Smoky And Earthy Teas To Warm Up Autumn Evenings
Here in the Front Range of Colorado, the icy curtain of autumn’s first hard frost normally falls within the first two weeks of October. Which means we’re close—regardless of whether it lands in just a few days or at the end of the month.
The cold evenings compel us to start the season’s first fires in the hearth. We haul sweaters out of storage, and thrill to their snug embrace. And of course our always stoked desire for tea gains even more heat. Bring on the sturdy mugs, the dainty cups, the thermoses! Brew grassy greens, malty oolongs, bracing blacks and botanical-dense herbals!
To honor the beginning of months of fires to keep us warm—even if the flames are really more just vibes than crackling logs—let’s consider two teas that come bearing smoke. And we simply must prepare a beautiful pu-erh, China’s famous fermented tea. Among all styles of traditional Camellia sinensis, pu-erh captures earthiness like no other. With forest floors now blanketed with fallen leaves and fruit, and broadcasting such arboreal pungency, we think of autumn as the ultimate “earthy” season.
The last few weeks of October, too, merge with Halloween and its spectacle of fall atmospherics—pumpkins everywhere, decorative corn stalks and mums and of course wandering pint-sized ghosts, princesses and superheroes.
It’s all so wonderful—and perfect for pairing with tea.
Smoky and Earthy Teas: Lapsang Souchong
There’s nothing quite like Lapsang Souchong, the unique Chinese black tea bolstered with a stout smoky flavor. Legend has it that military conflict in the 17th century brought invading soldiers near a small village in China’s famous WuYi Mountains, just as farmers were in the process of slow-drying their tea leaves. To speed things up and flee before soldiers reached the village, they dried the leaves with smoke from pine fires.
The result—a tea delivering bracing wallops of smoke. Turned out that many people, including those in the United Kingdom who enjoyed both tea and smoky Scotch whiskey, rather savored the smoke-choked tea. And thus a style was born.
Farmers still use pine smoke to craft Lapsang Souchong. And we thrill to the tea, which also finds wide versatility in the culinary world. Cooks add it to dishes for smoky notes.
Smoky and Earthy Teas: Smoky Dragon Black
Has there ever been a more potent mythical creature than the dragon? They dominate many Asian legends. Europe, too, contributed much toward dragon lore—among many, there’s Fáfnir, the greedy dwarf turned dragon in Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle. In addition to fire and fangs, dragons also arrived wreathed in smoke—that’ll happen when breaths are flames. For this otherworldly blend, we combine pine-smoked black tea with vanilla. The final product is perfect for cold, lazy autumn morning and the season’s chilly, cloudy afternoons. Curl up in front of a fire, snuggle up with furry slippers and pajamas, get lost in a book while propped up in bed. No matter where and when you sip this blend, you’ll sink into its many fall charms.
Smoky and Earthy Teas: Organic Rose Pu-erh
Now comes a hearty nod to autumn’s signature earthiness, with pu-erh. As with all pu-erhs, this gem revolves around the fermented tea leaves that set pu-erh apart from the rest of the tea universe. Drinking proper pu-erh evokes walking through a forest on a crisp, autumn day. With this blend, you also get floral notes from the organic rose petals we add to the formulation. As many roses remain in bloom until first frost, we think they also align with autumn vibes. They also add a little bit of sweetness to this beautiful blend!
