I’m a computer guy. I didn’t sign up for manual labour. But I work in a small company, and one does what’s needed. Today I went to the top of Chuckanut Crest and helped put together conduit. Then I got a little shovel and cleared a space for it. Then I took a strip of sod off of the lawn and started digging a six inch deep trench for the conduit. And it was storming…
Rather windy today, and raining. About 45°F. Even though I was wearing a Gore-Tex jacket, I ended up being soaked. My jeans were soaked, my boots were wet, my leather gloves were sodden. The rain got through the Gore-Tex. Long drive home, too.
And now I have a nice cuppa tea. Just a Tetly bag, as I didn’t feel like using one of the good loose teas. A dash of milk, and a half-teaspoon of sugar.
Cozy. For me, this is the perfect time of year because it’s not so terrible that you want to move to Tahiti, but it’s crappy enough to make it feel nice to come home, make a cup of tea, put a blanket on your lap and get cozy.
The best thing in the morning for me is that nice hot cup of jasmine green tea. I also just got a nice bag of loose rooibos tea. That is some good stuff, high in antioxidants and it’s OK to drink at night because it has no caffeine. If you haven’t tried it, definitely do.
I’m out of tea at the moment. I left it sitting on the counter all day and the end result was … interesting. I’ll have to make another gallon tomorrow. Eight bags of tea, to about twenty cups of water, a cup of sugar, and liberal squirts of lemon juice every time a glass is poured.
A question not worthy of its own thread. Why is tea always referred to as “a nice cup of tea”? I never hear people just say, “would you like some tea?” It’s almost always “How about a nice cup of tea?”
Tetley’s isn’t that bad. Sure, I have better teas; but I just wanted a nice cuppa. Tetley’s is okay. I was too cold and wet to want to use the loose leaves; and I wanted tea with milk, so I didn’t want Earl Grey.
I’m on coffee now. I grind the beans and set it up before I go to bed, and set the autostart. That way I have caffeine when I get up. I’ve thought about using the coffee pot for tea, but you can’t have tea unless the water is boiling. Just wouldn’t work.
Hm, you learn something every day! I didn’t know they made beer. But I think it’s my duty to let you know that American Tetley is not the same as English Tetley. I get the real thing online. The stuff they carry at the grocery store that says Tetley on it is not even close to what real Tetley tea tastes like. The box of it that I bought more than a year ago is still 90% unused. Ugh.
I don’t think good tea is that hard to get here, at least if you live in a city big enough to have some premium coffeehouses (not Starbucks). Diedrich Coffee, where I get my whole bean coffee, also offers a range of varietal teas. If the quality of their coffee is any indication, the tea ought to be very good.
I have been surprised several times at the people who don’t know this.
Just before I left China last year, I was gifted with two boxes of “Hushi Dragon Sprout Tea.” I quote, from the box: It winned the first prize in the "Tea cup of China "National Tea Competition “In 2002” “Emerald green in form, lasting and enduring in smell, sweet and soul-stirring in taste. It is the real treasure of tea and the good gift for friends.”
And it just makes you feel better. I had my bottom wisdom teeth taken out yesterday (ouch!), and the novacaine wore off around noon. I got some lovely Vicodan to deal with the pain, but I still didn’t feel like eating anything. I had a big mug of Earl Grey later in the afternoon and a big mug of Chai in the evening and it made me feel a lot better.
Some kind soul at Unaboard sent me a sampler from this site:
And now I’m even more in love with rooibos than I was before. And I’ve gone back for a teapot, another sampler pack, and a POUND of rooibos tropical. I lovelovelove this site!
