tea kills (maybe)

This is the longest I've gone without blogging since I started this teablog a few years ago, and I have to apologise. Really, it wasn't intentional.

I could make up a lot of excuses, but the truth is you don't come here for my problems. You come here for teablogging goodness, and that's what I intend to give you. Is this the prettiest teablog you've ever seen? It is not. Am I an expert on the topic of tea? Nope. Far from it.

The whole point of this teablogging lark was to document my 'learning about tea' journey, as well as to display my writing. I already had made a few stabs at other blogs, and there was something missing. I read some things about bliss and passion, and then I wondered what mine were.

A while back, in the midst of one of the busiest times I've had in years, I saw an article that would shock and astound you. Well, it would if I could find it. It was in a German paper, which I set aside in order to use it for a future blogpost.

When I went hunting for it earlier today, it'd disappeared. Gone. What to do? Not sure.

It was a scientific article that made a dramatic and terrifying claim. For any of you men who drink a lot of tea, as well as for the people who love them, this was worrying stuff. But can I write about it if I don't have the source? If I only have a very vague idea of what the article even said?

Of course I can. I can do nearly anything I want here. This is all fun and games, right? Teablogging fun and games.

So, I'm going to pass on an unsubstantiated story...you've been warned. Hold onto your hats, because you're not going to like this.

If you drink eight cups of tea, or more, per day and are of the male persuasion, there's a higher likelihood that you'll get prostate cancer. You heard me. All you people who tout the health benefits of tea can stick that where the sun don't shine.

That tea you love so much...the tea you swill from dawn to dusk...your tea is killing you. And I can't think of a better reason to break my teablogging silence. As one of the Beasts of Brewdom, I feel it's the very least I could do.

For the good everyone.

Be careful out there gentlemen. It's not easy being a tea drinker.

tea monkey infuser

The longer I take part in this teablogging lark the more curious tea-related stuff I find. This I found a while back in Nice, and I knew I'd include it here at some point.

It's a bit of a stalling technique to be completely honest. Went to a Bio Messe in Nürnberg yesterday, and there was more than enough tea. Tea companies, and health food companies that have tea brands, and different countries promoting their tea industry.

But the thing is: it was a bit much. It's going to take me a bit of time to sift through all the information. So that's why you're getting my distraction blogpost. Look at the shiny tea monkey infuser.

I had the last leaves of a nondescript Keemun, and it was the perfect amount for a cup of tea. The tea monkey infuser was practically making monkey sounds in desperation that he be used.

ooh ooh ooh

taking a dip

I crammed the tea inside, clasped it shut, and several minutes later I had the perfect cup of tea.

It really was a nice cup of tea. I did spend a bit of time wondering what material the thing was made of (It's not a real monkey, you know?).

But it looks like stainless steel, and although there are probably studies that say stainless steel is a dangerous material in which to cook (or steep) things, it's probably too late for me to worry about such warnings.








And here we are after all that hard work...a photo of the cuppa and the very satisfied looking monkey.

he can't even review tea, can he?

I am drinking Green Pu-Erh Tuo Cha and relaxing a bit after a long day.

along the green Nymphenburger canal

Recently I responded to an offer to write tea reviews for a site.  It looks like an interesting opportunity, but I don't want to say any more about it until it's a done deal. 




I was asked what sort of tea I liked...the site was explained to me and like I say, it looks promising.  So I wrote back saying I was interested, and I mentioned this tea blog.  You know.  As in, 'You want to see how I write?  Go check out the teablog.'  


Despite how informal and slipshod it might appear, I put quite a lot of thought and care into this teablogging lark.


Here's the thing, though.  I don't do many tea reviews.  I do some (I used to write many more), but for the most part I start reviewing a tea and I go off on a tangent.  It's not that I can't simply review a tea.  But one of the ways I like to set this blog apart from others is to make it otherwise entertaining.  It's certainly a blog about tea, but I like to see how far away from tea I can get without completely losing my readers.


If I've done my job well here, you'll periodically say to yourself, 'I wonder what ridiculous nonsense that Lahikmajoe  has been writing about lately.'  That non-teadrinkers regularly come here is something that continues to please me to no end.


But I like to try new tea and despite all the evidence to the contrary, I enjoy reviewing tea.  That's actually why I think it'd be a good thing for me to write tea reviews in a more organised setting.  


A place where I'm not trying to be clever and distracting and boundary pushing.  Because as much as I'd love to tell you about how this Green Pu-Erh Tuo Cha tastes, I've already exhausted myself.  I am curious if the folk at the tea reviewing site took one look over here and said to themselves, 'Who is this guy?  What the hell is he talking about?'

getting into tea in Tucson

Have met quite a few tea people only virtually, whether it be by watching tea videos and then interacting with them on twitter or even using skype for an online tea party. Robert Godden set up one of those several weeks ago and it was a pleasure to hear the voices of people with whom I'd had very limited contact. Whether it be reading teablogs they write or their brilliance on twitter.

Then there are some tea people I've even met as a result of this teablogging lark. Haven't been creeped out by any of those new tea friends I initially met online. Not yet anyway. That's not an invitation for freaky tea drinkers to contact me. Just saying that this has been a very positive social experience with people I'd never have otherwise met.

There are some tea drinkers I know in my daily life. Whether they were already sipping from the dark brown liqueur or I lured them over to the leaf-side, it's nice to have personal contact with others who enjoy tea.

And there's a third category I hadn't thought of until recently. People I've known for a long time who I didn't even know were into tea. You know someone a long time, you get together or see each other at some function and the last thing you think to bring up is your tea obsession. My Aunt Elise found my tea blog over at teatra.de, and told me in the comments over there that she was enjoying reading. That they were 'getting into tea in Tucson'.

In another conversation she talked about a tea I hadn't hear of called Sakurambo Vert. The only tea I found with this name was from the tea company Lupicia, and although I'm not normally a big fan of tea with fruit in it, I'd like to try this one out.

Here's what steepster.com had to say about it: Sakurambo Vert.

Any of you tried this? One person says it's bitter. Another seems to say the opposite. Any thoughts?