Violin in C Sharp

 That moment when you know you need tea - but you don't know what kind you're in the mood for - and so you stare into the vast depths of your tea cupboard and are suddenly intimidated by your own collection.  The bags and tins and boxes stare back at you and each label your eyes read seem to make a new demand.  "I should be the one you choose!" they each state to you with absolute confidence.  "I am the blend - the only blend that can satisfy!"... and yet two tins over you read a new name and the same claim is made with the same confidence. Bergamot, lavender, clove, and ginger all vie for dominance in your craving centers even though you haven't even decided if it's white, green, oolong or black that calls loudest to you this day.  And so, the jumbled cacophony created from the clashing voices of Russian Caravan, Victorian Chai, Ginger Turmeric, Yorkshire Gold, Dragon Pearl, Genmai and so many others reaches up to you from the shelves to fray at you...

 Recently, I friend of mine asked on his Facebook for the opinions from his circle on whether or not it is possible to continue to be a fan of someone's art even if you learn something about the artist that makes you despise them as a person.  J.K. Rowling, Orsen Scott Card, Bill Cosby, and Kevin Spacey were all used as examples. This was my response: I understand taking a social stand to boycott an artist in order to voice your displeasure against their behavior or opinions or what have you - but I think my perspective as an Art History student skews my view on the issue far more than it does for others. I know from my studies that if the art is quality enough, than regardless of how hated or despicable the artist may be or have been in their own time, their art will continue to resonate across the ages. The literary works of the monsters of humanity still cause ripples in society generations after their deeds are forgotten. Because I have learned this truth, I refuse to depr...

STASH is one of my trusty, go-to, easy to find, off the shelf brands. So you can see in the ingredient list that instead of whole cloves in the mix, this blend uses clove oil. So yes, that makes the flavor come out stronger without the astringency that whole clove can add- HOWEVER, it makes cleaning up after a cup of this more like cleaning up after a cup of Earl Grey. What I mean by that is that the oil leaves a residue on your cup/ pot that can be hard to get off if you don’t wash it while fresh AND the oil can make the tea staining worse on your ceramics if you don’t clean it promptly. A water soak won’t fully help as it will just draw the oil to the surface and create a ring/line of the stain. With the flash here, you can somewhat see the oil on the surface of the tea that makes it more difficult to clean up. All that having been said, this IS one of my favorite easy to find everyday bagged chai blends. It can take sugar and cream well, but is also quite tasty on its own. I do...

I've previously reviewed another pre-mixed milk tea by this same company - the Jasmine Green milk tea.  Of that flavor, I was NOT a fan.  The vanilla powder was far too prominent a flavor. The vanilla powder is used in this Black Milk Tea as well - but thankfully, it's not as prominent. I'm learning very quickly that I just don't like vanilla powder in my tea - it dominates the last note/ aftertaste and makes me feel like I've just eaten a cookie that's gone slightly off. As far as milk teas go, this was.... ok.  It curbed my milk tea craving and was definitely a more affordable and more convenient option than going to a milk tea place.  However, in flavor quality, it very much tasted like a knock of version of a tasty milk tea place milk tea. On the side of the bottle it says to "shake well" - they aren't kidding.  A sip of this before shaking is watery and flavourless drivel.  SHAKE THE HELL out of this if you want any flavor. Verdict:  It's ...

  Tea Review: Matcha Au Lait by Nitto A nice level of cream in the flavour - but be careful, if you serve it too hot the main note on the tongue is a grassy one. Thankfully, the grass flavour mellows as the tea cools. There's JUST enough sweetness in the mix that it can be drunk without the need of sweet treats along side so it's a good stand alone sipping drink. Verdict: Very pleasant.

  Tea Review: Kinako Black Sesame Milk Powder by Nittoh This was a sensory head trip for me. The smell and the visual led me to think of creamy sweetness.... but the flavor was savory soy and sesame. I thoroughly enjoyed both the scent and flavor, it was just that my brain couldn’t seem to make the two go together until I told myself I was drinking black sesame ice cream base before the sugar got added and then the cognitive dissonance vanished.

So I tried a new tea this morning - Cardamom Spice (Chai) from "Tea Drops". It's this little sort of pressed cake of loose leaf that you drop into your mug of hot water. I think the concept is a no fuss kurrig without the pod sort of concept. I really REALLY wanted it to be good - because they would be awesome for travel. Alas.... the spice blend on the chai was sub-par to non existent, in fact, it tasted sweet without me putting any sugar in. And that doesn't even begin to touch on the problems. The package says that "this is a loose leaf tea there will be some sediment in the bottom of your cup".... that does NOT prepare you for the mass of GRIT that is a cup of this stuff. I tried to let it all settle to the bottom of my mug, but then I had nearly clear hot water with a layer of tea grit at the bottom. In order to have any flavor, I had to keep stirring the grit up from the bottom to try and mix into the water. I have two more flavours of the drops to try...