I can't quite put my finger on what it is but there's something about tea that sometimes inspires its fans to flights of literary and poetic fancy. This is something that's been going on for quite some time now. I've written about a number of rather epic pieces of English verse about tea dating back …
Month: September 2012
Establishing a Tea Routine
Lately, I've been feeling a bit out of whack with my tea routines. Which is to say, I haven’t really had any. The tea routines (rou-tea-nes?) I’ve had in the past have faded away, mostly due to the fact that my day-to-day schedule has changed significantly over the last month. Suddenly, the old routines do …
Tea Kettle Philosophy — Judging by Appearance
These days the politically correct thing to do is to avoid judging things and people by their appearance. But in tea, judging by appearance can be a very good thing. This thought comes to mind as once again I set the kettle on to boil. A time when the old brain starts cranking. Once upon …
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The aleph-beit-gimels* of Kosher Tea
* These are the first three letters of the Hebrew alphabet, equivalent to our ABCs. Over the past few years, and partially in response to customer demand, more and more tea sellers have been seeking out and qualifying for certifications for their teas, including kosher. The laws governing kosher foods are based on the health and …
Pumpkins at Tea Time
Autumn is here and a popular crop this time of year is the humble yet tasty and versatile pumpkin, so it seems quite appropriate to include pumpkins at tea time! There are lots of options and exploring them all can keep you pleasantly busy for awhile. There are several kinds of pumpkins, from smaller ones …
Finding Tea in Martin Yan’s Hidden China
I wasn't very familiar with Martin Chan until I recently ran across a TV show called Martin Yan's Hidden China. For anyone else who might have been living under a rock, suffice to say that Yan has been the host of the PBS show, Yan Can Cook, since 1982 and has also hosted various other …
Interrupting Tea Time Is Undignified
Anyone with any sense or sensibility (that reference was for my fellow Jane Austen fans) will know better than to interrupt tea time. As the British say, “It just isn’t done.” I’ve talked about tea time manners before, things like pinky-pointing or overly loud slurping (done for its own sake, not so you get the …
Lavender and Tea
Lavender finds its way into a lot of food and drink, and is currently quite fashionable in culinary arts. One place that lavender appears quite frequently is, of course, tea. Despite the fact that its peak season (summer) is coming to an end, there are still plenty of opportunities to include some lavender in your …
Tea Traditions — Indonesia
Still known as a premiere producer of coffee (as in “a cup of java,” since Java is one of the coffee growing islands there), Indonesia (formerly the Dutch East Indies) also had a reputation for the quality of its black teas. They have grown tea for over 200 years, with those teas having a reputation …
Drinking Tea in Strange Places
What's the strangest place you've ever drunk a cup of tea? Well, no matter how strange it might be it probably doesn’t compare to drinking it in a wind tunnel. Which is what British adventurer and TV personality attempted to do in 2011 to further the noble cause of helping Typhoo Tea sell more of …
