Lady Devotea and I spent Saturday evening attending a wedding in Melbourne, an Australian city that is quite acceptable* despite us not living there. The wedding was of a childhood friend of mine, Stefan and his partner Julia. Stefan and I played together is several incarnations of a rock band from the time we were […]
The best place to take tea is often in your own parlour, with friends. Despite this, few modern homes have a parlour. And you have to ask why. Or not merely ask, but demand to know. There are rooms for cooking in, rooms for eating in, rooms for sleeping in, rooms for watching TV in. […]
As I write this, I am seated at my desk and Jango.com is providing “We Are The Champions” for my listening pleasure- and indeed, what a pleasure it is. As Lady Devotea, both Devotea Juniors, and others who know my musical taste well – or at least as well as jango.com does – can attest, I really like […]
Once again, I have to answer the questions that the mainstream media deliberately ignores. This week, NASA (the USA’s National Aeronautical and Space Administration) confirmed its belief that there is flowing water on Mars. And yet, despite this being one of only two vital ingredients in making a cuppa, they failed to follow through. Thanks […]
I’m not one for band wagons. so when I started seeing posts and pictures about ‘tea pets’, I just ignored what is, on the face of it, a silly idea. They are basically little ornamental creatures that lay about your teaware, offering what appears to be very little to the experience. Or so I thought…until… […]
Something has got up my nose. Not exactly a new thing, really: Over the years, I’ve endlessly ranted about various things, and this is just the latest. Not the least, not the greatest, just one more way the world has failed to meet my expectations. I’m talking about “High Coffee”. Yes, in case you hadn’t […]
The Chinese economy has been in the news of late. It’s been a bit unimpressive. ‘Unimpressive’ in recent Chinese terms, that is. Sectors like manufacturing are dropping from four or five times as busy as most of the developed world down to two or three times. And the Shanghai stock exchange is not so much […]
Yesterday, I wasn’t feeling so well. Upon my arising, I boiled the kettle and reached for the Doke Silver Needle (see previous article on teas to drink when you are unwell). After I added on teaspoon to my small teapot, I noticed the tea was not a white tea. In fact it was Doke Black […]
There aren’t enough posts on this subject. “But hang on…” I hear you say. “That’s nuts. You can barely move on the internet for articles about tea doing this or that for your health. There are experts lining up to spout about this.” “And while you’re hanging on…” I hear you continue (in your slightly […]
Pu’er is a tea sub-type that I don’t often write about. And when I do, it’s usually with a sense of confusion, as in this post of a few years ago. I was approached by Nicholas Lozito, of Misty Peak Teas, which is a pu’er boutique supplier, with a proposal to offer some education to […]