Author: lazyliteratus
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Green Tea from Bhutan
Did you know they grow tea in Bhutan? Well, until a few months ago, neither did I.
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Ivan Chai through Time
If there is one prediction I never would have made for this blog in 2020, it’s that I would spend at least five articles talking about one plant. Okay . . . true, there are four hundred articles here that talk about Camellia sinensis, but this year, I started a saga on Chamerion angustifolium. Also…
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Back-to-Back Matcha Bowls
I recently noticed I don’t cover a lot of matcha on this here blog. There are some completely innocuous reasons for that: (1) everyone is already covering matcha just fine, and (2) when I do cover matcha, I tend to go a little . . . overboard. Such was the case a few weeks back.
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Ukrainian Ivan Chai . . . from Canada
Back in June, I was tagged in an Instagram post by O5 Tea. It featured a very familiar plant. Pedro, one of the tea outfit’s co-owners referenced my first Ivan Chai article to go along with something they just produced for their brick-‘n-mortar shop and website. I remember having a conversation with Pedro right after…
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Bordering on Sheng Puerh
Let’s talk about border sheng. As long-time readers already know, I’m a bit of an old hat (and advocate) of sheng cha produced outside of Yunnan province, China. I’ve devoted the last decade or so to trying sheng cha from countries along (or near) the Yunnanese border. The Phongsaly region of Laos, the Kokang region…
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Meet Herb
Meet Herb. Herb is a tea pet. What’s a tea pet, you might be asking? Well, it’s a long story, and—honestly—one I haven’t taken much interest in. Until now.
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Time Traveling by Way of Tea Tasting
A couple of months back, I did an Instagram Live tasting with this chap. So Han Fan, purveyor of West China Tea. I’ve “known” So Han for nearly six years. I put that in quotes because . . . we’ve never actually met in person. Our mutual tea-related hijinks only criss-crossed online. He first caught…
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Ivan Chai from Tver Oblast
One of the nerdy pursuits we in the tea community like to pay attention to is origin. Single origin teas are the bread-‘n-butter of tea geekery. However, outside of good ol’ Camellia sinensis, herbal infusions aren’t really given the same consideration. That is, unless the herb in question can’t be found outside of a certain…
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“And Who Is My Neighbor?”
Trigger Warning: The following article discusses religion and race. So, consider yourself doubly warned. In my Bible readings, there is one aspect I keep coming back to. In the Gospels, Jesus conveyed his teachings through the use parables. Short, fictional stories that often left the listener with more questions than answers. He gave his reason…
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The “Aera” of Nepalese White Tea
One of the (few) benefits of this whole quarantine/lockdown thing we’ve endured so far in 2020 has been the chance to get to know new people. Granted, not in real outdoor life, but in an online capacity. During this period, I had a video call/tea session with one Joe Stanek, co-purveyor of the company Aera…