AH! DELICIOUS …

… and I mean really delicious decaffeinated tea.

These are only two of several flavours of Ahmad Tea sachets in a box of decaffeinated tea I was gifted earlier this year. I cannot get them here, and so I keep them for very special occasions!

FEELING

There is touch and there is feeling. According to dictionaries, feeling is an emotional state or reaction to something. Apparently, there are eight primary feelings that form the basis of a plethora of others, these are joy, sadness, acceptance, disgust, fear, anger, surprise, and anticipation. It is not surprising then that, according to Rumi, the world exists as you perceive it.  It is not what you see, but how you see it.  It is not what you hear, but how you hear it.  It is not what you feel, but how you feel it. [Thank you Graham for this timely quotation!]

Living in a fairly dry country, as I do, I feel a surge of joy when the first rain falls. I love walking around the garden smelling the damp soil and seeing raindrops sparkling in the sun. The rain brings with it a sense of anticipation of growth and the satisfaction of seeing flowers and vegetables maturing in the future.

I occasionally feel overwhelmed (still) with a sense of sadness that my children and grandchildren live so far away from us. Sketches like the one below are no longer drawn in our lounge, but must be seen from afar through social media. There are no more chats over tea or a popping in for a glass of wine … no more sitting together to cheer our rugby players on; instead, we share the scores with either a laugh or a frown.

There is an acceptance that our grandchildren will grow older without us seeing them nearly as often as we would like to. How grateful I am that we see regular photographs of them, chat to them via WhatsApp and can pick up where we left off when we do get together!

I cannot help feeling disgust along with disappointment whenever the carefully built mud nest of the Lesser-striped Swallows comes tumbling down – often because of the interference by White-rumped Swifts or Fork-tailed Drongos.

While I have often referred to what I call the Urban Herd, when they graze on the verge of the very busy road leading into the town, I cannot help a frisson of fear both for their safety and that of the drivers. There have been collisions in the past – not happy for anyone!

The owners of the cattle should know better. Not so creatures of the wild such as tortoises and snakes. I feel anger when motorists deliberately drive over them – yes, some do!

Then, there is the delightful – and always welcome – surprise when someone gifts me a tea I have either not seen before or have run out of!

DRINKING TEA

Regular readers will know my fondness for tea. Given the chilly weather we have been experiencing of late, I was pleased to purchase this large red mug:

In spite of enjoying using one of my several pretty teapots, I find mugs are more practical to drink tea from – especially when I am outdoors or am drinking tea whilst reading:

Mugs were the order of the day too, even when hosting a friend to a ‘silver teapot’ tea in the garden for her birthday:

I collect different teas from wherever we happen to be. Most are in the form of tea bags, yet I find the tea with the most flavour is loose:

Pretty tea cups and saucers – with matching plates – have their place, as another friend illustrates:

I end this look at drinking tea with a nostalgic picture of Meneer, the Common Fiscal, who used to help himself to whatever I was having for tea. Sadly, he has gone to the happy hunting ground. I wish him insects and caterpillars galore:

A DAILY RATION

Generally speaking, people are encouraged to drink between four to six cups of plain water daily in order to remain hydrated. Do you? Of course this will vary depending on your level of activity, the temperature of the day, and what other fluids you imbibe in the form of juices, tea, coffee or alcohol.

A perusal of sites on the internet reveal that a gallon of beer (over three litres) formed part of a sailor’s daily ration on sailing ships. An alternative would be three cups (under a litre) of watered down wine or one cup (250 ml) of watered down spirits. It is the label on the wine featured below, Tin Cups Smooth Red, which set me off on this track of daily rations.

According to the blurb on the label, a liara was a tin cup measurement for the crew’s daily ration of wine. I cannot find a reference to a liara in this sense.

My search nonetheless sent me down information paths that informed me that, as beer did not last very well on long sea-voyages, the Royal Navy used either wine or spirits. The latter included brandy (sourced whilst in the Mediterranean), arrack from the East Indies, or rum from the West Indies. Apparently in time the West Indian merchants lobbied the Navy until rum became the standard spirit everywhere. The diluted rum became known as Grog. The practice of issuing rum to sailors in the Royal navy was discontinued in 1970, while New Zealand’s navy only abolished it in 1990.

My preferred ‘daily ration’ is tea – although I am happy to drink it in un-rationed quantities.

What is yours?

CURTIS FRENCH TRUFFLE TEA

I received a box of Curtis French Truffle tea as a gift some time ago. Open the box and one is rewarded with a most enticing aroma. It is a special tea that I reserve for certain occasions or, like today, when a special friend came over to play a game of Scrabble. We sipped this heavenly tea – not to be spoiled with the addition of milk – and nibbled on shortbread cherry balls I had baked yesterday.

What a wonderful combination: a good friend, a most interesting game (we managed to cover the board), delicious nibbles, and a treat of a tea!

The teabags are pyramid-shaped and contains a blend of Ceylon and Indian black tea mixed with crushed cocoa beans, coconut pieces as well as truffle flavouring. They combine well to give a velvety chocolate taste with a subtle creamy note (which is why we chose not to add milk).