rt Boris Kopka
He made warmth in a world of cold. She made color in a world of grey
rt Indigo Soul
Tag Archives: tea
Tea Review: Blue Earl Grey
Historically, I have liked but not loved traditional Earl Grey, finding it less flavor-full than most of the black teas I favor. I impulsively tried Blue Earl Grey on a cold winter morning at Dawson Taylor’s a week ago however, and fell in love from the first sip. I like Earl Grey’s for the morning: most of the actual breakfast teas – see TheKitchn’s guide to the difference between English, Irish, and Scottish breakfast teas – tend to be malty and rich instead of slightly bitter as I prefer. Blue Earl Grey in particular has really hit my palate preference, being full-bodied and very strong with a resonant flavor and just a distant hint of sweetness. My love for Lavender Orange Earl Grey is well-documented (a slightly more milky/malty flavor), but overall I prefer this as my favorite of the Greys (who else immediately imagines “the Greys” as an aristocratic British family of teas?). You can order all sorts of Blue Earl Grey online ( would probably recommend this), or find it at Dawson Taylor’s if you live in the Northwest.
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CoffeeLetter: Peanut butter noodles, rain on the docks, new spring books
The CoffeeLetter is out! This is a once-every-two-months newsletter I send to blog followers; view this one here and subscribe to get the next one. Cheers!
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Quotidian: Cup of Tea C.S. Lewis
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What kind of tea do you want?
“What kind of tea do you want?”
“There´s more than one kind of tea?…What do you have?”
“Let´s see… Blueberry, Raspberry, Ginseng, Sleepytime, Green Tea, Green Tea with Lemon, Green Tea with Lemon and Honey, Liver Disaster, Ginger with Honey, Ginger Without Honey, Vanilla Almond, White Truffle Coconut, Chamomile, Blueberry Chamomile, Decaf Vanilla Walnut, Constant Comment and Earl Grey.”
-“I.. Uh…What are you having?… Did you make some of those up?”
― Bryan Lee O’Malley, Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life
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Tea and a Book
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Tea Love: Jasmine
Jasmine tea, by apemal
Jasmine tea can take a little getting used to – it’s one of those slightly more artisanal flavors that the average person whose tea consumption is largely Starbucks wouldn’t normally pursue. It’s very mild in the mouth, but the the note that stays is a distinct if light floral taste, which can take a second of adjustment for us Americans whose palates are acclimated to either black tea or the very bold floral flavors. I initially didn’t like Jasmine, but what I found is that I love it iced, because the floral is delicate and refreshing, but find it too grassy when hot. And because it has such a unique flavor, I find myself craving it on certain days, and no other tea will do.
I like Lupicia’s Jasmine and Jasmine Mandarin tea, and this is a simple tea recipe from Martha Stewart using Jasmine and maple syrup –
Jack and Jill’s Jasmine Iced Tea
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Caffeinated Links: America’s Tea Consumption, Baby Groot Beats all other Marvel Movies, Scots Claiming Independence
The Washington Post has a great update on America’s tea consumption –
“The U.S. market for tea has more than quadrupled during the past twenty-plus years—from just under $2 billion in 1990 to just over $10 billion last year—according to the U.S. Tea Association. Demand for the herbal beverage has now been growing at a healthy clip for decades. By weight, Americans now drink almost 20 percent more of the herbal beverage than they did back in 2000, according to market research firm Euromonitor.” RT
The Scots are considering independence (and all I can think about is this).
“The people of Scotland are to be offered a historic opportunity to devise a federal future for their country before next year’s general election, it emerged on Saturday night, as a shock new poll gave the campaign for independence a narrow lead for the first time.” RT
Guardians of the Galaxy has now exceeded Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger is global gross total. You keep sashayin’, Baby Groot. RT
Darren Franich at EW on a study of the effect of watching Michael bay movies – “Technically, the study doesn’t specifically state that watching a Michael Bay movie is the equivalent of stuffing your mouth with M&Ms™ and then filling your overstuffed mouth with Coca-Cola™ while driving a 2013 Chevrolet™ Venture™ with Mark Wahlberg in the backseat screaming “I’M AN INVENTOR!!!” while he shotguns a Bud Light™ and plays Xbox™. But the study also doesn’t not say that.” RT
Fiona McCrae, publisher of Graywolf Press, had some great things to say about publishing in the age of the Internet. “There are dozens of obstacles to any given book succeeding. If a book succeeds it always does so against the odds. The odds in one generation might relate to the fact that people would rather be watching television than reading your book. The odds in the next generation might be that they’d rather be on their computer than reading your book. Once it was that people would rather be riding a bicycle than reading your book. It doesn’t do any good to be talking, as an author or publisher, about the obstacles. There are better uses of energy, I think. Yes, we can all feel helpless and wary in this industry sometimes, but it’s better, as a publisher, to look at the ways in which e-books and Twitter and so on can help us reach new readers, rather than treating social media as an enemy to literature.” RT
Coffee and Irony 