For Tea Mavens Only

“Oh, you’ll love this tea,” my friend shouted from the kitchen, while I waited in her living room.  I’d offered to help, but, no, she said it was a very special brew and she didn’t want any distractions.  “What kind is it?” I called back, hoping for a hint of what was to come.  “You’ll tell me,” she shot back in a way that let me know that my tea tasting talents ranked high on her list.  “I had the tastiest Darjeeling, before I left for work.  Wouldn’t surprise me if the leaves had been hand-dried.”  Her seclusion dragged on until she sweetly chimed in, “You would know. ” Such praise from someone who had lived for seven years in Ceylon and knew her tea leaves before she could crawl…  And then, seconds later, she joined me carrying a  perfect black mug.  “Try it and tell me what you think.” I lifted the cup to my mouth and sipped slowly until it was gone.  “Aren’t you going to guess?” she asked in a way that made me slightly nervous. “Madagascar,  gently fragrant, picked green and aged for a year.”  My friend didn’t say a word and smiled.  “Come let me show you…”  “I guess I was right!”  And then, as I looked around for a tell-tale tea bag,  she turned on the faucet.   “This is how I made it — nothing more — just like this.”  “Just like that.”