“That you know of.”
“I do know. I see things. I hear things.” He gives me a golden-eyed look of disdain. “Sometimes things I wish I could unsee and unhear.”
I set the teapot to boil and join him at the table. “Okay, let’s gossip later. It’s time to get down to business. What do you know about tea?”
“It’s a beverage.”
“You’ve been tremendously helpful. Should we call it a day?”
“There are five main types—black, which is fully oxidized. Green, which is either pan-fried or steamed after it’s picked to prevent the tea from oxidizing. Oolong, which is semi-oxidized and can sit anywhere between black and green in terms of flavor. White is minimally processed, and pu’er is aged. There are also yellow and purple teas, but we won’t cover those today.”
“You forgot herbal tea.”
“I didn’t forget. Herbal tea is not a tea, but a tisane. True tea must contain the tea plant.”
“Laverna sold herbals,” I can’t help but point out. “I have a whole shelf of them.”
“She did, buttoday, we’re going to focus ontea.”
“What about teas mixed with herbs or dried fruits?”
“We’ll get to them later. The tea snobs aren’t going to care how you pronounce chamomile. But they will care what estateyour new shipment of Darjeeling came from, which flush it is, and what year it was harvested.”
“And Darjeeling is…a black tea?” I say the last bit triumphantly, glad I remembered.
“Correct.” Then, like he’s quizzing me, he says, “And what country is it from?”
“India.”
“And what other teas are from India?”
“Assam, Nilgiri, masala chai—oh, but that has spices in it, so we’re ignoring it today.”
“Yes, but that one counts as acceptable in many tea snob circles. So does jasmine and, occasionally, Earl Grey.”
“So those are okay, but if you throw in dried apples, suddenly, it’s not a tea snob tea?”
“We don’t question the process.”
“I had cinnamon apple tea with Ryder yesterday. It was delicious.”
“Laverna stocked several good ones.”
“I’m not sure I can work in an industry that shuns cinnamon and apples—two well-known providers of happiness.”
“You’re squirreling, Kit. The flavored teas are fine. We’re justnot talking about them today.”
“Unless they happen to be masala chai or jasmine. And maybe Earl Grey.”
He huffs. “Correct.”
The electric kettle beeps, alerting me that the water is boiling. “What should we try first?”
“Black tea, since you boiled the water.”
“Aren’t you supposed to boil the water?”
“It depends on the tea. It’s fine for most blacks, but many greens or oolongs become bitter if the water is too hot.”
