On a Snowy Day in May

See that white stuff up there on the mountains in Switzerland? That is snow. You know what we have here in the Southern Tier? SNOW! It doesn't hit the ground, but it is in the air! It's May, for goodness sake. And here I was, a few weeks earlier, complaining about the heat!



If any of you are lucky enough to be going to the British Isles anytime soon, you should go over to the UK Tea Council site www.tea.co.uk/ and see what they are talking about. There is a big list of tea events, tea shops, tea rooms and other interesting stuff, all with enough information to help you decide where you might want to go for a “nice cuppa tea and a sit down”.


Did you ever wonder why your tea didn't taste like it was supposed to? There are lots of reasons having to do with the tea and the way you prepared it, but for today, let's focus on just you. Did you brush your teeth very recently? Eat some strong foods, like onion or garlic? Did you NOT brush your teeth? Have a candy bar? Does the cat food really smell? How much air freshener is there in the room, other than fresh air, that is? All these things can affect your tea's taste. If it is related to your mouth, one of the best things I've found for cleansing it is a rinse with water and then a couple of Trisquits. Saltines work, too, but I don't think they do quite as good a job. For the others, you can figure out what to do.


Have any of you tried Green tea ice cream? It's wonderful stuff. The best is a pale bright Spring green from the Matcha tea powder in it and delicately flavored. Matcha is a powdered green Japanese tea, used in their tea ceremonies. Many Oriental restaurants are serving it these days and it is worth trying. Some of the manufacturers have gotten overly exuberant with it and it can be very heavily flavored and much too sweet. You might want to share it with someone first time around. It's not tea-flavored, but Indian ice cream is really divine. I have tasted several of the flavors – rose, mango, (my favorite), pistachio, tutti frutti, cardamom and they are all super, very, very rich and sweet, so a small amount is fine.