Why is EVERYTHING really good so damned expensive??! *sigh*

double sigh…

For a *real* Earl Grey, if you look at tea bags, they should be a slightly oily yellow-mustardy color. 🙂 The best is loose leaf, then you can see (and smell!) the bergamot. 🙂 But, it is an acquired taste as with many things. I was the same… hated it for years! Didn’t know that most (even Twinings that everyone associates with Earl Grey and buys) is fake. One day, i was introduced to a *real* Earl Gray… Haven’t looked back! 🙂
There is a Lady Grey which is milder. 🙂

Did you know that vanilla (REAL vanilla – 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde) is the 2nd most expensive spice in the World (after saffron)? Why is EVERYTHING really good so damned expensive??! *sigh*

that could possibly explain my objection to bergamot, then. don’t know if the few times i’ve tried earl grey it was fake or real, but if i get the chance to try the real one for real, i’ll give it another shot.

yep 😉 i love that photo. 😀

That cinnamon rooibos is a good price actually. 🙂 $3.50 for 4oz. Good enough for a sampler.

I’m actually going to the local Tea Addict store tomorrow (there’s no T2 here sadly). They have a Rooibos blend that helps me sleep (called Field of Dreams ) 😉

They also have a great Rooibos Chai I haven’t had the money to buy for several months! It’s my Xmas gift to myself! 😆

I know your ‘closet kitty’ post well. I commented twice there! 😉 😆

Well… time to do the dinner dishes and clean the kitchen, and make a coffee! 😀

rooibos with cinnamon might work. i loooooove cinnamon. i think the container of white tea i have now has jasmine, but i’d have to go dig it out of the one cupboard that the cats haven’t figured out how to get into to check the label though.

i’ve bookmarked that tea site, but it’ll have to be more in the nature of window-shopping than as a place to buy from. we’ve got a couple of stores here in town where you can buy exotic teas and i occasionally treat myself to something new.

Bourbon St Vanilla Rooibos caffeine free tea loose leaf

You can even get a Rooibos Earl Grey I’m told (Rooibos with bergamot). I’ve never tried it, but I plan to. I like variety. 🙂 We have a chain of tea sellers called T2. They have over 80 varieties and blends of tee, and you can make your own. Expensive, but they guarantee only the best and freshest teas, and you can sample before you buy. 🙂

I think the most exotic (and expensive) tea I’ve ever had, was called ‘Buddha Tears’ (also called ‘Jasmine Downy Pearl’). It’s a Jasmin/white tea where the leaves are tightly rolled (by hand apparently!) into balls that do look look tear drops. It was an amazingly good restorative I found. 🙂

Jasmine Dragon Pearls (Buddha’s Tears)

I’m not *supposed* to have sugar (and I don’t), but I will make an exception for a Turkish Coffee very occasionally! (when my blood sugar levels are low). 😉

i’ve never had turkish coffee, but i’ve never liked sugar in my coffee [or tea], so i’m not sure i’ve missed anything.

campfire coffee is still my favorite [and i’ve still got my hand-me-down percolator from my earliest camping days].

Colt previously held a U.S. trademark on the term “M4”. Many manufacturers have production firearms that are essentially identical to a military M4. Civilian models are sometimes colloquially referred to as “M4gery” (pronounced ĕm’fôr jə-rē, a portmanteau of “M4” and “forgery”). Colt had maintained that it retains sole rights to the M4 name and design. Other manufacturers had long maintained that Colt had been overstating its rights, and that “M4” had now become a generic term for a shortened AR-15. In April 2004, Colt filed a lawsuit against Heckler & Koch and Bushmaster Firearms, claiming acts of trademark infringement, trade dress infringement, trademark dilution, false designation of origin, false advertising, patent infringement, unfair competition, and deceptive trade practices. Heckler & Koch later settled out of court, changing one product’s name from “HK M4” to “HK416”. However, on 8 December 2005, a District court judge in Maine granted a summary judgment in favor of Bushmaster Firearms, dismissing all of Colt’s claims except for false advertising. On the latter claim, Colt could not recover monetary damages. The court also ruled that “M4” was now a generic name, and that Colt’s trademark should be revoked.

So much for that then! 😉

So… back to coffee!! 😉 I found a website called TurkishCoffeeWorld (who knew?) They have a great guide to making real Turkish coffee! I’m gonna get the gear and give it a go. I have an Italian stove-top espresso maker, but it’s not the same.

HOW TO MAKE TURKISH COFFEE

Prices are reasonable for the traditional copper coffee *pot*, starting at US$14. 🙂 They sell coffee too, from 100g to cases. They are in CA I think and will ship. 🙂

Sherefe! (Cheers!) 😉

There were a lot of Marines who didn’t give up their M-14s for a very long time after the transition. I had a lot more confidence in that Smith & Wesson, than I ever had in the M-16, and they were cleaned and maintained by gunsmiths between flights.

I know that we carried a lot of cleaning kits and gun oils into the area for people, as the guys on the ground tried to get the things to work. The old guys wanted their World War II Garands back, and some claimed the bolt action 1903 Springfield would have been a better choice.

It was another overly complex, multiple use, technological advance that are the scourge of US equipment.