Charles' Tea House

Selling Out

2009-01-09T17:31:00.003-05:00

In case my total lack of updates didn't clue you in, I've moved on from this happy place to an even better one... I've started a lucrative and failure-proof Tea Company right HERE. See you soon!

-Charles

Pearls II

2008-09-05T12:55:00.002-05:00

OK, so I'm still trying these pearls from Darjeeling, and I'm very caffeinated! Ordinarily pearls are easy like tea-bags -- that's part of their appeal since they tend to hang together in the bottom of your cup. You can just toss them in there and enjoy. Also ordinarily, pearls tend to be non-threatening jasmine scented green tea so it doesn't matter that they steep forever. These guys, however, are really potent and I've just discovered that the drop & ignore brewing method results in strong as hell tea, then bitter tea, and eventually makes you (me, in this instance) have to scoop out the tea leaves with a spoon to salvage the cup. But it's OK. I also, apparently, have no idea how to gauge how much tea I'm using.

Pearls

2008-09-04T12:21:00.002-05:00

With each post I like to believe I am starting anew, and yet it's been months since my last fresh-start post. Pffft. I've been busy. Erik and I are working hard getting our tea business going, and I've also been working hard suppressing all the horrible entrepreneurial ideas I keep having.

So, in the meantime I've been up to my neck in tea trying to reckon which ones will make the roster for our launch. I'm glad I remembered to check out the little vacuum sealed bag on my desk because I found some crazy tea in it! Yes, it's Gopaldhara & Rohini Estate Pearl Tea, it really is! I figure whenever you go out of your way to hand-roll perfectly good tea into little balls (pearls) it's because it's not as perfectly good as the stuff you just throw in a bag and sell as is. However, I'm inclined to believe that this tea is, in fact, perfectly good. How the tea is rolled has a lot to do with how it oxidizes, which in turn has everything to do with how it tastes so I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps a lesser leaf can be schooled in this manner and go just as far in society as another.

Lung Ching

2008-06-18T12:43:00.003-05:00

I'm sure I've posted about this one before, but it's worth covering again. Lung Ching, also known as "dragonwell," is a super-popular type of Chinese green tea. Sort of like Sencha is to the Japanese, Lung Ching is what I think of when I think of your everyday Chinese green tea. And I do that quite often. Like just about everything it comes in a variety of grades, and like everything it is worth your while to get your hands on one of the better grades. The one I've got here is great -- the leaves are dried flat and average about 3/4" in length. I'm going to have to go check out some other Lung Ching teas to see if this is unique to this batch, but these leaves smell like dark chocolate. It's unmistakable and I don't remember ever noticing that before. Of course tea and chocolate are both loaded with alkaloids (I think -- me: not a scientist) so maybe that explains it.

Anyway, it should be noted that you can't really judge tea by looking at dry leaves, no matter how pretty they are or how much they smell like Mars bars. When brewed (for about 2 minutes in 170-180 degree water) the tea is a very pale green, almost yellow, not at all like those Japanese teas. Also unlike the Japanese teas the brew is very buttery and mellow without a grassy taste. I've never seen a chemical analysis but my experience has been that Lung Ching is very stimulating, which I presume is those alkaloids hard at work.

Gyokuro

2008-06-11T10:19:00.004-05:00

Everyone knows that Japan is awesome, so it should be no surprise that Japanese tea is also awesome. It is. Awesomeness abounds. As far as I know, most of the low-end, mass-produced tea they drink (and they drink a lot) is imported from elsewhere, but the higher-grade orthodox teas grown in Japan are always really great. If ever there was a positive stereotype it's that the Japanese have a knack for making great stuff, be it little toy robots or green tea. Oh, and the girls are all pretty, but that's another post. Anyway, on the surface you won't find a whole lot of variety in their teas -- they're all green and there are only about 5 common types -- but there is a lot of room for subtlety and I challenge you to find a bad one.

Today I'm drinking Gyokuro, which loosely translates to "$$$$" in English. It's the top of the line, and well worth the outlay. If the only green tea you've ever had came from Starbucks then you will be surprised by this. It is so damn green it looks artificial, and it smells kind of like peas & corn, but also like freshly cut grass. Early in the morning, while there's still a little mist in the air. If you do it right, and I will tell you how, there is no bitterness at all.

Boil your water and pour it into your cup or teapot. Leave the lid off, and let it sit there for at least two minutes. Once it has cooled some, add your tea leaves -- I like it pretty strong so I usually use at least a heaping teaspoon per cup, maybe a tiny bit more. Let it steep for 90 seconds, remove the leaves and enjoy. You'll get at least three good brews out of it, maybe more, and you can steep it longer each time.

Lastly, here is a crummy photo I took of this tea. It's made even worse by my half-assed attempt to capture the bounty of tea spilling forth from the bag all cornucopia style. Well, I prefer posts with photos so here it is:

Samples

2008-06-05T08:57:00.004-05:00

There are so many intangible benefits we receive from attending the Tea Expo (at least that's what we tell the wives) but there are some very tangible benefits as well, namely samples. Tons of them. At times it feels like Halloween. Some vendors give out tote bags, others tea, it's a winning combination. Mind you it costs plenty to register for the show, fly out to Vegas, stay in a 'spensive hotel and maintain the Andrews & Dunham lifestyle but it doesn't stop me from feeling like we got something for nothing when I gaze upon our haul.

Most of the samples we picked up this year are teas that we will seriously consider for our roster. It will be a roster of fineness. Owing to our aforementioned but still mysterious bizness plan we are looking at a relatively narrow price range and tried to grab a bunch of teas that will fit the bill. Nevertheless, that didn't stop us from graciously accepting some very high grade offerings which I will consume on your behalf and possibly tell you about. Erik made the mistake of trusting me with the lot, so I'm going to tear through this fancy stuff as fast as can until he realizes his error.

Tea Expo!

2008-06-03T09:54:00.003-05:00

I took this picture while I was attending the 2008 World Tea Expo. No, it wasn't held in Paris, France. That stunning replica of the Eiffel Tower you see there is in beautiful Las Vegas, U.S.A. Oh the stories I could tell. Well, I can't really tell any of them, Vegas and all, but I can tell you all about the Tea Expo and perhaps offer a few travel tips while I'm at it.

The Expo itself was a blast. Each year it gets a little bigger, and each year Erik and I have a bit more of a clue about what the hell we are doing. Now that we actually have a strategy for our business (more on that later) we had fun trying to explain it to people, and since we're taking a different approach than most fledgling tea enterprises we were greeted with a mixture of encouraging enthusiasm and polite skepticism. I was pretty heavily caffeinated after a few hours on the show floor so I mostly relished bantering with the skeptics.

Anyway, I'll go into more detail in the ensuing posts but I will offer these two Las Vegas travel tips in the meantime: If you can avoid it, do not stay at the Luxor. Also, if you happen to be a dude and you buy one of those yard-long daiquiri cups you are almost guaranteed to have an argument with your girlfriend. We saw that story play itself out too many times not to mention it, so please, keep that in mind.

Yorkshire Gold

2008-04-22T11:28:00.003-05:00

So I'm in the tea doldrums lately. Haven't had any great samples come my way, and the Tea Expo is still a while off. Just lazy I suppose but I've been drinking this totally boring Yorkshire Gold from Taylors of Harrogate. I picked it up at one of those wealthy-person supermarkets that usually have a good tea selection. It's loose tea, but it's machine farmed so a) it doesn't taste all that special, and b) the leaves have been chopped up to a uniformly small size so it brews up really strong and fast. That's probably the thing it's got going for it. The strength of a grizzly. The quickness of a puma. Anyway, here's a photo of the bag. I've positioned it next to a piece of tinfoil, a ball-point pen and a binder clip to show how easily it blends in with other ordinary things:

I just visited their website and they do seem like nice people, so now I feel kind of bad for saying that their tea is dull. Well, there's nothing wrong with being dull, in fact it is admirable to seek out beauty and goodness in the ordinary and the everyday, no?

Drink Up

2008-04-02T19:35:00.002-05:00

Here's another great reason to load up on tea: It will protect your brain from the rest of your body. According to this story from the BBC, a new study indicates that caffeine helps protect the brain from the damaging effects of cholesterol in the bloodstream. Like we need scientists to tell us that caffeine is good for our brains. Sheesh.

Upton Tea Importers

2008-03-14T14:12:00.003-05:00

You know who's awesome? Upton Tea Importers, that's who. This morning Mrs. Tea House discovered the base unit of the electric kettle we bought from them two years ago was smoldering. She sent them an email with the pic below and received this response almost immediately:

"We will be glad to replace the kettle base for you, at no charge. It will be mailed out to you today...We're going to forward your photo to our manufacturer so they may investigate what could be causing this to happen. We're very sorry that you experienced this and thank you for your patience."

That's just plain old, really good customer service in action. Also, I love their catalogs which always include a lengthy history lesson like this one about Tea and Horse Trading.

Bzzzzz

2008-02-25T10:26:00.004-05:00

If you call me in the morning and I don't stop talking for about 20 minutes, then you'll know I'm working on my new perfect caffeine formulation. Sometimes a tea blogger just needs to wake up, and I'm no exception. You know I'm crazy about the high-end stuff but there are times when the tea bag is king. I take an ordinary bag of Tazo "Awake" and submerge it in hot water. After a while I drink the water. Once I'm done with that, I do the same with a Whole Foods 365 House Brand cheapie Organic Black Tea bag. Then I start talking. If you really want to know about the subtle differences between the Fall'79 and Spring '80 GD tours, call me at one of these times and I will tell you all about it. I will leave nothing out.

Obviously, there are so many great things to be said for unique and special orthodox teas but I will give this to their low-grade brethren: They are amazingly consistent. Real hardcore tea blenders wearing lab coats see to it that I get exactly the right amount of caffeine every single time.

Peppermint

2008-02-15T15:01:00.006-05:00

Winter is dragging on here in the Mid-Atlantic region which means constant hot bevs. I have my limits with the caffeine, so at times I need a good herbal tea just to keep it rolling along nicely. Some people get bent out of shape when herbal tea is called "tea" since it's not really tea at all but I'm not one of those people. If it's a hot drink infused from some sort of leaf then what the hell, it can be tea. I'm all about pragmatic beverage classification.

One great thing about herbal teas is that they can only be so good. Kind of like soda, and unlike wine (not including bum wines), the difference between cheap and expensive can be hard to discern. In fact, the cheaper the better. One of my favorite herbals is straight up peppermint, and try as I might, I can find none better than Celestial Seasonings. They've recently changed their packaging but it's still the mintiest game in town.

Thought I'd spruce up the post by adding a picture of a model wearing a superhero cape holding a box of herbal tea. It's an old marketing trick.

Caribou

2008-01-28T09:37:00.000-05:00

My office moved recently, so instead of a Starbucks downstairs there's a Caribou next door. I'm inclined to like them, not because I'm a Starbucks hater (I'm not), but because they seem to sort of give a crap about tea. They seem earnest, which is ironic since they play up this completely artificial lodge vibe that would be horrible if it came from California, but it's OK coming from the Twin Cities.

I bought a box of Irish Breakfast tea and inside I found these lovable little tea balls:

Don't tell me these aren't lovable, because they are. The tea is fine, not spectacular but better than Tazo bags. My one criticism is the balls are too small. I'm saying this with a straight face. Keep the same amount of tea in there, just make the balls bigger so the leaves have more room during the brewing process. Otherwise, go get 'em.

Sports Tea

2007-12-18T10:24:00.000-05:00

It took years for Erik & me to figure out the obvious: If you're willing to fork over some cash, your humble dreams can come true! The last 'Skins game we went to was just cold enough for us to pioneer some tea in the stands, which has long been a dream of ours, albeit an humble one. Since tea isn't the the first beverage of choice for most football fans (in this country, at least) we had to take some initiative, show some sachet if you will. After an outlay of $8.00 for two cups of hot water we made some nice, manly Darjeeling with the little homemade baggies Erik brought. Worth every bit of $8.00.

Instead of Disease, Try This...

2007-10-19T13:38:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I posted so I figured why not reconvene with a little health news. We all love feeling great, and we all know that Green Tea is a healthy bev, right? Sure we do. Let's indulge ourselves, though, with this article which has the longest, most detailed list of health benefits I have ever seen. Seriously, there is nothing this tea won't do to keep you alive. Nothing.

Kanchanjangha

2007-06-27T12:01:00.001-05:00

OK, my photographer appears to be on strike so I've got to go ahead without visuals here. I am nuts about this tea I have from Nepal! I got a pile of samples from a coop of Nepalese tea growers and each one just kicks ass. Nepal is nestled right in there geographically with some heavy duty tea regions but for some reason it just doesn't have the clout. I'm guessing politics, age-old hatred and the like are at play, but basically Darjeeling is relaxing poolside while Nepal is watching it from outside the fence. The result is a tea that tries harder. Also, they are so eager for people to buy their tea they are handing out really top-notch samples.

What I really like about these teas is they tend to be of a very high quality but with a twist to distinguish them from your standard awesome tea from India. Awesome-but-with-a-twist is the Andrews & Dunham way. I'm drinking one now from the Kanchanjangha Estate. it has the astringency of a Darjeeling, the earthy clay taste of a Chinese green, and the sweet grassy aroma of a Japanese Sencha. And a lot of caffeine. The other thing I really like about these teas has nothing to do with tea, but with the romantic associations I have with Nepal from listening to Rush albums, watching Indiana Jones movies and generally longing for far-away exotic places.

Balls Inspection

2007-06-19T10:27:00.000-05:00

Trying out some of the great tea we got at the Expo. Today it's these little balls of Yunnan tea which we received as a result of one of our aforementioned halting conversations. You might have encountered those little green jasmine pearls at your local tea shoppe and these are just like them, except they are not green. No. They are black & gold and make a tea that looks like coffee. I'm on the 3rd infusion and it still looks/is stronger than most coffee.

I'm walking around the office, showing off my tea.

World Tea Expo!

2007-06-12T13:43:00.000-05:00

Just got back from the 2007 World Tea Expo in Atlanta and, as is our custom, we had a fantastic time. All weekend long we were knocking back little cups of tea while having funny, halting conversations with people who spoke little English. Erik got to flex his limited yet awesome knowledge of Japanese to the delight of some of the exhibitor ladies while I got to watch the eye-rolling of their male boothmates. Domo arigato, Erik-san. And, of course, we made lots of headway with our fledgling enterprise. More details to follow once we get some of our photos uploaded.

Wednesday

2007-05-09T16:05:00.000-05:00

I come and go as I please.

Eyes Buggin'

2007-01-18T12:37:00.000-05:00

As you may know, Erik (see issue 7 - ed.) and I are in the process of getting in the business of making huge piles of money as purveyors of fine tea and to that end we are adrift in samples. My eyes are buggin' from all the tea we've been drinking. You wouldn't think the sampling of tea would be particularly taxing but it turns out there is a staggering amount of unremarkable tea to be sampled. We are providing a service to our fellow tea drinkers by sorting through all this sludge. Some might recommend a measured, careful tea tasting technique but not us. We are freestyle all the way. No swish and spit at Andrews & Dunham - we engage in full on street tasting, real-world tea sippin'. This is not business-casual. I am wide awake.

Havukal Silver Tips

2006-10-16T14:27:00.000-05:00

Been working through some samples in the Andrews & Dunham tea tasting lab - today's selection: Havukal Silver Tips. For those of you who don't know, Havukal is a estate in Nilgiri, which is a mountainous region in southwestern India, which is a great big country on our planet. I'd never heard of Havukal either so I had to do some frantic internet research so I could pretend to be smarter than Eric and know all about it. it's OK, he does this to me all the time. It's something we do.

So the tea... To be honest I had no idea what to do with it. The dry leaves are big, pretty straight, fuzzy and pale like a white tea, but also had some darker colors like a Darjeeling black so I brewed it up a couple of ways. First try was with water at 180, steeped for 2 minutes. This was accidental, as I thought the water was warmer than it turned out to be but it worked fine - very subtle, round taste with a hint of that malty sweetness you get in a Darjeeling. Second try was with hotter water and a 3 to 4 minute brew - didn't seem to lose anything but didn't gain much other than a darker color something like apple cider. Still pretty damn subtle. I'm either a loser who can't appreciate subtlety (this is highly possible) or this tea is not quite there. I chugged through it, felt briefly contented and now can't remember much to recommend it.

This is not unlike the chick flick I watched with my wife the other night (because I'm so thoughtful and caring) which had plenty of plot and dialogue and good acting (no nudity), made me feel happy, then sad, but left me unable to determine whether I could recommend it to a friend or not. No matter, we'll just talk about sports & tea instead.

Donuts

2006-10-05T12:26:00.000-05:00

Spent the week out at the seaside with my lady and decided to forgo my usual nerdly ways by not taking a bunch of tea along with me. Instead, I chose to rough it and trust providence to steer me to the right hot beverage at just the right moment. My report from the field is as follows:

-it's hard to get a good cup of tea these days

-beer makes an excellent substitute

-hot donuts are always nice

-can I go back to the beach now?

Really, living cup to cup is hard these days. The best thing I found was from Revolution tea. They make appealing one-serving boxes that contain pretty fine tea in deluxe sachets. Plus: Most of the goodness of loose tea, all the convenience of a tea bag. Minus: hard to find. Mostly what I found was Tazo, which is like pretend real tea. It's OK when brewed with really scalding hot water - that seems to bully it into having some flavor, but otherwise it has no character. It makes me sleepy it's so boring.

The real find was a little chain of Donut shops called the Fractured Prune that serves up extravagantly adorned, lovingly hand-dipped, hot donuts. Screw the tea. Here's a picture of me with an unsatisfying cup of Tazo tea and an extremely satisfying hot donut (note the empty plate, evidence of its departed brethren):

Good News, Sort Of

2006-09-13T11:36:00.000-05:00

Good news: A new study informs us that consumption of green tea can have a beneficial impact on cardiovascular health. Bad news: Only if you're Japanese. Also bad news: Because we eat too much pig fat here in the West. More bad news: Pig fat consumption is on the rise. Related bad news story: To many, pig fat is so damn tasty. Tonight: America: Killed by flavor.

Does anyone really care that much? I stand by my belief that the best reason to drink tea, green, black, or otherwise, is because it tastes good and it makes you feel good right now. Live in the now, buddy. As Van Halen once said, "Right now."

Think about it.

Yeah, now you begin to see. The wisdom of Sammy Hagar is as powerful today as it was in the early '90s, my friend. Peace out.

Tea Bag Machine

2006-08-22T14:35:00.000-05:00

the Fuso tea bag machine:

Iced Tea Round-up

2006-08-22T14:27:00.000-05:00

I'm very lazy so I pretty much never make my own iced tea. Too much effort required - multiple containers, ice cubes, you know, all that business. I'm pretty well-trained around the house so using ice cubes means refilling ice trays (old school!) which just pushes the whole project over a line I'm not willing to cross. I do, however, love to drink the stuff and have found that the tea has to be "OK" but not too good or else the whole thing is crap. For this reason I really like the iced tea at Starbucks which, I believe, is a newish offering. Their tea is OK - not great - but they make it really strong and add ice and it's pretty fine on a hot day. Even better, it's priced comparably to a Big Gulp which makes it one of two or three things you can order at the Buckstar that won't make you feel like a money-wasting chump. Also, the process is hidden so you never see the tea bag which means there is no chance of accidentally reading the clever tidbits of copy on the package (hint: not clever).

So the Starbucks iced tea is pretty good. This is what I'm trying to say. Here I am, all loving Starbucks, humming along to the compilation CD I impulse bought at the counter, trying to decide whether to get the current logo or the original logo for my next tattoo. Meanwhile, across town these Honest Tea people are making a difference with their wholesome, organic, good karma-enhancing, ethical corporation-style bottled teas that I find myself buying at the hip, urban eateries I sometimes visit and you know what? I don't like them. I want to like them, I want to cheer them on and feel good about where my money goes but I don't like the tea. It's weak and I'm confused by the sweetening. Is it sweetened? if so, make it sweet. Otherwise, don't bother. It tastes like maybe there used to be a sweet drink in there and they forgot to rinse out the bottle before filling it with weak tea. Oh, I thought you were going to wash those. You didn't wash them? Damn. I always forget to do that. Come to think of it, I believe they got their start in a garage filling old snapple bottles with weak tea so I may not be that far off the mark.

blah blah Tea blah blah

2006-08-17T11:50:00.000-05:00

Yunnan tea seems to be cathartic, for me at least, and so three solid days of the stuff has me jonesing to write some crap on the interweb about tea. Yeah, it's been a while but I talk to all three of the people who read this once, maybe twice a day and I live with one of them so it's no big deal, really. Really. So I'm on the Peet's Yunnan again. Yunnan is rumored to be one of the oldest varieties of tea, perhaps, in fact, the very most oldest of them all. It's so damn good I can see why it would be the alpha tea and if it's not I'm willing to revise history as needed to make it so. News flash: It's still good. Hasn't changed any. Just fine, thanks.

Anyway, now is a prime time to revive this writing habit as I am on the cusp of becoming a fledgling tea entrepreneur and I feel the need to document the process - watch this space for sensitive industry secrets! Watch as I undermine our profitability! Watch me blow the whistle on Erik's ethical lapses! The shock & awe of the 2006 World Tea Expo in Vegas is slowly wearing off and has been replaced by a comfortable sense of inevitable success and fortune through tea sales. In fact, Erik & I have been so slack about getting our crap together to do this that it has started to feel a little like a real job, which in a way makes me feel like we're already well on out way to grand achievement. Less is more. Yin and yang. Trust me on that.

Oh, and just to prove we really were at the World Tea Expo for at least some of the time we were in in Vegas (wives, take note) here's a photo of me with a clearly insane person who is a) not a stripper and b) sort of has something to do with tea:

Thar Be Leather Couches

2005-09-28T05:37:00.000-05:00

One problem with being a drinker of fine teas is that if you fall (or are pushed by the state) out of your comfortable routine it's hard to get the day right, from a tea perspective at least. Yesterday I wound up at the Prince Georges County Courthouse with about 400 of my fellow citizens to judge my peers. I'm not complaining, just stating fact. Anyway, it turns out some of my peers are none to bright - the defendent in my trial was caught in possession of a tractor trailer full of leather furniture. There has got to be a better way to make a few thousand dollars than stealing a truckload of leather furniture. Most would agree furniture is one of the most pain-in-the-ass things to haul around, even if it's legit. Add police surveillance to the mix and you've got trouble. Fur coats are pretty light, as are most drugs, necklaces, sneakers, bootleg DVDs and so on. Cars are heavy but they have wheels and engines built-in for easy mobility. Furniture is gateway contraband. Next thing you know the kid is stealing freight cars full of construction materials, tractor motors, refurbished dumpsters. Live and learn, I guess.

All this is beside the point, as the point I'm making is it's hard to get a good cup of tea in a place like a jury assembly room. I even had the presence of mind at 6:30 AM to bring a few bags of Rum Punch Pirate Tea from the Metropolitan Tea Company. The tea is fine but luke-warm water and a styrofoam cup guarantee marginal results. I am complaining now.

Big Red Sun, Y'all

2005-09-13T17:38:00.000-05:00

I've managed to take the entire summer off from writing this, inadvertently illustrating two key principles of tea culture: 1) tea drinkers are spontaneous and 2) what's the hurrry? There's really nothing that's going to happen in the "tea world" that anybody needs to hear about right away, if at all, so relax, have some tea.

So anyway, here's what I did this summer: drank tea. In fact, the hotter it got the more I put back so I've got lots to tell you about. I think the number one find was Harney & Sons Big Red Sun, which is a blend of Kenyan and Ceylon teas. Harney & Sons have done a very good job of creating a brand that looks English and old-fashioned while in fact being New English and old-fashioned up in lovely Connecticut. Big red Sun is one of their "HT" blends, a series of unconventional blends designed to keep up with all the hip and happening urban teas that keep springing up in severe, designy tins and vegan pop star-owned tea houses. I guess it's more Sons than Harney. What it is, though, is all business. I drank that stuff so fast I can barely remember what it tasted like. Shortly before I blacked out I recall thinking it had a honey sweetness reminiscent of a high grade Formosa Oolong but the nice fullness you get from an Assam. Perfect first cup of the day tea. Also high marks for the appealing flat-finish red tin because looks do matter.

Stems & Seeds

2005-05-21T12:12:00.000-05:00

I've been enjoying some Hojicha green tea from Teaism that manservant Erik provided for me. If you haven't tried it you are missing out on some bold nuttiness as it is indeed quite nutty. It's basically bits of stem and the like that have been toasted so the brew smells like shredded wheat. I use a little basket to submerge my tea in water and this Hojicha floats like the fallen trees and other flotsam that clog rivers and streams after natural disasters:

small trees clog my cup
a discovery channel
of my very own

Nostalgia and tea go hand in hand. I am reminded of my days playing in an acoustic rock band in San Francisco. One of the downsides of playing in an acoustic rock band (or living in San Francisco) is the high probability that some gnarly old dude will opt to "sit in" with the band for a few (hours) tunes. Without a wall of amps any band is prone to ad hoc personnel changes, and one night we were joined by a guy who sang with us the greatest song he ever wrote, a long-form ballad called "stems and seeds." The song explored the rocky terrain of a life that is filled up with the blues and capping this mountain of sorrow it must be noted that he was "down to stems and seeds again." You get the idea. I will never un-hear that song.

Revenge of the Fruit

2005-04-26T18:22:00.000-05:00

I've been pretty busy lately trying to figure out ways in which the new Star Wars movie is going to suck. I'm thinking the most likely scenario will involve the Wookie planet/gourd-drum & pan flute/animal-tooth necklace/pre-teen Wookie threat but I can't ignore George Lucas' formidable talent for coaxing really bad performances out of decent actors. There are at least two decent actors on the bill and while I'm confident Kenny Baker will nail his lines as R2-D2 the rest of the cast are up against overwhelming odds of failure. The flip side is that all the new toys are great and assembling Lego battle vehicles (for my son, of course, which means frequent re-assembly) took my mind off the long wait for my latest shipment from Peet's. When it finally came it was like reunion weekend at the Andrews house as we welcomed back Earl Grey with Lavender for the lady and Black Currant for me.

There is one fruity tea in this world that belongs in my cup and it's the Black Currant blend from Peet's. It is truly astonishing how fruity it is. If they made black currant Kool-Aid (and they should) it would smell like this, but since it's blended from some pretty hardy stock it manages to maintain its tea-ness. You're probably thinking what I'm thinking, which is that it would be great iced, and I'm sure it is but I'm lazy and the extra step of brewing and then cooling before drinking seems like a hassle. Besides, I grew up before the age of realistic video games and MTV so I can use my imagination to approximate the enjoyment I would get out of putting this tea on ice without requiring a tactile demonstration. I can assure you it's great lukewarm.

Bye for now!

Dragonwell

2005-04-06T18:17:00.000-05:00

It's hard to care much about tea when the temperature is in the 70s and springtime is going nuts, but that's exactly what I'm doing - caring about tea. Sometimes I think I care too much. Despite my growing resentment for Teaism I had to pay a visit to the man so I could get some more Dragonwell Lung Ching. Why? Because I can't get enough of that buttery-corn sweetness. Damn, I am a fool for butter/corn nuance.

I figure I make 20 - 30% of my purchases at retailers I dislike or resent because like most of America I'm a pussy when it comes to putting ethics before sweet impulse buying. Bump it up to 65% if you include utilities, but that's cheating. Right now I'm on hold with AT&T/Cingular wireless about one thing, and emailing another branch of AT&T about another. That's a double-play. The statistics get all skewed in the summer when I go to the beach because WalMart is all there is, at least as far as cheap crap that I need is concerned. So it goes.

B Green

2005-03-25T07:38:00.000-05:00

Who wants some B Grade tea? I know I do. It can't all be fine tea so I've been hitting a bag of Gunpowder Green from the World Market, formerly Cost Plus. In general, green tea doesn't have a very long shelf life which was a problem when shipping was a business of creaky wooden ships and caravans featuring mules. Gunpowder Green's leaves are very tightly rolled so it could stay fresh on long trips from one side of the world to another, hence its popularity in the West. These days the market is crowded with refined green teas because we've all web-enabled our e-commerce platforms to bring the world to our doorsteps 24/7, but Gunpowder Green is still a pretty common variety. Personally, I like it for the way it looks kind of like Nerds (tm) candy. It also resembles Cocoa Pebbles (also tm) and in a pinch you can sprinkle it around your kitchen counters if you need to give someone the impression that you have a rodent problem. It also tastes fine when submerged in hot water.

Also, please people, pay attention here, it really makes a difference if you brew it correctly. I'm not ordinarily a purist about method but with the greens there is a world of difference between right and wrong. Let the water cool down before you add the leaves and let it steep for 2, maybe 3 minutes tops. You'll feel like a champ when you've done it right.

Lunchism/Fetishism

2005-03-23T18:59:00.000-05:00

I was in a bad mood yesterday after getting jostled by the lunch crowd at Teaism. There I was, just an honest, tea-drinking guy trying to get some tea in a sea of expensive-pants-wearing, pseudo-pan-Asian-lunch-ordering people who were all positioned between me and the not very helpful staff. They didn't have the tea I wanted anyway. Today is different, in part thanks to my ipod churning up Boston's Hitch a Ride right as I got off the train. There is plenty to like and dislike about Boston, but Hitch a Ride has one of the greatest, totally overblown guitar solos of all time. Pardon me, guitar duet. Anyway, it improved my mood.

Since I couldn't get the Dragonwell tea I was hankering for I fell back on the Jasmine Green tea from Ten Ren that my secret santa gave me. Ten Ren, based out of Taiwan, is a big operation with stores all over the U.S. and a heavy presence in the tea aisle at your local Asian supermarket. Seems like most of their tea falls into that comfortable B grade which is a solid step above regular commercial grade but not fine tea either - Outback Steak House, not French Laundry. They do offer some very expensive teas but I've never tried them. I enjoy visits to the Ten Ren store in Rockville, MD, partly for the bubble tea but mostly, honestly, for the staff who are all beautiful, young, Asian women who entice customers like me with great big canisters of loose tea and good attitudes. I like this jasmine tea - it does the job with no questions asked. I especially appreciate the detailed information on the package:

Degree of Baked: (Totally Dried)

The recommended brewing time is one minute and 50 seconds. No more, no less.

Green Tea Linked to Football Violence, Hooliganism

2005-03-16T07:16:00.000-05:00

According to this article green tea might have some genuine cancer fighting properties afterall. Real science giving the props to the tea. Oddly enough, this story was hiding in the "Oddly Enough" category of my Yahoo news feed which is usually reserved for articles of the "Norwegian Scientists Uncover Remains of Wolf-Boy" and "Man Mistakenly Chops Off His Own Penis While Watching Football Match" variety. No matter, news is news.

Loving Yunnan is Easy...

2005-03-11T07:50:00.000-05:00

I'm back on the horse today, thoroughly enjoying some Golden Yunnan from the Tea Spot. Yunnan was sort of kind of like my first "real tea" so it has special place in my cupboard. There are just so many things to like about it - the sweet clay smell, the total lack of bitterness, the way you can brew the same leaves again and again and never get tired of it. It has a gentle, enduring strength. I am in love with this tea, plain and simple.

Caramel

2005-03-04T19:17:00.000-05:00

I can't stop with the silly teas.. Spring is almost here and I've placed an order with the Tea Spot to deliver to my door, in plain brown wrapping, discreetly labeled, a half pound of good old-fashioned self-drinking tea. (If you're not hip to the lingo, the term "self-drinking tea" is used in tea circles to describe high quality tea that can stand up on its own without blending. That's not to say that teas in blends aren't high quality or anything like that. It's just a thing tea people say while waiting for the kettle to boil). In the meantime I am over the edge, looking down into another cup from France.

In the cup is Les Classiques from Betjeman & Barton. It's a nondescript black tea which has been heavily flavored with caramel and vanilla. In fact, there's so much flavor I can't taste the tea. It is weird to encounter caramel flavor in liquid form because it smells great but tastes like nothing. I suspect this is why you don't see a lot of caramel sodas on the market. I tried sweetening it and adding milk and brewing it really really strong and even rebooted but it was still missing the buttery richness my nose was expecting. It works fine in certain situations, like with sorbet after a big meal, but a nice Darjeeling would fare just as well if not better. Overall, I'm a little disappointed. I suppose I had unrealistically high expectations for caramel tea.

Girlie Tea

2005-02-23T18:21:00.000-05:00

This cold, gloomy weather has driven me to the brink of violating all my personal rules regarding the consumption of flavored beverages. Gripped by a February malaise, I've been haunting gourmet shops lately and bringing home tins with fancy lettering on the outside, fru-fru tea on the inside. Before having kids I used to spend much of this time of year brooding & listening to old-fashioned symphonic music, but coming up with the odd hour and a half for Mahler to make his point (and he does have one) is getting harder and harder to do. These days I settle for a pot of tea and a good long stare out the kitchen window.

Today's flavor is Eden Rose, another fine offering from Betjeman & Barton in France. It's pretty sturdy for an afternoon-grade girlie tea from France and there are two things in particular that I like about it: one, it smells like truffles (the chocolate kind) which tend to smell nice and two, it tastes like tea (you know, tea) which often tastes good. That's a winning combination. The base tea is a decent, non-controversial, jeans or slacks-wearing, regular haircut type and it's wearing a t-shirt that says "rose, lavender and a bit of vanilla." In French, of course.

Gourd

2005-02-15T20:03:00.000-05:00

A friend recently returned from Argentina and brought me an ornate little yerba mate gourd & bombilla set as well as some yerba mate "tea" bags. If nothing else it looks great and lord knows we never have enough gourds in the office. The beverage itself was pretty satisfying. I'm not sure what was yerba mate and what was gourd pulp but what the hell, it was fine. Come to think of it, by about the fifth infusion I was desperately sucking on the bombilla (straw) for one last sweet drop. It reminded me of the Pu-Ehr tea I tried a while back - sort of earthy, but much less intense. According to the internet yerba mate is even more nutrient-rich than green tea and it has some caffeine (or something) which provides stimulation without the jitters, hallucinations without the paranoia, you know. Nutrition: Feel the Buzz! I think it might also increase penis size and help you find information about anyone, anywhere. I drank it with the same keen awareness for sensation that I had when I tried smoking bananas and nutmeg in my youth with about the same results, minus the headache. Very curious to try the loose leaf. I love the little hookah-like bombilla. Makes me feel good.

Details

2005-02-11T18:43:00.000-05:00

All this delicious, delicately scented tea I've been drinking lately has made me very curious about the process of making blends like the Pouchkine that I can't shut up about. What I'm looking for is details, details, details about the process itself, which is relatively undocumented in the public forum. I read that John Harney uses a small cement mixer to make his blends (duly noted, and very manly) but that's all the info I've got. How exactly do you apply bergamot or other oils, for example? Do you put it in a spray bottle and spritz the leaves? How much oil can you use without making a soggy mess? Do you just let it air-dry or do you fire it up to seal in the flavor? I'm sure I can figure it out by trial and error but I'd rather be told.

Please advise.

Thx.

Sniff

2005-02-07T13:05:00.000-05:00

I've been using this Tea-in-Mug brewing/drinking contraption each morning for the past few months and today I managed to drop the mug. Sad face.

Instead of dwelling on my failure and loss, however, I'm going to use this as an opportunity to try out some other technology vis-a-vis tea brewing. The all-in-one mug solution is nice but it's also pretty anti-social. A nice teapot might serve as a beacon for guests, a steamy welcome to my little corner of the world. Everything's gonna be better from now on, I can feel it.

PS. Football season = 7 months from now. Crap.

Shut Up About the Pouchkine Tea Already

2005-02-02T06:51:00.000-05:00

Still mulling over my aged tea theories of late. I've decided to put one of the Pouchkine tins deep in the back of a cupboard so I'll forget about it for a few years. About the time we re-do our kitchen I'll stumble upon it and brew up a big pot to share with the workmen while they're on break, smiles and laughter all around. I'm sure they'll enjoy it and reward me by finishing the project ahead of schedule. Implied in this is the hope that I'll be smart enough by then to hire experienced professionals to do major home renovations as opposed to the usual idiot-husband-learning-as-I-go routine. Besides, I'll be a tea millionaire with other things to do like outfitting my Escalade with a samovar.

Meanwhile, Erik and I have plans to visit every Williams Sonoma in the DC area in search of 'expired' tea. And cranberry-walnut pancake mix.

More Tea and Aging

2005-01-27T07:17:00.000-05:00

I've dispatched Erik to San Francisco this week to check out all the teahouses there and generally sniff out the state of things tea-related in the West. If he doesn't get too distracted by the latest offerings from Apple Computer, Inc., I expect he'll come back with lots to tell. I'm sure we're all looking forward to that.

Since I went so nuts for Betjeman & Barton's Pouchkine tea over the holidays my loving wife cleaned out the shelves at Williams Sonoma so I will never be without it again. Man, that stuff is good, but here's something: the original tin I received has a best before October 2003 sticker on the bottom. The new tins have a 2006 date. I'm not a scientist or anything but I would surmise that there's a 3 year age gap somewhere in there. The thing of it is, the tin that I should have enjoyed a long time ago tastes a lot better and I'm trying to figure out why. A blend is a blend so it might just be a different crop of tea or an off day for the tea blender or something, but these are established, old-school, probably not stoned tea merchants and one would think they would aim for (and achieve) a consistent product. The international tea community demands no less. So it's got to be some sort of accidental aging process in which the tea itself loses a little flavor, the added flavors step in to fill the void but lose enough of their original character (orange-lemon-bergamot) to create a new flavor that is better than anything, even the New England Patriots. Not that there's anything wrong with the newer tea, it's top shelf, but it tastes like the description on the tin - a blend of black teas with citrus flavoring. The older stuff tastes exotic, mysterious, sensual, like a wet kiss from a virgin bride who's just eaten a fruit from another planet and all that crap. Go figure.

Vive La France!

2005-01-05T07:25:00.000-05:00

I'm pretty materialistic when you get right down to it so I tend to judge the holidays by the amount of loot that's scattered about the floor on Christmas morning, or in my case, protectively heaped on the couch next to me. Yeah, it's shallow but what the hell. This year yielded a rich bounty including the best tea I have ever had. Really. I got a tin of Betjemen & Barton's Pouchkine and it just knocked me flat. I'm not sure how to describe a sipping double-take but that's exactly what I did when I first tasted it. The cartoon version of me did one of those little moves where my legs swing up off the ground and my eyes bulge. If it hadn't been piping hot I would have chugged it. Maybe I'm exaggerating a little but I really like this tea. It's an old-school blend that reeks of refinement. Makes those groovy west-coast tea blenders look like chumps. Vive la France, baby! I've seen it at Williams Sonoma (uncomfortably close to the premium pancake mixes) and I'm sure it can be found wherever the wealthy send their help to buy food.

Drink it.

Lick the cup when you're done.

Rule #1

2004-12-15T08:15:00.000-05:00

Drinking my tea this morning I pondered the following: I don't like flavored teas (and flavored coffees too! Come to think of it, I dislike almost all 'additionally flavored' beverages. Cran-Rasberry cocktail anyone? - what, cranberries alone aren't enough f-ing flavor for you?) but I love this Earl Grey which everybody knows is flavored with bergamot oil. How can that be? Then I hit on it. I love rules and order so this is what I will call my flavored beverage rule #1: The source of any additional beverage flavor must be something you would never consume independently. Now I can confidently drink teas flavored with jasmine, bergamot, eye of newt, you name it (I'm even going to throw black currants onto the list since I don't think I've ever eaten one and don't plan to) and even better I can proudly refuse Lime Coke which tastes like a moist towlette.

I'm going to extend this rule to cover alcoholic beverages as well, with the exception of triple sec which I need to make pirate drinks. I think the very nature of pirate drinks excludes them from all rules.

Call Me Mr. Earl

2004-12-14T08:02:00.000-05:00

Christmas came a little early this year as my lady has given me a great big tin of Harney & Sons Earl Grey tea. I am an absolute fan of this tea and it makes me want to try more from the good people at Harney's. It's really really really good and I don't mind saying so. Some folks look down on Earl Greys (Earls Grey?) for being flavored and kind of froo-froo but I'm not one of those people. True, flavored teas are a little suspect but this particular variety has been around for so long it's forgiven. I recently built a prototypical desktop analogy generator and let's see what the readout says... Oh, OK, it says that it's kind of like greatest hits albums that have become great albums in their own right. I guess I would have to agree with that statement. It should come as no surprise that there are conflicting stories about the true origins of Earl Grey. Bigelow tea bags tell us it's "Named for a famous Earl.." which is one of the stupidest. Whatever the origin, most Earl Grey teas are flavored with the oil of bergamot which is an inedible citrus fruit grown in southern Italy. Peet's offers one flavored with Lavender which, despite having a weird elephant house smell, is very refreshing. I'm not sure if it's legit for them to call it Earl Grey but I'm not going to argue with them - that's not something tea people do. According to the internet, which doesn't lie, bergamot oils can be used for whatever ails you including depression, halitosis, acne and cold sores so this tea is bound to make you feel like a champ.

Holidays

2004-12-10T07:57:00.000-05:00

The holidays are here so I thought I'd spruce up the place with this lo-res image. Since I've been drinking all this Lung Ching green tea I find I'm much less lethargic, hence the renewed interest in crafts projects. In general I find any kind of drinking really sharpens my decision-making skills. Enjoy!

Tea Conversion part II

2004-12-07T08:30:00.000-05:00

Looks like Erik's doing pretty well on his switch from coffee to tea. I didn't have any real doubts about him, though, because this is a guy who actually gave up eating meat to get laid. Not only that but he went on to marry the girl so he definitely knows how to change course and stick with it. Were I his guidance counselor I'd regularly hand him pamphlets about careers in motivational speaking. Instead I usually just give him shit about how we should go get us some big, messy plates of ribs. At their wedding I managed to horrify one of the other guests at the (meat-free, of course) buffet table by expressing a strong preference for the sausage dip. I got some dirty looks that day. I assumed everyone knows there's no such thing as sausage dip.

Anyway I know he's getting into the whole tea thing because he's started sending me links to tea-related gear sites. These people's teaware looks great. Haven't tried the tea yet but I love the stuff.

Green!

2004-12-06T13:02:00.000-05:00

Had a strange dream last night in which I was at my next-door neighbor's house making a cup of Folger's brand instant coffee. The spoon is moist so some of the crystals stick to it even after I pour the heaping teaspoon into the mug. Do I lick it clean or put it in the sink? Sure enough I get an email this morning from my old friend Meg informing me that my doppelganger works at the Folger theater in DC. It's like it's all coming together around me but in a language I don't speak. I'm really glad she used the word 'doppelganger' instead of look-alike or long-lost twin. It reminds me that I need to look into the tea-drinking habits of Germans.

Speaking of tea drinking habits, rumor has it that in China, birthplace of tea and producer of some of the most kick-ass black teas you'll ever drink (and everything else in the world), the preferred tea by far is green. Go figure. They export all that black tea to us foreigners (lining the crates that bring us our iPods, mountain bikes and vintage re-issue Star Wars action figures) while they laugh, laugh at us, between fragrant mouthfuls of delicately scented green tea. I've always preferred black teas because they are strong, hearty and basically taste great. I guess a part of me has always lumped green tea in with honey-sweetened cookies and mushroom burgers - fine and all but lacking. That said, I like to read poetry from time to time and I think that qualifies me as a sensitive person and as such I should have a signature, go-to green tea at the ready. I'm trying to zero in on a really good, standard-issue variety that I don't have to think about. Something to keep me alive during the afternoons. I went down to Teaism and picked up some Lung Ching, a.k.a Dragon Well, and it's really tasty. Stop me if you've heard this before but it reminds me a lot of Japanese Sencha (no shit, they're both green teas). It has a grassy, vegetal taste and also a nuttiness I can't describe. Yin and yang. Peas and corn. That's it, peas and corn. OK, I can describe it afterall. Anyway, this is good and everybody should drink it.

Irish Breakfast

2004-11-30T08:38:00.000-05:00

I've been listening to the new U2 album (yeah, I still call them albums) and it has put me in a mind to have a nice cup of Irish Breakfast tea. And to fight poverty and hunger. Of course I don't have any Irish Breakfast-style tea on hand so I'm going to have to walk over to Teaism and buy a little baggy. I'm not sure they carry an Irish-style blend but since it would just be a couple Assams tossed together I'm sure I can make do with a couple different types of Assam and me doing the tossing. In fact, I might even make a little label for it on green paper with a Celtic rune or two just for authenticity. Teaism has a decidedly non-western theme so most likely that's what I'll have to do.

Buying a U2 album feels a little like watching the Superbowl or the Oscars - almost a required activity unless you lead a purely alternative lifestyle and have no link to the mainstream. I itemize the expense along with new David Bowie albums and tickets to see the Star Wars prequels. Amazingly enough there are four, maybe five good songs on there. That's saying a lot when you consider the accomplishments of other rockers at this point in their careers: The Rolling Stones' Dirty Work, Paul McCartney's every release since Band on the Run (OK, I actually think a lot of his solo stuff is pretty good but I recognize that it's not a commonly held view), and Cheap Trick's latest album (they have a latest album). That's not to say there aren't a lot of older rockers who have put out good things late in the game but other than Bob Dylan and Motorhead there are no bands besides U2 that I can think of that have consistently not sucked for this long. Maybe Neil Young but he established early on that at least two songs on every album will stink so he kind of lowered the bar for himself.

When I open my Tea Shop I'm going to offer an Irish Blend with celebrity backing. I figure Bono is a long shot but perhaps it's time for Larry Mullen Jr. to step into the spotlight. I've got him pegged as a tea advocate. I'm not sure the phone number I have for him is still current so I'll probably have to streak onto the stage at the Grammy Awards again so we can catch up and work out some sort of deal.

Keemun, Try It

2004-11-23T08:21:00.001-05:00

I'm Still working my way through the nice bag of Keemun I received from the Perennial Tea Room in Seattle. This is another one of those great Chinese black teas that you can squeeze at least three infusions out of, and each one is great. You would think it would just get weaker with each infusion but instead the flavors mooglify a bit on each pass so that it tastes pretty much like the same thing only now there's a little backwards guitar part and a tambourine in the left channel that wasn't there before. I've heard Keemun described as having an indescribable taste which sounds like a challenge to me, so here goes: honey and tobacco. I mean that in a good way. Honey, can you pass the tobacco? They're all just dried up leaves that we extract drugs from, right? And thank god for that. I remember a time when me & my friends tried smoking everything we could find (including tea) thinking we might stumble upon a previously undiscovered hallucinogen. Come to think of it I also recall (vaguely) trying to make tea out of a bona fide hallucinogen at least once (note: does not work). Anyway, this here tea gives me a pleasing hand-rolled cig/oak-paneled library/honey & biscuits/winter morning waking up at your friend's house and not having to go anywhere feeling. Suggested listening: late period Hendrix or maybe some pre-longhair Who albums.

Tea and Aging

2004-11-22T08:19:00.000-05:00

Just about every tea site I visit has a little section extolling the health benefits of tea. Since I plan to start selling tea one of these days I'm not about to discredit the hack medical advice that drives people to shell out their hard-earned cash for the good leaf but I must confess that tea is doing a poor job of slowing the aging process, for me at least. Despite three to four big cups a day I find that nowadays when I hike up my trousers I do it in the front. It's a subtle thing, no doubt, but there it is. I believe a young man will hike them from the sides or in some cases not at all.

By all rights I should be drinking the Loser's Blend today (Eagles 28, Redskins 6) but I can't shake this Darjeeling anymore (I've forgotten what I started fighting for). I'm really coming around to it. For best results I use a lot of leaves (add enough, then add more) and let it steep for exactly three minutes. This is a good choice for OCD tea-drinkers. I used to be that guy in the office kitchen making a complicated hot beverage, and now I'm that guy in the office kitchen making a complicated hot beverage with a stopwatch.

Shock Me!

2004-11-15T08:45:00.000-05:00

This morning as I walked to the train I noticed that the genuine frost on the grass and fallen leaves looks exactly like the sugary "frost" on Frosted Flakes cereal. Ordinarily I would keep this kind of banal observation to myself but today I didn't.

It's no secret to anyone who knows me that I have a plan to open a tea shop in a couple years. It's going to be the non-doily variety, otherwise it might turn out to be a "tea shoppe." I won't shut up about it and unlike my usual half-assed schemes this one shows no sign of abating. Just the opposite, really, as I'm already working on some prototype blends to serve to all young, attractive, freely-spending people who will visit daily. Here's what I have so far:

The Loser's Blend: inspired by the crushing futility of rooting for the Washington Redskins every week, this bracing cup will be heavy on the Lapsang Souchong which imparts a deep red color, reminiscent of both shame and the team's jerseys, as well a smokiness which calls to mind tail-gating and better times.

Shock Me: I always wanted to create a blend in honor of Ace Frehley, and I think this one has a chance to become the first officially licensed Kiss (tm) hot beverage. The recipe is a secret.

Feeling Darjeeling

2004-11-10T18:26:00.000-05:00

It's been a rough couple of days as all the machines around me are revolting. I consider it a sad state of affairs when the brightest spot of my week is the new Star Wars Original Trilogy Collection Stormtrooper action figure standing guard on my desk. Took a while to find the right pose but for a 3.5" piece of plastic he's looking pretty damn authoritative right now. I'm thinking of naming him Steve. (current brain activity readout: "We've searched the entire ship. No sign of the Death Star plans. Steve, round up the prisoners.") Of course this nostalgia purchase inspired me to go snooping around eBay to find out exactly how much money I lost when I let my mom take all my old Star Wars toys, Micronauts, classic comics, etc. to her school's fundraiser or the dump or wherever they went. Good Lord! These nerds are paying out! I guess I knew that already, but what I really want to know is what percentage of purchases on eBay are purely nostalgia-based? Are we all just buying things we've bought before?

But what about the tea? OK, the other bright spot in my week has been the Peet's Darjeeling Fancy I've been drinking. Darjeeling teas are a really big deal to tea people and though I have yet to fully embrace the craze I am really enjoying this cup. It produces a light, orange-y brew that must be carefully timed, lest thine cup be filled with horrible, bitter tea. I like that, the way it's either a really good cup of tea or a really bad cup of tea and it's up to you to to deliver the flavor, but then I love danger. There's no safety net when you're drinking Darjeeling. It's Xtreme tea.

Note: the side of the tin says,"...the exquisite bouquet of this tea seems to reach right out of the cup." Steve's got his blaster at the ready in case that happens.

Tea Conversion part I

2004-11-05T13:02:00.000-05:00

My friend Erik has been bugging me lately for guidance. He is a coffee drinker and has decided it’s time to make the Switch to Tea. I used to drink a lot of coffee and at one point considered it a lifeline, so I know where he's coming from. I always liked the really strong, west coast style brews that make your eyeballs sweat but which also (for me) result in unpredictable performances in the fields of: digestion, nervous system disorders, VCR repair, and emotional stability. I once tried a whole year of decaf which produced even more interesting results, though I suspect sinister forces were also in play. Anyway, one morning at work about five years ago, just on a whim, I made a cup of tea. Pause for emphasis. I think I had what religious folks call a moment of clarity. However, the great thing about a conversion to tea, as opposed to other conversions, is that you don't have to give up any of the things you love like Satan, dancing or coveting. It's just a beverage. Tea drinkers can smoke cigarettes, go hunting, vote for any political party, even operate motor vehicles. In fact, I understand some newer models now come equipped with special cup holders.

But enough about me. My advice for Erik is as follows: go long. Head for the hard stuff. Take a walk down the street to Teaism in Washington, DC, and pick up a bag of their Yunnan Gold Tips Rare. Yunnan tea is great for coffee drinkers because it brews up dark & strong, has a full body, requires no milk (!), and is very forgiving if you use too much or let it brew too long. It's 100% straight-up, ass-kickin' tea. Any tea house worth its salt is going to have some Yunnan on the bill of fare and I've never met one I didn't like. I never see it in stores anymore but I thoroughly enjoyed the Yunnan from the Grace Rare Tea Company I tried a few years ago. Likewise, you just can't go wrong with Peet's Yunnan Fancy.

Don't forget you'll need some sort of tea-making apparatus. Tea balls are easy, and so are those little mesh strainers that you balance on the cup. They also make little U-roll-it tea bags which are kind of fun. It really doesn't matter what you buy - just start drinking tea. As your obsession develops you will have plenty of time to buy all sorts of gear.

Oolong Time

2004-11-04T13:01:00.000-05:00

Rainy day, temperatures in the low 50s mandate a continuous drip of tea. Today's flavor is Fancy Formosa Silver Tip from the good people at the Tea Spot. I don't get out to Boulder much but I'm lucky to have people who love me who do, and how nice that they think to bring me great tea like this. The lines between reality and TV reality (not reality TV) have always been blurred for me so it's no sweat to imagine an older, slightly more dignified Mork stopping in for a cup of this stuff after an afternoon visit to the music store. As advertised, this oolong has a nice honey taste and call me crazy but it also smells a little like black currant. It's a nice pick for repeated infusions - just keeps on giving, cup after cup. Good thing my desk is so close to the bathroom.

America is Sleepy

2004-11-03T16:00:00.000-05:00

Needed a strong cup this morning after a short night of tossing and turning and murky dreams involving Dan Rather and Ohio. I really prefer the cheerleader dreams. Anyway, it turns out that America is just as polarized as we suspected we were. Thought I might gain a little perspective on the whole situation via a special blend of Peet's Ceylon Fancy and some Keemun Hao Ya from the Perennial Tea Room in Seattle. Added a couple drops of 2% milk and started to feel much better.

In other news.. I'm still recovering from this weekend's Pu-Ehr Beencha tea debacle. I've read a lot about Pu-Ehr teas lately, namely that they contain all kinds of crazy healthful goodness and are processed in a very mysterious way (note: trying to resist ancient Chinese secret reference) deep in the heart of a humid corner of China, but also that they are an aquired taste. That's putting it mildly. So I finally get my hands on a little baggy of this stuff from the Tea Spot in Boulder and eagerly brew up a big mug to get me through a long day of watching my football team lose. The little lump of tea I extract from the bag looks a whole lot like what I expect to be confiscating from my 3-year-old son in about 12 years. Smells a little like dirt. Off to a good start, I reckon. But wait, the brew tastes like water that's been used to boil potatoes or noodles. Now, I can't say when I've actually drunk water that's been left over in the pot after a good noodle boil but I know it tastes like that. Just like I'm sure I know what a real dead body smells like even though I've never smelled one. OK, the tea didn't taste like death but I must admit it tasted a lot like bad tea.

It took 32 ounces of beer, a falafel sandwich, a pint of stadium fries and at least 16 assorted fun-sized candy bars to wash the taste out of my mouth but the emotional scars remain. Until now I have loved every drop of tea I've had from the Tea Spot so I'm confident this is some high-grade Pu-Erh Beencha tea I'm disliking. That means the ball is in my court if I am to acquire this taste. Dammit, I'm gonna have to drink some more..