The results are in: black tea is the best tea for resteeping. White tea comes in second, and green tea, third. I'm surprised that the green tea is as tasteless as it is in the second steeping, but the sencha that I have just tastes like nothing the second time around.
I haven't tested oolong yet, as I don't have any loose-leaf oolong. I have bagged oolong, but bagged tea never tastes good the second time, so it wouldn't be a true test. The black tea that I have is a nice, bold Assam. It has the best second-steep flavor out of all the teas I have tried. The white tea is Himalayan White. It tastes passable on the second go-round. Nothing spectacular, but at least you can taste it.
I have other teas as well which I could try. My chai blend is good on the second steep, but that is not the tea, it's the spices which are keeping up the flavor. I haven't tried to resteep my green passionfruit, but I imagine all the blended flavored teas will resteep well, and it won't be the tea itself that I will be tasting but the flavoring elements. My Moroccan mint green tea always resteeped well, but it was only the peppermint that I tasted. My genmaicha, a toasted rice green tea, also resteeped well, but it was the toasted rice that gave the flavor.
So here's to Assam, the winner of the second steeping test. I am open to giving other green teas a try in the future. Sencha for sure is not the one.
It's been a long time since I last wrote, and a few things have happened. Most importantly, I was approved for Social Security Disability. I received a significant amount of back pay, and was able to pay off my debt to my landlord. That was such a blessing.
I wanted to write today about the weather we're having. We have had nothing but bright, warm, sunny days since the month began. It is really disheartening, because it's November! But also, there is a wildfire burning northeast of us which is blanketing our whole area with smoke. It's disgusting outside, and the sun is red.
California needs rain. Plain and simple. I don't know if we're going to get rain any time soon, but we desperately need it. Even some cloud cover would be nice. Some fog. Anything but what we've been having. It's not July, for Pete's sake. This month has turned out to be warmer than the summer. In the summer we had plenty of cloudy days, and lots of cloudy mornings.
Yesterday we had a lot of wind, which was a nice change of pace; at least it was something, but then the smoke started to blow through and it ruined what would have been a beautiful blustery day. It's always like that these days. Cloudy days turn sunny. Blustery days turn smoky. I hate to be Debbie Downer, but that's the way it's been. The whole state of California is like this.
Other states have had too much rain, and have had flooding. Why can't there be an even amount of rain over the whole country? I don't understand it. Mother Nature isn't very accommodating. I guess we shall wait and see what else is in store for us.
At least we have a new governor. I voted for him. Perhaps he will announce a state of drought for the whole state and take us back to mandatory water saving. The current governor announced that the drought was over (what a joke!) and people are back to watering their lawns and fountains are back on. I liked the slogan, "brown is the new green." At least the regional parks still have their drought signs up in the bathrooms. Saving water should be paramount on our state's priority list. Those are just my three cents on the matter.
So much has happened since last I wrote. My husband and I have had many adventures; we have hiked the Eastn Bay, celebrating our fourth wedding anniversary, and we have boondocked up north in the redwoods. It's been a bit stressful (battening down the hatches in the motorhome is a full-day affair), but filled with love.
I'm just enjoying the clouds this morning, it's a cool morning. The Indian Summer has been stretched out long this year, and we've had a string of warm, mostly cloudless days. So this morning's overcast is welcome beyond belief. Last night was the full moon, it was a clear night and I could see it clearly. Gorgeous. I should have taken a picture, but the picture wouldn't have done it justice.
One big blessing I received yesterday was finding out that my Social Security Disability claim has been approved, and I received back pay to the first time I applied. This is my second attempt. We have debts to pay, and this came just in time. Thank goodness.
This morning's tea is sencha and nettle leaf. Nettle leaf is very nutritious, containing abundant chlorophyll, calcium, magnesium, zinc and any vitamins. What a healing, delicious tea. It's said to be an herb of protection, and for good reason. I am grateful to the workers who brave the stinging part of the plant (they probably wear gloves) to pluck the leaves for us. I am really enjoying the sencha as well, I've read that it is one of the most popular teas drunk in Japan, an everyday tea.
Thanks for joining me over this delicious cup of tea to catch up and enjoy each other's company. Today is just laundry day and mopping (we tracked in a lot of dirt when out boondocking). Have a great early weekend everyone. Peace and love.
My husband and I went out to eat at a Chipotle restaurant for our anniversary today, and I got to thinking about choices in food. It is better to make food at home rather than to eat out at say a McDonald's or a Burger King. But what choices do we have when we want to eat out and choose a reputable company?
I know that Chipotle is a responsible company that treats its workers well and does its best to provide responsibly raised food. In 2015, they went no-GMO. That in itself is quite an accomplishment considering how many GMOs are in our food supply. Another company that is on my list is In-N-Out Burger. I don't have data on whether or not they choose non-GMO ingredients or pasture-raised meats, but they make their food fresh on site and treat their workers well.
When it comes to drink choices, it's tricky. I am guilty of consuming Coca-Cola against my own counsel, simply because I love the taste of it, but in theory, I hold that we should only be drinking four beverages: coconut water, water, tea, and kombucha. Juices are all right, but they are high in natural sugars and good luck finding 100% juice at a restaurant. Most of the time you'll find juice-flavored beverages with minimal actual juice content.
It's not always easy to make the best choice, but it is possible. It just takes a little research to find the freshest choices that you can.
Today, spiritually speaking, is the New Moon. It is a time for new beginnings and fresh perspectives. The first light of the new crescent moon will be visible tonight. I realize that astronomically, the New Moon was yesterday, the moon that is not visible. I am speaking purely from a spiritual standpoint here.
This morning I held a private New Moon ritual. I set some intentions for the next cycle of the moon (month). Hopefully I will be able to achieve them. Some of them are vague so as to be achievable. I also said a prayer for unconditional love. I anointed myself with lavender oil, and anointed my space with camphor. Camphor is a good oil for purification.
The New Moon is said to be the spark of creativity, at the first light. I sure hope so, my creativity has been severely lacking these days. Well, everything has been lacking, as my depression has been so severe. This morning's tea is a healthful brew of nettle leaf and milk thistle seed. Symbolically, they are curse-breakers, and I sure feel like that applies to me. This has been a terrible year. I can't wait for the new year. But at least I have a new month/moon cycle ahead of me. The next Full Moon will be in 14 days.
Today, auspiciously, is my wedding anniversary. My husband has to work today, but he took off Friday and Saturday for us to have some time together. I can't believe it has been four years of marriage. We're just going to go out for ice cream. We're on a budget. A very tight budget. In any event, it's a blessed day and I'm grateful for it.
Today we celebrate the dark of the moon. In astronomy, it is called the new moon, but I like to differentiate between the dark moon, when the moon is invisible, and the new moon, when the first crescent of light is visible. The dark of the moon is a time to honor your ancestors, and to cleanse oneself of negative energies. I left a small offering to my ancestors on my altar, just a bit of garlic and mint. I will add some rosemary later today after I've gone outside.
I performed a dark moon ritual today, anointing myself with camphor oil for purification. I find this to be an introspective time, to go inside yourself and meditate on all that this past month has brought. I have been following and timing my spiritual practice according to the phases of the moon for about a month now, and I have found it to be very helpful.
I don't really believe that there is any power in the moon itself, I just consider it symbolic. The moon is simply a heavenly body reflecting the light of the sun. There is no special power in the moon's light, or any nonsense like that. It's just a way to symbolically align one's spiritual practice. The dark moon is introspective, the waxing moon is for drawing good things to oneself, and the waning moon is for getting rid of that which does not serve us, or is negative. The full moon is for gratitude and abundance.
I am not a Witch. I just wanted to make that clear. I know that Witches also go by the phases of the moon in their magical workings. I don't believe in a Goddess or their Horned God. I think that's all creepy and wrong, to be frank. I just like using the moon as a friendly guide for spirituality. It's a beautiful way to honor the turning of the months, and its symbolism is meaningful to me.
I like to start my day with a little cup of warm ACV drink. I just pour in a capful of apple cider vinegar, a half cup of hot water and a half cup of cold water. Sometimes I add honey, but it's not necessary. ACV is known to detox the system, give your digestive tract a warm up, and help to flatten the belly. I don't know how that last one works, but I'm looking forward to seeing if it's true.
ACV has a million and one uses, but my second favorite use is as a hair conditioner. I don't always use shampoo and conditioner. Sometimes I simply wash my hair with warm-to-hot water, scrubbing vigorously with my fingers, and rinse with a diluted solution of ACV. Instantly I can feel how soft my hair feels. And once your hair is dry, there is no odor.
I don't know about other people, but ACV helps me get rid of itchy scalp. I have noticed less dandruff since I started using it. I don't use it every time, maybe every other shower. And, *gasp!* I only shower once or twice a week. I just don't get that dirty. I like to let my hair's natural oils build up and then I brush them down the hair shaft.With this method, my hair doesn't look greasy at all.
So anyway, after my morning ACV drink I'll have my tea and breakfast. Lately the only thing I've been having for breakfast is a smoothie. Banana, frozen blueberries, egg, and milk or yogurt. I haven't had much of an appetite for anything else, but I believe this is one of the healthiest ways to start the day.
Today's tea is rose gunpowder. I purchased it from the Chinese market down the street. I am only guessing that it's gunpowder by the pellet shape of the leaves; I can't read the Chinese writing on the jar. I love to watch leaves unfurl in the hot water.
The only errand I need to run today is to return my library books. I just may renew them, they're quite interesting. One is a book on opening our wild hearts to the herbs (she's rather a pagan kind of author), and the other is also about herbal medicine. The first author talks about finding our herbal ally. I'm not exactly sure what she means; is it like finding your spirit animal?
In any event, if I were to have an herbal ally I believe it would be rosemary. It helps with remembrance, which is good for my poor memory, and it smells divine. Not to mention we have an abundance of it on our property. I wonder if tea leaves would count as an herbal ally. I'm all about health these days, and am interested in as much natural alternative health information as I can get my hands on.
It turns out, according to the second book on herbal medicine, that the ashwagandha I've been taking really does have an effect on psychotic symptoms. I just chose it at random, really, hoping it would help. Lucky for me, I guess. So here is my morning routine:
Wake up
Drink ACV
Make tea and smoothie
Stretch
Make bed
Put dishes away
Sweep floors
Start laundry
Sounds like a good start to the day, doesn't it?
