Probably Should Be Sleeping

Tea Review: Assam

2011-06-24T22:18:00.000-07:00

Assam

Texture: Mostly black leaves with some lighter fragments
Scent: Mild floral, fruity scent
Steeped: Roughly 3.5 minutes in mesh ball
Appearance: Dark brown
Taste: Rich and earthy, the fruitiness is picked up as well, leaves a pleasant aftertaste.
Additions: Tried it plain and it's surprisingly good, but I'm a sucker for sweet tea :) Milk would be good, too, depending on how long you steep it.

So far in my explorations of tea, I've found a definite liking for black teas, while not having much success with green teas. I think my taste buds just are not used to whatever it is that appeals to green tea drinkers. Assam is another black tea, named for the region in India where it originated. I believe it's also blended into a number of the other teas I've tried, which is not surprising. It has a flavor which is certainly compatible with many others, especially fruits.
This unknown* variety of Assam is one of the teas I could drink with no sugar or anything added, could not that it's common for me to skip the sugar. Wikipedia claims Assam has a "malty" flavor, which is not a word that came to mind. I would say it tastes earthy and fruity, just what you'd expect from the smell and appearance. One point of interest, this tea seems to work very well with Splenda sweetener, the natural flavor seems complementary to the slight off-taste of an artificial sweetener. This is a good tea whether enjoyed on its own, as part of a meal, or blended with other ingredients.

* I could and probably should ask the owner of the shop where these teas come from and get some more info on the varieties. That way I can point others to them if they happen to live elsewhere (or if the shop stops selling them for some reason).

Think Fast!

2011-05-28T01:12:00.000-07:00

Oh look, it's Dixie again doing the crazy kind of stuff cats do when they're bored and not sleeping. As a side note: I love my SB-600 flash - it makes shots like this possible. Normally I bounce it off a wall or ceiling, but pointing straight on with a diffuser worked better in this situation (though it throws shadows behind the subject). Kinda hard to anticipate what's going to happen next with a hyperactive cat in the room.

Tea Review: Blueberry

2011-05-21T23:37:00.000-07:00

Blueberry

Texture: Colorful blend of dried blueberries, flower petals, and various other dried bits
Scent: Faint, musty fruit scent
Steeped: At least 3.5 minutes in mesh ball
Appearance: Clear, pale rose color
Taste: Slightest blueberry flavor
Additions: Needs sugar. Milk is an option but I don't use any because it's a weak tea.

Given how much I like berries and blueberries in particular, this tea caught my eye. The mix is absolutely packed with dried berries and many other things that I haven't identified. Don't expect a strong blueberry flavor, in fact it would be easy to entirely miss the flavor if not expecting it. So this is definitely not a tea to drink in a hurry, if you want to fully enjoy it. Instead, take your time and let it linger for a moment in your mouth, flowing over your tongue. Then you'll get the full effect.
I find as it cools the flavor becomes more easily discernible and also as you get to the dregs, which are not at all unpleasant. Overall it's not really one of my favorites, I'd rather have strawberry and cream tea (to be reviewed!) when desiring a fruity flavor because there's just not much to this one. Maybe I'll try steeping it longer next time to see if it enhances the flavor.

Review: Bolthouse Farms Blue Goodness

2011-05-19T19:41:00.000-07:00

I've been a fan of Bolthouse Farms' drinks for a number of years now. The first flavors I tried were Mocha Cappuccino, Vanilla Chai, and Berry Boost. All of the them are excellent, you can really taste the quality of this brand and as if that weren't enough, they are made naturally and very healthy (the cappuccino contains a lot of protein, the smoothies are packed with fiber, in addition to the other natural benefits you get from the ingredients).

Relatively new to me is the Blue Goodness smoothie, which as the name implies is made primarily from blueberries, but also contains blackberries, bananas, apples, and lemon. I really enjoy fresh berries, especially blueberries and raspberries. In the past 5 years or so they have become a staple of my diet to be enjoyed at any time of day. So obviously I had to check out this flavor.

You can tell these drinks are carefully crafted to be pleasing to the senses as well as healthy. The color of the drink is a sort of rich purple hue. The smell is a hint of what's to come, a subtle and sweet berry scent. Bolthouse smoothies are always, well, very smooth. They have a nice thick texture that's pleasant on the tongue. The flavor is not excessively sweet and seems to be derived entirely from the fruity ingredients. Throwing the ingredients together would not turn out a good result, this formula has obviously been taste-tested extensively,

Overall, I think I still prefer their Berry Boost variety, but this is certainly among the best, healthiest fruit drinks on the market. Compare Bolthouse Farms smoothies with V8 VFusion (which also contains many fruit and vegetable servings) to get a feel for the difference in quality. I guess there's a perception that Bolthouse products are expensive, which is true relatively speaking, but compare them with the alternatives. Cheap fruit drinks don't even contain real fruit or are mostly sugar water. Probably the only thing better would be to buy the fruit and make smoothies yourself, which is a great idea if you have the time and interest to do so. Otherwise there's Bolthouse Farms and a few other brands committed to high quality products.

Winter Scene

2011-05-15T14:37:00.000-07:00

Tea Review: Herbal Chai

2011-05-14T23:13:00.000-07:00

Herbal Chai

Dry leaf

Texture: Coarsely chopped herbs, spices, and tea
Scent: Highly aromatic, spicy, strong scent of cardamon and cloves
Steeped: No more than 3.5 minutes in mesh ball
Appearance: Murky brownish-orange color, has a bit of foam on top after adding hot water
Taste: Intense spiciness, exotic, very pleasant flavor and aftertaste, no acidity
Additions: Completely optional! It doesn't need anything to make it great, though I usually add some sugar. Milk or cream makes for a real treat (a latte), the flavor is quite strong so you won't lose the essence.

Chai has become one of my favorite teas, specifically referring to the traditionally South Asian spicy drink. I have tried many varieties, searching for the perfect blend. The worst would be what you get at a restaurant like Starbucks, which tries to pass off an overpriced, weak tea as "chai latte." Not much better are the powdered teas that come in canisters, I guess for those who can't figure out how to steep tea. Then there's the chai latte concentrate that comes prebrewed, sweetened, and you simply add milk to taste. Nothing comes close to actually taking the time to make the tea for yourself. As far as that goes, I believe the variety I'm drinking now is the best I've had, you can really taste all the spices.

If you could drink paradise, this is roughly how it would taste. Obviously I'm crazy for spices, especially those used in sweet foods and drinks. Just smelling this blend is close to ecstasy.

Heaven :)

At the Window

2011-05-13T20:36:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of my cat, Winn-Dixie (yes, she was named after the grocery chain), as she sat on the window sill. She loves sitting there, observing the comings and goings of the neighborhood, especially any feline friends that may come up to say 'Hello'.

Tea Review: Cinnamon Orange Spice

2011-05-13T19:48:00.000-07:00

     In the past few years, drinking tea has become a sort of budding interest of mine. I find it's a great way to end the day, hot or cold. In particular I've been sampling dozens of varieties of loose leaf teas, which I get from a local spice shop. One of many things I seem to collect over time, but now I'm going to try reviewing each tea as I drink it. Hopefully they will serve to introduce others to the wonderful world of teas or at least suggest some new varieties.
   My procedure for making tea is generally about the same every time, but I tweak it from time to time. As a general rule, I use a small mesh tea baller, filled up with a teaspoon or so of leaf. I place the tea baller into the cup I plan to use. I bring water to an "almost" boil in a lidded pan, and then quickly pour it over the baller until the cup is about full (the level will decrease when it's removed). I let it steep for 3.5 minutes depending on the variety and desired strength, then remove the baller, shaking as much of the tea out of it as possible. Then stir in sugar and optionally add milk or cream to taste. I don't think there's a better way to make tea, but who knows :)
     On to the first review...

Cinnamon Orange Spice

Dry leaves

Texture: Coarse black tea leaves with presumably pieces of orange peel and the bark of some unknown plant
Scent: Mild spiciness with a hint of citrus zest
Steeped: At least 3.5 minutes in mesh ball
Appearance: Rich brownish-red hue
Taste: Quite mild but pleasant, not too acidic
Additions: Sugar recommended, but not required as the taste is pleasant enough. Milk or cream dilutes the flavor so much that you can hardly taste it (certainly an option but you may want to steep the tea longer).

This tea combines two flavors which I adore: cinnamon and orange. For some reason the earthy bitterness of cinnamon combined with the tart citrus of orange are complementary. Here, neither is overdone and it's a very subtle tea which can be enjoyed by itself or with a meal. I find the flavor becomes slightly more intense as it sits and cools, so this would probably make an excellent cold tea as well.

Delicious!

I'm not sure what brand of tea it was, but here's some Amazon links I dug up which may point in the right direction:
Cinnamon Orange Spice Tea
Cinnamon Orange Spice Loose Leaf Tea

[Re]Introduction

2010-12-15T19:37:00.000-08:00

Some years ago, I had a blog at this same address with the stated purpose of collecting thoughts on various subjects, but which ultimately became dominated by my interest in music. After a number of years went by without much posting, I deleted that blog. There's not much I miss about it, but lately I've found myself desiring an output for reviews and comments of various media including: books, music, and movies.

I've been an avid contributor to RateYourMusic these past years, and that is an excellent website for organizing and sharing one's music collection. It has since expanded to include a movie database. Still, it doesn't feel like quite the appropriate platform for more in-depth analysis and criticisms. In light of that, I'm returning to Blogger, as it provides a free platform for me to write and explore basically any topic I want.

Not sure how frequently I'll be posting here, and I'll still be involved with RYM in addition to other things that occupy my time, but I have some ideas to start with :-)