Steep Stories

Month: July 2015

  • My Tea Snobbery and the Source of Steampunk Whimsy

    Almost three years ago, I wrote a rant about steampunk – a sci-fi sub-genre focusing on a fanciful Victorian aesthetic. It wasn’t very kind to the various gear-laden facets of the retro offshoot. I argued that the sub-genre lacked a key component that was the beating heart of any alt-history endeavor – a sense of…

  • Having Oolong Ice Cream Every Which Way

    Several weeks ago, I made a trip to Smith Teamaker’s to try out some new tea concoctions they were working on. Tony Tellin, the lead blender was already doing a pouring of their new Masala Chai ON NITRO! . . . and I stuck around to try something else that was not yet on the…

  • Old and Clean – A Pu-Erh Perplexion

    Okay, learning time. Everyone knows about black tea, green tea, oolong, and so on . . . but I’m sure there are some newbies passing by this article that don’t know what pu-erh is. Well, I’ll tell you, but I’ll keep it brief. In short, it’s heicha (dark tea). Or rather, tea that’s meant to…

  • The Road to Eugene Is Paved in Tea

    The Road to Eugene Is Paved in Tea – Teashop Adventure Week June was a shitty month. Between two deaths in the family, a work-related back injury, and a two-week bout of influenza to cap things off, I think it’s safe to say it was the shittiest month I’ve had in nearly a decade. There…

  • Smith Tea . . . ON NITRO!

    Smith Tea . . . ON NITRO! – Teashop Adventure Week “On nitro!” Two words that I greatly missed from my beer-drinking days. From what I heard from a master brewer once, the process of pumping a beer keg full of nitrous oxide was to mimic the character of cask conditioning. The result was a…