Alright, if you've seen the few posts I've been re-blogging on my Bitch With a Teacup tumblr, you know that it's pretty much all matcha deserts.
Well, I want deserts that feature some other kind of tea!
So I decided to make some: Chai Nog Latte Cupcakes!
...except they still need some work, and I'm all out of egg nog now. I'm still messing around with the recipe. I'll post the actual recipe and some pictures once it's perfected, but for now, I'll share my "study" notes:
-I am baking powder/soda dyslexic. :(
-wasn't chai-y enough. Added a bit more cinnamon. No cloves left. Must get grinder.
-Added 1 egg. No egg in original recipe. WTF?
-Batch 1 did not rise. Needs more baking powder.
-Batch 2 still did not rise. Added a bit more. Now batter tastes baking powdery.
-Added a pinch of ginger and cloves. Stole mom's coffee grinder. Added liberal sprinkling of sugar.
-Batch 3, cupcakes are rising.
-My "testers" say there is too much ginger. I believe they are crazy. May still scale back the ginger a bit.
-Finally getting the right shape. Over-baked batch 4. Batch 5 was out on time though.
-Cupcakes are too dry and sticky. Added more oil.
-Cupcakes are no longer super sticky. Yay oil!
And I'm sure that next time I get around to it there will be even more notes to add. Hopefully next time I won't mix up the baking powder and baking soda again...
'Til next time!
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Tea: The Manliest of Manly Drinks
Well, I was reading Mz. Magazines Marketing by Masculinizing the Feminine and while reading it I stumbled upon manteas.com Here's the list of teas they have available, including jalapeño, RadioactiviTEA, and three different flavours featuring bacon.
With the manly flavours, manly-looking website, products and rather suggestive logo, I think the only way to make it any more manly would be to have explosions coming out of every cup.
But this got me thinking: Since when hasn't drinking tea been manly? Or at least gender neutral? Certainly, I've never thought of it as being particularly girly. The exception to this might be a little girl throwing a tea party with her stuffed animals. When it comes to actually drinking actual tea though, I've never thought it was particularly feminine. Whether it's out of a tea set or, more likely, the exact same mismatched mugs you drink your coffee out of, I just haven't felt particularly girly while drinking tea.
Have I been wrong all this time? Have i just not noticed that tea (or rather, marketing for tea) has been geared toward me because of my ladyparts? Have I just taken various tea companies' extra consideration of my gender for granted? Or is it just because it doesn't necessarily cater specifically to men that it is seen as not manly? And how does this view differ from culture to culture? Is it the teacups?
It's the teacups, isn't it? Extending the pinky, maybe?
Anyway, this topic gives me lots to think about, I guess. For now, I leave you with this:
'Til next time!
With the manly flavours, manly-looking website, products and rather suggestive logo, I think the only way to make it any more manly would be to have explosions coming out of every cup.
But this got me thinking: Since when hasn't drinking tea been manly? Or at least gender neutral? Certainly, I've never thought of it as being particularly girly. The exception to this might be a little girl throwing a tea party with her stuffed animals. When it comes to actually drinking actual tea though, I've never thought it was particularly feminine. Whether it's out of a tea set or, more likely, the exact same mismatched mugs you drink your coffee out of, I just haven't felt particularly girly while drinking tea.
Have I been wrong all this time? Have i just not noticed that tea (or rather, marketing for tea) has been geared toward me because of my ladyparts? Have I just taken various tea companies' extra consideration of my gender for granted? Or is it just because it doesn't necessarily cater specifically to men that it is seen as not manly? And how does this view differ from culture to culture? Is it the teacups?
It's the teacups, isn't it? Extending the pinky, maybe?
Anyway, this topic gives me lots to think about, I guess. For now, I leave you with this:
'Til next time!
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
And for those of you that keep bitching about the layout...
For those friends that didn't like the layout: I finally got around to actually thinking about it. If you've still got a problem with it, there are two steps to take:
1. Kiss my ass.
2. Fix it yourself.
And bonus(!) third step: Make me some tea.
On a serious note, if there actually are any problems, or if you have any suggestions, I suppose you can skip those steps and just tell me what it is you'd like fixed. Making me tea would still be appreciated though.
1. Kiss my ass.
2. Fix it yourself.
And bonus(!) third step: Make me some tea.
On a serious note, if there actually are any problems, or if you have any suggestions, I suppose you can skip those steps and just tell me what it is you'd like fixed. Making me tea would still be appreciated though.
Sweet, Sweet Matcha!
Sooooo, I just got back from seeing Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows with friends. I think it was a pretty good movie. There were parts I didn't like, but even the parts I didn't enjoy as much were still visually pleasing.
And there was Robert Downy Jr. He is also quite visually pleasing. Oh yes.
Anyway, afterward we were in the mood for tea (surprise, surprise) but World Tea House had already closed by then. Our second choice for tea, DavidsTea, was also closed. We settled on Second Cup, because I like their hot chocolate.
It looks like Second Cup is starting to include some better tea choices....but the loose leaf tea they sell, while in a bag that would be big enough to let the whole loose tea expand, looks like it's made of plasticy gauze in the pictures. Nuh-uh, not for me. I don't want plasticy stuff in my hot drink, thank you very much.
Instead I figured it would be safe to go with a matcha latte. It's just steamed milk and matcha powder mixed in, right?
Holy sweet matcha, it was sweet matcha. Very sweet.
And this brings us to the reason that I like Second Cup's hot chocolate: their drinks are really, really sweet. They tend to be sweet, and then covered in whipped cream. This kinda works with their hot chocolate which tastes like hot sugar in a cup anyway. I don't think it works for a green tea latte, because the actual matcha taste is pretty much totally drowned out with that much sugar. (But not whipped cream. I think that's just for the hot chocolate.) They either used very sweet matcha with sugar added to it, or they added a sweetener to the drink while making it. Either way, it's too sweet for me. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't think that the drink was unenjoyable; I just don't think it tasted like matcha. Not bad if you're going for green sugar in a cup though.
Sweet Matcha Latte: It looks a bit like pond scum, and tastes like sugar!
...Ok, so maybe I shouldn't go into advertising. Good thing working in advertising wasn't one of my lifelong dreams.
As for looking like pond scum, well...that always happens with matcha lattes. Luckily, they taste far better than they look. If I had been thinking, I would have snapped a picture.
In other tea-related news, I found my tin of ginger mint tea! I wish I'd had some with me on New Years Eve. Not because I had been drinking to the point of sickness, but because I was eating sushi. I was eating sushi to the point of self-hatred.
I paid for all you can eat, and I was going to eat all that I could, dammit! A few sips of ginger mint after shoving my face with as much rice and seaweed wrapped seafood as I could would have really helped me. Oh well. Lesson learned for next year.
As for my upset tummy backup tea, the licormint tea, I still like it quite a bit, but I think I'll stick with something with a bit of ginger in it for when I'm feeling sick. (And by "with a bit of" I mean "50-100%") I still have yet to try the licormint iced. I think it would make a lovely, sweet drink cold. I also found the website for the store where my friend picked it up, The Feel Good Store. Unfortunately the site doesn't really have anything on their products, but it does have their twitter and facebook feeds to follow.
That's really it for me and tea lately.
'Til next time!
And there was Robert Downy Jr. He is also quite visually pleasing. Oh yes.
Anyway, afterward we were in the mood for tea (surprise, surprise) but World Tea House had already closed by then. Our second choice for tea, DavidsTea, was also closed. We settled on Second Cup, because I like their hot chocolate.
It looks like Second Cup is starting to include some better tea choices....but the loose leaf tea they sell, while in a bag that would be big enough to let the whole loose tea expand, looks like it's made of plasticy gauze in the pictures. Nuh-uh, not for me. I don't want plasticy stuff in my hot drink, thank you very much.
Instead I figured it would be safe to go with a matcha latte. It's just steamed milk and matcha powder mixed in, right?
Holy sweet matcha, it was sweet matcha. Very sweet.
And this brings us to the reason that I like Second Cup's hot chocolate: their drinks are really, really sweet. They tend to be sweet, and then covered in whipped cream. This kinda works with their hot chocolate which tastes like hot sugar in a cup anyway. I don't think it works for a green tea latte, because the actual matcha taste is pretty much totally drowned out with that much sugar. (But not whipped cream. I think that's just for the hot chocolate.) They either used very sweet matcha with sugar added to it, or they added a sweetener to the drink while making it. Either way, it's too sweet for me. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't think that the drink was unenjoyable; I just don't think it tasted like matcha. Not bad if you're going for green sugar in a cup though.
Sweet Matcha Latte: It looks a bit like pond scum, and tastes like sugar!
...Ok, so maybe I shouldn't go into advertising. Good thing working in advertising wasn't one of my lifelong dreams.
As for looking like pond scum, well...that always happens with matcha lattes. Luckily, they taste far better than they look. If I had been thinking, I would have snapped a picture.
In other tea-related news, I found my tin of ginger mint tea! I wish I'd had some with me on New Years Eve. Not because I had been drinking to the point of sickness, but because I was eating sushi. I was eating sushi to the point of self-hatred.
I paid for all you can eat, and I was going to eat all that I could, dammit! A few sips of ginger mint after shoving my face with as much rice and seaweed wrapped seafood as I could would have really helped me. Oh well. Lesson learned for next year.
As for my upset tummy backup tea, the licormint tea, I still like it quite a bit, but I think I'll stick with something with a bit of ginger in it for when I'm feeling sick. (And by "with a bit of" I mean "50-100%") I still have yet to try the licormint iced. I think it would make a lovely, sweet drink cold. I also found the website for the store where my friend picked it up, The Feel Good Store. Unfortunately the site doesn't really have anything on their products, but it does have their twitter and facebook feeds to follow.
That's really it for me and tea lately.
'Til next time!
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Chilly = Chai
It's frickin' freezing today. Nevermind that it was warm and raining yesterday, today its windy and way too freaking cold.
Thank you NS weather. :/
Today is the cold kind of day to grab a hot cup of tea and stay the fuck inside. And on a cold, cold day, there's really nothing more comforting than a nice cup of chai.
Right now I'm sippin' on some Masala Chai at World Tea House. I wouldn't have come all this way just for the tea in this weather, but I was already downtown anyway and thought that I might be meeting a friend for burritos. I wouldn't want to let someone down when they want a burrito, would I?
I hope it's not this cold tomorrow. I've got people to see tomorrow!
Oh well. If it is, I can start doing like I did last year and pour myself tea in my travel mug on my way out the door just so that I can keep my hands warm. Tea = Liquid mittens. <3
Anyway, that's all for now. 'Til next time!
Thank you NS weather. :/
Today is the cold kind of day to grab a hot cup of tea and stay the fuck inside. And on a cold, cold day, there's really nothing more comforting than a nice cup of chai.
Right now I'm sippin' on some Masala Chai at World Tea House. I wouldn't have come all this way just for the tea in this weather, but I was already downtown anyway and thought that I might be meeting a friend for burritos. I wouldn't want to let someone down when they want a burrito, would I?
I hope it's not this cold tomorrow. I've got people to see tomorrow!
Oh well. If it is, I can start doing like I did last year and pour myself tea in my travel mug on my way out the door just so that I can keep my hands warm. Tea = Liquid mittens. <3
Anyway, that's all for now. 'Til next time!
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Merry Teamas!
It's been a while, but I've got so much tea to talk about! Holiday related tea, in fact!
First of all, Tea Nog Lattes at World Tea House. I know I mentioned these before, but they are worth mentioning again.
I will miss you when you're gone egg nog. Oh, I will miss you.
For a present from BAD, I got a bag of Licormint tea. It's fantastic! I haven't tried it out iced yet, but I really want to. If you sip it it tastes far different than if you gulp it. There's a big difference in taste when it's hot, when it's cold, when it's kinda lukewarm, etc.
One of the Lattes I had at World Tea House was the Coconut Cocoa Pu-Ehr Nog Latte. OMG. IT. TASTES. SO. GOOD. I mean, the nog lattes are basically heaven in liquid form, but with the coconut cocoa, IT'S PRETTY MUCH THE BEST THING EVER.
Speaking of coconut cocoa, guess who got a tin of it in her christmas tree this year? And when I say in, I literally mean "in". It was wrapped in purple tissue paper and placed in the branches of of my purple tree. Apparently she went and asked Haleigh (who was working that day) what my favorite was. Oh World Tea House staff, you know me so well...
Anyway, I think my mom just likes to hide things in the tree to see whether or not I'll notice them. Luckily, this time I noticed!
I also got a tin of "tea" from World Tea House, which is just an empty tin that I can fill with tea of my choice later, and a $10 gift certificate. Hurray!
Today I'm sipping on an absolutely lovely Monkey Nog, which is egg nog with chocolate monkey (rooibos, bits of banana and cocoa nibs). The rooibos with the egg nog just makes it so smooth tasting. This is absolutely lovely.
And while this isn't directly tea related, I also got a mini cupcake maker for christmas. Tea party with adorable cupcakes? Oh yes, I think so....
That's all for now. 'Til next time!
First of all, Tea Nog Lattes at World Tea House. I know I mentioned these before, but they are worth mentioning again.
I will miss you when you're gone egg nog. Oh, I will miss you.
For a present from BAD, I got a bag of Licormint tea. It's fantastic! I haven't tried it out iced yet, but I really want to. If you sip it it tastes far different than if you gulp it. There's a big difference in taste when it's hot, when it's cold, when it's kinda lukewarm, etc.
One of the Lattes I had at World Tea House was the Coconut Cocoa Pu-Ehr Nog Latte. OMG. IT. TASTES. SO. GOOD. I mean, the nog lattes are basically heaven in liquid form, but with the coconut cocoa, IT'S PRETTY MUCH THE BEST THING EVER.
Speaking of coconut cocoa, guess who got a tin of it in her christmas tree this year? And when I say in, I literally mean "in". It was wrapped in purple tissue paper and placed in the branches of of my purple tree. Apparently she went and asked Haleigh (who was working that day) what my favorite was. Oh World Tea House staff, you know me so well...
Anyway, I think my mom just likes to hide things in the tree to see whether or not I'll notice them. Luckily, this time I noticed!
I also got a tin of "tea" from World Tea House, which is just an empty tin that I can fill with tea of my choice later, and a $10 gift certificate. Hurray!
Today I'm sipping on an absolutely lovely Monkey Nog, which is egg nog with chocolate monkey (rooibos, bits of banana and cocoa nibs). The rooibos with the egg nog just makes it so smooth tasting. This is absolutely lovely.
And while this isn't directly tea related, I also got a mini cupcake maker for christmas. Tea party with adorable cupcakes? Oh yes, I think so....
That's all for now. 'Til next time!
Friday, December 9, 2011
We interrupt this streak of lazy non-posting to bring you this update:
World Tea House.
Chai Nog Lattes.
NOG Lattes. As in, with egg nog.
Chai Nog Lattes on special.
I've only been waiting for this time to come around again ALL FREAKING YEAR.
BUA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!
Now back to our regularly scheduled laziness.
Chai Nog Lattes.
NOG Lattes. As in, with egg nog.
Chai Nog Lattes on special.
I've only been waiting for this time to come around again ALL FREAKING YEAR.
BUA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!
Now back to our regularly scheduled laziness.
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