Teacup Café XLII

[Noble Elf Lord]

Originally Posted by Eärniel

Well, why do you think they've invented sugar?

I remain unimpressed; if a tea blend can't be good without anything extra, it's a poor excuse for a tea indeed.

[tolkienfan]

Originally Posted by Noble Elf Lord

I remain unimpressed; if a tea blend can't be good without anything extra, it's a poor excuse for a tea indeed.

I disagree! Some teas were designed to go well with sugar and/or milk. They bring out the flavor of the tea, as spices can bring out flavors in food.

Mmm, now I want some warm tea...

[Noble Elf Lord]

Originally Posted by tolkienfan

I disagree! Some teas were designed to go well with sugar and/or milk. They bring out the flavor of the tea, as spices can bring out flavors in food.

Mmm, now I want some warm tea...

Never once have I witnessed either of those supposed phenomena firsthand

So do excuse me if I don't believe in them 100%

[tolkienfan]

Originally Posted by Noble Elf Lord

Never once have I witnessed either of those supposed phenomena firsthand

I propose the following experiment. Slice a tomato. Eat one slice. Sprinkle a slice with a small amount of salt and pepper. Eat the second slice. Report back with observations

[Mari]

Works with watermelons as well.

[Midge]

So one of our longest-running conversations recently is a debate about tea...

My two cents is this: I was given some tea for Christmas - a coconut/vanilla blend. Very tasty. I've never had milk in tea, but being from slightly Southern USA, I LOVE me some good sweet tea. Probably not quite the same thing you're talking about, but it is an extremely regional cultural thing here/there.

[Alcuin]

Originally Posted by Midge

So one of our longest-running conversations recently is a debate about tea...

Si, tea.

Originally Posted by Midge

My two cents is this: I was given some tea for Christmas - a coconut/vanilla blend. Very tasty. I've never had milk in tea, but being from slightly Southern USA, I LOVE me some good sweet tea. Probably not quite the same thing you're talking about, but it is an extremely regional cultural thing here/there.

I grew up “slightly Southern”, too. No one drank hot tea, but hot coffee; in New England, no one drinks cold tea (save “slightly Southerners” or tourists), but cold coffee.

Don’t forget that tea is an important ingredient in hot toddies, too. A key staple in blizzards.

[Mari]

I thought a hot toddie was made with hot water, lemon and whiskey?

[Alcuin]

Originally Posted by Mari

I thought a hot toddie was made with hot water, lemon and whiskey?

Hot tea is much better than plain water. Try it both ways, and if you're still able to write, post and tell us what you decide.

And honey. Don't forget honey.

[Mari]

Ugh, I don't like honey. And I don't own whiskey. Instead, I've got sachets with 1000mg of paracetamol with lemon flavour. Add hot water and you've got the same effect. It works really well for me and gets me pretty mellow. It helped me get through my parent teacher conferences :P

[Earniel]

Originally Posted by Noble Elf Lord

I remain unimpressed; if a tea blend can't be good without anything extra, it's a poor excuse for a tea indeed.

I dunno, customising tea to one's own tastes doesn't really sound like a failure. Just like one might adjust an old recipe to personal preferences. Cooking otherwise could be really dull and flavourless.

Originally Posted by Midge

So one of our longest-running conversations recently is a debate about tea...

Sure beats talking about the weather for the moment.

My two cents is this: I was given some tea for Christmas - a coconut/vanilla blend. Very tasty. I've never had milk in tea, but being from slightly Southern USA, I LOVE me some good sweet tea. Probably not quite the same thing you're talking about, but it is an extremely regional cultural thing here/there.

I've never heard of coconut tea before! Does it hold its flavour well? Then it might be something my sister might like.

[Noble Elf Lord]

Originally Posted by tolkienfan

I propose the following experiment. Slice a tomato. Eat one slice. Sprinkle a slice with a small amount of salt and pepper. Eat the second slice. Report back with observations

I don't own pepper. I don't use pepper.

Nor do I buy tomatos.

[Valandil]

Big snow in Chicago yesterday. Official totals I saw were 19.2" at both airports. 5th biggest single snow event in recorded Chicago weather history.

[Alcuin]

Originally Posted by Valandil

Big snow in Chicago yesterday. Official totals I saw were 19.2" at both airports. 5th biggest single snow event in recorded Chicago weather history.

Boston has an all-time record for one week of snow as of this evening: 40.2 inches (51.3 cm). We have more on the North Shore (the section of coast from Boston to the New Hampshire border). We’re about as cold tonight as Chicago (14°F (-10°C), wind chill 0°F (-18°C) in Boston; 10°F (-12°C), Wind Chill-2°F (19°C) in Chicago right now). Drifts and piles of snow are above my head, many standing seven feet (2.1 m) or more.

Originally Posted by Eärniel

Sure beats talking about the weather for the moment.

Didn’t England get hammered, too? “Snowmageddon” or something like that? Good hot tea weather, though: red Thai tea for me tonight. (It really stains if it gets on your clothes, though.)

Originally Posted by Noble Elf Lord

I don't own pepper. I don't use pepper.

Oh, your loss, most Noble Elf Lord! Not only is pepper good for you, but it has been an essential ingredient in human activity and economy for millennia!

Originally Posted by Noble Elf Lord

Nor do I buy tomatos.

There’s a cure for that, too.

Originally Posted by Mari

Ugh, I don't like honey. And I don't own whiskey.

I always cook with wine. Sometimes I put it in the food, too.

Originally Posted by Mari

Instead, I've got sachets with 1000mg of paracetamol with lemon flavour. Add hot water and you've got the same effect. It works really well for me and gets me pretty mellow. It helped me get through my parent teacher conferences :P

To each his own. Paracetamol (acetaminophen to us colonists (Tylenol, Panadol)) doesn’t mix well with whiskey, though: rough on the liver.

[Mari]

Erm, yeah... you should never take medication and alcohol together...

[Noble Elf Lord]

Originally Posted by Alcuin

Oh, your loss, most Noble Elf Lord! Not only is pepper good for you, but it has been an essential ingredient in human activity and economy for millennia!

There’s a cure for that, too.

I cannot call it a loss, I'm afraid It's... yuck.
Or most likely it's that my parents (or hardly anyone else) just doesn't know how to use pepper... Whole peppers in the sauce! What the h....?


Got an internship again, yay

[Valandil]

Originally Posted by Alcuin

Boston has an all-time record for one week of snow as of this evening: 40.2 inches (51.3 cm). We have more on the North Shore (the section of coast from Boston to the New Hampshire border). We’re about as cold tonight as Chicago (14°F (-10°C), wind chill 0°F (-18°C) in Boston; 10°F (-12°C), Wind Chill-2°F (19°C) in Chicago right now). Drifts and piles of snow are above my head, many standing seven feet (2.1 m) or more.
:
:
:

Yes - it's been pretty mild in Chicago most of this winter.

[Earniel]

Originally Posted by Alcuin

Didn’t England get hammered, too? “Snowmageddon” or something like that? Good hot tea weather, though: red Thai tea for me tonight. (It really stains if it gets on your clothes, though.)

So I've heard. But precious little made it across to the continent so far. Just enough snow to make the roads slippery but not nearly enough to even build a snow-hobbit.

Originally Posted by Mari

Erm, yeah... you should never take medication and alcohol together...

That could do with a '!!!!' rather than a '...'. Bad idea, bad, baaaaad idea to mix the two.

[Rían]

Originally Posted by Eärniel

I dunno, customising tea to one's own tastes doesn't really sound like a failure. Just like one might adjust an old recipe to personal preferences. Cooking otherwise could be really dull and flavourless.

My daughter gets upset with me when I don't write down my adjustments on my recipe-card She'll make something and then wonder why it doesn't taste like what I make, and then I sheepishly say, "Well, I adjusted the sugar, and cut down on the butter, and added half-again the vanilla, etc. etc."

I want to start a recipe-box for my daughter. She and I both love baking, and I have some really cool recipes from my great-grandmother (which would be her great-great-grandmother). It's fun to have family recipes! I'm so proud of her - because of my cancer treatments, she took over Thanksgiving this year. She made the difficult clover-leaf roll recipe from my great-grandmother - and TRIPLED it! There was 9 pounds of dough! But those rolls are so wonderful! The first question when everyone sits down at the table is "how many rolls per person?" That way, you stop the roll-hoarders from taking too many

[Earniel]

She took care of a whole Thanksgiving menu on her own? Wow, that's something.

I'm not into cooking much but I'm pretty happy about the few things my mom taught me of the family recipes. Family recipes is a great tradition.