Not Thursday Not Tea

Hey!  It's not Thursday again, so that must mean it's time for me to post a Thursday meme!  What can I say, it's been a busy week.

Thursday Tea is hosted by Anastia over at Birdbrain(ed) Books.  To play along, all you need is some tea, a book, and the will to answer some very simple questions: what tea are you drinking (and do you like it)? What book are you reading (and do you like it)? Tell us a little about your tea and your book, and whether or not the two go together.



The Tea

Um, I'm not drinking tea.  (Not tea and not Thursday--why do I even bother?)  I'm drinking Scarlet of Paris 2005 Pinot Noir.  It's okay.  Very fruity but not too acidic.  Plus it was pretty cheap for a French wine, so that's always appreciated.



The Book

I'm reading Kill the Dead by Tanith Lee.  It's about a guy who gets rid of either ghosts or zombies, I haven't figured out which yet.  It's due tomorrow. *gulp*

Do they go together?

Not really.  Kill the Dead takes place in an alternate universe and I'm not sure they have wine.  But if drinking wine and reading books is wrong, I don't want to be right!

On the other hand, since I got the book from a library, that means both of these things were inexpensive.  Which is a total win and proves there is such a think as cheap fun. :)

What are you drinking and reading this Thursday?

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Thursday Tea Time!

Thursday Tea is a weekly meme hosted by Anastasia at Birdbrain(ed) Books. To play along, all you need is some tea, a book, and the will to answer some very simple questions: what tea are you drinking (and do you like it)? What book are you reading (and do you like it)? Tell us a little about your tea and your book, and whether or not the two go together.

The Tea



Right now I'm drinking chai that I made myself!  The lovely Greentwiggy sent me the recipe.  Here it is:

Ingredients

1/ 2 inch piece fresh ginger, cut into thin rounds
2 cinnamon sticks
2 teaspoons black peppercorns
10 whole cloves
6 cardamom pods
6 cups cold water
6 bags black tea
2 cups milk
1/2 cup light brown sugar

Directions

Combine first 5 ingredients in medium saucepan
Lightly bruise spices with the back of a large spoon
Add water and bring to a boil
Reduce heat to low and partially lid and simmer for 10 minutes
Remove from heat and add tea bags
Steep for 5 minutes or so
Discard tea bags
Add milk and sugar
Bring tea to simmer over medium heat, whisking until sugar dissolves
Strain and serve

This took a long time to make and was a lot more work than I thought it was going to be.  The cinnamon sticks have been in the cabinet since I can remember--literally, which means they're at least 26 years old--and we didn't have any cardamom pods.  I don't even know what cardamom pods are, in all honesty.  But!  It was all worth it, because this chai is really delicious.  Like really, really good.  I might just have to resign myself to making it from scratch all the time now. :)

The Book



Right now I'm reading An Indecent Proposition by Emma Wildes.  It's pretty good, despite the alarming downy eyebrows going on in this book.  Romance heroes should not have downy eyebrows--that should be a rule.  There should be nothing downy about them except their squishy brains hearts.

Go Together?

Mmm, not really.  I don't think any of the characters in this book would even know what chai was.  On the other hand, chai is comforting and tasty, kind of like this book.

What are you drinking/reading this Thursday?

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Thursday Tea

It's starting to get too hot to drink tea.  But I did anyway.

Thursday Tea is a weekly meme hosted by Anastasia at Birdbrain(ed) Books. To play along, all you need is some tea, a book, and the will to answer some very simple questions: what tea are you drinking (and do you like it)? What book are you reading (and do you like it)? Tell us a little about your tea and your book, and whether or not the two go together.

Tonight I'm drinking Ginseng Peppermint by Republic of Teas.  It's "A healthy blend of eleuthero, peppermint, cinnamon, licorice, and echinacea root. This masterful blend offers herbal benefits and a naturally sweet, smooth, pleasing flavor," according to the website.  It's pretty good.  I love the sweetness of the tea most of all.


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And I'm currently reading City of Bones, which is a YA novel I have to admit I only picked up because of the Stephenie Meyer blurb on the cover (hey, she likes Jane Eyre).  So far it's about a girl named Clary who can see beings (or beans) that no one else can.  They're from another dimension and they feed on humans.  Meanwhile, the Shadowalkers, or something like that, are protecting humanity from the evil other-dimensional demon creatures. The beginning has been sort of predictable as far as YA paranormal adventure novels go, but I'm hoping it will start to get interesting soon.

Does my book and my tea go together?  Erm... I honestly don't know.  The peppermint tea is sweet and I love it, but right now I'm undecided as far as City of Bones goes.  I really wouldn't know any adjective to describe it so far other than predictable, but I'm only on page 70-something.

What are you drinking and reading this Thursday?

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Thursday Tea

Thursday Tea time yet again! Actually, I thought there wouldn't be a Thursday Tea tonight because, quite frankly, it's been way too hot to drink tea. But lucky for y'all we had a cold and stormy day today, and I was in the mood for something warm.

Thursday Tea is a weekly meme hosted by Birdbrain(ed) Books. To play along, all you need is some tea, a book, and the will to answer some very simple questions: what tea are you drinking (and do you like it)? What book are you reading (and do you like it)? Tell us a little about your tea and your book, and whether or not the two go together.

Tonight I'm trying a new tea I picked up at the grocery store: The Good Earth's Sweet and Spicy Blend. It's a blend of Black Tea, Artificial Flavor (sounds yummy! WTH? You say all natural and healthy and then put artificial flavor in your tea? Bite me, "Good Earth"!), Rosehips, Cinnamon, Chamomile, Lemongrass, Peppermint, Papaya, Jasmine Tea, Anise Seed, Ginger Root, Orange Peel and Orange Oil. The cinnamon is completely overwhelming all the other flavors of the tea. I'm not liking it much, to be perfectly honest.


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Right now I'm reading A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie R. King. This is the second book in King's Mary Russell series, which features Sherlock Holmes circa 1920. It's actually really, really good so far--I only got to page 50 last night, but at the moment I'm thinking it will be better than the first book in the series, The Beekeeper's Apprentice.

Does my tea and my book go together? Hrm. Well, Mary does like to drink tea, but I don't think she would like this brand. I see her as more of a darjeeling or earl grey type.

What are you drinking/reading this Thursday?

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Thursday Tea

It's time for Thursday Tea again!

Thursday Tea is a weekly meme hosted by Anastasia at Birdbrain(ed) Books. To play along, all you need is some tea, a book, and the will to answer some very simple questions: what tea are you drinking (and do you like it)? What book are you reading (and do you like it)? Tell us a little about your tea and your book, and whether or not the two go together.

Tonight I decided to drink Republic of Tea's Wuyi Oolong, probably one of my favorite teas everrrr.  Even though it is righteous expensive (almost $20 for a 1.75 ounce tin), it is so totally worth it.  The tea is smooth, buttery, with a hint of peach.  Mmmm.


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Because I was putting together a steampunk-styled theme for my blog, I decided I was in the mood for a futuristic setting and picked up Grimspace by Ann Aguirre.  I'm not even at the twenty page mark, but so far it's full of action.  Me like action.  The main character, Sarantha Jax, is also very intruiging (is it just me or do a lot of characters in these futuristic novels have names like Jax?).  She's a Jumper--not entirely sure what that means yet--who killed her partner.  At the moment, she's being sprung out of jail by a mysterious, be-suited man who has the power to knock people unconscious with his eyes.  Wowsa.

Does my book and my tea go together?  Not at all.  A more appropriate drink for Grimspace would probably be 2-day-old coffee or tang.  I'd say a plain old Lipton tea, if I had to go with a tea choice.

What are you drinking and reading this Thursday?

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Thursday Tea

Thursday Tea is a weekly meme hosted by Anastasia at the Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog. To play along, all you need is some tea, a book, and the will to answer some very simple questions: what tea are you drinking (and do you like it)? What book are you reading (and do you like it)? Tell us a little about your tea and your book, and whether or not the two go together.

I was going to drink Yogi Tea's ginger tea, but then my brother came in and said he wanted Celestial Seasonings' Sleepy Time tea; so I thought, hmmm, I kind of want Sleepy Time tea, too.  Instead just picking one or the other, I combined them.  So far it's a really odd combination.  When I first sip it, all I taste in the ginger, and then the Sleepy Time comes through only as I'm swallowing it.  But it's not too bad.


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After Drood, I decided I needed a really romantic novel to revive my worldview of true love, happy endings, and rainbow-pooping unicorns.  So I decided to re-read Twilight.  Plus, my mom got me a library bound, signed, "collector's edition" of the book for Christmas, and I haven't really bonded with it yet (I get attached to certain copies of books--I have to admit, I'm missing the paperback I bought), so this gives me the perfect opportunity to do so.

Does my tea and my book choice go together?  Hmm, well Sleepy Time is a comforting and soothing mixture of camomile and mint, and some other stuff, meant to carry you off into a world of pleasant dreams; while ginger is spicy and has apparently supernatural healing powers.  Will these two seeminly uncompatible tea flavors be able to combine hormoniously in my tummy?  Will Sleepy Time be able to put up with Ginger's brooding, secretive ways and accept the fact that something as hot as Ginger really does want to be with something as ordinary as Sleepy Time?  I just don't know!!!

What are you drinking/reading this Thursday?

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Thursday Tea

Thursday Tea is a weekly meme hosted by Anastasia at the Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog. To play along, all
you need is some tea, a book, and the will to answer some very simple
questions: what tea are you drinking (and do you like it)? What book are you reading (and do you like it)? Tell us a little about your tea and your book, and whether or not the two go together.

Well, it's not technically Thursday anymore, but close enough.  Right now I'm drinking The Republic of Tea's Earl Greyer (decaf, since it's 2 AM) with lots of milk and some vanilla extract and honey.  Basically it's my homemade version of a Starbuck's London Fog Latte.  Not as good, but it's decent.  I also suspect it's healthier.

My tea definitely goes along with my book, Drood (yes I'm still reading it), which takes place mainly in London.  Plus Earl Grey is a very traditional English tea. 



I am liking Drood.  I'm really enjoying the dark play between fantasy and reality that both Dickens and Wilkie are going through, and the glimpses into the "hidden" parts of British society that are being revealed in the house of Dickens and Wilkie's search.

What are you drinking and reading this not-anymore-Thursday?

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