Monkey Picked Oolong

Tea of the Day: Monkey Picked Oolong by Teavana

Description: As legend has it, ancient Buddhist Monks trained monkeys to gather the youngest leaves from the tip-top of wild tea trees for this special Imperial Reserve blend. The legend lives on, now with the deft hand-plucking of the broken, evenly sized leaves that unfurl to create a light, orchid aroma, and the highest grade of oolong in the world

Dry tea smells grassy and lightly sweet with a finish of a slightly savory, vegetable-like smell

Liquor is a clear golden-green in the cup

Steeped tea smells like honeyed flowers, sweet and delicate

The tea tastes much like the smell, light and floral-sweet. When you add sugar, the tea gets a nutty character to it, as well.

Tea Rating: 4.5/5

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Today’s post is dedicated to one of my closest friends who is leaving town this week because she got a big promotion.

Goodbyes are hard.

Even when the parting is amicable or expected, it’s hard to say to see someone you’ve cared about leave, or to leave behind friends or family for something new.

But there’s a secret to this, to making it less painful: no goodbye ever has to be permanent. Even the goodbye at the end of someone’s life is only forever if you never ever think of that person again, because the heart you put into your memories keeps them close to some extent

For the goodbye of moving, changing jobs, changing situations turing a goodbye to a ‘bye is as simple as choosing to keep in touch.

Write letters. Sounds silly but it’s fun and easy to do, plus a treat to get non-bill non-junk mail on a regular basis, that you don’t have to pay for like you do packages or magazine subscriptions

Go visit. Even if it’s only once a year or so, getting to see that person that you’re missing makes the whole thing feel less lonely

Take advantage of technology. I play an online game once or twice a week with my oldest friend, and we use a voice chat service so that we can talk while we slay monsters. I have made plans with my friend that is moving to Skype and drink tea together, doing our tea house visits across the miles from our respective homes.

The very last thing (but arguably the most important) that will make parting a bit easier is to allow yourself to feel what you feel. There is no shame in taking that big opportunity that is going to make your life better. There is also no reason to feel guilty for missing your friend and wishing they didn’t have to go/wanting them to come back.

The trick is not to wallow. Don’t isolate yourself from those you leave behind just because you think they might be upset about your new life (a hint, if they care about you like you care about them, they won’t, they’ll be happy for you). On the flip side of that, don’t try to make your absent friend feel bad for being absent…uprooting yourself, no matter how great the cause, is hard enough without having someone you care about bringing you down.

Turn that goodbye into a ‘bye, and you’ll both be moving forward to a brighter future, together.

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“No more words. We know them all, all the words that should not be said. But you have made my world more perfect.”
― Terry Pratchett, Nation