Random Fun Links, Part Two

Here are a few more random, fun and vaguely tea-related links. Enjoy!

Hot Tea/"Hottie" T-Shirt (Fans of Arrested Development may remember Lucille making the same pun about, ahem, Buster's Dad. *Queue music*)

Broken English Tea Packaging... Winning.

Top Tea Cocktail on LA Weekly

Jeremiah Weed Sweet Tea (This stuff got me into trouble when I got a round of it -- and won a t-shirt and hat -- at my local music trivia night last week. It's dangerous! Here are some Vee Tea tea cocktails, in case you want to make your own dangerous tea-based beverages.)

This tea steeps in your mouth. I'm kind of horrified.

Of Montreal's Id Engager has a teapot (among many other things. Can you find it?

Join the Tea-V Set. Join the Vee Tea Set!

Pots de Creme with Matcha Stars Yum!

Have a link to add? Post it below or email it to me at VEE _at_ VEETEA _dot_ COM.

Vampire Weekend and Tea

So, at this point, everyone has gone completely nuts over Vampire Weekend, and there has been indie backlash (as there usually is in the cases of meteoric rises to fame in the "indie rock" world). Many have noted the obvious Paul Simon influence (I think they took a cue from Mark Mothersbaugh's solo work, and Wes Anderson's directorial influence can be seen in their video for Oxford Comma -- very appropriate given the similar cultural milieu that produced Anderson and his usual scorewriter, Mothersbaugh), but have any of you dear readers noticed their connections to tea?

These preppy Columbia-educated rockers seem to partake of the stuff rather regularly, but still seem to be lacking in their knowledge about it. In the video for "Mansard Roof," they relax and play music on a sailboat, taking time out of their navigation around Manhattan and New Jersey for tea in their Brooks Brothers casual wear.* They are clearly enjoying the salty air and the (most likely) tannic brew, but do they even know what they're drinking? (OK, OK, yes, tea... But beyond that!)

In the lyrics for "One (Blake's Got a New Face)" they actually say, "English breakfast tastes like Darjeeling." What?!?! No, it really doesn't! Sure, both are black teas, but beyond that there isn't much similarity. English Breakfast was traditionally a blend of Assam and sometimes strong Ceylon teas (later on), but now is generally a strong, astringent brew that most enjoy with milk and sugar. Darjeeling teas, on the other hand, are typically either delicate and floral (first flush) or complex, with muscat notes (second flush), and neither benefits at all from milk OR sugar (in my strong opinion). They are not similar at all. (This goes way beyond the Coke-Pepsi debate, I tell you. It's a whole other level of difference, more like Coke-Sprite.) Perhaps they're overbrewing the Darjeeling? Or overpowering both with milk and sugar? (Maybe they should take one of my tea classes!)

Of course, on the positive side, their fans are looking more into tea when they look into the lyrics. SongMeanings.net included comments like, "english breakfast and darjeeling are both teas! i just learned that today." I wonder if any of them will actually try the Vampire Weekend-endorsed teas, and perhaps even notice that they do NOT, in fact, taste all that similar. We can only hope... :)

*The Guardian has an amusing take on the video.

When I Take My Sugar to Tea

Do you know the song, "When I Take My Sugar to Tea?" It's quite interesting -- it presents tearooms as an escape from daily life and a place where anything can happen. There are a few tearooms around the U.S. that have fantastic environments (usually more like high-end lounges and bars than traditional tearooms or coffee shops), and I wonder if tearooms will ever return to their former status of "happening place" again. I certainly hope so!

Here's a video of When I Take My Sugar to Tea. Enjoy!

Tea Chest Bass

Did you know that there is a bluegrass tradition of making basses out of old tea chests? Yup. Here's a tea chest bass demo. Cool!

Bonus -- A tea chest bass cover of Daydream Believer.

UK Day

For some reason, I feel like talking about the UK today. Perhaps it's because I recently saw this funny little Cultural Guide to the UK that features tea (and is by the guy who did the Radiohead dot matrix printer remix). Or maybe the BBC tea documentary I saw in a fellow blogger's post the other day. Or the British dim sum menu (complete with hot tea, iced tea and tea cocktails) that my Londoner sister sent me last week. Or even the fact that I keep meaning to update my articles on afternoon tea and high tea with information from helpful British readers and from Ellen Easton's NYC Coffee & Tea Festival lecture and book "Afternoon Tea... Tips, Terms and Traditions." (Soon, soon...) Or the responses from people who read my recent Tea & Sympathy tearoom review, saying things like "I totally LOLed" (which I find to be a very humorous cultural juxtaposition in and of itself). At any rate, I suppose I've talked about it now. Readers, care to add anything? Interesting links? A story or two?

Eat Out Awards: Amai (Winner)

Although Amai's teahouse appeared in NYC only last year, you may have seen their products before. Before serving up tea and sweets near Union Square, they were a successful bakehouse, selling their charmingly packaged, all-natural tea sweets (complete with teas and tisanes as ingredients) and botanical brownies to upscale retailers such as SoHo's Dean & Deluca.

In addition to cookies and brownies, the teahouse offers tea cupcakes and other tea sweets, sandwiches, and a fairly large tea menu. The tea menu has a good mix of flavored/blended and unflavored/blended teas, and is very unique in that it lists the wholesaler for each tea. I had the chance to talk with Amai's owner, Kelli, around when their teahouse opened. She told me that she decided to take the "naming names" approach because she sees no reason to be secretive about it--she's proud of her suppliers' teas and would be glad to have you buy them from her or from them. While this may be taboo to many a tea retailer, for more casual/less obsessed tea-drinking clients it's a great way to branch out and try new teas based on more than just "I like black tea" and the like.

The tearoom is somewhat small, but its convenient location and relaxed feel make it great for popping in or for chilling out. My favorite bonus to visiting Amai--the indie rock vibe that comes across in both the music (early Modest Mouse, The Shins, etc.) and the use of an ultimate hipster furniture piece/card catalog to hold loose tea leaves. Cool.

Congrats, Amai! I wish you many years of success and happiness!

Amai Tea and Bake House
171 3rd Ave between 16th and 17th Streets
Monday-Saturday 8AM-10PM
Sunday 10AM-5PM
212.863.9630

More SXSW

So, I am finally ready to post more on SXSW. Unfortunately, Blogger is being weird and not letting me post all my photos. Once I'm on my own computer again, I'll try to remedy that.

I've been having way too much fun here! Between the great shows, fantastic (and, for a New Yorker, cheap!) food, and the gorgeous scenery, I've been having a blast.

Great Music

Slim Cessnic's Auto Club--The name sounds silly, but the band put on one of the best shows I've seen here! They played off of the Southern revival tradition and said things like, "This song is for good country folk like you and me" before launching into songs that can only be described as pure rockabilly fun.

Akron/Family--I saw a full set of theirs with some friends who missed them before. It was fantastic. They wore headdresses, got the crowd going, jumped into the audience, lead everyone on a march outside at the end of the show... Looking forward to seeing them in NYC (they're from Brooklyn) soon.

The 8-Bit Peoples Show--Gameboys and Segas and printers as instruments. Totally danceable. There were some sound difficulties with Anamanagichi (whose album I recently bought and love), but some of the earlier bands made it all worth it. Very cool.













Fantastic Food (and Tea!)



Vegan macrobiotic goodness at Casa de Luse (yoga center, spa, restaurant, etc.)



Genmaicha and an iced tisane blend at Casa de Luse






Foods from the local co-op (Wheatville):
Vegetarian Frito Chili Pie (a veg version of a Southern favorite that I have yet to see grace any NYC menu)
Sauteed greens (also Southern and delicious)
Tempeh taco (with all the local fixin's!)
Cashew-butter cookie





The local hangover cure











The original Whole Foods


One of the two local beers. The other one is Lone Star. Despite Lone Star's extremely cheap pricing and instant hipster points, I prefer Shiner. (Side note: Craft breweries are popping up all over the US. When I travel, I find that drinking local can be a fun way to try new things and stay more sustainable.)

I wish the other photos would load, but here's a taste:
More tea!
My friend Lauren's famous "Egg Goo" (the perfect post-bar snack)

Gorgeous Scenery


Barton Springs--This is an all-natural limestone spring the size of a football field. I went swimming when it was 91 deg F outside. The water is 68 deg F year-round. I can see why the locals love it so much!



Zilker Botanical Gardens bridge


Unlike NYC, Austin has way more birds than just pigeons. Here are some black ducks and grackles (mean but beautiful black and indigo birds)... and some pigeons.



Small skyline, but what a view of it!





Soon, you'll also see:
Tanaguchi (Japanese Tea) Garden
View from The Pedestrian Bridge
Flowering plants (NYC is still mostly barren)
Austin's rad landscaping

PS--Thanks to Steph for all the well-wishing!

SXSW Day 3

More on SXSW... In the last 24 or so hours, I:

Drank tea on a front porch









Drank some green powder beverage that had green tea extract and tasted disgusting (I much prefer the green energy bar that's also in the photo)












Saw a local bed & breakfast's tea offerings












Saw "Austin Tee Party" while waiting in line for an Akron/Family day show









Heard Akron/Family (Great show! Hippie meets hipster. Lone Star beers and a suggestion from the band to stay hydrated.)









People-watched on 6th (this street is SO much more crowded at night)









Drank tapioca pearl (boba) tea (The cup is atop an Onion stand, which you can find at practically every street corner here.)













Bought some cute stockings (If you like cool stockings, check out Sock Dreams. They're AMAZING!)












"Shoe-gazed"









Drank tea and Stella (and ate tasty vegan food and green tea ice cream) at a cute Japanese restaurant (Koriente, right next to Beauty Bar)
















Danced to dirty robot rock for hours at Beauty Bar (the uber-hipster joint in town)









Ate some Israeli-inspired food made by my ex-roommate Yinon and his friend Kelsey (who will start working for NPR soon... cool)












Despite the fact that it is not photo-documented, I will also claim to have:

Seen Dark Meat (hippie jam band merges with high school band and covers ska, punk, and metal favorites)
Seen The Raveonettes (good show, annoying audience... I'll just listen to their recordings next time)
Walked around a lot (even for a New Yorker)
Spent about an hour trying to hail a cab (and explaining to all the non-New-Yorkers that if the "Vacant" light is off, yelling and waving will NOT make the cab magically become vacant)
Slept in abundance

Today I'll relax and drink tea (Makaibari Second Flush at the moment) before catching some shows tonight. It's stultifyingly hot (peak of 91 deg F), so I think it will be wise to take it easy. More news tomorrow!

SXSW Day 2

A few quick updates. Photos and links soon.

In response to a reader question: The tearoom I went to yesterday was Jade Leaves on Guadalupe (or "The Drag," as the locals call it). I'll be writing a full review soon.

Last night I had dinner and talked about web design and NPR with my hosts and their friend. We headed into town and I broke the first rule of SXSW (hang out with people you like to talk with) and opted to break off on my own. I had all the info I wanted stored in maps and emails on my iPhone and in about 1,000 rated songs on my iPod (can you tell I'm a Mac fan?), so everything was great... Except that I left my iPhone at my friends' house and the only show I thought I knew all the details for (MGMT) turned out to be tonight, not last night. Unphazed, I headed to 6th Street to take in the New Orleans-esque debauchery and a bit of Kimya Dawson (the long-time low-fi queen who became über-famous after Juno) and Capsula (a rock trio from Argentina that put on a great raw and raucous performance). Soon enough, I found out the hard way that I am allergic to Austin's abundant cedar trees and, with some breathing difficulty, hopped a cab "home."

At the moment, I'm on a bus downtown to hear Akron/Family. Hoping to catch MGMT and some boba tea after that. Lots of great shows coming up tonight--tomorrow I'll tell you what I heard.

SXSW Day One

Arrived safely in Austin. Got the party rolling last night with my Austin friends and their friends. Today, I:

Figured out the local transit system (which is better than you might guess)
Interviewed Sweet Leaf Tea (based in Austin) about their RTD sweet tea
Saw an art exhibit on growing edibles in your yard (and on sustainability in general... Actually there was an overlap between this exhibit and one I saw in London at The Tate Modern last summer.)
Went out for amazing tea and food with my friend Austin (Yes, his name is Austin and he lives in Austin. He's also a grad student at UT Austin.)
Visited the local food co-op, where they carry tea-kettle egg timers
Bought a gun
Went show shopping
Swang on a genuine front-porch swing
Drank some "tea" soda that turned out to only have tea extract (lame)

Tonight I'm going to some shows. Tomorrow I'll tell you who I heard and how they were (IMHO--I'm a tea expert, not a music expert!), as well as any more tea news I might have.

Off to SXSW...

I'm about to head off to the airport for SXSW! Here are my travel teas for the trip. I'll be updating on music and tea all week. A few things to come:

Visit to Sweet Leaf
Boba Tea
Tearooms
Indie Rock Goodness
Electronica Fantastica

Woman Jailed for Worshipping Teapot

A woman in Malaysia was recently jailed for worshiping a teapot.

"For the eccentric sect, which emphasised ecumenical dialogue between religions, the tea pot symbolized the purity of water and 'love pouring from heaven.' But in Malaysia, despite constitutional guarantees of freedom of worship, born Muslims such as Mrs Ali are forbidden from converting to other religions."

In other random news, I leave for Austin, TX tomorrow for the annual insanity that is South by Southwest. When I'm not listening to the incredible array of music, I'll be interviewing local tea people and checking out some tearooms. My posts this week will cover the music and the tea, so all you indie rocker tea fans should check back often!

Scissor Sisters

I don't usually post about music or celebrities, but this is pretty cool. Honest Tea recently posted about the Scissor Sisters drinking their tea in an NYC visit. Fun!

Tea Songs

I heard Led Zeppelin's "Tea for One" over the weekend and was inspired to compile a (completely not comprehensive) list of songs with lyrics about or titles including the word tea. Here's what I have so far. (A lot of British groups on here...) Comments with additions to the list are welcome!

"All Nighter" by Elastica ("Got to get some fags and make some tea")
"All Too Much" by the Beatles ("Show me that I'm everywhere/ And get me home for tea")
"Bitter Tea" by The Fiery Furnaces ("Aren't you curious?/ A little curious/ About what the osmanthus blossoms taste like?")
"Englishman in New York" by Sting ("I don't drink coffee/ I take tea, my dear")
"Getting to Know You" by Rodgers & Hammerstein (from "The King & I;" "You are Precisely/ My Cup of Tea")
"I'm a Little Teapot" by Harold Ketchum
"Let It Bleed" by the Rolling Stones ("I was dreaming of a steel guitar engagement/ When you drunk my health in scented jasmine tea")
"Live with Me" by the Rolling Stones ("I got nasty habits/ I take tea at three")
"Pennyroyal Tea" by Nirvana (technically a tisane, but we'll forgive Kurt)
"Polly Put the Kettle On" (children's rhyme)
"(That's Why They Call Her) Sugar" by ... someone whose name I'm forgetting and can't find online... an early 20th century singer... If you know the name, please post it here! (There's a line about Oolong.)
"Suzanne" by Leonard Cohen and covered by Nina Simone, Peter Gabriel, and others
"Tea for One" by Led Zeppelin
"Tea for the Tillerman" by Cat Stevens
"Tea for Two" by Vincent Youmans (for the musical "No No Nanette"), covered by Ella Fitzgerald, Fatz Waller, and others
"Tea in the Sahara" by The Police
"They Can't Take That Away from Me" by George & Ira Gershwin and covered by many("The way you sip your tea... No, they can't take that away from me")
"Waking Up" by Elastica ("Make a cup of tea/ And put a record on")
"When I Take My Sugar to Tea" by Frank Sinatra and others