If the title of this post confuses you, don't worry. I'm confused too. Onward.
My Little Elvis
After tubby time, I am now having PB&J get dressed by herself. It's good practice for her, and there's going to be a lot less help once "Grilled Cheese" (I can't believe I said that) gets here, so she needs a little more independence. I usually walk away and let her get me when she's done, and ready for tuck-in, but this time, I stuck around for a bit. In true jazz style, we traded 4's on "Mary Had a Little Lamb". For those of you who don't know what trading 4's is, it sounds like this:
Me: Mary had a little lamb...
PB&J: ...little lamb, little lamb.
Me: Mary had a little lamb...
PB&J: who's fleece was white as snow.
And so on. She catches on quick. We finished the song, and at the end I said, "Good job, sweetie. You did that very well." She replied with a perfect, Elvis-like, "a-Thank you, thankyouverymuch." I don't know how much Elvis she's heard, but that came out really well. I had a good laugh at that one.
Tea
Over on larsenopolis, Matt and I are having a bit of a discussion on the relative merits of coffee and tea as caffeinated beverages. True, it's a side story of the main plot of the post, but it's worth reading. The whole site is worth reading.
Anyway, I've already covered a little bit of my tea tastes here. So I won't go into the details, but I do want to take a second and talk about what I think makes good tea.
First off, I do like flavored tea blends. The green tea I drink has a good bit of citrus in it, as the black chai has spice, and the ceylon, well... it's ceylon. Smells like sweet flowers. Very nice. I think the most important thing though, is that you taste the tea first. Above and beyond all the bits of orange, pineapple, or cinnamon and clove, you want good tasting tea. That is, after all, what you're drinking. If you want fruit flavored water, there's another section of the store for that. If you want to try tea, and you're not experienced with it, start with a common blend and work your way around the scale. Something like orange pekoe is a good place to start. That's the most common tea we drink. Stay away from fruity flavors until you find a good base tea. Then you can experiment a bit. And nix the cream and sugar. If it doesn't taste good plain, no amount of doctoring is going to help. Then you're just drinking sugared milk-water. Yuck. (The exception to this is Indian Black Chai, which I'll get to in a minute.)
Part of finding a good base tea to start from is brewing it properly. It's rare that you should ever use boiling water for making tea. Water for tea should be hot, yes, but not boiling hot. What happens when you immerse tea in boiling water is that you oxidize the tea leaves quickly, changing the taste. Well prepared tea has already been oxidized or not, to the proper degree, and there's no need to add to that process. Water at about 190° is about as hot as you should go. If you do boil the water, take it off the heat for about two to three minutes before pouring it over the tea. The best results are, again, a matter of experimentation, but I find that bringing the water to a boil, setting it aside for about three to four minutes, for a green tea, is about perfect.
Then you have to decide how long to brew the tea, so again, experiment. Obviously, brewing longer makes for stronger flavor in most cases. I say 'in most' because with certain teas, green and white tea especially, brewing for too long will cause the tea to go past the point of flavorful to the point where it actually becomes bitter. You can brew black tea darn near forever, and I sometimes do. In the case of black tea, I will often leave the bag in the pot as I go through it. Sometimes leaving it in all the way to the end of the pot. Now that is some strong tea.
Now, I mentioned one exception to the preparation of tea without milk and sugar, and that is Indian Black Chai. Any tea is good for serving to guests, but this one tops my list. Which reminds me, I need to get some for the holidays... This tea is not actually brewed in water, but in milk. You heat the milk about the same as you would water: hot, but not boiling. Pour over the tea bag and let it steep for at least six minutes. Longer is better, but you don't want the milk to get cold, unless you're serving iced chai. I don't. Add a half teaspoon of sugar per 8 oz of chai, and you're set. Yes, that's a lot of sugar and milk, but the strength of black chai tea is not to be underestimated. Don't worry. It's going to cut through any milk or sugar you throw at it.
Enjoy your tea.
The Needle at the Bottom of the Sea
I need only pick it up. Yet I can't. Why not?
Tai chi has a lot of pretty names for simple moves. And complex moves, too. This one is no different. From the previous stance, draw the hands inward at chest height. Sink the weight into the right leg, bringing the left heel back to the arch (toe?) of the right foot. Send the hands down, and the hips up.
Why is this so damn hard? I'll tell you why. Because nothing in tai chi is ever as simple as it seems on the surface. There's always a lot more going on than you realize, which is why Tai Chi gets the rep as being this mystical art. It's just good exercize and an effective martial art. There are many layers to it, though, and to do it well, you need many hours of effortful practice. Apparently I do not have enough hours yet.
Although I have to admit that through the frustration, I can see what my teacher was telling me last night, and I know what I need to improve on. He was nit picking. This is actually a good sign, because it means that he is now working on little details with me, rather than the big idea. This means I have the big idea working for me somewhat already, and we can now concentrate on the minor ephemera rather than gross concepts.
The needle may be just out of reach, but only just. I'll pick it up soon. :-)
Later.
-D.
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