The Forest and the Outlaw » Mad About Hats

Because I do heart tea

Carrie — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:44:02 +0000

YES

Carrie — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 21:34:34 +0000

Nerds have not been so interested in tea since Captain Picard

Carrie — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 02:00:00 +0000

My coworker sent me a link to this because Gizmodo’s writeup of it combined my love of tea with my love of LL Cool J in Deep Blue Sea. “What more could you ask?” he said.

I could ask for it to be an actual product instead of a concept design, that’s what.

[DesignBoom, via Gizmodo, via BoingBoing Gadgets, via GadgetLab, via 71°]

Miu Miu Tea Cup Platform Pumps

Carrie — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 01:45:00 +0000

Over at Manolo’s Shoe Blog people be talking smack about these Miu Miu teacup shoes, but they are clearly insane because these are 100% fantastic.

The ones that got away

Carrie — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 00:36:00 +0000

I think it’s fair to say that these are the awesomest cookie cutters ever, and therefore it’s no surprise that they’re not available on this continent.

At Impressionen, if you can read German. Except I think they’re out of stock.

The Pouch Mug

Carrie — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 00:53:00 +0000

Totally useless for those of us who don’t use teabags, yet still very cute. These would be great for a restaurant or cafe.

$11.50 at Catching Fireflies (via Apartment Therapy San Francisco)

Etsy picks: jewelry

Carrie — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 07:02:00 +0000

Something about crafters/vintage fans and tea must go together, because there is a ton of tea-related stuff on etsy. Here are my favorites.

Black Pearl Teapot Earrings, $23 at Bead on a Wire

Tea Party kilt pin, $9 at Mootsie’s Altered Art Studio

Tea for Two necklace, $100 at Birdland Creations

Boston Tea Party Necklace, $21 at Peapod Treasures

Teapot Heart Necklace, $10 at Finest Imaginary

Famous Brown Teapot, mark II

Carrie — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 04:33:00 +0000

Here, at last, is photographic proof of my Betty’s radness:

How many people have had their teapots featured on national tv?

Also pictured: Nick Matzke, hero of Dover. You can watch all of Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial online at pbs.org.

Review: Republic of Tea Pink Grapefruit Green Tea

Carrie — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 04:02:00 +0000

Before the review, a caveat: I bought this tea so that I wouldn’t feel guilty for using my credit card for a $2 loaf of french bread, which means I purchased it from a grocery store where I would never usually buy tea, on account of I don’t believe their merchandise turnover is very high. Possibly, this tea would be better if it were fresher, though just as likely not.

It’s a little dangerous talking smack about a tea that’s setting out to cure cancer. What if this review dissuades someone from buying a tin, and that $0.75 would have paid for the pipette in which the cancer-curing agent would have been created? Would I feel like a jerk then.

But then I got to thinking, why should I blame myself for telling it like it is? Why shouldn’t I push the blame back to the source? Republic of Tea, doesn’t breast cancer deserve better than this? Better than flavorless, stale, dry tea that’s only available in bags? Tea that claims to be “premium quality” but is obviously average quality at best?

Why do you hate breast cancer research, Republic of Tea?

Let’s look at some facts.

Fact 1: I enjoy grapefruit tea. Several people I’ve talked to have responded negatively to the very concept, but not me. Since my only experience was positive, I had high hopes when I bought this. In fact, it’s one of those things I thought about every time I was at the store. “Should I try the pink grapefruit tea? No, I already have lots of tea.” (this is always the case)

Fact 2: I am not a teabag snob. I have yet to write my big long post on this, but I mainly use leaf tea for better control and variety, not because I’m convinced that tea can only be enjoyed when it’s brewed loose in a pot.

Fact 3: I don’t like cancer. I’m a hypochondriac; with better treatment options, maybe I could spend less time worrying about having it. Go cancer research!

So there is nothing about this tea that made me predisposed to dislike it. It did that all on it’s own.

Final verdict: I’ll give it a star. Fewer than that is reserved for teas with an unpleasant taste, and this doesn’t have enough taste for that.

Earl Grey cookies for Darwin Day

Carrie — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 04:28:00 +0000

Have you ever felt the need to create convoluted excuses for desserts? Like, if I wanted some pie today I might say, “Hey, February 19th is the feast of St. Conrad of Piacenza. You can’t spell ‘Piacenza’ without ‘pie’. I know what I’m feasting on!” Such was my situation when Sam of Becks & Posh posted this Jasmine Dragon Pearl Tea cookie recipe. On one hand: tea flavored cookies! I am all about that! On the other hand: making cookies every time I am inspired to do so is not a good way to keep to a new year’s diet. So, when February 12th rolled around, I saw opportunity.

As I previously mentioned, I’m an evolutionary defender by day, so it seemed as if we would be remiss to let Darwin Day pass without some kind of celebration at our office. And if Darwin = English = tea is an acceptable formula for NOVA producers, then, by george, it’s good enough for me.

So, the cookies. Not having any jasmine tea on hand, and feeling the need to be a little more English anyways, I opted for some of the Earl Grey that I seem to have in excess. I also lacked the caster sugar the recipe called for, and the confectioner’s sugar the recipe it was based on called for, but it turns out that blendering the hell out of regular sugar works just peachy (thanks for the tip, Internet!). Then I was reminded once again how awesome it would be to have a Kitchenaid, as I slowly mushed a cup of very hard butter with a fork. Also, I overcooked the first tray.

The end result was not what I expected – chewy when I was expecting cakey – but very, very tasty. Even the almost-burned ones were pretty good. They were rapidly consumed and it was suggested that I make more. Verdict: heck yeah.

Recipe at link above.