What is in your cup?

[astra]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

OK so there are many Chinese Black Teas. I have no idea why we don't see as many of them outside of China as we do the other black teas

That's why I would like to know which one Stitchawl drinks

Btw., I have washed my office tea mug today. I have not used it for more than a year. I have decided to drink Rooibos from mug, instead of small mug, or a cup
Speaking about the devil or troll (in Swedish ). I am going to wash the strainer and brew a mug of Rooibos, baked apple and straight in one.

[desertblues]

Originally Posted by maianhvk

lunar new year will start in 8 hrs should I have some wine?

I'll watch the fireworks with a friend and celebrate the new year in the city centre for the first time in my life, not staying at home and watching tv

Happy New Year.
Let it be good and healthy for you.
Yes, I would take some wine; it's only once a year.

in my cup: cold black Arabica-coffee

[ProfCrash]

I have no patience so I ordered a series of Pu-Erh and a Organic Green sampler set from Risha. The sampler set comes with one of the cool cups. I can't wait to compare the various varieties and see what types of differences exist with the different teas. I love new tea....

Here is what I ordered:

Ancient Sheng Pu-erh Saiqing Ya Tuo Cha, Vintage 2005, Organic & Fair Trade Pu-erh Tea

Ancient Shu Pu-erh Tuo Cha, Organic Fair Trade Pu-erh Tea

Bai Beeng Moonlight White 125 gram Tea Cake, Vintage 2009, Organic Fair Trade Pu-erh Tea

Tibetan Golden Mushroom, Organic Fair Trade Pu-erh Tea

The Organic Green Tea gift set comes with:

• Ceramic Loose Leaf Infuser Cup 235ml/8 oz
• Organic Fair Trade Jasmine Green Tea 1.4 oz (40g)
• Organic Fair Trade Jade Cloud Green Tea 1.0 oz

[astra]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

Ancient Sheng Pu-erh Saiqing Ya Tuo Cha, Vintage 2005, Organic & Fair Trade Pu-erh Tea

Ancient Shu Pu-erh Tuo Cha, Organic Fair Trade Pu-erh Tea

Bai Beeng Moonlight White 125 gram Tea Cake, Vintage 2009, Organic Fair Trade Pu-erh Tea

Tibetan Golden Mushroom, Organic Fair Trade Pu-erh Tea

The Organic Green Tea gift set comes with:

• Ceramic Loose Leaf Infuser Cup 235ml/8 oz
• Organic Fair Trade Jasmine Green Tea 1.4 oz (40g)
• Organic Fair Trade Jade Cloud Green Tea 1.0 oz

I like the cup and the infuser! Look very ...I-can't-wait-please-infuse-some-tea-in-me-me-me

You got the mushroom, or the mushroom got you?

Please, share your experience!

[ProfCrash]

Yeah the cup infuser looks great. It is why I bought the gift set. That and I like jasmine infused teas. And the basket looked great.

I wanted to try some of their regular tea as well because I like the idea of buying organic, fair trade teas. I figured the greens in the gift set would be a good place to start.

The Mushroom is by far the biggest risk but it just looks so cool. I mean, it looks really cool. I am interested in trying the 6 year old vs the younger Pu-Erh to see how it tastes. I love that I have the chance to buy some of this and if I like it, buy some more and let it age. I might end up looking into how to properly store Pu-Erh for a long period of time.

I am onto my third pot of tea today, Earl Grey Imperior. Finishing off the last of this tea. It is good but I have decided that I don't need three Black Earl Grey's so I will not be refilling this tin. I am going to stick with the Earl Grey 69.

It is kind of weird seeing the tea shelf with only 24 teas. It was at 36 a few weeks ago. I have a feeling that I will have it under 20 in a couple of months.

[astra]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

I have a feeling that I will have it under 20 in a couple of months.

But all of them the best of the best

Pu-Erh aged

[Stitchawl]

Up in the morning and off to school
the teacher is teaching the golden role.
American history and pracitcal math
you study them hard, hoping to pass
working your fingers right down to the bone
the guy behind you won´t leave you alone.
Ring, ring,ring goes the bell

Another fine day, and in honor of all these quotes, I'll do so with some China Black tea!

Originally Posted by astra

So, basically when you say you drink China Black you mean Yunnan China Black?

The Yunnan China Black that I get from McNultey's IS my favorite (and it's what I'm drinking right now,) but I keep my eyes open for any other company's China Black too. As I said before, it's usually a Keemun tea, but as we've seen, flavors vary considerably. Then there is 'Chinese' black tea... 'China Black' is a specific. 'Chinese' black is a generic.
Fortunm & Mason 'used to' sell a 'China Black' 15 years ago that was great, but I no longer see it in their lists.

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

OK so there are many Chinese Black Teas. I have no idea why we don't see as many of them outside of China as we do the other black teas but here is a list of a few of them.

One thought is that there is regional variations in popularity. I can find quite a few Chinese black teas, but most of them come in plain foil bags and are found in Asian import stores, just labeled as 'black tea.' No fancy marketing to attract customers. No 'Snob Appeal.' So many people shop by brand name or by clever packaging, and that leaves the plain foil packs with just some Chinese writing on them relegated to the lower shelves. Knowing the Chinese characters for the tea helps a lot.

Originally Posted by astra

That's why I would like to know which one Stitchawl drinks

As I said, I order my favorite from McNulteys. They will ship just a 4oz bag if you wish, though I usually have a larger order myself. I like their "extra smokey" Lapang Souchong as well as 2 or three others. McNultey's has great tea. It's the 'plain and simple' tea company. Nothing fancy, just great tea and coffee.

But... please do take a look at the bottom shelves in Asian Import shops. You can find some real treasures that way. I just picked up the last 3 remaining bags of Keemun (which, of course is a Chinese black) for 600 yen per bag (About $7 USD for 4oz)

Which brings me to my second cup. I'll switch to the generic Chinese black tea for this one... Slightly stronger, more robust, but just as tasty!

Stitchawl

[ProfCrash]

So my Cuisinart kettle got here. I think I am in love with an inanimate object....

It takes no time to get the water to the right temperature. It holds 1.7 liters, so more then enough for two cups. It holds the temperature for 30 minutes, which is about the time it takes for me to make two cups.

(sighs)

I am heaven.

I know when we have kids I won't be able to buy as much of this type of stuff and it will be totally worth it but right now I kind of like having the income to be a little silly.

[maianhvk]

thank you latinandgreek and desertblues the fireworks were awesome. Watching it by my own eyes was much more fascinating than the boring 15-minute long live show on TV at home. My friend took some photos and I'll post some when I have free time between parties

We went home at 2am, got some sleep and went to a famous pagoda at 6am today. That pagoda is the best one so far, I'd never been so calm sitting in a pagoda's hall... Really love the place and the calmness it gave me though I'm not religious at any rate.

(the rumor has it that the things we do on the first day of the new year will strongly affect everything we would do in the whole year)

P.S.: I'm drinking water.

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

I know when we have kids I won't be able to buy as much of this type of stuff and it will be totally worth it

Why? Why will it be totally worth it? Not being facetious here. Having children was very important in the Old days. We needed lots of kids to help with chores around the farm. With the high rate of infant mortality combined with shorter life spans, we needed lots of kids just to be sure of maintaining the family line.

Why do we want kids today? (And I'm not advocating NOT having kids. I'm just asking why.) It's something to think about...

Stitchawl

[Stitchawl]

Having a nice cup of Keemun that I put up into some brand new tea bags. I was shopping in a new supermarket today and picked up a couple of packages of empty tea bags. These were very different from the ones I had been using. They don't feel like paper at all! They feel like good quality silk. Very, very soft. At first I was afraid of using them for this Keemun as it's quite rough. I thought the leaves might poke through the bag, but it didn't happen! 120 tea bags for about $1.50 USD. Now I'm going to sit down at the kitchen table and re-fill all my tins. I've been letting that chore get away from me, and I'm down to one or two bags in each tin. I think this might be a full 30 minute job! I can do it. I can do it. I can do it. I can do it.


Stitchawl

[phenomshel]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

Why? Why will it be totally worth it? Not being facetious here. Having children was very important in the Old days. We needed lots of kids to help with chores around the farm. With the high rate of infant mortality combined with shorter life spans, we needed lots of kids just to be sure of maintaining the family line.

Why do we want kids today? (And I'm not advocating NOT having kids. I'm just asking why.) It's something to think about...

Stitchawl

You know, I've wondered the same thing. I have two kids from my first marriage, and I love them dearly. But do I want any more? NO. I am enjoying my lifestyle now that my daughter is grown and married and with a daughter of her own and my son is a teenager (and lives with his dad, he's only here summers). Maybe I'm incredibly selfish or something, but I really like being able to make decisions not based on what's best for the kids. Chris and I can decide to move anywhere we want without worrying about schools. We can take grown up trips. We don't have to worry about getting home early so the kids can get to bed on time. No getting up to take kids to school. No more teacher/parent conferences. I'm not advocating not having kids either, for some people their life wouldn't be complete without them, but it IS nice not having to work around all the things that happen when you have small (or large) children.

[desertblues]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

So my Cuisinart kettle got here. I think I am in love with an inanimate object....
I know when we have kids I won't be able to buy as much of this type of stuff .......

In my experience, TIME, was the problem when I had a baby. She didn't sleep through the night for a year. She went to sleep at nine in the evening till 3 in the morning.

Originally Posted by maianhvk

.....the fireworks were awesome. ........
(the rumor has it that the things we do on the first day of the new year will strongly affect everything we would do in the whole year)
P.S.: I'm drinking water.

Wine at the new year....you only live once.

Originally Posted by phenomshel

You know, I've wondered the same thing. I have two kids from my first marriage, and I love them dearly. But do I want any more? NO. I'm not advocating not having kids either, for some people their life wouldn't be complete without them, but it IS nice not having to work around all the things that happen when you have small (or large) children.

One thing I didn't realize when I had my tiny little baby: once a parent always a parent. I wouldn't have missed it for the world.
She still lives at home and studies. So we're still parenting, but not too much.
When she was a baby, we used to worry if she had eaten enought, or wether she was warm enough. Now we worry about her studies, boyfriend and future.

[Stitchawl]

When I was in my twenties, and had been out of the house for 10+ years, I asked my mother "if you had it to do over, would you have had kids?" She looked at me, smiled, told me she loved me very much (and that was never something I doubted while growing up. I had a wonderful childhood,) and said "No way, Jose!"

My own son is now 35 and getting married this summer. He was the 'perfect baby,' a normal happy, healthy child, a typical teen, and grew into a delightful adult. But if I could do it all over again... no way, Jose! Having kids was something we were 'supposed to do,' just like going to college. No one ever questioned either of them. No one ever asked me if I wanted to go to college. It was simply assumed that I would. Even I assumed I would. I really didn't want to, but it wasn't something I could voice. Same with getting married, and the same with having kids. It was what was 'done' in my parent's world. It was never questioned.
Now I'm 64. Now I'm asking questions. I don't regret anything I've done. I'm just questioning it with an open mind.

It's something to think about over a cup of tea on a nice afternoon.

Stitchawl

[desertblues]

Cold Automat-coffee at work.