Music

I added a 'music list' to the blog, it's at the bottom of the page after books before movies.
Like books & movies, this is a list that will also expand over time.
I am listening to Chopin's L'Adieu -which he wrote for Maria or Marie Wodzińska- while writing this. And if I ever get to name more cats, I will call them Earl Grey, Crosby (after the street not the musician) & Chopin. The holy trinity ;)

Made in England, Bought in Hamburg

Today I treated myself to one of these:

Made in England -Strawberries & Ladybugs cup& saucer by Dunoon

For me the shape and the feel of the cup I drink my tea out of is important and helps determine how much I enjoy my tea. I think this cup & saucer will be fantastic -- this post is for you Jason ;)

Old News: I Love Tea

I really do. The New York Times Travel section just highlighted some tea hot spots in New York in their article "Morning or Afternoon, There's a Kettle Brewing" by Seth Kugel.
Nice article, except that I disagree about that tea's main purpose is relaxation. Just as coffee for most people in the western world is integral to the morning routine, so tea can be integral to people's morning routine too.

Sea Urchin Bone China @ Tiffany & Co.

Last year I saw some sea urchin shaped & textured tea cups at Anthropologie. And now Tiffany & Co. offers a sea urchin set in bone china. I like the tea pot and the cups.

How to Brew Tea

There are different theories on how to properly brew tea.
I drink a lot of black tea, such as Earl Grey & English Breakfast and I think it is best to have the water as hot as possible when pouring it onto black tea. However for green tea , I find it better to have non-boiling water. If the water is very hot green tea can turn bitter during the brewing process.
Here are two links that lead you to posts about tea preparation that I found informative:
lancaster.unl.edu/food/ciqtips-jan04-tea.htm
imperialteagarden.com/brewtea.html

Winter Tea

My parents brought me some delicious winter tea from Germany.
The main flavor is almond and there are bits of apple, cinnamon & even red
beet in it. It's great in the evening -- or in the morning mixed with some black tea.
I love seasons, including winter.
I like to have a sense of the year passing, but I also look forward to different foods & beverages that go along with each season, like this tea.

Winter Tee © Muehlen Apotheke

Tea

Two Earl Grey © Nina Buesing

Studio 360 had a great little segment on tea preparation this morning titled "Design for the Real World: Tea Bag" (with tea expert/historian Jane Pettigrew) - play below to listen :



For readily available tea (loose & bags) and everyday use
Twinings is outstanding.
Twinings Earl Grey flavor in my opinion is hard to beat. For the advanced tea lover (and design enthusiast alike!) Mariage Feres
is a treat (they have a wonderful store in Paris, and now also in Berlin & Tokyo). If you find yourself in Germany and would like
to buy quality tea at a very good price the German drugstore chain Rossman's house brand is surprisingly good & a great deal.
New York's Chinatown also has some fantastic tea stores.

Teany Cafe

Moby's Teany Cafe, is a neat little place that I don't frequent often enough. I had not been in months, so we decided to eat dinner there tonight.
Moby and his friend Kelly own/run this tiny all vegetarian restaurant/tea house on New York's LES (hence the name).
The current staff is friendly & helpful and the quality of the food
is very consistent.
Much vegetarian cuisine in New York is Asian influenced and Teany provides a counter balance to those fine restaurants with a vegetarian menu that recreates many American staple foods (sans meat). Teany is also a brand of delicious not-too-sweet ice tea and while many excellent restaurants in New York offer incredible & vast wine lists, Teany offers an extensive & exquisite tea list (hot & cold). In addition to that Teany offered hot cider with a shot of port tonight, which was the perfect beverage after a 20 minute walk in the cold.
Another treat is that the entire menu is offered whenever Teany
is open. Thus you can have a breakfast style bagel for dinner
- like I just did :)
Too bad Teany is not open 24/7 .