More and more, I continue to see the old Mother Nature versus human reductionism controversy rear its ugly head. Tea certainly hasn’t escaped the scrutiny of the reductionists. It is no different than what has been happening with medicinal herbs since the onset of the pharmaceutical industry in the late … Continue reading
Sixteenth in a series on the teas of China.Few periods in history have equaled the Ming in their obsession with flowers: most floral porcelain patterns trace their descent to this time, for instance, and flower paintings, embroidery, and even epics written on a single blossom illustrate the fascination. It is … Continue reading
Some years ago, I introduced a co-worker to Earl Grey tea; she was so delighted with this addition to her bag of culinary knowledge, that she began referring to me as her “guru of gastronomy”. Via a friend of hers, who worked at a newly opened office park, she garnered … Continue reading
For small business owners, it’s difficult to avoid thinking about the economy right now, no matter how fed up we all may be with news about unemployment, government bailouts, and the stock market.For those in the retail business, this preoccupation with the economy might lately have turned into an obsession … Continue reading
I’m drinking Darjeeling tea, and thinking about the cookies I baked this past week – not quite the cookie factory my mom and sister used to have going, but close. It was fun, but it kind of made me sad, too, because I was thinking how much nicer it would … Continue reading
My freezer is never without a bottle or two of chilling vodka. I’m not a regular drinker, and it may take me a year or two to get through it, but being of Russian descent, it’s something (along with pickles and herring) I feel compelled to have around for whenever … Continue reading