#teadiem

[teadiem]

Drinking tea in the dark cause this particular brew tastes pretty good but looks like something that came out of Shrek and that kinda ruins it

[teadiem]

Was thinking on it, and I’m genuinely surprised there isn’t more tea-related Pokémon content (or Pokémon-related tea content, if you prefer.) I’ve seen a few things, sure - but I mean honest to goodness high concept content. Of course lawyers and cease and desists longer than the Epic of Gilgamesh would prevent any actual sales of Pokéteas, but you could do so much with flavor profiles.

Salazzle, poison/fire - a warm black tea with nutmeg (toxic in large amounts) and cinnamon. Many people are drawn to these warm, inviting smells which is a claim to fame these spices share with Salazzle.

Shiftry, grass/dark - a heavy green tea (or perhaps a gunpowder green) with a lot of woody notes and a hint of wintry pine, keeping it simple while tying it back to its tengu pine forest roots.

Dedenne, electric/fairy - a fun and tart rooibos tea with lots of berry notes, like red currents, to keep it light. It should pack a sharp, but sweet, punch!

Abomasnow, grass/ice - a white tea with wintergreen or spearmint. This could also work with a very light green tea as either way it would remind of frosted greenery. I could literally do this forever but you get the idea.

[teadiem]

My taste in fandom mugs fluctuates violently between “omg I need this it has the bestest thing on it! References! Logos!” And “I only want mugs that look like something someone in-universe would drink out of hmmmm thanks” and I hate it

[teadiem]

Hot chocolate with TEA!?!? Yes.

I just reblogged a post that reminded me that not only is hot chocolate tea a thing - but it’s a great way to flavor plain hot chocolate! Here’s my recipe: - 1/2 mug heated milk - 1/2 mug appropriate tea temp water - *for richer flavor, use 2/3 mug milk and 1/3 mug water - 1 teabag (black, herbal, and rooibos teas work best) - hot chocolate mix - *depending on how sweet you like it, you may want to add sugar or even honey First brew your chosen tea STRONG, it has to compete with chocolate. I usually double or triple my brew time as long as the tea doesn’t suffer. While that’s brewing, heat your milk and add your plain hot chocolate - remember you want the tea to be done brewing at the same time as you’re mixing the hot chocolate. Remove the bag and slowly combine the tea and hot chocolate. Recommended teas: Earl grey Vanilla Raspberry Red velvet Chocolate strawberry Mint/peppermint Almond

[teadiem]

You can use tea bags (black or green) to help treat hot spots on dogs and it really means a lot to know that my coworkers understand me enough to know that yes I always have tea bags I can give them for this purpose. 

[teadiem]

Teacup chai hua hua...I see what you did there

[teadiem]

So during holiday seasons past I have done a lot of reblogging of good tea related gifts ideas, but I haven’t done that this year. My reasoning is two fold, firstly it is because I have had it up to here with the capitalist exploitation of human decency in the wake of global economic difficulty, and secondly because I have been struck by a wild bout of ‘what’s the point’ because the concept of being able to give happiness is something that, for me, has lost both it’s magic and it’s plausibility. But all that said, I still am afflicted with the desire to give gifts to those who matter to me, which has cause me to compile a list of affordable and creatable tea-related items. And, as I am late to the party as always, all of these can be procured or produced with relative ease.

- Vintage tea tins: thrift stores abound with these, very cheap and often in very good condition. Beware of rust and be sure to clean before wrapping. 

- Share the wealth: fill-yourself teabags are an easy and widely available way to share your favorite loose leaf teas with others. Don’t forget to label the tags and not the bags!

- TasTEA treats: bake delicious tea infused foods, you can find a bunch of recipes under my “tea food” tag. Most recipes can incorporate tea, just brew it into the oil or fat in the recipe on the stove until fragrant.

- Thrifted teacups/pots: beautiful and widely available for a reasonable price, but check out my thrift store danger post to avoid accidental poisoning!

- Cup cozies: feeling crafty? Knit or crochet a mug-warmer for a favorite mug. Not much of a yarn user? Give sewing a try with some spare fabric or even a re-purposed sock. 

- Tea storage boxes: a thrifted metal or wooden box can be made into something special with a little artistic inspiration or some favorite photos. With a little extra effort, thin pieces of wood can be jimmied in to create sections for storing different teabags. 

[teadiem]

My teahouse isn’t going to supply me, the owner, working store hours. I repeat, MY TEAHOUSE ISN’T GOING TO SUPPLY ME, THE OWNER, WORKING STORE HOURS!

I have been fortunate - let’s call it - to work for exclusively small businesses, which means I have also experienced the “I’m the owner but also the manager and that means when I get here one of you has to leave because I have to get paid to sit behind my desk and short staff the rest of the building because I need my hourly manager money in addition to being to sole profit-er of the entire company so one of you that already makes less than half my hourly pay needs to leave and be significantly shorted hours because I decided to show up today.” 

This is wrong. This is unethical. This is never something that I will participate in when I own and work at my teahouse. I’m not trying to get rich, I just want to do work I enjoy while behaving like a reasonable, ethical human being and giving others the opportunity to also work at a job they enjoy. I don’t want to look back on my life and only see a pile of money - I want to see a decent human being who treated others the way they deserve.