Maple Tea

   Recently, a friend journeyed north of the border and brought me back a little cube of Maple Tea, and a most enjoyable gift it was indeed!!!

   Now, a little background... while in Japan, I acquired a taste for several exotic things, but my chicory cured taste buds never quite got to a point where they could enjoy the delicate green teas common over there.  When I did drink tea, I favored an Earl Grey, or when I can get my hands on it, the strong, smokey Lapsang Souchong.  I also, typically drink my tea straight, unless I'm feeling particularly nostalgic or have biscuits, I may stir in some evaporated or condensed milk... but that is rather rare.

   This Maple Tea was a delightful surprise.  Opening the packet, a strong whiff of sweet maple filled the air.  After a 4 minute steep I enjoyed a cup straight up.  The tea flavor is smooth, and the Maple very full, but not an overly sweet flavor.  If you like sugar in your tea, you will not have to add it to this, and if you don't like sugar in your tea, the sweetness is not that of refined sugar, so you will like this too.  The tea and maple flavors are well balanced.  This would make the perfect addition to your eggs and bacon in the morning... even if you can't get started without your coffee... this will do the trick.

Muirwood Pinot Nior

Ah, a red at last... and I have to admit, I'm starting to truly enjoy focusing my attention on the full experience of drinking a wine.  In the past, I'd just drink it down without paying attention.  Doing that, they were all the same... What was a tannin?  What did dry mean?  I didn't know... didn't really care... I simply drank the stuff and thought I was refined... I was a fool... and probably looked like one.  Well, the times they are a-changin. 

Speaking of enjoyment... that's the Muirwood Pinot Noir.

I cannot honestly say whether or not I've ever had a Pinot Noir... remember, I never payed attention...  I drank either 'the house red,' Cabernet or Chardonnay... in other words, 'didn't know,' red or white.
Now that I DO pay attention, I think I may be able to tell the difference between a pinot noir and a Cabernet. 

Before I get to talking about this particular Pinot Noir, let me talk a little bit about what I've learned concerning wine tasting... wine experiencing.  You often see people surrounding their nose by the glass and breathing deeply to get the aroma of the wine.  To be honest, I've noticed more nuances of aroma by doing that with an empty glass after draining it of the wine and letting it sit for several minutes.  So far, whenever I smell a wine in a glass, I smell the alcohol and nothing else.  I also find that the the initial taste of a wine doesn't really set it off from others of it's kind.   The initial mouthful of one Cabernet is... to me.. no different from any other, unless one tastes like paint thinner and the other does not.  Only after coating my mouth by drinking a glass and then waiting for saliva to work its chemical magic, do I begin to sense subtle differences in flavor, texture and character.  It is important to notice, that the common denominator in all these changes from when I noticed nothing to when I noticed something is air... or oxygen.  The wine had time to frolic with some oxygen... so I'm going to start decanting... after the next payday.

This particular Pinot Noir has a smooth texture that is slightly dry.  At first, I did not notice the "cherry and berry" flavors mentioned on the back label, and to be honest, I always thought that was B.S. because I never tasted it.  Well, after a while of my mouth being free of the wine, I actually did taste grape, then a fuller, indistinct "berriness."  That moment was an epiphany of wine enjoyment for me.  After more time, a sweetness developed like the aftertaste of candy.   I guarantee, I will rarely rush through a wine again.

I recommend this one... epiphanies for just under thirteen bucks are a good deal....  Unfortunately, the label didn't survive the extraction process... guess I need to drink another...

Welcome Back Pete!!!

 

After ten long months, Pete's Fine Meats is back in business.  Earlier this year, Pete's location at 5509 Richmond near the Galleria had a fire, and after repairing, he opened his doors again on Nov. 5th.  Before the fire, I had never gone to Pete's, although I drove past his butcher shop daily when I worked nearby.  After I started this blog, however, I became excited about having an actual butcher shop within driving distance.  A butcher shop has a much more neighborly feel to it than the meat section of your local grocer.

Pete's is much more than just a butcher, though.  It is a fully functional deli with a small section of groceries that complement the purchase of whatever main course you are getting for the day.

 

It was also a joy to see Pete's old customers return for lunch.  Many were obviously old regulars who welcomed Pete and his staff back like long absent friends.  Only being open for about a day, his stocks seemed a little low, but all the cuts I saw were beautiful.  The deli section also includes BBQ, smoked sausage, chicken and pulled pork.  There were briskets, huge shrimp and a sausage that, if memory serves, was made of shrimp and crawfish... I may have to try that some time.

 

For lunch, I had the link sandwich.  The smoked sausage is not spicy, and there was just the right amount of tangy sauce so that the full meaty goodness was not drowned out.  Was it the best BBQ in town, probably not... was the amiable, friendly nature of the staff and neighborly joviality of the clientele something hard to find in other places... definitely so.  Pete's Fine Meats is a neighborhood butcher in the heart of the city and well worth a visit... especially if you plan on heatin up the grill.

Muirwood Chardonnay

Here I am, Mr. "Insensitive Palate" trying, of all things, a new Chardonnay.  Well, I am determined to learn about wine.  Wine truly intrigues me.  It symbolizes culture and civilization as beer represents agrarian ruggedness.  Both... mind you... are best enjoyed in moderation.  Fermentation amazes... It's a natural mystery that converts something mundane; average; normal into something intricate, complex... divine.  Yet, being "intrigued," I've never really concentrated and observed what I was sensing as I drank.

Well, here it goes... my first.. focused... savoring of a wine...

First I stuck my nose in the glass like you see them do in the movies and took a deep sniff.  It did not have a strong scent.  It was slight, I guess the wine term might be "gentle" or "delicate."  It smelled a little like oak.  So, what would that be... "a hint of the cask?"  Then, I took a a rather full sip and focused on the flavor.  The first thing I noticed was a taste of "oakiness"  or a pleasant "woodyness."  Then, I took another, fuller mouthful.  I let it rest, drowning my taste buds for a moment and fixated all my observational skill upon it.

Now... the back label of this wine said that it has "generous tropical and citrus fruit flavors."  I've drunk a LOT of wine and never tasted lemons, oranges or even grapes... However, the flavor I noticed as I slowly sloshed the wine around wasn't quite that of fruit, but it did have what I might call the essence of citrus.  It was the gustatory equivalent of looking at a cubist or abstract painting...  The Weeping Woman, for example,  is... I hope... a poor likeness of the model, but you could point to it and say "that is pain" in the same way that you could point to a wall and say "that is blue," and in that way, you can point at the sensation of the wine resting in your palate and say "that is citrus."

Please understand, that I did not think of The Weeping Woman when I tasted the wine, it was merely the first abstract painting that came to mind as I wrote...

After I finished, I breathed deep from the empty glass and filled my senses with the fragrance left by the wine.  Though the scent was not truly that of a forest, it triggered thoughts of the wilderness or the woods in Autumn.

For just under $10 a bottle, this is a thoroughly enjoyable Chard.