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The aroma of the tea while steeping is divine fruit richness.

Mmm, stone fruit, berry, fig, cherry, smooth, maybe a bit of vanilla. Quite lovely.

I don’t know where the anise has disappeared to. Maybe age has turned it into malt and fruit. Or maybe there wasn’t any in my spoon.

It’s a damp gloomy day out there. Perfect for something like this.

Starting to feel that it’s time to begin to bundle up.

Well.

I thought it’d be nice to finish up the last of my milk in a chai, perhaps drizzled with a bit of honey. Could not find any chai tea, though I am certain there’s plenty. Somewhere.

This ancient one turned up and though green tea with milk is sacrilege, I thought it might be worth a try. Previous efforts yielded a far too spiced brew, so it might be chai-enough with milk. Emptied the packet, three heaping spoons worth, steeped the tea. And the milk had gone off.

Had no hopes for this cup and the resteep. Age. Far too much leaf. Far too much spice in the leaf if memory serves. I was expecting disaster.

Surprise! Black and unsweetened, this cup is better than I ever remember it being. There were a few white snowflake things in the leaf which add a bit of frosting to the roastiness, hint of spice, and green of the cup. Quite pleasant. Quite tasty.

One just never knows.

And I still have celebratory treats to gobble.

And it’s a sipdown!

The thing about living in a neighbourhood with at least five excellent bakeries and patisseries within a few blocks is that when the occasion calls for a treat or two, it’s hard to narrow your choices down.

I don’t eat pastries and cakes all that often. There were those months that I would buy one or two Portuguese custard tarts stuffed with Nutella every time I passed that bakery and then I was over it.

And then, maybe you remember, there was that almond croissant and pain au chocolat phase.

On my birthday, I felt that some sort of treat was in order. I stopped into French bakery, the owner is from somewhere in the south of France, and picked up a small gateau Basque tart. And some Pain Perdu, a cross between French toast and bread pudding, served with creme Anglaise like a vanilla cream custard sauce, and fresh fruit. And they threw in some home-baked cookies for my celebration.

Well, that pain perdu was humongous. I have been eating the slice for three days and finally it and its accompaniments are done.

I really was in the mood for a feisty no nonsense tea today. This fits the bill.

The cookies and the gateau Basque can wait for another day.

The last time I visited my favourite Thai restaurant, I asked the owner about hot tea. They make a really good Thai iced tea with strong black tea, some sort of sweetener, and cream, but it’s getting cold now. I was thinking that it wouldn’t be that much of a bother to turn that wonder brew into a tasty hot tea. Maybe they’d need to invest in a large thermos or brewing vat or some such thing. The owner said he’d think about it.

So I stopped in yesterday for the daily special and there it was, a sweet little folded sign announcing hot tea. We have hot tea now, the owner said. I was already well caffeinated from the extra strong HK style milk tea I had just had, I told him I’ll get some next time. He looked disappointed.

As I was waiting for my takeaway order, I thought ok, let me try this new tea.

Of course, I did not need or want a cup of tea just then. I ended up with a round teabag covered in hot water in a paper cup with some cream and a bit of sugar. Very so-so it was. Maybe tetley’s, maybe president’s choice. I’ll ask him next time. Kind of weak and thin. And I cursed myself because I have mountains of good tea at home. Why am I paying for a so-so cup of tea in the world?

Got my order. The bus came and I scrambled to collect myself—bag, takeaway food, bus pass, mask, and this tea that I struggled to close. Don’t rush, the bus driver yelled through the opened doors. Don’t want you to spill your coffee—It’s not worth it.

Funny how one unexpected kindness can make the day so very much better.

Yesterday morning, I had an acupuncture appointment early in the day. Awesome, as usual. Awesome, but always different.

Being out in the world already encourages me to do something else before I go home. Our public transit has a two-hour thing in any direction for one fare. I try to pack in whatever I can in that two-hour window (but inevitably, go over time and pay an extra fare). A Thai restaurant I like has fresh delicious chef’s specials every day and tofu vegetable rice rolls on Fridays. Off I went.

The sun was golden glorious, so I decided to stop off in Chinatown for my beloved HK style milk tea and, rather than taking the underground subway, take the long slow streetcar ride across town to the Thai place.

Tea was superb. gah!—this is becoming such a habit.

The streetcar took me through a small growing patch of Brazilian shops, bars, and markets. Interesting how the city is morphing.

Another birthday tea that I reached for because I have milk in the house.

This tea is from the Canadian distributor (that I received with a couple of tainted teas despite much room before the due date). I mention this because I don’t know how different this is from what H & S would ship directly.

The idea of this tea is always better than what I get in my cup.

One day in future, I will order a sample from H & S directly to see if there’s a difference.

There’s already been far too much celebratory tea drinking today. First, I have milk. Second, it’s my birthday. Yay on both counts!

Yesterday, I went out with a friend for lunch to a Georgian restaurant that I’ve been wanting to visit for a long while. We had soup, spicy with walnuts. We had salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, red peppers, piled high with fresh herbs. We had cheese stuffed bread. Hers like a pizza with salty cheese inside and on top. Mine in the shape of a canoe, stuffed with cheese with an egg on top. Super lovely lunch, super lovely visit.

Super lovely tea to start the day with. Milk and honey loveliness. The vanilla brightens up with milk, I find.

And now to plan my next milky birthday tea.

I reached for this today . After my last successes of this with milk, I intended to go to the store to pick up some milk

Surprise! This cup, without milk, is mild, full of banana sweetness, and lovely.

Honestly, I don’t know what’s up with that. As far as I can tell, my steeping parameters were the same as usual. But no harshness.

I don’t know, but I’ll take it.

Delicious cup.