The interior of the Meieringen Church, with its perfect acoustics.


I have discovered a new use for my large tea sock. If you don't know what this is, it is a handy little gadget that looks like the toe and arch part of a sock, with a metal ring around the top. I first discovered these when my friend, Ruth, married her husband, who is from Puerto Rico, where such socks are used to brew coffee. Upton's carries them in 2 sizes - mug and teapot. http://www.uptontea.com/







I have not been happy with my usual way of making ice tea directly in the pitcher as it involved pouring the tea through a strainer into another container and then back into my pitcher. It always seemed to involve spilling enough to be annoying. I tried using my largest teapot and it was okay, but still lacking. However, this method works very well, the ring rests on an inner ring in the pitcher, secured by the sock's hook. When I am done, I squeeze the sock, turn it inside out over the compost, rinse well and I am done. I only need two - one for green and one for black.







While I was at Wegman's, I noticed they had an aisle just for bottled teas. I usually ignore these, as they tend to be awful. However, I noticed that they had some from Ito En, which has a good reputation. They were also unsweetened, hooray, hooray.! I decided to try the Jasmine Green Tea. It comes in an attractive, recyclable plastic bottle. The label states there is only green tea, jasmine flowers and ascorbic acid in it. It further states it is brewed tea. The tea is a pretty pale gold and smells like jasmine. It tastes like a good jasmine tea, delicate and flowery, with a good balance between the flowers and the tea. You can actually taste that you are drinking green tea. I think I shall have to try some more, since this is so good.