Tuesday TeaDay, 6/03/08

[Space Samurai]

I'm 50/50 with Honest Tea. Some of their stuff is quite decent, IMO, and as the first RTD to use Fair Trade Certified Tea, they have a special place in my heart, but some of their stuff is also absolutely dreadful.

[auggy]

Interesting posts about adding alcohol to tea. Still don't think I'm going to give it a shot, but interesting to know it isn't all that uncommon.

[Katrina]

I actually just tried what I would guess is the beverage Chip wrote about. I was sent a sample to taste test for my blog. (I posted the review yesterday.) I have to say it was surprisingly good. With the amount we drink around here, though, I expect this bottle will still be around in 2027...

[Space Samurai]

Just finished ice-brewing some yutaka midori. It was very good but gone too soon.

[Jack_teachat]

Too few of my friends understand how cool it is to never having been drunk!

I must say I rather disagree with this statement. I'm not saying that it is "cool" to be drunk, it’s just I'm of the opinion that you shouldn't really judge a consumable substance/product unless you yourself have tried it. I have been what you could call "drunk" quite a number of times, but by doing so I am very aware of my limits and consequently I think I respect alcohol more than many who merely abuse it (quite often through lack of experience with the substance). I also feel that I could talk to somebody about alcohol in a mature fashion and possibly offer them constructive advice if they felt they had a problem. Whether you have ever been drunk or not, either way it has absolutely nothing to do with being "cool".

[Cinnamon Kitty]

The only RTD iced tea that I have tried that was decent was a bottle of green tea with jasmine that I had during my recent vacation to Disney. I got it at the China part of the World Showcase in Epcot so the writing on the bottle was all in Chinese characters. I didn't keep the bottle or get a picture of it, sadly. The only things that it contained were mineral water, green tea, and jasmine. I originally wanted the oolong one, but they ran out so this one the only flavor they had left. They also didn't warn me that it was jasmine green tea instead of being plain green tea so I was surprised when I opened the bottle and smelled the jasmine. The last jasmine tea I tried was not pleasant, but the light floral taste in this tea was refreshing on a hot day.

I just got back from the family vacation today. I didn't drink much tea, but I had fun looking at the tea ware in Epcot and ended up with some. Here is a sneak peak of the little Yixing pot that I picked up in the China part of the World Showcase. It has a cute little dragon or a foo dog/guardian lion on the lid and I really liked the shape. I didn't realize that it came with the cups and saucers until after I decided that I wanted it. The pot is about 10oz and has a nice pour. I would have preferred one that was about 5oz, but most of the pots were larger or out of my price range. I will post more pictures tomorrow of the other fun tea stuff that I got while I was down there.

[witches brew]

We always drank hot tea with a wee drop of whiskey as an antidote to bad news. I'm sure that was a holdover from my grandmother's belief that a straight drink wasn't ladylike. But the whiskey was NOT added to the tea in the pot, so it could be declined by those who were disinclined.

But, getting back on topic, I'm not really thrilled with bottled teas. I've tried a few, but the brands don't stick in my mind. I haven't seen the Adagio offerings at my local deli. I would be wiling to try one out of respect for our fine, award-winning hosts.

Way to go, Adagio!

[Katrina]

I felt I had to share my recent crazy moment. I was out in the backyard watering a garden before the sun went down. We live in a pretty typical suburban neighborhood. I saw movement next door and saw a BEAR walking across our neighbor's backyard. A bear. I kid you not. Needless to say I got back in the house as fast as I possibly could. Two weeks ago I watched a coyote walk across my yard. Feels like Wild Kingdom around here. Yikes.

I think I need some of that tea with whiskey. Just kidding.

[henley]

There's green tea in that girly cup!!!



Kids FINALLY went to sleep & hubby's working late so had some time to play w/this Shincha Hatsumi from Eastree via the tea box. It's actually good! The first steep was my favorite but the subsequent steeps weren't bad. Not ready to cross over to the green side, though. This stuff is waaaay too fussy for me!

[auggy]

I felt I had to share my recent crazy moment. I was out in the backyard watering a garden before the sun went down. We live in a pretty typical suburban neighborhood. I saw movement next door and saw a BEAR walking across our neighbor's backyard. A bear. I kid you not. Needless to say I got back in the house as fast as I possibly could. Two weeks ago I watched a coyote walk across my yard. Feels like Wild Kingdom around here. Yikes.

I think I need some of that tea with whiskey. Just kidding.

That's nuts! A coyote ran across the highway night before last when I was coming home from grocery shopping, but that and the occasional armadillo is as wild as things get here. I would have wet myself if I saw a bear!

Not ready to cross over to the green side, though. This stuff is waaaay too fussy for me!

I love greens, but they can be pretty demanding. I have to admit, I like the "lower class" ones that are easier to brew (though when I am in the mood to deal with it, the fussy ones can be way yummy).

[Ladytiger]

No tea today. Too depressed.

RIP Sir Gawian

[Katrina]

No tea today. Too depressed.

So sorry, LT. I'm sad for you.

[Geekgirl]

Thanks for the welcome guys! I drink the stuff all day long, have some unidentified oolong at work, as well as jasmine pearl. The oolong is only unidentified because I forgot to write it on the bag when I got it from New Seasons' bulk tea. HA! Not bad though. They have very small bulk jars and go through a lot of it, so it ends up being pretty fresh small vendor tea.

Back home now, with some White Peony. I'm kind of a sucker for Silver Needle, but I'm out, so this will suffice.

[Chip]

There's green tea in that girly cup!!!



Kids FINALLY went to sleep & hubby's working late so had some time to play w/this Shincha Hatsumi from Eastree via the tea box. It's actually good! The first steep was my favorite but the subsequent steeps weren't bad. Not ready to cross over to the green side, though. This stuff is waaaay too fussy for me!

What have you done with Henley?????

Hatsumi is one of the most difficult sencha I have tried, especially this year. Took me 4 tries to get it right this Spring...you got it right the first try with no sencha experience...

*humiliated...goes to hide in the TeaCave*

[Geekgirl]

No tea today. Too depressed.

RIP Sir Gawian

Aw, poor little Sir. I'm sorry.