Maureen says:
I want to thank everyone who's sent emails or commented here on the blog. Your interest, support and good wishes are very often what spurs us on when our stress levels threaten to reach the danger zone. I also want to assure those of you who have expressed concern over my increase in coffee consumption that going from 20oz to 40oz daily has less to do with exhaustion than it does with the aces coffee roaster who held a tasting on site at Z.
Amherst, NH's A&E Custom Coffee Roastery holds the distinction of being the first certified organic coffee roaster in the state. Obtaining organic certification is a complicated process and something we, as consumers, don't often think about. I'll forego a lengthy explanation and attempt--probably poorly--to reduce it to its essence: every bag of coffee that A&E roasts can be traced back to the farm where the plants were grown and every step along that path, from farm to roastery, must also be certified organic. (If I'm wrong, I'm sure Emeran will correct me).
We already knew that liked A&E's business practices, so it was really a matter of taste that was going to inform our decision for a coffee vendor. Emeran, A&E's owner, brought a variety of coffee-regional roasts that would help train our palates to distinguish among qualities like brightness, body and finish--not unlike wine. Following the tasting, she sent additional (generous) samples to the house and it's at those which I've been pointing the finger of blame for my new 40oz-a-day habit (I'm partial to the Kenyan and Nicaraguan blends). If we weren't planning to use them for Z, you know I'd be signing up for their home-delivery program.
Emeran also sent several loose teas and with these I've fallen completely and desperately in love. I love my tea and have the supply at home to prove it, but ever since I tried her Indian Chai and Blueberry I'm not sure my old favorites stand up anymore (I'm rethinking our decision to go with Choice Organics).
So much in love am I with these two particular teas that last weekend I made Tom take a drive to A&E. I knew the cafe would be closing for a week to complete its relocation to the Carriage Depot complex on Route 101A (it reopens for business on February 26th) and I didn't want to run out. I can't remember the last time I panicked in the face of running out of anything. Well, except maybe money. But then we bought a restaurant and I got over that too.
Showing posts with label Tea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tea. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Avoidance. Sort of. Not Really.
Maureen says:
Am nearly out from under the weather, although winter-chapped skin and a nasal tone would lead you to believe otherwise. My sense of taste, however, has returned and just in time to sip my way through a package of sample teas that arrived in yesterday's mail. Three bags into my tasting, a fourth steeping now, and my choice of suppliers is simple. I'll opt out of revealing which Choice Organic Teas I've selected, but I'll promise you that each of them is perfectly lovely. I've also located a local, independent coffee roaster that, like COT, supports Fair Trade. Am very excited to schedule the tasting as, whenever possible, we'd like to do business with local independents (if you'd like to learn more about Fair Trade click here; to find Fair Trade Certified products near you, click here).
Tea is one of several things I turn to in moments of overwhelm. I'm sure Tom would prefer that I turn to it always as some weeks ago the panacea-of-the-day was dismantling my home office somewhere between the time he started dinner and well past my bedtime. Three hours and many reconfigurations later, it became a much better-functioning space (still in need of paint, still with no art on the walls or blinds in the window, but, you know: Rome. A day. Not built in).
I know, I know--my behaviors are transparent even to me. Create an illusion of control over the world? Check. A quick and easy sense of accomplishment? Check. Impose order on a room that has, for months and months also served as a catch-all for things like the cordless drill, shipping boxes and gift wrap? Check. Channel nervous energy? Check. (If you find yourself in a similar state of anxiety but without a home office to reconfigure, then I highly recommend the also-satisfying task of tidying the pantry cupboards.)
It may seem to some that I'm resisting overwhelm or worse, denying I'm overwhelmed by procrastinating and thus making matters worse. The truth is, I'm actually working with overwhelm the best way I know how: by performing tasks that produce tangible results. Call me daft, dotty or dim, but when the last book's spine is aligned with the edge of the shelf and various half-emptied boxes of corn starch are combined into one, I feel a little bit stronger. A little more equal to the tasks waiting for me. A little more David to the GIANT that is opening a restaurant.
Because, while I can afford myself the luxury of vacuuming the dryer vent or deleting watched items off the DVR, a moment spent in self doubt would break the spiritual bank.
This post? Provides the joy of having written without the pain of writing about the 427, 982 things that are freaking me out right about now.
Am nearly out from under the weather, although winter-chapped skin and a nasal tone would lead you to believe otherwise. My sense of taste, however, has returned and just in time to sip my way through a package of sample teas that arrived in yesterday's mail. Three bags into my tasting, a fourth steeping now, and my choice of suppliers is simple. I'll opt out of revealing which Choice Organic Teas I've selected, but I'll promise you that each of them is perfectly lovely. I've also located a local, independent coffee roaster that, like COT, supports Fair Trade. Am very excited to schedule the tasting as, whenever possible, we'd like to do business with local independents (if you'd like to learn more about Fair Trade click here; to find Fair Trade Certified products near you, click here).
Tea is one of several things I turn to in moments of overwhelm. I'm sure Tom would prefer that I turn to it always as some weeks ago the panacea-of-the-day was dismantling my home office somewhere between the time he started dinner and well past my bedtime. Three hours and many reconfigurations later, it became a much better-functioning space (still in need of paint, still with no art on the walls or blinds in the window, but, you know: Rome. A day. Not built in).
I know, I know--my behaviors are transparent even to me. Create an illusion of control over the world? Check. A quick and easy sense of accomplishment? Check. Impose order on a room that has, for months and months also served as a catch-all for things like the cordless drill, shipping boxes and gift wrap? Check. Channel nervous energy? Check. (If you find yourself in a similar state of anxiety but without a home office to reconfigure, then I highly recommend the also-satisfying task of tidying the pantry cupboards.)
It may seem to some that I'm resisting overwhelm or worse, denying I'm overwhelmed by procrastinating and thus making matters worse. The truth is, I'm actually working with overwhelm the best way I know how: by performing tasks that produce tangible results. Call me daft, dotty or dim, but when the last book's spine is aligned with the edge of the shelf and various half-emptied boxes of corn starch are combined into one, I feel a little bit stronger. A little more equal to the tasks waiting for me. A little more David to the GIANT that is opening a restaurant.
Because, while I can afford myself the luxury of vacuuming the dryer vent or deleting watched items off the DVR, a moment spent in self doubt would break the spiritual bank.
This post? Provides the joy of having written without the pain of writing about the 427, 982 things that are freaking me out right about now.
Saturday, January 6, 2007
Oh, the Irony
Maureen says:
Tom's come down with a cold. Ironically, he was exposed to the germs at the Health Department. I've taken approximately 5,000 milligrams of vitamin C today in addition to washing my hands something like fifty times to minimize my risk to exposure.
"How bad do you feel?" I asked him this morning.
"Bad," he said, stifling a cough.
But not bad enough to take to bed or stay at home. And even if he were feeling that bad, appointments in Massachusetts meant I wasn't going to be around to force him to rest (not that that would have done any good).
Fortunately, culling through china and other tabletop-wares catalogues takes little effort. Tom's gone through them all, marking the items he likes with Post-It notes. Now, after what seems like a long day with little finished work to show for it, it's my job to narrow the final candidates by removing the Post-Its from the pages with items I don't like.
Right after I disinfect them.
On another note, being that I'm a prolific tea drinker, Tom's tasked me with tea selections for the menu. I know which brands I favor and there's one in particular that I'm leaning toward, but I'd love to hear what teas are your favorites. Leave your thoughts in the comments section or email them to me at maureen_at_z@comcast.net.
Tom's come down with a cold. Ironically, he was exposed to the germs at the Health Department. I've taken approximately 5,000 milligrams of vitamin C today in addition to washing my hands something like fifty times to minimize my risk to exposure.
"How bad do you feel?" I asked him this morning.
"Bad," he said, stifling a cough.
But not bad enough to take to bed or stay at home. And even if he were feeling that bad, appointments in Massachusetts meant I wasn't going to be around to force him to rest (not that that would have done any good).
Fortunately, culling through china and other tabletop-wares catalogues takes little effort. Tom's gone through them all, marking the items he likes with Post-It notes. Now, after what seems like a long day with little finished work to show for it, it's my job to narrow the final candidates by removing the Post-Its from the pages with items I don't like.
Right after I disinfect them.
On another note, being that I'm a prolific tea drinker, Tom's tasked me with tea selections for the menu. I know which brands I favor and there's one in particular that I'm leaning toward, but I'd love to hear what teas are your favorites. Leave your thoughts in the comments section or email them to me at maureen_at_z@comcast.net.
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