thing I was a little disappointed with was that if the tea was not completely poured out of the pot at the end of the steeping time, the tea left in the pot oversteeped and started to become bitter if it was left for longer than 5-7 minutes. Other high-grade sencha teas I’ve tasted have not become bitter despite the water being left in the pot, but granted, most of the time I completely pour the tea out of the pot when the steeping time is over.
When I usually make sencha, I use 2 teaspoons of tea (which weighs between 2 and 3 g) and 1 cup of water at a temperature of 190℉ for 2 minutes. This green tea recommends water at 170℉, which is cooler than I’m used to. I didn’t mind the cooler temperature of the tea, but some tea drinkers like my mom really dislike the cooler water temperature, regardless of how the tea tastes. So I decided to try to make it at a higher temperature just to see how it tastes in comparison to the lower temperature. I also weighed the tea for the third pot, but I only added a little more than 2 g of tea to 1 cup of 190℉ water, steeped for 3 minutes.
The tea tasted very much like it had at 170℉, although there might have been a slight harshness to the flavor because of the higher water temperature. It lost some of delicateness and sweetness of the flavor. I resteeped it for 5 minutes, and it wasn’t bad, but a little weaker than the first pot. The tea definitely tasted better at the lower water temperature, but if I were to brew this tea for my mother, for example, the taste wouldn’t be terrible at the higher water temperature.
Overall, this was a very light and delicate tea. It’s not something I’d drink with a meal or after a meal, because it doesn’t have the strong brightness that I prefer to compliment food. However, this tea was very good with sweets or on its own as a sanity break.
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