h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Yes, Bath has a certain international reputation to maintain. I can't believe the Queen hated it that much! That's really great, somehow!

Today I'm thrilled because I'm introducing my co-worker to 4 oclock teatime today! Owlatron sent me some and bicuits, and I'm sharing the love ! I'm going to try and brew it properly, and teach her what the different names and kinds mean. We have a very stressful workplace right now, and I think she needs the calm that seems to come with the ritual.

Yankee-shoes

Ah - that famous song 'everything stops for tea'

The irony is that I'm usually still on the treadmill at the gym at four o'clock! Britain hasn't 'stopped for tea' for a very long time. In fact - 'stopping for tea' in my w*rkplace means that there's a long queue at the tea counter!

Mmmm. Green Tea, Black Tea - China, India or Ceylon (they still call it that - even though Ceylon changed to Sri Lanka donkeys years ago!)

Some personal favourites:

Darjeeling (preferably first flush single estate) lovely clean taste and no tannin dryness in the mouth afterwards. Should never, ever be drunk with milk.

Earl Grey - nice and citrusy. Great with or without milk.

Lady Grey - milder - and even more citrusy. You may not be able to get hold of this blend as it's only made by Twinings. If you can get it - do try it. You can have this with milk - but it's probably better without it.

English Breakfast - nice and straightforward.

An interesting blend I've been introduced to (which is easy to reproduce at home) - One bag Assam, one bag Earl Grey in a teapot. Comes very close to Lady Grey in taste. With or without milk again.

Jasmine Tea - the only green tea I can cope with. But I'm lucky enough to have been able to buy a nice tin of the stuff from a tea plantation in Hangzhou, China. That knocks all supermarket brands straight into a cocked hat - especially that ghastly 'Tchae' stuff.

Liptons' 'Yellow Label' - the tea that seems to get served to westerners all over China - and possibly the world. A nice, easy tea. Fine without milk, which is just as well as the milk on offer was sterilised and therefore impossibly yukky.

On the other hand:

Green Tea - bleagh. Tried it at the Tea Plantation in China. I *tried* to like it - I really did. After all, my hot beverage consumption is exclusively tea oriented (not because I'm British, admittedly, but because I'm me). So to actually 'not like' a cup of tea goes right against the grain. But - I'm sorry - it was revolting.


Other types of tea that sound good but haven't been tried:

Oolong. Lapsang souchong. Gunpowder (so named because of the colour of it, or so I'm told). Keema.

We may not go down the same route as the Japanese do with tea ceremony, but it's an art that is being lost very, very quickly over here.

The British Tea Ceremony as was (going right back to the 17th Century):

Boil kettle - always use freshly drawn water. Do not reboil what's in the kettle.

Before kettle comes completely to the boil, tip some water into the teapot to warm it.

Empty out the pot. Add loose leaf tea. Proportions should be - one teaspoon of tea per person, and one for the pot.

As soon as water comes to the boil, pour onto tea. Stir carefully (to avoid splashing),replace lid, then allow to infuse for two to five minutes depending on how strong you want it to be.

When ready to pour, add a little milk to the bottom of your cup or mug. (traditional to do this - a number of theories why we do it this way). Using a strainer, pour the tea.

Sit back, savour and enjoy!

(disadvantage - the tea leaves need to be scooped out of the pot and discarded - as we don't have sink disposal units here - or they play havoc with your drainage).

The new British Tea Ceremony:

Boil kettle.
Bung teabag in mug - add milk now if you want.
Pour boiling water on teabag
Squeeze teabag hastily using spoon and side of mug (or pull strings if it's a drawstring teabag). Remove and discard, leaving trail of little brown drips from mug to dumping place.
Add milk if not done so already
Rush back to television/desk/whatever you were doing.
Slurp at mug occasionally - then forget about it until it's gone cold and disgusting.

We have a long and distinguished history with Tea. Even Samuel Pepys had a try of it (it's in his diary - I nearly choked on my cuppa when I read it!). Shame that we're losing the art of making it properly Personally, I blame Starbucks

One thing - if you can get a good loose leaf tea, then do. Just don't forget to use a tea strainer. Believe me - a mouthful of tea leaves is not a pleasant experience - regardless of how good the cuppa was!

As I said above - there are tons of theories as to why we traditionally put the milk in first. The two I know of are:

Early tea cups would crack if hot tea went in first, so they put the cold milk in to 'lessen the shock' of the hot tea.

The hot tea 'cooks' the milk a bit, which alters the flavour.

No idea which of these is most likely to be true - or if they're both wrong! Maybe Owlatron has some ideas.

I think you can gather from the length of this post that I like tea

If someone has done an entry and I've more or less written the same thing - apologies as it's completely unintentional. I just happen to like tea!

Share and Enjoy.

I too Lady Grey tea... Twinnings is easily found, and I drink it with lemon, and sometimes honey. It has to be a sad cuppa indeed that I must doctor with milk!

I read in a book on the history of tea consumption (yes, I am that geeky) that you put the milk in first to scald it "tempering the flavour to the overall boquet of the herb". Hmm.

I'm glad you wrote so extensively! Thank you! I'd forgotton that you do not serve the tea in the kettle you brew it in... a point DNA made in Salmon of Doubt, but that I'd forgotton.

I also think green tea is nasty... although I can take it blended in with other kinds. I like herbal teas too, especially Jasmine (NOT blended with green tea, that is a grave travesty).

I spent most of today playing Candy Land and watching movies, then I went to babysit for some little boys, and we played Jedi Knights and colored Spiderman books. Now I'm trying to catch up on a weekend of backlog

Off to make some !!!

I have to admit - that, when I tried green tea, I felt like Arthur Dent did when he encountered the liquid that came out of the nutri-matic drinks dispenser.

What didn't help was the fact that, the Chinese don't strain out the leaves. They put the leaves in the cup and pour the water straight on top, then they not only drink the tea, but eat the leaves as well.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with this approach, as I'm used, in the main, to drinking 'black' tea, i.e. dried and fermented.

So I felt really strange drinking a cup of tea that I didn't actually like.

Having said that, the visit to the plantation was fascinating. we got a guided tour with a delightful young lady who showed us which leaves on the camellia bush are the best to pick, then took us through to see the leaves being roasted (in a metal cauldron which is heated to 125 degrees celsius) by a man who was turning the leaves with his bare hand!

A couple of us went on ahead with the guide, and she turned out to be a big fan of the UK and wanted to visit London. Furthermore, she was trying to remember the old nursery rhyme 'London Bridge is Falling Down'. So we sang it for her.

As for the jasmine tea - that was in the gift shop. A shop assistant opened the tin for me to have a sniff of it and it was...wow.

(your plastic pal who's fun to be with - but doesn't have a brain the size of a planet)

The nutrimat bit always reminded me of those coffee/tea dispensers at rest stops, or petrol station cappucinos!

I've always wanted to visit a tea plantation... although I think it would make me high. I open a new packet of good tea and take a deep sniff, and I get all lightheaded and happy. Especially with a good Earl Grey.

So, am I right in thinking that the difference between black and green tea is the time of growth the leaves are picked in? Or is it that one is dried and the other isn't?

With a geniune people personality,

Y.S.

I went and had a look at the Tea Council website (yes - there is one!)

Even I didn't know that there were *that* many different types!

They all come from the 'Camellia Sinensis' bush, but it's what's done to the leaves that makes the difference.

Black teas are dried off, then cut up to release the oils inside, which are left to ferment/oxidise for about 3-4 hours. Then they're completely dried and become tea leaves as we would recognise them.

Green teas are also dried, but they aren't cut up, so the oils inside don't escape and the leaves don't ferment (I think they might be rolled as well). They're dried, but remain whole (as I found out when they put the leaves in my cup...)

Oolong teas are like black teas - but they're only fermented for 1-2 hours.

Try running 'the tea council' through a search engine. They're a UK company.

Going back to Twinings though - when we were on holiday, we went to Hampton Court and went on one of those 'costume guide' tours through the part of the Palace where William III (of Orange) lived. She was telling us all about the taxes on various items, including the one on Tea - and the firm that she mentioned was Twinings. I know it's an old, old company - but that really brings it home. They've been in the tea business since 1706!

Share and enjoy.

I'm surprised to hear that about Twinnings myself! Although, the U.S. is such a young country that we don't have many old businesses at all. (Especially not tea... people had a nasty habit of throwing it into Boston Harbor)

Tonight I am loving ice cream. Breyer's Vanilla Fudge Ripple. Mmm. It has been an emotionally trying day, and ice cream is the answer (will pay for it at the gym later, I'm sure!)

y.s.

Ooh, yum.

I don't think I've ever seen Breyer's over here - but I was always a big fan of Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia, until they brought out 'Cool Britannia' and I was well hooked.

The only disadvantages being that the stuff was so full of cream that it went rock hard in the freezer and I couldn't scoop it unless it had been in the fridge for an hour - oh and there were *waaaaaaaay* too many calories in it...(sigh)

Never mind. I've only got one stone left to lose now, and I'm done. Better still, I should have lost it by Christmas, so I should be on a 'maintenance' regime by then so I won't lose out!

I've been really lucky as regards Christmas Slimming - last Christmas I was still eating around 1900 - 2000 calories a day, so it was as though I wasn't slimming at all - and I lost three pounds.

With luck, I'll be up to 2000 again by then - possibly more! So I can positively *cram* my plate with veggies and then have some Christmas Pudding - preferably with some Brandy Cream (don't like Brandy Butter) - and I'll have Boxing Day to sleep it off!

Actually I won't - the Gym opens on Boxing day so I'll probably be walking it off...

Rats - I'm talking about diets again...

I went to the Ben and Jerry's in the Haight/Ashbury district! I love Cherry Garcia, Pistachio Pistachio and Phish Food if I'm really feeling decadent. I have never seen Cool Brittania. I haven't had B&Js this year though, as my friend Derrick and I could eat a pint in one sitting, and that was just awful for our health.

I am trying to shave off pounds that I gained while I was sick and depressed (lethal combo)... and it's taking so long but I'm doing it. The hardest bit is a coworker here at the school is always reminding me how pretty I was back in highschool and it's such a shame I'm not a babe now. ugh.

y.s.

Charming!

Well he/she can stick his/her anecdotes about High School straight up his/her nose - and that's a point - do they want anecdotes that can be fitted nasally?

What a cheek!

I don't know if they released Cool Britannia in the US - it was sort of a strawberry/biscuit/chocolate combination - and I haven't checked recently if they still do it here. But - it was *sooooooo* good. Don't think I could manage a pint of it one go though - even before I lost the weight I think I'd have been rather afterwards!

As you say - it's way too heavy on the hips, so it will remain with 'treat' status - but the best stuff always does.

Never mind. There's a huge B&J's bar at one of our local multiplexes. As soon as:

a) I'm off this wretched food diary
b) There's a film I fancy seeing

I'm going to go and completely raid the place, and have a scoop of anything that's got lumps of chocolate in it!

That's something else to look forward to...

Hello! I'm back from my long absence! How are you?

y.s.

I am fine and dandy!

Alas it is Monday again, first day of the week in the Office. Bah.

But at least there's one advantage, access to H2G2 again.

How are you keeping?

I'm doing pretty well, started on my fiddle, and wrote a new guitar riff, so I'm happy. You?

Just done two concerts, including Berlioz' 'Symphonie Fantastique' and Mendelssohn's 'De Erste Walpurgisnacht' - both busy pieces with horrfically difficult bits in.

And at the end of the week we do the first of two concerts of John Williams' music (Star Wars, E.T. et. al.) The scary thing is, as you go through each piece, you hear stuff that's in another one!

example:

Middle of E.T. Suite - *thinks* Hang on - this is like the 'Canyon of the Crescent Moon' sequence from 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'!

Another example:

End of the Harry Potter suite - *thinks* Hang on - this is like the 'Tyrannosaurus Rex' theme from 'Jurassic Park'!

The only one where I don't get that feeling is the theme from 'Schindler's List', which is just on another planet stylistically and absolutely sublime.

Still good fun, though. And we're doing one of his first ever compositions for a major film - the overture from 'The Cowboys'. The main reason I like playing John Williams though is that he gives lots of scrummy tunes to us Violas, though the rhythmic stuff is terrifying in places!

Oh - and the first Christmas decorations in our office went up yesterday lunchtime - two sections across from us in the open plan. I couldn't take that lying down, of course, so I found the smallest, most grubby and battered looking artificial Christmas tree and plonked it on a cupboard - a sort of 'Bah humbug' counterpoint.

The real ones will go up a bit later on, when I've got time - or can find some obliging stooge to risk his/her neck clambering on chairs to put them up...

I can always tell John Williams and Danny Elfman stuff... I think it would be confusing playing almost anything by either of them, it's all so similar.

I have to run... preaching tonight.

I am enjoying playing the fiddle, allthough it's slow going, I'm sure it will pick up once I take a couple lessons over break. I just got a musician's composition journal, that works for chording as well as that durn "note music"... very very excited about filling it.

Take care!!!

Yankee-shoes.

Today is the first 'cold' day of the year so far, I think.

It actually justified me wearing the new coat I got a couple of weeks ago (I've been wearing it since then, but it hasn't *really* been cold enough for it until today.

Never mind. We play the first of the John Williams concerts tonight - and I'm told it's more or less sold out!

But then, it's a small venue and we're always well supported there so I hope we give them a good night.

Viva Blackwood! "Where?" says Y.S.

It's full winter here. Snow on the ground and down coats and the whole deal. The Christmas lights are so pretty against the faerie glitter of the snow. There's only a week and a half before holidays, and I'm as excited as the students to be gone for awhile.

The school wide "Skit and Talent Night" is tomorrow... so I've got to be off to plot some improvs and completely inappropriate things that might get me fired.

ciao!

Y.S.

P.S. Blackwood?

Ah - Blackwood. Small town in the Welsh Valleys with enthusiastic people who enjoy cPO concerts. Parking the car is suddenly a nightmare as they've been busy building a new 'retail park' nearby, and all the streets suddenly have 'no parking' lines on them .

But a good time was had by all, and it was a good precursor to the biggy - when we play the programme again at St. David's Hall (the big concert hall in Cardiff) this Friday!

We probably won't have any snow, though the cold snap continues and there's a threat of sleet or something tomorrow. Last winter was terribly disappointing, as all we got was a very light dusting overnight on Boxing Day that was gone by the morning. Otherwise it didn't snow at all!

I love to watch snow falling, though it's not so much fun later on when it turns to packed icy slush, and even walking becomes a dangerous extreme sport...

Hey, I didn't know you were a twin! And I must confess... I don't know what boxing day is. Crummy American, I know!

Hey... later!!!

I forgot that!

Boxing Day is the day after Christmas Day - and it's a public holiday in the UK. It only came about during the 19th Century, and that's why we have it, but you in the US don't.

It used to be 'St. Stephen's Day' after St Stephen (after all, he was the first Martyr, so it seemed right to remember him the day after we remember the Birth of Jesus - hence the line 'On the Feast of Stephen' in the carol 'Good King Wenceslas'.), but the term 'boxing' has a couple of suggested starting points, firstly the breaking open of the Church alms boxes for distribution to the poor, and secondly the practice of Victorian tradesmen of going round the day after Christmas, or thereabouts, rattling boxes for tips. I guess they took the day off to do that, and it started from there. But I'm not sure.

Of course, there's lots of much older traditions to the British Christmas (apart from eating Turkey - we used to eat Goose). Mince Pies (the little individual pies that are full of a candied fruit and peel mixture and are at their very best just slightly warm with a great big dollop of brandy cream) really used to contain Mince - they also used to contain a little pastry mannikin that was supposed to represent the baby Jesus in the crib, but the Puritans put a stop to that If I remember rightly - because it was Idolatous. They also banned the singing of carols (too much risk of people dancing) and at one point banned the entire Christmas festival!

Then there's the tradition of 'Luck-visit' songs, which we now refer to as 'Carol Singing', where people would go from door to door or whatever singing these songs and getting a little tipple or nibble for their efforts (or possibly hard cash). The great old Victorian favourite 'God Rest ye Merry Gentlemen' started out as one of these, and the original version has a much perkier tune than the dirge we're used to nowadays - not that I dislike it, I hasten to add, it's actually one of my favourites.

Admittedly, we Brits do go a bit barmy about Christmas - and we mostly still call it that, rather than 'the holidays'. But you do have one advantage. You don't have to listen to Slade doing 'Merry Christmas Everybody' in every big shop from about August onwards...