ellestad.bsky.social

Dry tea leaves

Tea in a crackleware bowl

Is that tea you're drinking

Spent tea leaves

Pretty amber yellow brew, light roast Hojicha from the Kyoto based company that popularized this style of Japanese roasted green tea. The previous naturalitea hojicha was made from spring sencha, this hojicha made from the more typical bancha. A pleasant warming and mellow brew.

#TeaSky

Not sure how you come back from,"they're better off dead than growing up in Islam," which is what Hegseth and various Republicans have been saying to the media.

Oops, "2019 Alishan Jin Xuan Golden Lily".

Taiwanese Oolong Tea

Oolong tea in a crackleware bowl

Tea leaves in a ruyao gaiwan

Another Oolong sample from Mud and Leaves, this one a Taiwanese 2019 "Jin Xuan Golden Lily". A "Milk Oolong", it is very light, subtle oolong with no roast and medium (25%) Oxidation. Tasty, but I probably should have drunk it sooner...

#OolongTea #WulongCha #MudAndLeaves #TeaSky

It's like General Ripper is running the show.

Evangelicals love Donald Trump for many reasons, but one of them is especially terrifying End Times.

“If it brings the end of the world, it brings the end of the world. They’re ready. They can’t wait for the Rapture to happen."

If you want to understand how Trump's self-created crisis in Iran fits into his foreign policy, revisit our deep-dive into our End Times president.

I would put it, "...a TV role cast by Trump and responding to Stephen Miller's every whim and worst impulse".

Train a crackleware bowl

Final experiment in cross cultural blending: 5g White2Tea Tale Chaser (roasted ripe puerh) and 2g Yunomi Naturalitea Superior Hojicha. Weird, I like the blends that are unevenly divided between the teas more than evenly divided blend.

#RipePuerh #ShouCha #Hojicha #White2Tea @white2tea.bsky.social

LOL, thanks!

Tea blend in crackleware bowl

Same deal, but out of curiosity increased it to a 50-50 blend of White2Tea Tale Chaser (charcoal roasted ripe puerh) and Hojicha (Yunomi NaturaliTea Superior). The nice part is I like the longer steeps more than when just brewing the Hojicha.

#RipePuerh #ShouCha #Hojicha @white2tea.bsky.social

Leavitt says Trump's decision to strike Iran was based on his "feeling based on fact that Iran does pose an imminent and direct threat to the US"

What about Melania's "genius" visa? Cough, Elon, Cough... Apparently, once you're rich or famous or naked enough, rules don't apply.

I like Hojicha a lot, but as a puerh/oolong drinker, it gets a little "simple" after a couple weeks. I was trying to think of ways to increase complexity and not get away from the flavor profile.

Tea in a crackleware bowl

After a couple weeks of following the recommendations for brewing Hojicha, I decided to break the rules. This is a blend of 4g Hojicha (Japanese roasted green tea) and 2g of White2Tea Tale Chaser (Charcoal Roasted Ripe Puerh). Delicious.

#RipePuerh #ShouCha #Hojicha @white2tea.bsky.social

"A combat-unit commander told non-commissioned officers at a briefing Monday that the Iran war is part of God’s plan and that Pres. Donald Trump was “anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth,” according to a complaint"

U.S. Troops Were Told Iran War Is for “Armageddon,” Return of Jesus Advocacy group reports commanders giving similar messages at more than 30 installations in every branch of the military

jonathanlarsen.substack.com/p/us-troops-...

Your periodic reminder that elements of the Evangelical and Dominionist communities believe a World War centered in the Mid-East is a prerequisite to the end of the world and the return of their savior.

Boy, yeah, some of those pix from Mar-A-Lago are the clearest visual indications I've seen that he has had a stroke. Classic stroke face.

The bombings will continue until they have no choice but to love the US.

Oh, it's "Bored With Peace", not "Board of Peace," that makes a lot more sense...

Ripe puerh cake

Fog on Bernal hill

Ripe puerh in a crackleware bowl

I really enjoy Tale Chaser, a charcoal roasted ripe puerh from White2Tea, but my wife is not a fan. "Tastes like seaweed," she says, (she says that about all ripe puerh). I can detect no wet pile or off taste and don't exactly find seaweed unappealing. Different strokes...

@white2tea.bsky.social

Just Vid It!

Kinda disappointing the new Marathon game is platform and PC only, given the franchise's Mac roots.

What!? A new Bungie game in the Marathon universe!?

JUST IN: Judge Murphy has ruled that the Trump administration's policy of sending deported immigrants to third countries without notice or a chance to challenge is illegal and unconstitutional.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Starting to think SkyNet was right.

Bald eagles are mostly scavengers and/or prey on young defenceless chicks and other baby animals... Oh, wait, that tracks with this administration.

This is a great piece explaining the latest tariff developments.

But again, this is simply not true: "Without IEEPA, the President can no longer wake up in the morning & decide to raise tariffs on Indonesian goods before lunch."

Yes, he can, until Congress stops him, via impeachment & removal 1/

The cost of cocoa butter has risen so much, many brands are swapping it out for other fats. But if it doesn't have cocoa butter, the sweet can no longer be called "chocolate" in many countries, including the US and EU.

Black tea leaves

Black tea in a crackleware bowl

Black tea leaves in a ruyao gaiwan

Scarlet Floret from White2Tea is a Fujian black tea, and a pretty classic example of the style of black tea made in Fujian at that. High scent, like plum or cherry blossom, low astringency, little bitterness.

#BlackTea #HongCha #White2Tea @white2tea.bsky.social