A wonderful day for tea

Today was a good day in the world of tea. In the world of chemical engineering it was kind of a travesty, but tea had a good day. Nay, an excellent day. Received a package from home today and it had an awesome surprise for me: a new teapot!



Isn't she beautiful? This leaves me in a quandary though. I now have two teapots that I do so love dearly. I don't want to be a neglectful parent. I don't want to stow my old iron tetsubin back in my closet. She's awesome and a potentially lethal weapon. This is her:



Ah, a father's pride for his daughter is an amazing thing. At this point, I'm not sure what I'll do with both of them. I may use one for green tea and one for black tea for reasons really beyond my grasp. It seemed like a good idea though. The black one does hold heat significantly better, not being made of cast iron, so maybe I'll use it when I'm not really paying attention to the tea but I want a few cups while working on something.

In other news, I'm drinking a cup of Lemony Gunpowder. It's the Gunpowder Green I referenced awhile ago, but with a delightful lemon-like topping. Its not bad. I prefer single estate teas but my mom bought this thinking she liked it and...well...realized she actually didn't. So I gave it a good home. It's pretty good. Vegetal, grassy green tea with a slight smoky flavor, all topped off with a light undertone of citrus. Not too bad. The balance is nice but I just can't get this tea to brew right. It always seems a touch bitter and I'm almost 100% sure I'm using the correct temperature and not too much tea. Other than that, it does brew up a decent cup for a cold winter day. Also makes good iced tea too.

Finally, my Harney and Sons Fall Catalog showed up. I won't lie. I did a happy dance in the post office. Some chick looked at me like I was nuts. Well...fat and nuts. But I get the first part a lot.