Haiku Friday ~ No. 2

Stars wink one by one
Sparkle in the clear night sky
"Goodnight, earth!" they smile.

In honor of the night mentioned in this poem, I would suggest "Night, Night," recently renamed to "Tranquil Dream." A dear friend of mine gave me some recently; thanks!

Happy Sipping,

CoolCat.

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Autumn Harvest

My Tea Thoughts:

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Autumn Harvest is a wonderful tea! Pleasantly fruity, it reminds me of Scarlet Tea, the very first tea on this blog. It's delicious and not too strong, though it definitely doesn't need sweetener. Autumn Harvest is well-named, since it's perfect for autumn, but a smooth fruit tea any time of the year. Thanks to my good friends for introducing this to me -- you know who you are!

Happy sipping,
CoolCat

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At-a-Glance:

Name: Autumn Harvest.
Type: Fruit Tea.
Package: Looseleaf.
Source: Sandy's Produce Market.
Group: Light.
Key Word: Fruity.

Haiku Friday

Hi! CoolCat here, wanting to share with you a new weekly feature on my blog... Haiku Friday! Haiku are short Japanese poems that are always about nature in some way. They are in three lines of 5 syllables, then 7, then 5 again. Since haiku are Japanese and tea is very popular in Japan, I thought haiku would be an appropriate poem for this blog (thanks, jim.texas, for the idea). Each Friday, I'll post a haiku with a suggestion for a tea or tea type suitable for the nature of the poem. Here's today's:



Leaves are red and gold
Echoing the setting sun
Lovely, lovely fall!

Try some Ruby Chai or another rooibos tea with this haiku, matching in color and mood the beauties of fall!

~CoolCat

YAO Restaurant/Rose Black Tea

My Tea Thoughts:

October 1, 2008

I went to YAO Restaurant in Houston with my family yesterday. It was amazing! I chose a pot of Rose Black Tea for all of us, and was thoroughly rewarded! It was served in a gorgeous pot, with tiny cups which enhanced the pleasure of the tea, and solid sugar crystals for the sweetener! But why am I telling you...

...when I can show you? The Rose Black was excellent, looseleaf tea, and I could and would have drunk gallons! I would definitely recommend the restaurant and the tea to anyone who is, like me, passionate about the fine points of tea.

Maple Tea

My Tea Thoughts:

September 20, 2008



September! Can you believe it's practically fall? Whether this means refreshing temperatures or homework overload to you, this is a perfect tea for the colder months. It has strong maple flavor in the steam, but when you sip, the maple is only an ever-present undertone... but what a lovely one! The rest is a fine black tea, which provides a strong, warm-toned base for the maple syrup flavor. It's two thumbs up for Maple Tea! Thanks, butterflyg-m, for giving me this great gift!



At-a-Glance:

Name: Maple Tea.

Type: Black tea with flavorings.

Package: Paper Teabag.

Source: Quebec, Canada.

Group: Dark.

Key Word: Maple (obviously.)

Blossom & Boba Teas

My Tea Thoughts:
July 23, 2008
Guess what? Lately, I've tried "Blossom" and "Boba" teas! I mentioned them in my Summer post, but had not tried them.

First, let me tell you about the Boba Tea. It was a bit of a disappointment, with more fruit juice than tea, but the tapioca pearls did give an interesting texture. All in all, maybe a 2 1/2 out of 5.

The Blossom Tea was much more exciting. It had a fine flavor, but the unfolding action was a bit slow; perhaps I didn't put enough water in the pitcher, or maybe I had it upside down. A 4 1/2 out of 5 for Blossom Tea; a 5 out of 5 if I made a mistake in the amount of water or the orientation of the teabud.

Happy Sipping,
CoolCat

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Summer

It's summer, and we all probably have some extra time on our hands. So, you might be searching for some new tea thrills! If so, I could have the perfect summer fun for you in the list below.

1. Go tea shopping. If you have a local tea store, well, lucky you! If not, you could check at a health-food store like Whole Foods for a new brew, or jump in to the virtual world and head to TeaTrader or adagio teas. Note: I am not guaranteeing the validity or appropriateness of these sites, or that you will enjoy them. I just enjoy them myself and have not found them inappropriate. Sorry about the legalese!
2. Research tea. Although "research" may remind you of a dusty library or your fifth-grade science teacher, you can actually find lots of really cool info on the World Wide Web! Just google "tea", "tea history", or anything else that interests you! Or you could look up "tea" in Wikipedia -- that site is full of factoids. If you find any particularly neat factoids, feel free to post it as a comment, along with the site you found it on. Note to kids: Be sure your parents have given you permission to go on the sites.
3. Try your favorite tea iced. You could find a tasty summer treat! Try adding chunks of chilled fruit for a possible vernal delight to offset the dusty heat.
4. Try a specialty tea. You might want to sample boba tea, which puts bubbles of tapioca in your glass, or blossom (flower) tea, which, when you drop in a "bud", opens out into a really neat flower! Or so they say.

Enjoy your summer!

Happy sipping,

CoolCat

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