You Rock My World.

TeaNoir, I’m talking about you…. I liked tea before… Really, I did… I had implements for brewing tea and neat little mini-paint cans from a well-known tea house stacked high on my counter….I have two italian glass jars (the kind with the hinged lid and rubber washer to keep moisture out) one for Redhot, one for Blackout….  They grace my counter and invite me to brew yet another rich cup….  But now I have a cabinet dedicated to the brewing of TeaNoir.  It’s true…  I’ve moved beyond Redhot and Blackout, although they are still part of my tea entourage.  I now have a dozen different bags of TeaNoir tea for whatever desire might strike me, at any time of day.  They are not only tasty but the art that Miss Kate, the TeaNoir Teamistress, has cultivated reveals itself sip by sip… The flavors are layered to perfection.  Some versions are drinkable in the most simple sense- they taste great and so I drink them and get a little twinge of panic that I might run out…So I place another order for those and whatever new varieties she has introduced….  Others are like Willy Wonka’s Everlasting Gobstopper… No they don’t turn you into a giant blueberry.  They reveal themselves in a most gradual and sensual way… A cupful is a journey, a potful is a most wonderful, epic adventure… Because of my film background, perhaps I see things mostly as photographic in my imagination…. Bangkok, with it’s gentle waves of coconut and sexy lilt of anise, is a sepia toned hotel porch where Hemingway sits before tending to another safari story…. (and yes, I’m aware that Bangkok is not where most safari’s of Hemingway’s work occurred but TeaNoir’s Bangkok tea takes me from Florida to Bangkok to coconut cocktails on an otherwise deserted beach, to writing the tales of this tea journey on a hotel porch in the early part of the century.) Mango Lassi is perfect.   A smooth and silky and sweet and tart tea translation of the delicious yogurt based beverage.   I’m in Mumbai, exploring the city with a dear friend, and no longer just looking at the postcard of the coastline and the traffic… I can feel the warm air and the market and smell the spices and the sea… I’m at peace but something in me longs to explore…. Anyway, I could spend a month talking about my favorites… But these are the two newest ones that I am enjoying this weekend…  Kate of TeaNoir is truly an artist with a most creative and thrilling palate….  Stop on by her digs on Etsy and send her my best….   She does, by the way, offer a sampler on occasion, where you can try a small amount of three different teas…  It’s a great way to try some new flavors, or her versions of some of your old favorites… If you have questions just ask- she is very helpful and provides excellent customer service as well as tea.