What is in your cup?

[VydorScope]

In my cup is a rare and usual liquid, a mostly forgotten one...water!

[bjones6416]

Black coffee -- hazelnut. I'm just waiting for daylight so I can go walking.

[wannabee]

Originally Posted by VydorScope

In my cup is a rare and usual liquid, a mostly forgotten one...water!

Arrrrh! I worry about these tea drinkers. The tannins could tan their boots. Astra and Stitch must be tanned from the inside out.

[beppe]

Originally Posted by wannabee

Arrrrh! I worry about these tea drinkers. The tannins could tan their boots. Astra and Stitch must be tanned from the inside out.

Well. It was a while that I was not drinking tea. It was good, really. Useful also.
To day I faced one of my MobyDicks. I restructured all my spices and similaria. I worked a good number of hours. Some were quite old. Those, I threw them out. Others, I was in doubt. Not because of stinginess, but because they are not easy to find where I live. Like celery seeds. Or blond mustard seeds (I just bought a batch of dark ones). So I had to taste them. And to wash away the taste what is better than good old friend oolong? It worked.

I am short on Macis: no big deal as I have plenty of nuts, and powdered Clove. No Cumin . Will I be able to get it here? Eh.

[CRussel]

Finished my Major Dickason's coffee, switching to Diet Coke #1. Tea will have to wait until I can enjoy it, too much work to do until then.

[ProfCrash]

OK so far today I have had one pot of Rooibos Lemon, two potsof Marrakech Market (Nice gree with mint), and am starting on a pot of Baozhong.

Work is nuts. Gotta love it when they change the requirements for a product for the fifth time in a two month period.

[HomeInMyShoes]

Originally Posted by beppe

Well. It was a while that I was not drinking tea. It was good, really. Useful also.
To day I faced one of my MobyDicks. I restructured all my spices and similaria. I worked a good number of hours. Some were quite old. Those, I threw them out. Others, I was in doubt. Not because of stinginess, but because they are not easy to find where I live. Like celery seeds. Or blond mustard seeds (I just bought a batch of dark ones). So I had to taste them. And to wash away the taste what is better than good old friend oolong? It worked.

I am short on Macis: no big deal as I have plenty of nuts, and powdered Clove. No Cumin . Will I be able to get it here? Eh.

Please don't make me clean out the spice drawer. I know I've got a few items in there that are well beyond their potency date.

I'd be surprised if you couldn't get cumin. Are you in Italy? If so, you could always head over to Turkey or Morocco for some spice-tastic adventures.

[CRussel]

Ah, Ti Kwan Yen oolong. Now that is a satisfying tea. I tend to forget about oolongs because my wife isn't a big fan, but they always please.

[wannabee]

Cumin is very common here. However, nearly always in a jar or bag. Rarely freshly ground.
But you can get cumin seeds easily and make your own.

Instant Nescafe, milk and sugar. Very common in the office workforce in Australia.

[ProfCrash]

We have cumin in every store. Freshly ground and in seed form.

[beppe]

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

Please don't make me clean out the spice drawer. I know I've got a few items in there that are well beyond their potency date.

I'd be surprised if you couldn't get cumin. Are you in Italy? If so, you could always head over to Turkey or Morocco for some spice-tastic adventures.

that's a good idea! I could borrow the flying carpet of my father in law. He does not fly it anymore.

I am not much attracted by exotic places or by exotic customs or by exotic cooking. Never been to Africa or to Asia, except a week on the Red Sea, the Sinai side. I am sort of attracted by clean well lighted places with blond long legged girls.

I use spices sparcely - that it is why they needed a turn over. Traditionally in my family they used black and white pepper, nutmeg, clove and cinnamon, as spices. Then I learned by myself to use coriander and star anise. My NY belle made me know curcuma, among other things. My Quebec wife taught me to use sariette, that is savory, and to mix decent Bloody Marys, that is what the celery seeds are for. I learned by myself to add a pinch of curry to the roast sauce.

Originally Posted by wannabee

Cumin is very common here. However, nearly always in a jar or bag. Rarely freshly ground.
But you can get cumin seeds easily and make your own.

Instant Nescafe, milk and sugar. Very common in the office workforce in Australia.

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

We have cumin in every store. Freshly ground and in seed form.

Lucky you. We get fennel (i actually have my own seeds from the garden), kummel, but no cumin. I have caraway seeds. But cumin I cannot get it.

Maybe if I try in an ethnic shop. But there are none near by and none on my route to work.

[aceflor]

Coffee and a green smoothie. It is warm but covered, so the solar panel will not heat the pool. I am guessing 23° in the water, I am contemplating the water right now, I need to swim my k this morning but it does not look very inviting....

@beppe: I can send you some cumin if you want. If needed, just PM me.

[Stitchawl]

Relatively few Italian dishes use cumin, so it may not be a common supermarket shelf item there. But almost all Middle Eastern dishes, most Indian dishes, and many Spanish meals use it so it should be easily found in all ethnic markets everywhere.

I like to buy it in seed form as its essential oils last longer that way, then gently toast up a few tablespoons of seeds and then grind them myself, keeping the powder in a jar. Very potent spice when used like that. A half teaspoon for freshly toasted and ground cumin will do the work of a full tablespoon of the pre-ground stuff, and give a much 'deeper' cumin flavor.

I've been toasting various spices today as I want to make fresh chai to go along with tonight's dinner. I'm having a mug of it now, just to be sure that it will be right for tonight. That's my excuse, anyway. Mixed with a double shot of sweetened condensed Carnation milk, it's like having tea-flavored ice cream!


Stitchawl

[astra]

Originally Posted by beppe

OOOLOOONG. i report a recent conversation with Astra.

astra :But which one of oolong? green? black, in the middle?
beppe : I have only one. Tie guang yin fermented at 10%.
astra : I guess it is close to green variety. Floral flavour? (like jasmine tea, not the flavour but the same idea?)

According to the pictures, it is the green variety. Chinese tie guang yin

Long time ago I promised Stitchawl that I am going to read about oolong and create a mind map. It still remains a promise only:

I am planning to separate Oolong too when I understand it better. Like Chinese:

Wuyi rock (cliff) tea (Wǔyí yán chá) from Fujian province
Iron Goddess Guanyin Tiě Guānyīn or Ti Kuan Yin


Taiwanese (China but...):
Oriental Beauty
Pouchong, (Bāozhǒng)

Then to complete confuse myself:
Ti Kuan Yin could be Chinese or Taiwanese

The Chinese Anxi Iron Goddess Tea - This oolong is typically close to a green tea, with only a little oxidation. With a very flowery and fresh delicate aroma character, the tea liquid is golden yellow.

The Taiwan Mucha Iron Goddess Tea - This traditional oolong is roasted and has a stronger taste and with roast nutty character, the tea liquid is reddish-brown.

Originally Posted by wannabee

Arrrrh! I worry about these tea drinkers. The tannins could tan their boots. Astra and Stitch must be tanned from the inside out.

Spot on Sir!
Obviously, I cannot speak for Stitchawl, but when I get tan and instead of looking like the proper Western European Jewish, I can easily be mistaken for the Proper Mexican, I retain the tan for a very looooong time. Now, you have giving me a food for thought. Tannins might be just right and the most plausible explanation of the phenomenon

Originally Posted by beppe

No Cumin . Will I be able to get it here? Eh.

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

Relatively few Italian dishes use cumin

It explains why I like Italian food.
I cannot stand this spice. I can loose appetite if I smell the caraway seeds.
About half a year ago we got a new stall once a week on a gourmet market. They sell ray bread (Ray Bread in the UK? ). A few varieties in fact. One of them looked like it has got raisins. I asked the seller whether it was ray bread with raisins and he said: Yeah, caravan raisin bread and I bought it. Imagine my surprise when I came home, unpacked it, cut off a couple of slices for my smarter part and myself and she asked me why I was frowning. With a genuine puzzlement on my face I said that it smelled like caraway seeds but it surely was impossible! So, I tried it and spat it out. I broke the slice into small pieces and what I found?!? Caraway seeds!

Spoiler:

Now, taking into account that my listening skill in English is quite lousy, I thought he said something like: Caravan raisin ray bread. I took it for a specific name of the bread, for example, like: German ray bread. Later, I realised that the chap said: Yeah, Caraway raisin bread.

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Initially my wife refused to believe me when I said that I smelled it and then tasted the caraway seeds flavour. She argued that it tasted absolutely fine and I imagined the whole thing. Demonstrations of the seeds didn't help much.
On the next market day I went to the stall and asked the same question and READ the sign for it.
The week after that, I grabbed her (my smarter part) by the scruff of her tiny neck, drugged her to the stall on marked and I shoved the sign with the bread name into her ...into her.... showed the bread sign and timidly smiled

Meanwhile, white yoghurt and plums.

[ProfCrash]

Water. Tea when I get to work. Puppies playing, hubby just got out of bed.