Eccentric Tea Woman

  Julie woke up on a fine Tuesday, her day off from work, and decided then and there to ruin people's lives. Actually, she didn't directly decide such a thing, but rather that she wanted to be selfish. For years, she sacrificed her own happiness at the cost of making sure others felt better about themselves. As she stretched her arms over her head, she decided that today would end all of that. She quickly got dressed and left her apartment in search of her starting point. As she walked along the wide sidewalk, her senses took in everything around her - cars honking their impatience to each other, children screaming as they ran inside their school building, and people trying to get to where they needed to get to for some reason. Julie put a little bounce in her step as she continued her walk on this fine sunny day in the Cherry Creek neighbourhood of Denver, the Mile High City. Several minutes later, she arrived at the Indigo Tea Room and stepped inside. Immediately, the sounds

My latest Tea Adventure came in the form of meeting a man I'd met years ago. His name was Robert Fortune (1812 - 1880) and he played quite an interesting part in the history of tea. He had been hired by the East India Company to steal tea plants in China and bring them to England. Before accepting such a assignment, he was a botanist for the Crown. The book For All The Tea In China by Sarah Rose gives more detail to this historical moment - I purchased a copy of this book years ago and found it to be quite a read! Upton Tea Imports created a Robert Fortune Blend 41 and of course, I had to try it. When I smelled the tea leaves in the bag, the first idea I had was - masculine of a Victorian nature. A man who has a full study/library in his home, along with artifacts from various places around the world. A man who speaks eleven languages, a lifelong bachelor, and who always has his nose in a book. According to the VTC Director of Art, James, the tea reminded him of taking a trip to

  (artwork by Brittany Lewis - prints available in the VTC Etsy Store) Me: (going through my ingredients in my office) Hey, have you seen my bag of lemongrass? Tea Muse: (playing World of Warcraft on my computer) Huh? What? No, I haven't. Don't you keep up with those things? Me: Oooo, look who's getting all snarky today JUST because she finally created a character in Azeroth! And for the record, you're my Muse! You know better than I do about my ingredients! Tea Muse: (shutting off the game and turning around to face me) I'll have you know that you do NOT have any lemongrass, so you can't make precisely 7 of your blends. Now, can I please finish my game? Me: Okay, Miss Smarty Pants . . . do I have any orange peel? Tea Muse: (folding arms over chest) Nope! Me: (grinning) Sage? Tea Muse: Two pounds and you barely use it.  Me: Cloves? Tea Muse: You have exactly one clove left.  Me: See, I told ya that you know better than me! Tea Muse: And that bag of sencha, by t

  It's been too long since I had a Tea Adventure - here we go! This time, I'm traveling to Taiwan to sample a green tea called Cloudstream, thanks to the wondrous tea and Taoist organization Global Tea Hut . If you sign up for a subscription, you will receive a magazine and a tin of tea every month. Now that my life is (somewhat) slowing down here in Colorado, I have more time to enjoy my collected teas thus far.  Cloudstream Green Tea comes from Zhu Shan, Nantou, Taiwan. I love oolongs from Taiwan, so I knew that I was going to enjoy Cloudstream as well. When I sniffed the tea leaves in the tin, the scent reminded me of cool rainwater being poured over a fresh melon - a faint reminder of Spring as we enter Autumn. In brewing the tea, I let it steep for a little over 3 minutes and then poured a cup for myself and the Viridian Tea Company Director of Art, James: When I had my first and subsequent sips of Cloudstream, the taste reminded me of a rainy day in April. The tea "f