Monday, February 28, 2011

A Fine Formosan

A peek at the Mediterranean.


Alex Zorach kindly told me that Tea Forte does sell loose leaf tea, so I trotted right on over and got some black current. Thanks Alex. Much better than all that extra packaging. It is amazing how much less garbage you have if you recycle and compost. One puny bag. A lot better than 3 or 4. And it's really a no-brainer. It's like contributing to the food bank. If you buy one or two extras every week, it is painless to give to those less fortunate. Having worked in several, I can say that the vast majority of folk who come truly need. There are always scammers, but you get to know them.





I have been having such a good run with tea, so many of the ones I am trying are just plain good. Today's is another one from Aura Teas http://www.aurateas.com/ - make sure you get that "s" in there. It is Formosa Alishan Oolong, obviously a cousin of the one I had a few days ago from them. It smells like good green earth in the packet and is very dark for an Oolong, looking as though it were heavily compressed. At 170 degrees for about 2 minutes, it brewed up into a light amber, with a distinct green taste, softened by what seemed to me to be pineapple. Very tasty. The second wash, again for 2 minutes, shifted away from such heavy green to an orchid scent and flavor. Just as good as the first cup, but different. It's always so interesting to see these changes from one lot of tea.





I have been seeing more and more ads in mainline magazines for tea and articles about how good for you it is. I hope it encourages more people to drink tea, just for the taste and experience of it. I also hope it encourages people to try loose leaf tea and not just tea bags.

1 comment:

Alex Zorach said...

I definitely think that there is a "general" advertising effect, in that when a product or service is advertised, it not only positively impacts the brand or company being advertised, but the general product or service as a whole.

This is one reason why I am strongly opposed to the idea of any sort of healthcare advertising, whether hospitals, doctors offices, or, the one that bothers me the most, prescription drugs...not only does it fuel hypochondria, but it drives up healthcare costs by encouraging more people to use the healthcare system more often.