Lynn Flewelling's Blog, page 17

Tea!

What a lively tea discussion! I love dozens, perhaps hundreds of different teas, far too many to list. Since we can't sit down over a cup together, here are just a few of my personal special five-star favorites to share. Let me say first that there are teas, and then there are teas. The following companies sell hand selected artisan teas, fresh and loose as fine tea should be. You will seldom hear me recommend a bagged tea: too often they are made with crushed, stale ingredients that have been on the shelf too long, and with artificial flavors and scents. While I'll use good old Red Rose or Lipton to make iced, or drink it in a pinch in a restaurant, at home I use the good stuff and serve it to my guests.

JING Pre-Rain Dragonwell Supreme JING is an outstanding British company and I've never had a bad tea from them. Their Dragonwells are a particular favorite. Dragonwells are a delicate Chinese green with a bright, vegetal flavor. I brew mine by putting two tablespoons of dry tea in the bottom of a tall water glass, adding hot water (see directions for temp) and swirling it. The leaves will float in a thick mat at first, then slowly begin to drift down one by one, like falling leaves. When they have hall sunk, the tea is ready.

JING Phoenix Honey Orchid Oolong OOOOOOOoooooo I love oolongs! Some are dry, rough, and a little metallic in a good way, such as Ti Quan Yins. Others, like this one, are sweet and floral and leave an amazing scent in the mouth that you enjoy by breathing out through your nostrils. High quality oolongs can be steeped several times.

Canton Tea Company Jasmine Pearls I adore jasmine greens! These hand rolled pearls are layered with fresh jasmine blossoms multiple times, not artificially scented/flavored. I have tried many, many kinds, but Canton's are by far the best, sweet and fragrant.

Adagio Teas Yunnan Noir wedschilde recently introduced me to this one, as well as the Sherlock blends and the other Adagios below. Yunnan blacks are my champagne of Chinese blacks and this one is everything a good Yunnan should be, with notes of chocolate, fine leather, and musk. Takes cream well.

Adagio Teas Green Chai I'm a recent convert to chai tea. This one is exceptionally fragrant and has an excellent balance of fresh spices with a green tea base.

Adagio Tiger Eye Cocoa nibs, caramel flavor and vanilla dress up this tasty black tea and WOW is it good! Also good with cream. Add a little sugar or honey and you have dessert!

Silk Road Teas Black Cloud You can't go wrong with Silk Road. You just can't. Watch their site for Clouds and Mist black. They don't always have it, and it's pricey, but one of the best. Barring that, Black Cloud is amazing. This is another chocolaty, leathery, spicy Yunnan. All I can say is if you like fine black tea, try it!

American Tea Room Milk Oolong This is the holy grail of oolongs. There are many cheap ones that are artificially flavored, but this pricey little tea is the genuine article. Very much a special occasion tea. If I ever serve you Milk Oolong, consider yourself family.

Thunderbolt Tea Second Flush Giddapahar Musk Ahh, Darjeelings! While muscatel is the signature note of these Indian teas, the musk note is a treasure to be savored. Hard to describe, except that it lingers on the tongue and scents the mouth in a delightful way. And if you want to learn about Darjeeling tea, you won't find a better site than Thunderbolt. Tons of excellent, accurate information.

Thunderbolt Tea Arya Pearl A rare white Darjeeling! Delicate, sweet and aromatic.

Enjoy!

Sherlock Teas

A dear friend, and she knows who she is, gifted me with a glorious assortment of fine teas from Adagio Teas, and among them were two blends called "Watson" and "Sherlock." It turns out they are part of a whole collection of Sherlock (the BBC series) themed blends. Thought my fellow tea/Sherlock fans might be interested.

http://www.adagio.com/sherlock/index.html

The Sherlock blend is comprised of lapsang souchong, assam melody, and oriental spice.
Watson is a blend of irish breakfast, cinnamon, and earl grey green.

The illustrations are a bit manga, and some of them have a touch of m/m suggestion.

For example:

Skit!

Well, she turned up again yesterday, looking a little bit thinner but otherwise fine. Makes me wonder if she got shut in somewhere. Anyway, she's safe and sound.

Rest Well, Mr. Bradbury

Ray Bradbury had passed away at 91. Stephen King once said that without Ray Bradbury there would be no Stephen King. There would be no Lynn Flewelling, either.

I have no more words, except to urge you who haven't read his work to try The Illustrated Man, Something Wicked This Way Comes, I Sing the Body Electric, or The October Country which are just a few of my favorites.

I have had many literary influences, but it was Ray Bradbury who first made me think "I want to be a writer."

Read in peace, Mr. Bradbury.

Today's Best Typo

They turned to find him sated on the edge of the bed.

The MG Signing

The Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore signing went great, saw lots of good friends, had my traditional after-signing feast with wedschilde , Rebecca and friends.

Here I am, signing one of the 66 books you folks special ordered. :)

Misheard Lyrics: O Fortuna

Years ago I sang Carl Orff's Carmena Burana with the University of Maine chorus and orchestra. You've probably all heard parts of it, even if you didn't know what it was. O Fortuna is one of the most over used pieces of music ever, especially in commercials. But the words are in Medieval Latin and I have long since forgotten the translation. But now we have this little video. The words aren't right, but they are funny. Enjoy!

Here's a smile for you.

Today's Best Typo

I summon you. Show yourelf!

No elves were hurt in the making of this typo.

Here, Kitty, Kitty. Kitty?

Haven't seen Skit in days. :(