Cups, Mugs, and Drinking Vessels

I got a new mug today :3

typically i'm not the type of person to buy red things. the amount of things that are red that i own can be counted on one hand. But this mug caught my eye. i don't know if it's because the nifty glazing that is around the rim that i can't seem to get a good picture of, or the fact that the mug is stamped with ginkgo leaf patterns. It could even be it's adorable size and the fact that the thumb-hold is half way down so it makes wrapping the rest of the hand under the mug so easy. But i think this mug will become one of my favorites rather fast.

I have a variety of drinking vessels as it is. they range from the typical coffee mug with pictures or phrases on them, to the normal English tea-cup. I have fancy double-walled mugs and low, almost matcha-bowl-esque mugs. But i haven't really picked them because i felt inexplicably drawn to them. Maybe it's because they weren't hand made... hmm.

There are many vessel types that tea can be enjoyed in. They might vary in name from place to place but their purpose remains constant. They exist to transfer the delicious experience of tea from the pot to our mouths. While the people that speak English might refer to these vessels as mugs, cups, or glasses those that speak Japanese would differentiate the vessels by their size and use.

Matcha bowls, or chawan are short, squat, bowl-ish drinking vessels. They are always wider than they are tall, allowing for easier whisking of the matcha into a delicious froth. Yunomi on the other hand, are similar to the chawan since they do not have handles, but are taller than they are wide. Both can vary in size from small to larger.

Chinese teacups seem to typically be much smaller in size. I've read that originally the Chinese did not use cups, and instead poured the tea straight from the pot into their mouths. it was only when the English came that they started to use cups. I'm not sure about how true this is, but it still does not change the fact that most Chinese teacups are small, holding usually somewhere around 30ml. They are typically only used with yixing pots or gaiwan.

Most other Asian countries seem to follow china and japan in relation to what their tea-drinking-vessels look like. This is most likely because of their involvement in the spreading of tea and tea-drinking. There is even a Museum of Tea Ware in Hong Kong.

I've yet to decide what i should 'christen' my new mug with. I've got a lot of oolongs yet to review, but the days are becoming hotter, leading me to ice down more of what I'm drinking. Do any of you have a favorite mug/cup/glass? why is it your favorite? does it hold a special memory? I'm curious to know!

I have to give props to Scott Frankenberger who made my lovely mug, and to Artist's Own, for having such a neat store. Bottoms up to ya'll!

Cup--14 Barley Tea

Sadly there are no pictures today, as i enjoyed this tea while out dining in my area.

Barley tea is a tea that is served cold in Japan as a cooling summer drink, and served hot and cold in Korea. While this is not a true tea, since it contains no tea leaf, it is still quite delicious. Since it is a Tizane, it is also non-caffienated.

Barley Tea is made by roasting barley and then brewing the roasted barley. While many places use ground roasted barley tea-bags today, there are still some places that sell whole roasted barley. Barley tea is called Mugicha in Japan and Boricha in Korea. Other places around the globe also enjoy their barley-tea, in Britain it is known simply as Barley Water, while the Mexican population enjoys aguas frescas.

Some claimed health benefits of barley tea include improved blood fluidity due to cleansing the blood of impurities, and reduced stress.

For me this tea was very enjoyable, it was light, warm, and delicious even when tepid. It went really well with our pickled veggies and sushi and it peaked my interest enough to go try and find a place to order it from. While a co-drinker found it slightly bitter, i thought that it was a nice cleansing taste. It was perfect to have on such a rainy day and really made the meal i think!


Kind-Tizane
Color- light brown
Fragrance- earthy
Taste-refreshing
Best during- i could drink this all day
Overall- delicious! i'll have to find a place to order some

Cup--13 Sun Tea/ Iced Tea

It's Spring! ... well... it was before they started to predict snow the early part of this week. That's why it looks so gray outside for 'spring'.

My favorite thing to have in the spring and summer is a nice glass of iced tea. It's refreshing and tasty! However my iced tea isn't that sugary mess that most people think of when they think iced tea. no no. Indeed, i often wonder why you'd want to pollute a perfectly good tea with loads of sugar?! Of course i guess i'm not in the majority of people dislike the sometimes sharp taste that iced tea can have, for me that can be especially refreshing on a hot day, it's cleansing and doesn't drag me down like some carbonated drinks can.

I still remember the Sun-tea pitcher and glass set that my parents had (and still have parts of) when i was growing up.

Sun-Tea is what is sounds like. Tea made using the heat of the sun. It was a big deal when i was growing up because it was just so darn cool to watch. However many people do not condone this method since it can lead to bacteria in your tea. very yucky. However sun-tea can still be enjoyed if you take the necessary precautions and keep your eyes open.

--First you need to wash the jar that you'll be making it in.
--Then you need to use actual tea, not an herbal tizane. The caffeine in real tea will keep the bacteria from growing for a few hours.
--Fill your jar with water and your tea, close the jar and let it sit in the sun.
--3 to 4 hours is the max that you should let your tea 'steep' depending on how hot it is you probably will not need even this long.
--Remove teabag/leaves and refrigerate tea
--Never make more tea than you will consume that day. do not save the tea. if it starts to develop ropey strands in it or appears to be thick/syrupy DO NOT DRINK IT.

Sun tea is fun to watch and fun to drink (provided it is not bacteria laden) i think it's something that every kid should do at least once growing up. It doesn't need any sort of heat source so it's pretty safe. The water inside the jar won't get up past 130* so there's no worrying about burns or anything else.

My glass of choice for iced tea is an old jam/jelly jar, as you can see from the pictures. To make my tea, I used Keemun Rhapsody, a tea that I've yet to review (it's coming! i swear!) But you can use any type of tea. I prefer my iced teas made out of blacks or greens, although I've had some fruit herbals that are just as delicious.

Bottoms up for Spring!

Cup--12 Spring Mint

Wow. That's a word that i continually used throughout tasting this tea. It brews up a very interesting Green color and gives off an very interestingly minty aroma. While the tea was not labeled i'm suspecting this is a green tea, only because of the color.

Spring Mint originated from Vi-jon a place that i know nothing about. But then is apparently marketed by Wal du Marte, perhaps some sort of titled family? they seem to have made their money in trades and bargaining, appeasing the masses with their lower priced items.

While the leaves are really only good for one infusion, for me one infusion was all that i could take. One glass of this will leave your mouth tingling and your breath minty! Perhaps because it's a green tea this also seemed to help freshen my breath in the morning! While the green color can be quite the turnoff it does seem to have some redeeming qualities. It can be enjoyed hot or cold and throughout the year. It also seems to be widely available as well!

Kind-Green Tea
Brew Time-40 sec
Water Temp-175* or there abouts
Color- medium to dark green
Fragrance- minty!
Taste-minty!
Best during-mornings
Style- Loose
Price per oz- $0.12 what a steal!
Place bought-Wal-mart
Overall- refreshing, but can't drink too much!

Cup 11-- Milk Oolong

Yes i am FINALLY getting around to those oolongs that caused the tea carnage :)

Milk Oolong, sometimes called silk-oolong, has a following and also a lot of critics. Many people are skeptical about the milk taste since it's not normally found in tea. Many producers of this tea actually spray down the leaves with milk or milk concentrate to produce the flavor in the end product. But true milk-oolong should not be produced this way, instead the taste should naturally occur as a by-product of the leaves being stressed by a drop in temperature shortly before the leaves are harvested.

the ancients had a different tale about where the taste came from. The moon fell in love with a comet that was passing through the sky. The comet passed by and went on and burned out. The moon, greatly saddened, sobbed and howled causing a great cold wind to blow across the earth. The tea that they harvested the next day was found to have a milky taste that they attributed to the moon's tears.

From what i can tell there are few places that can or do produce real milk-oolong. Most people seem to get theirs from producers in Taiwan and they fall under the category of "jian xuan oolongs". Many people seem to have had the shoddy versions of milk tea that will normally result in an overpowering milky scent and taste.

This tea is quite pleasant. Dry it has a faintly milky scent, brewing this scent intensifies a bit. the taste is smoother than other oolongs I've had it's kinda of creamy or sweet, but the scent is only slightly milky and the color of the tea isn't muddled at all, it's a pale to medium yellow. it reminds me of daffodils only a tad lighter. While many people tend to use gong-fu brewing of small and short infusions, i brew most of my tea English style, i like lots of tea :3 So that might be why the second cup doesn't taste quite as good as the first but is still enjoyable. The third cup doesn't have the same taste as the previous cups, it's rather plain. But the first and second cups are worth the lack of staying power i think.

While this isn't my most favorite oolong, it's pretty good...but i think that you have to be in a certain mood to really enjoy it. It's not something that i could mindlessly choose and enjoy, i think i would have to really have a thirst for it in particular and seek it out.

As a side note, i got some new tea-objects! Over my spring break i ventured into a crate and barrel and they had their bodum electric kettles on sale! i also picked up a bodum mug, because the double walled glass is awesome to look at and also keeps my tea from going cold too quickly :3 i'm enjoying both of my purchases! i really like that the electric kettle has an automatic shut off and will heat up rather fast!

I'd also like to apologize for the lack of posts recently, between sicknesses, breaks, and the semester wrapping up, I've also had to start making decisions about which grad school i'll go to next year and weighing my options. It's been pretty busy! regardless, I've had 400 individual viewers so far from 28 countries and 33 states! exciting times! i hope to update some more this week with more of my oolong offerings!

Kind-Oolong Tea
Brew Time-90 sec
Water Temp-195* or there abouts
Color- pale to medium yellow
Fragrance- milky, flowery, sweet
Taste-sweet floral, smooth, milky
Best during-meals, i thi nk this would be good before-bed as well
Style- Loose
Price per oz- $7.10 (abt)
Place bought- TeaCuppa
Overall- good, but only when you're in the mood for it

Sick Leave...again D:

brought on by perhaps the major change in temperatures, or perhaps by my own negligence, i've somehow gotten sick yet again.

while i'm rather sure that it's not strep again, i still can't smell anything :< very saddening.

I'm also sorry for the lack of posts recently, between getting ready for break, being on break, and getting back from break i've been crazy busy @,@; i hope that things will return to normal soon :3

Celebration 3-- St. Patricks Day!

A merry morn to ye lads and lasses!

I hope that ya'll have had a great St. Patrick's Day! Hopefully you're wearing green as not to be pinched!

While that delicious looking cake is not green, it was delicious and spring-y! To celebrate spring, spring break (which i'm currently on :3), St. Patty's Day etc, my mother and i ventured forth today in search of a north GA teahouse called Crabapple Tea Room & Bakery.

We went for lunch, and we got quite a lot! While I did not peruse their loose-leaf tea menu, instead opting for some of their iced peach tea, i did find their lunch offerings to be plentiful and delicious! My mother had one soup of the day, a tomato bisque, while i had the other, chicken noodle. Both were hot, steamy, and chock full of vegetables. The chicken noodle reminded me of the soup that my grandmother makes with the chicken stock left over from making chicken salad. it was really comforting and delicious!

For our entrees My mother had the quiche of the day, a bacon cheddar deal, while i tried their three different 'salads' tuna, chicken, and egg salads on top of greens. The quiche did not disappoint, and the salads were rather fantastic. The tuna salad was better than any other i've had and the egg salad had pimentos i believe, which added a different swing from the usual egg salad that i've had. The chicken salad was different, but good. It had chunks of apples and raisins mixed in among the chunks of chicken.

For dessert My mother chose their brownie, which was easily as big as my hand, while i decided upon the hummingbird cake. Oooohhh the hummingbird cake. That is what you see at the top of this post. The strawberry, coconut, cream cheese frosted goodness. After soup, salads and multiple glasses of iced tea i wasn't able to finish the entire slice of cake. Words are not enough to describe the goodness that is this cake.

Also, along with both the soup and entree came cherry-chip scones, which were light and sweet, smaller than the normal scone ( they were about the size of a half dollar) they were the perfect sweet treat.

While we were two of the four total visitors in the tea-room on this gorgeous day we were served promptly, our glasses were kept full, and we were even given cups to take the rest of our tea with us! This is definitely a place i will visit again, and when i do i hope to better peruse their tea-menu and their pastry selection!

Crabapple is located off a main thoroughfare of the town in which it resides, but it's a quiet place, the building in which it resides is an old house, from which it seems they have retained many features, including the wooden floors and windows. The shop offers not only delicious treats and beverages, but also a rather good selection of European style tea-ware, candles, and other goods. It has both indoor and outdoor seating it looked like, although here in the Atlanta area people seem to think that it's still cold when it's in the 60's.

I'd really enjoy visiting this place on a Saturday for their high-tea. perhaps i can rally a few more people next time to come with me. I'm sure the lure of delicious desserts and pleasant engaging wait-staff would be more than enough for most :3

if you're looking for a lunch get-away, a delicious place to give in to the cravings of your sweet-tooth, or just a nice place to have lunch and relax i'd highly recommend this tea-room!