Steep Stories

Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

  • The White Pu-Erh for the Right Time.

    At the end of June, Portland, Ore. was dealt one of its most severe heatwaves in recent memory. And I got the flu during it. A mere week ago, we were dealt another STRONGER heatwave . . . and I got the flu again. That’s eerily coincidental. Luckily, I caught this one in time and…

  • 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…

  • The T Project Grand Opening

    The T Project Grand Opening – Teashop Adventure Week Several months ago, I stopped through Northeast Portland to stay a spell at Tea Bar. And it was . . . crowded. As a self-professed introvert, I don’t do well in crowds. If I’m with peers, I mind them less. But if alone, crowds feel suffocating.…

  • Drinking Duck Shit

    Sometimes, I think the ancient Chinese are trolling us from beyond their ancestral graves. How else do you explain an oolong that is – essentially – a poop joke? Yashi Xiang (Duck Shit Fragrance) Dan Cong is an oolong hailing from Guangdong province, China. I first learned of it from fellow weird tea friend, Greg…

  • Whiskey Smoked Tea

    Whiskey Smoked Tea – The Tea-Totaler Trilogy, Part 3 This is a parable about poor impulse control. I was having a conversation with Mizuba Tea’s Lauren Purvis about experiments regarding matcha, smoke and wine. She asked me if I’d seen a recent article posted by The Japanese Tea Sommelier. I’d heard of this blogger before,…

  • Booze Teas for Boob Teapots

    Booze Tea for Boob Teapots – The Tea-Totaler Trilogy, Part 2 Around the year, 490 BCE, in the ancient Chinese kingdom of Yue, there was once a beautiful woman who was offered as tribute to an invading king. The woman was so marveled for her beauty, it was said that fish would forget how to…

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