On a whim

[ShiroKuro]

Very pretty!

[AndyD]

Love the cup (saucer?). That wide shallow design seems rare in an age of large mugs.
It is haptically much nicer from which to drink, and tres elegant.

[AndyD]

Ah the teapot sits on the cup

[wtg]

@AndyD Yes. Teapot sits on top of the cup. Seems that design is called "tea for one". I also saw some versions that include a saucer to go under the cup.

Aussie crunch bars are....interesting. And they live up to their "crunchy" moniker. Some of the recipes I saw used self-rising flour, or added baking powder. Others had no leavening agent. I went the no-soda route and I'm wondering if that's why these came out so crunchy.

I also used a small amount of honey in lieu of golden syrup. Because I was fresh out of Lyle's Golden Syrup and didn't have time to go to the store.

Will stick them in the frig and see how they taste tomorrow.

[AndyD]

MrsA has a fun version which I'd forgotten

[Bernard]

@wtg Whims are good! Belleek is pretty, nice choice!

[Bernard]

I've never heard of Aussie Crunch Bars, but they sound good!!

Also called Australian Crunchie or Australian Crunch, this dessert bar recipe combines crunchy cornflakes, chewy coconut, rich butter, a whisper of cocoa powder, sweet golden syrup, and a couple other ingredients for its base. And it tops the whole thing with luscious melted milk chocolate after baking.

What's not to love?

[wtg]

@AndyD said in On a whim:

MrsA has a fun version which I'd forgotten

So cute! Would go with some of our artwork:

[Bernard]

Favorite teas?

Two that I'm especially fond of, both from Harney & Sons: London Victorian Fog and Tower of London.

https://www.harney.com/products/victorian-london-fog?variant=113614487558
https://www.harney.com/products/tower-of-london?variant=1517299728390

[wtg]

I drank Taylors of Harrogate Tea Room Blend for many years, but it seems to have disappeared from my usual sources. Taylor’s still show it on their website so I’m not sure what is going on.

My substitute daily tea has been Yorkshire Gold. I also use it when I make masala chai. It’s ok but I prefer the Tea Room Blend.

I miss Sailor’s Teas, a great little shop that was run by an ex-Navy guy. He had a fabulous selection of premium teas from all over the world at a fraction of the price you would pay at a snooty tea shop. Some of the best single estate Assams and Darjeelings ever.

[Daniel.]

Nice!

I'm going to get a French press and a tea set when I'm settled in my new place.

I'll finally be able to cook for myself, with nobody eating my food, or leaving a mess.

[wtg]

I also like some of the Kusmi blends. Russian named Kousmichoff founded the business in Paris in the 1800s. Catered to the Russian aristocracy. They’ve gone in a different direction in recent years and dropped a lot of their old blends. Russian Evening was particularly nice but it’s no longer available. Russian Morning isn’t bad. Also Bouquet de Fleurs No. 108.

https://www.kusmitea.com/us/our-teas-and-herbal-teas/tea-type/black-tea?cgid=noir&start=0&sz=24

[AdagioM]

That Belleek is so pretty. My friend Carole has a full sized Belleek teapot. We used to put on teas together, way back when.

[AndyD]

Anyone watch Sumo? One of the winner's many ceremonial trophies is this

[ShiroKuro]

@AndyD OMG! that is hysterical!

I'd never seen that, and it looks soooo much like an AI-doctored photo, so of course I had to google. Apparently it's a real thing, the article is a little ambiguous, so I don't know if they still are awarding it, but maybe, since it replaced a previous version (I don't follow sumo closely but I do try to keep track each basho, but I've never seen this!)

Anyway, here's the article I found:

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20190509/p2a/00m/0sp/019000c

[AndyD]

It's well down the order or trophies handed over but the most amusing.
That photo I took off the live tv NHK channel at about 9.45 yesterday.
There's another trophy in the shape of a huge Arabian coffee pot.

[AndyD]

@wtg said in On a whim:

I drank Taylors of Harrogate Tea Room Blend for many years, but it seems to have disappeared from my usual sources. Taylor’s still show it on their website so I’m not sure what is going on.

My substitute daily tea has been Yorkshire Gold. I also use it when I make masala chai. It’s ok but I prefer the Tea Room Blend.

I miss Sailor’s Teas, a great little shop that was run by an ex-Navy guy. He had a fabulous selection of premium teas from all over the world at a fraction of the price you would pay at a snooty tea shop. Some of the best single estate Assams and Darjeelings ever.

I could send you some. Taylor breakfast tea is very nice. Alternatively Twinings.

@Bernard
Shall keep a look out for Harney teas which I've never tried.

[ShiroKuro]

@AndyD said in On a whim:

There's another trophy in the shape of a huge Arabian coffee pot.

That’s awesome!!

[wtg]

@AndyD Thanks for the offer! I should probably try some of Taylors other teas from those available here. But if you have any local insight as to why the Tea Room Blend has vanished from the US, I'd love to know what happened.

You mentioned a breakfast blend, and I know they have English, Irish, and Scottish. At one point, Amazon sent me the Scottish Breakfast by mistake twice instead of the Tea Room Blend that I actually ordered. Someone at Amazon put the wrong bar code label on the bottom of the Scottish Breakfast bags; I ended up with two kilos of the stuff. Sadly it wasn't to my liking.

Have an opinion about the Taylors English and/or the Irish breakfast blends? It's been years since I bought any Twinings; I should probably try their English Breakfast again. I'm the malty Assam type. Milk and sugar...

[CHAS]

Enjoy your caffeinated beverages.
I can no longer enjoy them.
whining and wallowing in self pity.