Divine Tastes - Food with a Twist

Victoria's Secret

2011-11-02T19:16:00.004+02:00

These are acctually her Special Events - Royal Pants

Everybody thinks they now know Victoria's Secret.
A mystery bidder paid £9,735 for the large silk bloomers at an auction in Edinburgh.

The underpants were on sale with other Royal belongings, including a pair of the Queen's silk stockings, which sold for more than £5,000.

This is not the first time perverts buy used underpants!

However important this item might be for its historical and cultural benefits, it pales in comparison to the real Victoria's Secret.
That secret every house-wive will kill for - What to serve on the perfect Tea Party.

The following article is a reprint of 'Tea with the Queen: A Victorian Menu,' featured on Eras of Elegance.

Eras of Elegance is highly recommended place to get all the other things you will need in-order to get into the right Victorian mode.

Tea with Queen Victoria (1837-1901)

Bloomers or Bed Sheets - You decide!

Henry James wrote, "There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as an afternoon tea." Afternoon tea was invented by Anna Duchess of Bedford (1783-1857), one of Queen Victoria's ladies-in-waiting. During this time, the noble classes ate large breakfasts, small lunches and late suppers. Every afternoon, Anna experienced what she referred to as a "sinking feeling," so she requested that her servants bring her tea and petite-sized cakes to her boudoir. Many followed the Duchess' lead, and thus the ritual of afternoon tea was birthed. In fact, a culture of sorts emerged around the tradition of drinking tea. Fine hotels began to offer tea rooms, while tea shops opened for the general public. Tea dances also became popular social events at which Victorian ladies met potential husbands. Our special "Tea with Queen Victoria" menu includes the following recipes:

TEA SANDWICHES

Tea sandwiches are traditionally light, delicate sandwiches sliced small enough to be picked up with the fingers or a pair of sandwich tongs. Teas sandwiches can be cut into triangles or, using cookie cutters, shapes for special occasions. White or wheat bread, with the crusts cut off, can be used for these sandwiches. The following recipes are modern interpretations of Victorian tea fare.

CUCUMBER SANDWICHES

After cutting off the crusts of the bread and cutting the bread into triangles or shapes, butter both sides of the bread.
Cut seedless cucumber (sold in gourmet supermarkets, always wrapped in cellophane) into very thin slices, and place between bread slices.
Garnish if desired.

TUNA SANDWICHES

Mix one can of tuna (drained) with tuna seasoning and enough mayonaise to make a thick spread.
Spread on prepared slices of bread. You may add thin slices of cucumber if desired along with garnish.

SALMON SANDWICHES

Spread cream cheese on prepared slices of bread.
Place thin slices of smoked salmon (Nova is particularly good) between slices of bread.

EGG SANDWICHES

Mix sectioned boiled egg and mayonnaise (or use store bought egg salad) and season as desired.
Spread on slices of prepared bread.
Add thin slices of cucumber if desired, along with garnish.

WATERCRESS SANDWICHES

Spread cream cheese on prepared slices of bread.
Rinse and dry watercress and lay between slices of bread.
Garnish if desired.

SCONES WITH LEMON CURD AND CLOTTED CREAM

Scones are traditionally served with afternoon tea and accompanied by lemon curd and clotted cream. You can add a variety of treats into the batter, such as raisins, fresh apple bits, orange peel, cranberries, and chocolate chips. Lemon Curd is a traditional spread for scones, and is usually served with Devonshire (or clotted) cream. The lemon curd is rich and smooth, and can be kept refrigerated for up to two weeks. You can buy "English Double Devon-cream" at any fine grocery store or use the simple recipe (below) for clotted cream, which is perfect for spreading on scones.
English Cream Scones (Yield: 12 scones)

2 cups Five Roses All-purpose flour (double-sifted)
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup of sugar
5 tablespoons of cold unsalted butter
2 large eggs beaten lightly
1/4 cup of half-and-half
1/2 cup of chopped mixed nuts and 1/4 cup of raisins

In a bowl, sift the flour, baking poweder, and sugar. Add butter and blend until mixture resembles coarse meal. In another bowl, beat together the half-and-half and eggs. Stir the egg mixture into the flour mixture until just combined. Add the nuts and raisins and stir until dough is formed.
On a lightly floured surface, pat the dough into a round 1/3 inch tinkc, then, with a 2 1/2 inch cutter, stamp out rounds. (Optional) Brush scones with egg-whites and sprinkle with granulated sugar.
Transfer rounds to a buttered baking sheet, arranging them 2 inches apart, and let stand for 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit. Bake the scones for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly golden.

Lemon Curd

1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup butter

Wisk 1 cup sugar and 2 large eggs in a bowl until blended.
Sift in 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice.
Pour into a saucepan and cook over low-medium heat stirring constantly for 20 minutes. Do not let the mixture come to a boil (lest it curdle or burn), but allow it to gradually thicken.
When the mixture thickly coats the back of a metal spoon, remove pan from heat and stire in 1/4 cup butter until melted.
Pour the mixture into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the mixture for at least 4 hours. The lemon curd will thicken as it cools.

1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons Confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup sour cream

Mix 1 cup heavy cream and 2 tablespoons Confectioner's sugar using an electric mixer. Whip until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold in sour cream and mix until thick.
Place in refrigerator and chill until time to serve. If made ahead of time, it will keep in the refrigerator up to 4 hours.

Many special dishes were created in Queen Victoria's honor during her 64-year reign. Among them was a dessert called Cherries Jubilee, which was invented for Victoria's Diamond Jubilee celebration in 1897. This Jubilee Cake, which uses Cherries Jubilee as a filling, is a truly fancy dessert in grand Victorian style.

5 eggs, separated
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Cream cheese filling: 8 oz. cream cheese softened

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons cherry jelly
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Cherry filling:

1 quart pitted black cherries
1/2 cup claret 1 cup or less sugar (to taste)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

To make cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Beat the egg whites until they stand up in soft peaks.
Beat in the 1/4 cup of sugar a tablespoon at a time.
Without washing the beater, beat the egg yolks with the lemon juice until thick and lemon-colored.
Gradually beat in the 3/4 cup of sugar.
Pour the yolk mixture over beaten egg whites and fold together gently with a spoon or spatula until well blended.
Sift the flour and salt together and fold into the egg mixture.
Spoon the batter into two unbuttered 9-inch layer pans.
Cut through the batter gently several times to break any large air bubbles.
Bake about 30 minutes. Test by pressing lightly with a finger. If the cake springs back, it is done.
Invert on a wire rack and cool.

To make cream cheese filling:

Cream the sugar and cream cheese together.
Add remaining ingredients and beat until thick.

To make cherry filling:

Dissolve the sugar in the claret and pour over the cherries. Let stand for several hours.
In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of the cherry juice.
Heat the cherries in a sauce pan to the boiling point.
Lower heat and stir in cornstarch mixture. Simmer, stirring constantly until thickened.
Remove from heat, add spices and lemon juice and allow to cool.

To assemble cake:

Place one layer of sponge cake on a cake platter and spread a layer of cream filling about 3 inches wide around the perimeter of the top of the cake.
Cut out the center (in a heart shape if you are using heart-shaped pans) of the other layer, leaving a 3-inch border.
Put aside the center piece you cut out. Place the layer with the cut-out center on top of the other and press down to make the layers stick together.
Decorate by placing a paper doily on top of the cake and sifting confectioners' sugar over the doily.
Carefully remove the doily and fill the center of the cake with the cherry filling.

VICTORIAN KISSES

9 eggs
White sugar
Lemon

Beat the whites of nine fresh eggs to a stiff froth.
Mix egg white mixture with fifteen spoonfuls of fine white sugar and five or six drops of essence of lemon.
Drop mixture on paper with a teaspoon, sift sugar over them, and bake them in a slow oven.

A Storm in a Tea Cup

2010-11-17T14:12:00.000+02:00

During a recent stroll around the web looking for yet more cool things to show to my dedicated blog readers ("Hi mom & dad") I came across a designer who took the term "a storm in a cup" quite literally.

If J-Lo wants tea, you stir it counter-clockwise only - OK?

Relogik - by the world renown designer & innovator Damjan Stankovic' showacase some of his ideas - all of which are fantastic.

Strewberry tea

"The Chigra - Blowing into the cup is part of everybody's tea ritual, so much so that it is almost instinctive behavior. What if we could, having that in mind, make the ritual more … more enjoyable and colorful? What if our children could start a healthy tea drinking habit while having fun at the same time?

The chigra infuser is made out of a light, plastic propeller lid and stainless metal body promising years of use. The lid is filled with air which allows it to float while the body is submerged. The propeller lid makes the infuser rotate when you blow into the tea. The container holes are created at an angle which allows for faster blending."

Tea -v- Coffee "After Parties"

2010-11-03T12:10:00.002+02:00

After Party

Obama:"Just not Tea!" (Source: Haaretz)

Its early morning - after party - election time. It seems more than half the United States population voted for Tea.
I ask what is wrong with Coffee?

Three Excellent Reasons for a Coffee Party

1) Mypressi

Source: mypressi.com

2) Solar Coffee Maker

In the scenario that your party goes into the morning.... .

"You can replace your chess knight with me"

"Coffeesynthesis???"

Find out more: Sang hoon Lee

3) When morning sun just won't make it.

"Do they have a wrist watch edition?"

"Mmmm ...Miso Soup"

News flash: Edible Beauty

2010-07-06T18:56:00.006+03:00

During my intensive "research" on "Divine Tastes" - the only place which combines spirit with body on the web, I came across a very interesting food/beauty product.

The hard science behind this products goes something like "You are what you eat". I guess you cant argue with it much.

The only problem is, will you eat it?

EIWA COLLAGEN MARSHMALLOWS 4000MG X5 PACKS

"EIWA GRAPEFRUIT COLLAGEN MARSHMALLOWS X5 PACKETS FOR ONLY $20 JAPANS BIGGEST SELLING BEAUTY PRODUCT, NO NEED FOR INJECTIONS JUST SNACK ON THESE TASTY CHERRY FILLED MARSHMALLOWS WITH 3500MG OF COLLAGEN PER ONE PACKET."

This reminds me... . Not so long ago I was talking to a lady who had her lips done. From what I understand they took some tissues from near her cheek butt. If my understanding is correct, than she was literally speaking out of her ass.

"3500 Calories per Marshmallow"

Ever wanted to become a hand model?

2009-08-06T13:36:00.010+03:00

After the great success we had helping thousands of our readers to become "hair models" (Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow - recommended reading - thank you for all the "thank you" letters!) - call me a philanthropist :-)

It is now time to help all those looking for a career in the competitive market of "hand modeling".

This highly complex but natural and extremely effective hand peeling method is sure to reinvigorate your skin and to give you a very refreshing feeling.

Natural Hands Peeling

Step (1): Rub your hands with olive oil for about 30 seconds.

Step (2): Add a spoon of sugar to rub your hands with.

Step (3): Wash your hands with your favorite dish washing liquid and dry.

Obvious Recommendation: Have the sugar ready prior to rubbing your hands with the olive oil.

Natural Nail strengthener

Rub some lightly heated extra virgin olive oil on the nails and around. This will strengthen the nails soften the skin around.

Do you have any great natural cosmetics tips? Let us know.

The Morning After Tea (Q&A)

2008-12-03T15:24:00.003+02:00

Dear Doctors,

The credit crunch is forcing us to entertain ourselves …. at home.

I would also like to add that we are regular readers of your blog. The other night my husband had an epiphany: “Hey Suzie, I just had an epiphany, lets ask Divine Tastes what they recommend for our home entertainment?”

My question to you is: What do you recommend?

Yours truly,

Susie & John Blob - British couple from - Britain.

--------------------------------------------------------

Dear Susie & John

Applause for “Britain”.

To Him: I assume by home entertainment you meant 70 inch flat TV, full HD Dolby Surround system, xbox 360… beer with the friends.

However, she probably hoped you meant for something a little bit more romantic – with her. Now, though a tea tasting evening with your wife (on a frequent basis) might be exciting …. if you live in Alaska, drinking tea before your “entertainment” might help boost your game play.

Examples of arousing herbs are ginseng, roseroot, cinnamon, cayenne, cardamom, ginger, damiana, horny goat weed, catuaba, maca, muira pauma and cuscuta.
The herbs can arouse you both by their taste, their scent and by a physiological stimulation on the nerves and blood circulation.

It is equally important to remember the Four Fingers rule…Eat, Exercise, Relax, and Sleep for a better sex life.
Better sex doesn't just involve technique. Keeping a fit mind and body can increase your enjoyment of bedroom antics. A cup of tea can help with both body and mind!

Don't forget to use some tea light candles for a more romantic atmosphere….

-------------------------------------------------
The recipe for the world famous Arousal Tea*:

Use unsalted, raw peanuts which still have their skins. Look for stringy, old, but not dried root ginger rather than plump, young, juicy ginger.

20 raw peanuts
5-6 slices of root ginger
Tea of your choice
850ml (1.5 pints) of water

Wash the ginger and cut five or six slices across the root, each about 3mm (1/8 in) thick. Roughly chop these slices. Take 20 raw peanuts with their skins and use a pestle and mortar or food processor to grind them. Alternatively, you can chop them up roughly with a knife.
Put the ground nuts and chopped ginger into a teapot and add tea leaves to taste. Bring the water to a fast boil and pour into the pot. Leave to stand for 2-3 minutes before drinking.

Caution: Individual results may vary.
------------------------------------------------------

To Her: Call me… ;-)

*Adopted from the book “The way of tea” by Lam Kam Cheuen – pp 123 “Peanut and ginger tea”

Joining nudist colony! Must sell washer and dryer $300.

2008-11-23T15:45:00.004+02:00

The Olive Oil Gazette has produced yet another excellent article about the olive oil market. This time it is about the effect of the recession on the olive oil’s quality.
Quality? At 2.20 A Kilo?

I wonder what the situation would be / is like for small manufacturers of high quality tea. Will they survive? What will tea taste like when all is said and done? Will the art of tea be lost by tea experts finding new jobs? (The good news it survived the great Chinese famine)

In other news
Taliban suicide bombers kill …..
Anti-Semitism in Europe is at all time high ….
Iran has enough plutonium for growing mushrooms....
Joe the plumber beats Obama as the NYT best selling autobiography book...
Harry Potter is dead...

The Weather
“Your weather” is sponsored by the “Yellow Label” tea, voted the best tea for 2009-2010

Today will be cold, tomorrow colder.

"Yes we can!!"
www.the7species.com

An Olivewood Story

2008-09-12T12:46:00.012+03:00

Italy Winter 1984/5

Reuters & DTs - Breaking News - Prolonged freezes across the northen Hempospheire.
Italy is not spared! Today the temperature in Tuscany reached -25C (10F).

Many olive trees have suffered a deadly blow. For some it would take years of hard work to revive.
------------------------------------------
Freeze is one of the worst things that could happen to an olive tree. Trees are killed by it, others explode, at the very least their bark is split. The splitting of the tree leaves it vulnerable to insects and various diseases – much like a human being.

"Tuscan heat"

A closer look will show the huge split in the middle of the tree. (press picture to enlarge)

A tree that "survived" the Tuscan winter freeze of 1984/5 - pictured in 2007 on a lovey trip to the region. (press picture to enlarge)

Many trees were cut down due to the time and energy it would take for them to have a profitable yield.* At some places, due to the increasing popularity at the time (and today) of Italian wine, vine grapes were replanted where centuries old olive tree stood before.

However like all Olivewood stroies there is an happy ending - of some sort.
Rather than burn or shred the wood, as many growers did, an enterprising group of artisans preserved it.

The result of this can be seen in almost any shop through out the Tuscany. The character rich wood is now a days in almost every Tuscan kitchen, decorating all sorts of homes and shops.

*The quality of the olives has not been adversely affected.

"One Lattea, one Latte and a decaf please"

2008-08-12T14:52:00.007+03:00

Things I heard/saw recently;

One Lattea

In the begining there was no Lattea - in England.

Towards the late 17th century when tea became insanly expensive and favoured by anyone to have ever set his or her lips on it (and probably even more so by those who have only heared of it from a friend of a friend of a friend) milk was introduced - for better and most definetly for worst.

It was done mainly to dillute the bitter taste (my suspicion is that there were evil reasons for it being so bitter). Very soon, milk became what Mercedes, Private jets and loli pops are today, mainly a symbol of statue.

Put simply: if you had a lot of milk you were poor - (Apart from tea being expensive, I guess the quality of tea one bought was so bad one had to add the cheaper condiment - milk).
whearas the wealthy took their tea undiluted, the middle class poured the expensive tea and diluted it with a bit of milk.
The lower class filled the cup with cheap milk and then added a splash of their precious tea.

So how do you have your Lattea - do you first add the milk or tea?

One Latte

Have a look at this amazing video on Latte Art.

and a Decaf

Did you know that approximattely 80% the tea's caffeine content is released wihin the first thirty seconds of steeping?

Indeed this means that you can Decaf your own tea to enjoy at a minimum cost to flavour. *

* Please see your tea doctor for more details.

The crying olive

2008-03-30T08:46:00.006+03:00

"The crying olive" is a children tale I keep hearing/reading on my research into the olive.

It is interesting to note that all the three main monotheistic religions adpot a similar story to fit their history and culture. However one thing is contant, the unique way for the olive (King of trees - that's already another tale) to cry and the importance the olive plays in all three monotheistic religions.

The following is an original version from a children stories book titled: The Seven Species, Stories and Recipes Inspired by the Foods of the Bible, by: Matt Biers-Ariel.

---------------------------------------------

For hundreds of years, olive faithfully served Israel until the tragic day when the Romans conquered Israel and destroyed the Second Temple.
The Ner Tamid (the Eternal light) was extinguished and Olive was no longer needed.

The Jewish people mourned their tragedy by replacing their fine clothing with scratchy sackcloth. They sat in ashes, fasted, and cried out to god. Perhaps God would change the decree and speedily bring the Messiah to set things right.

The plants of Israel also mourned the destruction by dropping their leaves. The land was no longer green and fertile, flowing with milk and honey. It was brown and lifeless. In all the Land of Israel there was only one tree whose leaves remained on its branches: Olive.

Word quickly spread that proud Olive was too vain, too uncaring to mourn the disaster thet had befallen the Jewish nation.
Olive said, “it is not that I do not mourn. Who but God can look inside and measure a being’s suffering?”

The plants were unmoved. “All of Israel sits in sackcloth and ashes. We have all shed our leave, while you stand tall and proud, as if nothing happened, as if the Temple still stood, as if our kings still reigned.”

Olive replied, “Some mourn on the outside and it is easy to see their tears. Others cry inside. Look closely and you can see that my tears are shed from within.

Yes, my leaves and my fruit remain. They remain for one purpose. They remain in the hope that the Messiah will come speedily in our day. When the Messiah comes, my oil will be ready to anoint him or her. Perhaps the Messiah will desire a garland leaves to signal to the world that peace has arrived.”

The plants had to agree that Olive spoke the truth.
Eventually, the leaves returned to the plants of Israel. The only tree still shedding tears for the destruction that took place two thousands years ago is Olive.

To this day, olive trees do not hold themselves tall and proud. As they age, their tears hollow out their insides, making them gnarled and bent over.

Thus they will remain until the Messia arrives and Olive will once again be called upon to serve Israel.

A seal of quality – part 2

2008-03-05T09:34:00.004+02:00

In part one of the “A seal of quality” the Divine Tastes blog praised the fact that – there is such a thing as a seal of quality issued by the Israeli olive board.

However, how reliable is this seal of quality? A “close source” told the Divine tastes blog about the process in getting the seal of quality. In practice, the process is very simple, and here in lies the problem – it is too simple.

In order to get the seal of quality an olive oil producer needs to send some samples to the board for chemical and organoleptic analysis. Do these tests really take place?Let’s assume they follow all the tests to the dot.

There is still a problem.
In practice so the "source" says there is very little done to ensure that standards are maintained by all companies, everywhere and at all times.
To elaborate a little, once the XYZ olive oil company submitted a genuine extra virgin olive oil to test, it gets the seal of quality.
However, what the manufacturer then really sells to the retailer or what the retailer sells to the consumer is a different story.

There are no, as far as the “source” tell the Divine Tastes Blog, any frequent random shelves checkups. Is it because of lack of manpower & funds? Politics?
Or is it due to the possibility that at the time of bottling the olive oil was of extra virgin quality, but due to oxygen, light and heat it at a later stage, not necessarily caused by the manufacturer but the retailer, it deteriorated?
Or is it something more sinister like the influence of the larger companies who have more to lose? ("Oy Gevalt" - in Yiddish)

Though the “source” tends to think it’s a mix of everything and more, and realizes the complex issues of the timing of the tests after the initial testing, and on who lies the responsibilities of ensuring that the quality is not deteriorated too fast due to bad conditions. The “source” also said that it can not praise enough the continuing hard work and efforts put by the Israeli olive board in making Israeli olive oil – the best.

The Divine Tastes Blog recommends: wherever possible always look for a seal of quality, even better - taste it.

Lovely Rita's Tea Pot Collection

2008-02-17T12:18:00.006+02:00

Rita Balannik from Beit Shaan in Israel has over 500 tea pots.
It all started some 14 years ago when her son arrived from a trip to England.
Rita was so delighted from her gift that she kept telling about it to anyone who would only listen (from personal experience I suspect she probably told even those who are not interested).

Ever since then, friends and family know what to bring Rita... .

When asked which tea pot was her favorite she replied: "What sort of a question is that? I love them all! Each one is more special then the other hence there is no one that you can say is the most special." - I say "join the philosophy club!"

Press HERE!!! to see a video of lovely Rita's tea pot collection.

However, there is one thing that makes lovely Rita quite sad though, namely the fact that she would like to trade some of her duplicate tea pots and does not know anyone who collects tea pots.

Are you interested in trading some of your tea pots with lovely Rita?

Make her day!
Send her an e-Mail to: balannik@gmail.com

Olives in Religions - Judaism - Olive as a measurment

2008-02-10T09:17:00.000+02:00

Over the weekend I came across the following article in the Jerusalem Post.

“Olive Bulks” – by Levi Cooper (Feb. 7, 2008; Jerusalem Post)

Though one could hardly say that the following article scratches the deep and extremely complicated philosophical discussions in the Talmud (the Jewish oral law) about when the normative terms of “eating” is actually deemed eating, it is none the less – so I believe - an interesting article for any olive lover.

“When is a nibble or a taste considered eating? We may recall being warned not to snack so that we keep our appetite for dinner, but in halachic terms this is hardly a standardized yardstick for eating. When - in normative terms - is eating deemed eating?

The practical implication of this question lies in the requirement to recite the Grace After Meals: How much must one eat to be obligated to recite Grace? Our sages dispute this minimum amount - should it be the volume of an average olive or double that amount, namely the volume of an average egg with its shell (B. Brachot 49b).

An extension of this dispute is reflected in the Mishna that discusses the zimun - the invitation to recite Grace After Meals as a quorum (M. Brachot 7:2). There are two opinions as to when a person has sufficiently partaken of the meal, such that he can be included in the zimun.

Normative law rules that the standard volume is an olive bulk (Shulhan Aruch OH 184:6).
The question of a benchmark is not only a culinary issue; other laws also use the olive bulk gauge. Thus contracting ritual impurity from a dead body can only occur with this minimum standard amount of human flesh (M. Oholot 2:1).

While an olive bulk is the most common measure, it is not the only volume standard in Jewish law. Thus for instance transgressing the grievous sin of eating on Yom Kippur is defined by a different measure - the average volume of date that has begun to dry out, a volume that is larger than an olive but smaller than an egg. While eating less than that amount is not permitted, punishment can only be incurred once the prescribed volume has been ingested (B. Yoma 73b-74a).

The reason that punishable eating on Yom Kippur is defined by the larger measure - the date not the olive - is because the biblical verse does not specify a prohibition against eating. The Bible requires that a person feels afflicted (see Leviticus 23:29), and this is understood to mean that people should be hungry such that they have difficulty concentrating. According to tradition, average people remain in this state until they have eaten the volume of date (B. Yoma 80a-b).

Nevertheless, the olive bulk is the most widely used standard and defines almost all matters of eating (B. Brachot 41a-b). For instance, on Pessah we eat at least an olive bulk of matza and of maror to fulfill the obligations of the Seder night.

One hassidic master, Rabbi Avraham Yehoshua Heshel of Apta (1745-1825), commented on the olive bulk measure. The Ohev Yisrael (lover of Israel) - as he is called on his epitaph and as the compilation of his talks is entitled - was a large person, and later hassidic masters used to say that he was able to serve the Almighty by eating, just as others did by fasting. No stranger to eating, the Ohev Yisrael sought the deeper significance of the olive as the minimum eating standard.

The Ohev Yisrael highlighted two mystical properties of the olive mentioned in the Talmud: On one hand, eating a plethora of olives can precipitate forgetfulness. On the other hand, liberally using olive oil is an elixir for memory. According to one of the talmudic sages, just as olives can make a person forget 70 years of learning, so too olive oil can restore 70 years of study (B. Horayot 13b; see also B. Menahot 85b).

The mystical polarity of the olive is reflected in the nature of the fruit: As long as the olive remains in its original form, it has a bitter taste. It is at this acrid stage that it causes forgetfulness. The precious oil that can be extracted from the olive, however, is among the most prized of liquids and serves as a memory potion.

After analyzing the properties of the olive, the Ohev Yisrael continued to explain why the olive is the fruit that defines eating: If a person eating food solely considers the exterior nature of the food, then such a meal is a bitter, astringent spiritual experience, for the food answers only a base need and has no spiritual import.

When a person mentally looks past the raw food, considering the concealed potential of the substance being ingested - namely the power of this physical object to animate us - then the eating activity suddenly takes on a new spiritual dimension. Our eating, therefore, must be akin to olives - seeking the value of the food that is obscured to the naked, insensitive eye, by looking beyond the initial taste which is in truth bitter and may cause us harm.

…………”.

A Seal of Quality? (1)

2007-12-14T12:51:00.000+02:00

Extra Virgin Olive Oil - Quality Sticker

The Israeli Olive Board has its own unique stamp of quality.

Each olive oil producer in Israel, which is also a member of the Israeli Olive Board, has its own unique serial number printed in the middle of the sticker.

This allows one to track back the origin of the olive oil and keep - to limited extend - quality under control.

The following is an example of how it looks on a bottle I found in the Supermarket:

You call it potato I call it....

2007-12-01T19:08:00.000+02:00

Though not exactly the same game, some call it Rugby, others call it American Football, and the Chinese tend to call both 橄榄球 (ganlanqiu) in other words "Olive Ball" because of the ball's shape.

Quiz No:2 - The Winners

2007-11-25T21:43:00.000+02:00

What is the most common street name in the UK?

High Street

What is the most common street name in the U.S?

Second Street (2nd Street)

What is the most common street name in Israel?

The Olive Street (HaZayit)

Press HERE for Online Source (many thanks to Gary)

The Winners:

Gary (from Scotland)
Mary (from the USA)
Stephane (from Taiwan)

Thank you everyone for taking your time to participate in this quiz.

Naturally, your prize is some of best Barnea variety Extra Virgin Olive Oil we have ever produced.

"FREE RICE" - A Game for Life

2007-11-18T09:56:00.000+02:00

FreeRice has two goals:

Provide English vocabulary to everyone for free.
Help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free.

"Perhaps even greater is the investment your donated rice makes in hungry human beings, enabling them to function and be productive. Somewhere in the world, a person is eating rice that you helped provide. Thank you." (FreeRice)

The rules are simple, for each word you get right, FreeRice donates 10 grains of rice through the United Nations to help end world hunger.

To Save Lifes Press HERE!!!

Please let all your friends (and enemies) about this game - Email this story to them.

Did You Know? Jesus Christ

2007-11-12T11:56:00.000+02:00

This week on "Did You Know?" - Jesus Christ

Some might confuse "Christ" to be Jesus's family name.

The term Christ appears in English and most European languages, owing to the Greek usage of Christos in the New Testament as a description for Jesus.

However, did you know that Christ is the English term for the Greek word Χριστός (Christós), which literally means "The Anointed One."
The Hebrew word for Christ is מָשִׁיחַ (Mašíaḥ, usually wrongly transliterated Messiah).

In the bible is it prophesized that the "Anointed One" would be some sort of savior (one would have to write many volumes to make my simple "some sort", some justice). "Christians" as the followers of Jesus are known, are called so because they believe that Jesus was the "Anointed One".

Some Etymology
Wikipedia notes that "the spelling Christ in English dates from the 17th century, when, in the spirit of the Enlightenment, spellings of certain words were changed to fit their Greek or Latin origins.
Prior to this, in Old and Middle English, the word was spelled Crist, the i being pronounced either as /iː/, preserved in the names of churches such as St Katherine Cree, or as a short /ɪ/, preserved in the modern pronunciation of Christmas."

Final Thought
The anointment of Kings (be it King David or King Solomon) or for that matter whenever "The Anointed One" is spoken about in the bible it is always done with Olive Oil.

So, if you are Christian, some sort of a Messianic believer or just been scared to death - THINK OLIVE OIL!

Quiz Update (1)

2007-11-10T18:30:00.000+02:00

Only a day only into the Quiz and already so many great guesses!!!

THANK YOU

I suspect what is needed is a small tip, so here it is:

For the first question you don't need a High IQ to answer it.

For the second question it is NOT the FIRST thing that comes to mind.

As for the third question EVERYONE seems to send only one answer. (The only tip in that sentence is to send more than one because there are no right answers yet. So don't be shy :-)

By the way my favorite responses so far were "Rechov" which actually only means "Street" in Hebrew and "Rechov Sumsum" which is the Israeli version of Sesame Street.

And no, it is not "Arafat Street" as someone suggested.

Please keep them coming .... ;-)

P.S. don't worry if you already sent an email...send more.

Quiz No:2 (and Yes there are prizes)

2007-11-09T12:54:00.000+02:00

Everyone was waiting for it.

After many sleepless nights...

Nail biting waiting...

And one email.

The "Divine Tastes Quiz" is back!

This time there are even better and more precious prizes.

Everyone is Invited (no small print)

All you need to do is answer correctly the following questions and email your answers to me (divinetastes AT gmail DOT com)

What is the most common street name in the UK? (very easy)
What is the most common street name in the U.S? (easy)
What is the most common street name in Israel? (good luck!)

You are allowed as many as THREE guesses for the third question.

The first three to answer correctly are the winners.

The winners (should there be any) will be announced on November 21st.

Things that kept me away from writing

2007-11-01T21:42:00.000+02:00

We all have things that keep us busy. These are some of the things that kept me busy for the past two weeks or so.

The Conference

On September I wrote that we (my self and my partners at the olive oil business) were organizing an olive oil conference.

In fact the conference took place some two weeks ago. It was a great success and exceeded our wildest imagination.

("I hear the grape juice here is outstanding")

("Who said there is no such thing as a free lunch?")

(Pictured: Amin Chasan - The President of the Israeli Olive Council and Gadi Horvitz - Vice President of the Israeli Olive Council)

To name just some of the many interesting topics that were lectured on and discussed:

- Reducing alternative bearing

- Reducing watering costs

- Reducing pruning costs

- Vegetative growth

And much more.

(PRESS PICTURE - to enlarge)

(the effect of irrigation on fruit size) To Enlarge - CLICK ON THE PICTURE

(Everyone had something to say)

Since some 90% of the participants are long time olive farmers everyone contributed.

THE HARVEST

Other than that, we have been busy with the early harvest.

(Soon to be on your table)

The above picture shows our very first olive oil this year.

We all sat around the table and dipped nice bread into this delicious fruity (6*), pungent (3*) and slightly bitter(2*) olive oil.

Mmmmm it was divine.

* According to my own tasting judgement.

The Ultimate Commodity

2007-10-14T11:25:00.000+02:00

“Fiji” – artesian water from Yaqara Valley, Fiji, £6.50 (1 litre)
“Belu” - spring water from Shropshire, England, £5.50 (75cl)
“OGO” – spring water from Tilburg, Netherlands, £6 (33cl)
“420 Volcanic” - spring water from Tai Tapu, New Zealand, £21 (42cl)*

A glass of "London water," priceless (for the Claridge Hotel guests).

*From the Claridge Hotel Water Menu

Over a length of a century the earth can not sustain more then 2 billion people living in Western style. There are currently some 2 billion additional people who are knocking on the Western style door. Investing in commodities over the long term does not seem such a bad idea.

With about 70% of the earth's surface covered in water, of which 97% of it is saltwater unfit for human consumption (saltwater cannot be used for drinking, crop irrigation or most industrial uses).

Furthermore, of the remaining 3% of the world's water resources, only about 1% is readily available for human consumption.

Water is indeed, sadly, the ultimate commodity (together with clean air, where are our rights?).

Anyhow

According to Renaud Grégoire, Claridge's food and beverage director at the Clardige Hotel London, “Water is becoming like wine. Every guest has an opinion and asks for a particular brand.".

This is increasingly true for almost everything we consume through our senses.
To a certain extent, in my own business, olive oil, consumers are increasingly asking for specific olive varieties to fit their meals.

Water Info

Perhaps one of the best sources of information about water is Fine Waters.
Do you want to read which water goes well with your favorite food?
How to taste water?
Do you want to find out more about your favorite bottled water?

These and much more. Read it all HERE!!!

For great wells of knowledge on water and the importance of water in tea see here:

Tea Masters
Fine Water
Aquadeli

Question: What do you think is the single most important ingredient in making great tea?

Zingerman's is having a party and everyone is invited

2007-10-13T20:24:00.000+02:00

Did you like your fifth grade French teacher Monique?
Do you ask for “French Fries” or “Freedom Fries”?

Regardless of your answers Solomon from the “Dry Goods Notes” blog will help you explore the Greater French Southwest from which some ¾ of Zingerman’s French products originate.

Amongst other things they will speak about Basque, Bearn and Bordelais, of Agenais and Perigord, of Quercy and Limousin, of Auvergne, Rouergue and Languedoc and what ties them together. You will be tasting ingredients as you explore.

You will get the chance to taste vinegars, spices, olive and walnut oils, Solomon’s favorite line of mustards, olives, pates, cassoulet and much more.

Sign up in advance.

Tasting the Ingredients of the French Southwest
Thursday, October 18,
422 Detroit St.
Upstairs, Next Door,
$20 in advance,
$25 at the door,
7-9 PM

Call (734)663-3400 to reserve a spot

One more thing, watch your diet!

The Anointed One

2007-10-07T14:12:00.000+02:00

Whereas these days Divine Tastes Extra Virgin Olive Oil is more tasty than it is divine, in the past things might have been a bit different.

To hear in a nut shell about the importance of olive oil in ancient Israel - press HERE!!!

Interview - Part A (The Person) - Shamna

2007-10-02T12:01:00.000+02:00

A new olive press machine entered the local (and global, its a prototype) olive oil industry last season. Some of the best olive oil I have ever tasted come from that machine.

So I went to meet the man & the machine behind it.

The Person Behind the "Shamna" Olive Oil

His name is Erez Abramov (age: 41), married, with two children.

Erez's first memory of himself is of running between olive trees. The love for olives has always run deep through his veins, generation after generation. Not just a family business but a family unifier.

When ever there was a family row they reconciled with Hummus and a generous portion of olive oil on top... .

Erez's mother feed him with olive oil before she gave him milk since it contained all the goodness little Erez needed.

He still remembers playing "hide and seek" with his first and only childhood love in the olive yard.

Erez's first French kiss was with a Picholine olive... .

It is no wonder then that when little Erez grow up he wanted to own his own olive press.

Well, not exactly!

Erez really does like olive oil a lot, but he owns an olive press because it makes money - at least it should theoretically. Cheek in tongue he suggested to me that I can buy olive oil and the olive press.

He never kissed an olive, and he never really played hide and seek with his first and only childhood love in an olive grove but he did marry her!

Ohhh one more thing, his mother never feed him olive oil as a baby - I think not - maybe she should have!

Not exactly a romantic story (between Erez and the olives), but olives do run deep in his family. His father planted olives already decades ago. However it was just recently that the siblings recognized the business potential of it and took it to another level.

Whether one goes into the olive business for financial gains or not, everyone falls in love with the olive, whether they make or lose money.

So who is really the person behind the Israeli olive-oil brand "Shamna" synonyms with the highest quality of olive oil in Israel.

A kind and loving soul. A very smart and funny person. A good father and moral compass to us all (not kidding this time).

Furthermore, he is nothing less then the one of the most creative and brilliant person I ever spoke face to face with. Erez runs various companies all which are leading edge at their fields mainly due to his patents and undeclared patents (patents you don't want to declare for various reasons i.e. the famous cola recipe).

His companies vary from the most efficient and best hen house disinfection technology to unmanned military cars.

Excuse me if I am going to get a bit carried away here with the guy but he is also a living legend at the local 4x4 racing. He holds for seven years in a row the title "Champion of the Champions", a title given to the best driver of all categories of 4x4.
Apart from it he is a vivid collector of antique Mercedes Benz cars (I have a fetish for MB).

Still, this pales in comparison to Erez's ability to build the best buggies from scratch. The crown of his latest work being the "Erez Raider". A buggy built to win the famous Dakar race. Erez's buggies have made it to numerous front pages of car magazines and calendars and international exhibitions. Various sponsors and magazines even published calenders featuring his cars. Did I already mention he is brilliant?

His knowledge on olive oil and everything that it takes to make the best olive oil is overwhelming.

In part B you can read amongst other things about:

The secretes behind "Shamna" tasty olive oils?
The technology behind the "Shamna" olive oil.
Why prototypes can be such pain in the....

Every Vote Counts!!!

2007-09-30T13:08:00.000+02:00

These are the last hours of the biggest most ambitious project ever to be undertaken by the Israeli Nature and Parks Authority for the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.

A list of ten flowers and ten trees which are of "natural growth" in Israel is currently showing online.
Voters are asked to choose one flower and one tree which for them most symbolize Israel’s natural landscape.

The flower and tree which are chosen are then going to represent Israel in the Olympic exhibition in Beijing.

Whereas the competition between the Anemone coronaria and Cyclamen persicum is toe to toe, both leading with a staggering 28% of the Flowers votes (are we going to go into a tie break?)
There is a clear winner in the Trees votes. The Olive is currently leading with 40% of the votes, followed by the Quercus ithaburensis with only 15% of the Trees votes.

I can not recall such exciting times since …. .

Flowers List:
Anemone coronaria
Cyclamen persicum
Aternbergia clusiana
Urginea maritima
Ophrys carmeli
Lupinus pilosus
Helichrysum sanguineum
Paeonia mascula
Spartium junceum
Narcissus tazetta

Trees List:
Quercus ithaburensis
Amygdalus
Populus euphratica
Common olive
Ceratonia siliqua
Arbutus andrachne
Pistacia palaestina
Acacia gerardii
Cercis siliquastrum
Phoenix dactylifera

The voting will close on September 30 at 16:00 (local time)

To place your vote press HERE! (Kind of difficult if you don’t understand Hebrew)

UPDATE:

Winners - Flower: Cyclamen persicum (30%) Tree: Common Olive (41%)

A Goy's Olive Oil and Kashrut

2007-09-27T19:16:00.000+02:00

Most people have heard of the term "Kosher".

It is usually referred to as the Jewish dietary law, but this is not exclusively the case. More extendible it means that something is legitimate, permissible or acceptable.

For foods and drinks to be certified "Kosher" they have to meet all criteria that the Jewish law applies to that specific food or drink. The supervision of these foods and drinks is done by various Kashrut supervision agencies e.g. the Orthodox Union.

There are numerous Kashrut agencies for various levels of restrictions (please don’t ask…:-). Each one obviously identifies itself with its unique symbol.

The symbols can be very confusing even to most kosher experienced shopper.

This reminds me, a dear friend of mine wanted to prepare a nice kosher meal for me and a few other friends. She went into great effort, bought new utensils and asked what signs to look for. We tried to put her off the idea, but she insisted.

Later on, over the phone I explained to her that perhaps the most frequent Kashrut agency was the Orthodox Union (the circle and U in the picture) so all ingredients should display that.

It so happened that I was chosen as the “Kashrut supervisor” for the meal.
On the day of the meal I arrived during my lunch break time to check out the ingredients. To my surprise all products had the following “Kashrut supervision”

(Under the supervision of Unilever ??!!??)

I might have forgotten to tell her about the circle surrounding the U .... .

I extended my lunch break and we went shopping together.
The meal was delicious and everyone was happy and satisfied, happy ending.

A Goy’s Olive Oil

Yet again, you are probably wondering “Why is he telling me this?” .

The reason, is that Bertolli decided to flex their muscles and produce olive oil for the Gentile* :-)

Ohh, just one more thing; Bertolli's Gentile is Kosher.

*“Gentile” in Italian means “gentle” in English

From the Cambridge Dictionary: Gentile - noun [C] a person who is not Jewish

Deadly Embarrassing - Olive Oil Labels

2007-09-25T22:34:00.000+02:00

It was very hot outside, cool and comfortable inside.

We just finished a very satisfying and successful business meal in a hotel restaurant facing the Dead Sea.

One of the two business associates, a female, just came back from the restroom and remarked that it was kept rather poor for a five star hotel. “It looks more like a ‘male toilet’” she said. I remember vividly thinking to me, as I am sure was the other male business associate, “interesting comment coming from such a serious woman”.

Anyways, I paid the bill and excused myself to go the rest room down stairs where there was also an interesting shaped pool.

Upon entering the toilet I chuckled to myself “Not too bad - for a ‘male toilet’. She should have come here”. I checked the first cubicle on the left; I will save you the details. The second cubicle had “only paper” on the floor so I decided to ‘go for it’. I will save you all the details yet again.
Suffice to say that I could hear the main door getting opened and closed several times.

Upon finishing I flashed the toilet and opened the door. After what must have been about two steps I looked up straight and to my surprise I was staring at four and a half pairs of breast and three hard to describe faces (one and half pairs of the breasts were a reflection).

“What is going on here?” one lady exclaimed.

“What are you doing here?” the other one yelled.

“I guess I won’t be washing my hands here” I replied hoping my ‘natural charm’ will somehow work its miracle.

“I am so SORRY. I am not a pervert! PROMISE!”, “Just misread the door sign, sorry” I continued saying, hoping to get to the door somehow while looking down at the floor.

Upon exiting the rest room I literally run upstairs to my business associates and ordered them politely to follow me out of the hotel, quickly.

Some five minutes, without yet uttering a single sound, strolling just off the Dead Sea beach, I looked at my female business associate and asked, with a smirk on my face, “are you sure you didn’t walk into the male toilet by mistake?”

So, you wonder; “why on earth is he telling me this?”

Olive Oil Label

Well, the moral of the story is that one always needs to read the label very carefully.

Most olive oil producers do not publish on their label clearly, if at all, when the olive oil was pressed or even bottled. In general (there are exceptions i.e. the stability of the olive oil, whether the olive oil was stored with gas) olive oil will not last much longer then a year.

It won’t go bad in the sense that diary products do, but it will oxidize and hence the taste will be degraded and in practice is no longer extra virgin (no negative attributes).

Divine Tastes Extra Virgin Olive Oil always publishes the date of the pressing on its labels. The customer should try to buy from producers that do the same (ideally buy Divine Tastes Olive Oil ;-).

(If only taking a crap was as easy as this) source of picture

Van Gogh Special

2007-09-24T10:09:00.000+02:00

Sotheby’s is to unveil what is known as Van Gogh final masterpiece of work – “The Fields” (Wheat fields). The Fields was completed on 10 July 1890, just 19 days before Vincent Van Gogh died.

Since this is also the first time that this Van Gogh is put on public auction, it is expected to become one of the most highly-valued paintings ever auctioned.
“As a unique work of art from the final days of the artist's life” a spokeswoman for Sotheby’s said “the price will most likely be driven by passion. This is perhaps the last opportunity for a collector to acquire a landscape of this quality by Vincent van Gogh".

("How would you like to pay, Sir?")

In a letter written by Van Gogh to Theo on the 10 July, the artist described having just painted what experts believe to be The Fields, along with two other works.

He wrote: "They are vast fields of wheat under troubled skies, and I did not need to go out of my way to try to express sadness and extreme loneliness. I hope you see them soon – for I hope to bring them to see you in Paris as soon as possible, since I almost think that these canvases will tell you what I cannot say in words, the health and restorative forces that I see in the country".

Arifa Akbar, the art correspondent from “The Independent” quotes Mr Norman the executive vice-president at Sotheby’s saying that The Fields illustrates how Van Gogh was able to separate his deep inner turmoil and stormy emotions from the hope and celebration of life that is instilled in this painting.

"Here is an artist literally on the verge of taking his life and filled with tremendous despondency, yet he is still painting with lemon yellows, azure blues and emerald greens.
"We know this is a man barely holding on to his will to live yet he is able to separate his energy and focus on what he sees before him," he said.

A lot can be learned about Van Gough’s world view from his letters to various people he loved and cared for. Furthermore, we can learn about the beauty of things from his unique understanding and way of looking at things, not least about the olive tree.

The Olive Tree
The following is a letter to J.J. Isacson by Vincent Van Gough (at the time of the letter he was 37 years old).
“ Dear Mr. Isaäcson,

Back in Paris I read the continuation of your articles on impressionism.

Without wanting to enter into a discussion of the details of the subject that you have attacked, I wish to inform you that it seems to me that you are conscientiously trying to tell our fellow countrymen how things are, basing yourself on facts. As it is possible that in your next article you will put a few words about me, I will repeat my scruples, so that you will not go beyond a few words, because it is absolutely certain that I shall never do important things.

And this, although I believe in the possibility that a later generation will be, and will go on being, concerned with the interesting research on the subject of colours and modern sentiment along the same lines as, and of equal value to, those of Delacroix, of Puvis de Chavannes and that impressionism will be their source, if you like, and future Dutchmen will likewise be engaged in the struggle - all this is within the realm of possibility and certainly your articles have their raison d'étre.
But I was straying into vaguenesses: so here is the reason for this letter - I wanted to let you know that in the South I have been trying to paint some olive groves. You surely know the existing pictures of olive trees. It seems probable to me that there are such in Monet's and Renoir's work. But apart from this, I have not seen anything of the work I suppose to exist - apart from this, not much has been made of olive trees.

Well, probably the day is not far off when they will paint olive trees in all kinds of ways, just as they paint the Dutch willows and pollard willows, just as they have painted the Norman apple tree ever since Daubigny and Cesar de Cock. The effect of daylight, of the sky, makes it possible to extract an infinity of subjects from the olive tree. Now, I on my part sought contrasting effects in the foliage, changing with the hues of the sky.
At times the whole is a pure all-pervading blue, namely when the tree bears its pale flowers, and big blue flies, emerald rose beetles and cicadas in great numbers are hovering around it. Then, as the bronzed leaves are getting riper in tone, the sky is brilliant and radiant with green and orange, or, more often even, in autumn, when the leaves acquire something of the violet tinges of the ripe fig, the violet effect will manifest itself vividly through the contrasts, with the large sun taking on a white tint within a halo of clear and pale citron yellow. At times, after a shower, I have also seen the whole sky coloured pink and bright orange, which gave an exquisite value and colouring to the silvery grey-green. And in the midst of that there were women, likewise pink, gathering fruits.
These canvases, together with a number of flower studies, are all that I have done since our last correspondence. These flowers are an avalanche of roses against a green background, and a very big bouquet of irises, violet against a yellow background, against a pink background.
I begin to feel more and more that one may look upon Puvis de Chavannes as having the same importance as Delacroix, at least that he is on a par with the fellows whose style constitutes a “hitherto, but no further,” comforting for evermore.

Among other pictures his canvas, now at the Champ de Mars, seems to contain an allusion to an equivalence, a strange and providential meeting of very far-off antiquities and crude modernity. His canvases of the last few years are vaguer, more prophetic if possible than even Delacroix, before them one feels an emotion as if one were present at the continuation of all kinds of things, a benevolent renaissance ordained by fate. But it is better not to pursue the subject when one is standing gratefully enthralled before a finished painting like the “Sermon on the Mount.” Ah, he would know how to do the olive trees of the South, he the seer. As for me, I tell you as a friend, I feel impotent when confronted with such nature, for my Northern brains were oppressed by a nightmare in those peaceful spots, as I felt that one ought to do better things with the foliage. Yet I did not want to leave things alone entirely, without making an effort, but it is restricted to the expression of two things - the cypresses - the olive trees - let others who are better and more powerful than I reveal their symbolic language. Millet is the voice of the wheat, and Jules Breton too. Therefore I assure you that I cannot think of Puvis de Chavannes without having a presentiment that one day he or someone else will explain the olive trees to us. For myself I can see from afar the possibility of a new art of painting, but it was too much for me, and it is with pleasure that I return to the North.

Look here, there is another question that comes to mind. Who are the human beings that actually live among the olive, the orange, the lemon orchards?

The peasant there is different from the inhabitant of Millet's wide wheat fields. But Millet has reawakened our thoughts so that we can see the dweller in nature. But until now no one has painted the real Southern Frenchman for us. But when Chavannes or someone else shows us that human being, we shall be reminded of those words, ancient but with a blissfully new significance, Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are the pure of heart, words that have such a wide purport that we, educated in the old, confused and battered cities of the North, are compelled to stop at a great distance from the threshold of those dwellings. And however deeply convinced we may be of Rembrandt's vision, yet we must ask ourselves:

And did Raphael have this in mind, and Michelangelo, and da Vinci? This I do not know, but I believe that Giotto, who was less of a heathen, felt it more deeply - that great sufferer, who remains as familiar to us as a contemporary.
[The end is missing.]

Vincent van Gogh. Letter to J.J. Isacson. Written 25 May 1890 in Auvers-sur-Oise. Translated by Mrs. Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, edited by Robert Harrison, published in The Complete Letters of Vincent van Gogh, Publisher: Bulfinch, 1991, number . (Source)

Hair Today Gone Tomorrow

2007-09-23T12:52:00.000+02:00

In the 3rd century BCE it was the nymph Histiaia

(hair rolled around the sides of the head makes it easier to support decoration - wreathed with grapes and vines)

Without a doubt the Vidal Sasson and Empress - all in one – of the Roman Empire around 200 CE was Plautilla. The wife of Caracalla, son of Septimius Severus and inheritor of the Empire.

(Her coins demonstrate various hair styles)

The more recent times of the 1920s and 1930s included actress Clara Bow.

(the original “IT Girl”?)

In the 1940s it was no other than Marlene Dietrich

("smoking can kill you")

“If she had nothing more than her voice she could break your heart with it. But she has that beautiful body and the timeless loveliness of her face. It makes no difference how she breaks your heart if she is there to mend it.” Ernest Hemingway on Marlene Dietrich

We had Marilyn Monroe's voluptuous bottle-blond tresses defined 1950s hair.

Cher in 1970s

(Is Sonny responsible for the mustache fashion of the 70s?)

And of course, there is Jennifer Aniston.

Feel free to add any one that influenced your hair style.

For me it was no other than:

One of the common denominators to these women would be “beautiful hair”.

Admittedly, I cannot contribute much to improve your hair style (though it would be fun to mess with someone’s hair).
However, unless your hair refuses to grow at all, and you merely wish to treat your hair, olive oil can help.
------------------------------------------------------------------

Situation: After a long winter's exposure to dry indoor heat, our hair needs some nourishing relief.

Solution:
Ingredients (enough for 1 or 2 treatments, depending on the length and thickness of your hair)
½ cup olive oil5 drops frankincense essential oil (others may be substituted, if you wish)1 plastic bag that can fit over your hair.

1. Pour olive oil into a jar with a lid, then add essential oil. Put lid on jar and shake well to disperse the essential oil. Let sit for 24 hours in a cool, dark place. Shake again before use.

2. Rinse hair with warm water. Warm 1 tablespoon of oil treatment in the palms of your hands. Using your fingertips (not nails), gently massage the oil into the scalp in a circular motion. Repeat until the entire scalp has been massaged. Rub the ends of your hair with the remaining oil.

3. Place a plastic bag over your hair, secure by tying or with a hair clip or clothespin, and allow the oil to remain for at least ½ hour.

4. Rinse well, then shampoo as usual.
(source)

Situation: Control hair frizz.

Solution: Comb a bit of olive oil through dry hair to tame the frizz and flyaways on humid days or in the winter.

Situation: As a hair tonic.

Solution: Comb some olive oil through your hair for the vintage look of pomade without the build-up, or add a bit to wet hair for grungy, but clean, look.
(source)

Situation: Dandruff

Solution: Halima from Oman kindly contributed the following recipe for treating dandruff's on OTAN, an educational network.

Ingredients: 1 tblspn of Olive oil 1 tspn of lime juice, old scarf

Instructions: Mix 1 tblspn of Olive oil with 1 tspn of lime juice. Apply well on the scalp and cover the head by tying an old scarf .Keep it on overnight and shampoo the next morning.

Do you know of any olive oil recipe for hair or body? let me know.

News Update - September

2007-09-20T12:39:00.000+02:00

These are exciting times for me.

The Olives
The first olives will be picked in just a couple of months.

(This year's olives are more than ever excited to get crushed & squeezed)

The Olive Mill & Visitors Centre
From the construction point of view, our visiting centre has just been finished.

In addition, we have just moved the world’s largest Boutique Olive press (Machine: Olio Mio, 1500 Kg/h) to a sound proof space at the “end” of visitors’ centre (it’s a large space). This is divided by a giant sound proof glass so the whole process is visible to the visitors.

Furthermore, there is just about over a month until everything has to be perfect for an entertaining and educative olive oil event that is to take place at our mill/visitors centre with all the “who is who” from the olive scene in Israel.
There will be free food.

A Gift Idea for the New Year

2007-09-12T17:04:00.000+03:00

“No one goes to Tula with a samovar”

We all want a sense of belonging, a safe home, a source of heat and light on cold winters, friends to talk to…love.
For the Russians of the late 18th to the 20th century this was all this was represented in the Samovar (and the Mamushka?).

In the late 18th century, Fedor Lisitsyn from Tula (Russia) might not have been the first to have ever produced a Samovar but he and his two sons who were laboring in their free time away from producing ammunition were the first to produce an industrialized charcoal-burning Samovar.

Like fire its popularity quickly spread through to cities such as St. Petersburg and Moscow were they became an integral part of the Russian society.

Till these days the Samovars from Tula are setting the standards for the industry … so it may have seem.

Enter Russias’ ManWorksDesign.

Looking like a futuristic space ship from the Thunderbirds, “Sam”, as it is called is in fact very much like the traditional 18th century Samovar with a difference in design (where did all the cool tubes go?) and the very important feel factor of safety.

Caesar Salad

2007-09-08T23:38:00.000+03:00

Caesar Salad

A lot has been said about Caesar.
Much less is known about the Caesar Salad.
.... So I went to find out more.

This is the story of a salad (and the man) behind it that conquered more mouths and stomachs on more far away lands than Julius Caesar ever did.

This is the story of a salad … that became a legend that became a myth that became my lunch.

Which other salad can make us laugh?
“The Canadian comedy duo Wayne and Shuster performed sketches based on the popular idea that Caesar salad was invented by or for Julius Caesar. In one variant, Caesar's chef (Shuster) prepares a modern Caesar salad, and says, "You shall name this salad, Caesar." After a pause, Caesar (Wayne) replies, "I name it... coleslaw." Brutus then offers his knife to the cook when the cook disparages the new name.” (Wikipedia)

Which other salad can make you end up in prison?
“When you outlaw Caesar salad, only outlaws will eat Caesar salad,” (Source: the Libertarian Party).

Which other salad had Julia Child (perhaps the most famous cookbook author) and her parents drive all the way from California to Mexico to see what was all the fuss was about? ( "From Julia Child's Kitchen," Random House, 1999)

Child writes that “It was a sensation of a salad from coast to coast… . Caesar himself rolled the big cart up to the table, tossed the romaine in a great wooden bowl, and I wish I could say I remember his every move, but I don't. The only thing I see again clearly is the eggs. I can see him break 2 eggs over that romaine and roll them in, the greens going all creamy as the eggs flowed over them."

What began as a gourmet salad of whole romaine lettuce leaves and was OK to eat with your fingers has now “developed” into many recipes and imitations (see: Family Oven).

The Secret
The secret of a good Caesar Salad, like the Devil, lies in the details. Child notes that Caesar always insisted on using the finest quality Parmesan, fresh lemons, homemade croutons, Worcestershire sauce and of course the best of the best olive oil (Divine Tastes Extra Virgin Olive Oil comes here to mind :-)

If you are tempted to add anchovies to the salad as some recipes suggest be cautioned. Although Worcestershire sauce contains anchovies Mr Caesar Cardini would have objected to the idea of an added extra. John Mariani, author of The Dictionary of American Food and Drink, wrote that Caesar felt that the salad should be only subtly flavored.

Past and Present
I particularly like Child’s description of why the salad had such a late success.
“It was only in the early twenties that refrigerated transcontinental transportation came into being. Before then, when produce was out of season in the rest of the country, there was no greenery to be had… . Salads were considered rather exotic, definitely foreign, probably Bolshevist, and anyway, food for sissies.”

In 1948, the Cardini family trademarked the original recipe.
By the 1950s, tossing the leaves with the dressing at the table became a popular American restaurant custom.
With more than a dozen of bottled Cardini's dressing varieties available today it is safe to say “the rest is history”.

Original Recipe (?)

CAESAR'S SALAD

1/2 cup day-old bread, cubed

3/4 cup garlic oil, divided use

2 small heads romaine lettuce

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 eggs, coddled (boiled in the shell for 1 minute)

Juice of 2 medium lemons

8-10 drops of Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. To prepare the garlic oil, place 4-5 cloves of garlic**, peeled and quartered, in a good quality (e.g. Divine Taste Extra Virgin) olive oil and let it stand at room temperature several hours or even up to 5 days.

2. To prepare croutons, pre-heat oven to 225 degrees. Toss bread cubes with 1/4 cup garlic oil and spread on a pan or baking sheet. Toss frequently and bake until golden brown, about 2 hours.

3. Wash, dry and crisp (in the refrigerator) the leaves of the romaine lettuce. Originally, Caesar left the lettuce leaves whole, and the salad was eaten with the fingers, but later he tore the outer leaves into 2-inch lengths, leaving only the small inner leaves whole, and the salad was eaten with a fork.

4. Place lettuce in a large bowl and toss with remaining 1/2 cup of garlic oil. Add salt and pepper, again tossing gently. Break the coddled eggs* over the lettuce, add lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce and toss two or three times. Add croutons and cheese. Toss lightly once more.

Serves 4. (source: "Who cooked that up?)

For cartoons press HERE!

A Monument for Coffee

2007-08-21T13:01:00.000+03:00

It’s the latest craze! (at least in my office)

When talked about it, one is likely to hear comments such as:

“Mine can be controlled over the web”
“Mine is a classical beauty”
“Mine looks 20 years old”
“Mine spoils me every morning”
“Mine knows my taste better than my wife”
“Mine is more satisfying then my husband”
“Mine is Italian”
“Mine French”

No, I am not talking about comparing houses, cars, cell phones, fridges, wives or lovers – that’s so yesterday.

I am talking about coffee machines.

A statue symbol that can be found even in non coffee drinking houses!

Sadly, we seem to live in a society that compares and envy everyone and everything.
There is a greater detachment from meaningful values or even functionality. Nowadays (it been like this for a while now) it’s more about the “It Girls” or the “must have” cell phone (O.K the iPhone is really a must have!). Too much emphasis is put on exterior values (isn’t the iPhone just a beauty?).

A society whose values are not anchored in morality, ethics or even functionality, but in wants, “must haves” and the media.

We judge ourselves according to what they have and do. The “they” (celebrities et al.) are determined by the popular media and made into meaningless symbols created to fuel our consumption habits.

It’s a world (mainly the "West") more properly described by what we ought to have rather then who we ought to be and do.

The coffee machine is perhaps just the latest in fashion and status symbol. We are victims!

Or is it so?

Yes, like the cross trainer I recently bought, a coffee machine at the wrong hands will cease to be used after three weeks and end up as some sort of monuments of an Ideal (good coffee at six o’clock in the morning while wearing only boxer short and a t-shirt).
However, coffee machines like the cross trainer can be useful and enjoyable to use.

A list of a good and very good coffee machines owned by co-workers

Jura Z5 Chrome

A mere $4,295.00

Ideal for the ultra chic home/office.

Fully automated and basically idiot proof machine.
Makes popular coffees.

How does the coffee taste?
Rich and creamy, full of the right flavours and aroma.

What does this coffee machine tell about you?
If you can afford it without a mortgage than you are probably not affected by the latest credit risk.

NESPRESSO Siemens by Porsche Design (owned by a stunning 2/7 of the work force)

Cost: $1200

Stylish, quick and easy.

Constantly good coffee. However, you will never be able to improve on the coffee with this machine. We have one at the office.

What does it tell about you?

You like your office too much you wish it was your home.

What coffee machine do you own?

Models & Tea Ware

2007-08-12T09:21:00.000+03:00

In our trading room there are four TV screens showing “CNBC”, “Bloomberg TV”, “FOX” and “Fashion TV”.

With the exception of FTV everything is put on mute unless asked for otherwise (there is very little talked on FTV).
However, when there is some talking going on, it is usually a beautiful young model (about 16 years old) ‘confessing’ that as a child she was very ugly.

What age group exactly do they mean by “child”?
What is this models’ fixation with the Swan Lake?
Do they seriously expect anyone to believe that?

Anyways, some beautiful tea ware made by a young beautiful artist.

Look but don’t Touch

2007-08-08T17:58:00.000+03:00

(Source: Food Portfolio)

Imagine a delicious, rich and creamy Swiss chocolate melting on your tongue … Hmmmm.

A mouth-watering strawberry sorbet that sharpens all your senses and stings you in the right places. Ohhh….

Just how many times do you find yourself reading through the dessert menu eventually choosing the best looking dessert?

The way food looks has a lot to do with the way we react to it.
Moreover, identical meals will not taste the same when presented differently, or even at different settings.

I wonder, what would a cooking books be without the pictures?

(source: Food Portfolio)

Would we still be fill our home libraries with tasteless looking "algorithms"?

(more than an algorithm)

(source: Marty Kelly)

- The Eyes are Bigger than the Stomach -

After a satisfying, great tasting and eye catching meal our brain rewards us with Endorphins, endogenous opioid biochemical compounds activity that has the ability to produce a feeling of “well being”. "Hmmmm....Ohhhh.....".

Indeed, we often eat in order to become satisfied and to pursue pleasure.

It is therefore no surprise that chefs put almost as much energy into making the meals more visually appealing as they put into cooking them.

It is with this in mind (good looks help) and the fact that my blog is perhaps the ugliest, worst written blog, that I decided to buy a semi-professional camera at the duty-free.

To try to activate some "endorphin production" in myself if not the readers.

Unfortunately, a great camera alone is just not good enough. So, last night I browsed the web in order to learn a bit about "food photography".

Perhaps its only wishful thinking, but from what I understand, whereas before it took a great chefs, a studio, professional lightings, stylists, hours of hard work, expensive and difficult-to-handle camera and a photographer. Nowadays, one only needs a much cheaper and smaller camera (relatively speaking), some creativity, good recipes and like everything in life a ton of practice.

- Food For Thought -

A must read for any aspiring "food bloger": Food Photography

Food Portfolio (a must see, my favorite food photography blog)

Tasteful Food Photography

CLICKIN CORDON BLEU The fine art of food photography (so true its funny)

Making food photography a snap

SilverRace Food Photography

Food Photography How To Take Mouth Watering Photos Of Food

My favorite cooking technique book:

Le Cordon Bleu's Complete Cooking Techniques

My favorite recipes book:

Perfect Recipes for Having People Over by Pamela Anderson (not that Pam)

Recipes with pictures:

Recipe Zaar

All Recipes

Food Images:

Food Portfolio (just awesome)

Marty Kelly

FabFoodPix

Food Image

p.s.
At a certain short stage in my life, upon reading that women fancy men that can cook, I seriously considered purchasing some cooking books merely to impress.
This was just shortly before I seriously considered the "walking the puppy" option. Those were the days... .

Divine Tastes - Online Shop

2007-08-03T16:55:00.001+03:00

Easy ordering process:

1. Send me an e-mail at: divinetastes@gmail.com to request my price list.
2. Send me another e-mail with your detailed order and await my confirmation.
3. Use Paypal to wire your payment.

Here is my current selection of Extra Virgin Olive Oils and other interesting products my family and I use regularly:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Mild & Mellow Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 250ml (8.5 fl.oz.)
Fresh & Fruity Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 250ml (8.5 fl.oz.)

New Old Clientele and Olive Oil / Balsamic Bottle

2007-07-28T23:55:00.000+03:00

Despite the falling markets and the impossible amount of stress these caused. Last week was one of our best. It was not the fact that we lost less money than most competitors (who wants to lose after all) as much as we gained new clients.

Apparently, Mrs. Rubenstein has beaten all “analyst’s” expectations.

With the death of Mrs. Rubenstein rumors have began to spin that her actual wealth was much higher then previously believed.

So, from around Monday to Thursday, the office felt like a geriatric department. One by one, and as if by magic Mrs. Rubenstein friends (her extended Bridge club?) appeared in the office never crossing each other’s path (do they know each other’s timing?).

They all insisted to speak to - you guessed it – me.

Did Mrs. Rubenstein speak about me with her friends? What did she say?
I was intrigued.
There were so many things I wanted to find out. There I was thinking to myself how I could outsmart them into telling me what I want without even them knowing it.
I quickly gave up. These elder women could smell what I was after before I was even thinking it.

Momentary “Power”
At the competitive market we live in one rarely enjoys the “power” that I felt talking to these women. They thought they could “Rubenstein” me with endless conditions. But I knew better, they would follow their leader to the end. I stood for their leader’s security, comfort, crown and apparently quite a few gossip stories too.

Nobody is going to “Rubenstein” me anymore. At least not as long as have enough money for bread, olive oil and tea.

I accepted them and would help to supervise their account, but under one condition. I am not to be their contact. If they wish to speak to anyone then there is Yaron.

The funny thing is, Yaron does not know it yet.

Less Then Meets the Eye

It looks great.
It is ideal with light colored olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
It is the most impractical thing in the long histories of bottling, balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

The problem lies with the cork. The cork does a poor job at stopping the liquids from spilling out. This results an oily patch.
Moreover, the mouth of the bottle is badly designed and drips. This results in oily finger print marks on the bottle.

A Lap Dance and a Refreshing Cool Idea

2007-07-25T14:50:00.000+03:00

I am not sure what was there first, the diamond exchange, the fancy hotels, the bars, the bankers, the insurers, the giant real estate companies, the luxury offices, the fancy restaurants, the night clubs, the strip clubs or the hooker?

But somehow Ramat-Gan has it all in what is now a very flourishing financial district that claims to offer both business and pleasure.

It was during my lunch break that a colleague and I decided to have some ice tea in a nearby place. We strolled about a minute further than usual and ended up sitting in a coffee house just in front of a strip club.

You can imagine what were the first, second and third conscious thoughts we both had while sipping through the ice tea.

Here is mine.

The First Conscious Thought While Drinking the Tea – a memory
Location: “Legs Eleven”, Birmingham, England.
When: Some 10 years ago
Reason: Celebrating some accomplishment during the first degree.

After just about everyone in the group had a lap dance or four, I was the only one who missed out on the "fun".

Me: “Hey guys, I can’t! It’s against my religion!!”

Some 10 seconds later….. .

Dancer: “Hi, what is your name?”

Me: “Id…Id is Bob, with a “B” (I am an IDiOt, nobody gives their real name in here. More of “Knob” than a “Bob”)

Me: “Nice to meet you. What is your name?”

“Flower”

“Nice name” (was it your biological –sugar- daddy who named you?)

We had a silly conversation which included me asking her questions like “why are you doing this?” To which she had an equally silly response “I love it, its great fun. You get to meet so many people. Its exciting …”.

Some two minutes later she suggested a dance.
She looked me right in the eyes…. .

It was then that it occurred to me that I am not sure how I am supposed to behave like.

Do I act like I am used to beautiful girls dancing naked around me? In which case how does someone like “that” behave?
-She took off her bra-
Damn this is against most religions!

Do I smile?

Do I nod in approval?

Do I tap with my feet to the music’s beat?

The last thing I want is to dribble.

Nice ass!

Anyhow, I did the most natural thing that any person facing a similar situation would do – I started to laugh really hard for no apparent reason.

She looked at me with those amazing – by now angry - eyes of hers and said
“What are you laughing at?”
“Oh sorry, please don’t take it personal, haha HA H A H A H A”

“If you don’t stop laughing, I will stop dancing!”

At which point my friends for the first time since she approached our table gazed at me rather than her.
They were sitting on top of the palms of their hands and I was not sure whether it was to hold them from jumping at her or from strangling me.

Needless to say I went mute.

Oy vey, I was pissing off everyone. This was turning into an angry and dangerous lap dance.

I started to pray, not so much for my sins as for the song to finish.

But it just kept going on and on. So, I quickly apologized to her saying that it was the first time I find my self in such a situation and that she is “very beautiful … talented … and fun around with”.
She smiled.

We must have bonded on some platonic level, because when the song finished she kissed me on the cheek.

I think she fancied me, why else would she do all that for?

A beautiful refreshing ice cube idea

Do you want to have something that is both refreshing and looks great on a very hot summer?

Here is a suggestion:

How To Prepare:

Fill the ice cube tray half to the top.
Insert the flowers you wish to have inside.

Put in the freezer for 3 hours.
Take out the ice cube tray.
Fill with water to the top.
Freeze.

A great way to enrich your Ice Tea drinking experience.

Mrs Rubenstein

2007-07-23T17:04:00.000+03:00

“Life is like football, in both you’re going to get knocked down plenty of times, but don’t worry about it, because it’s how you get up that matters”
Bob Ansett

Every investment banker has at least one client that keeps nagging them about their investment account.
The common denominator to these clients is that they are usually one of, if not the smallest (in money and physical size) client, but they think they are your biggest and most important. They always try to give you the impression that not only do they own you but they do you a favor choosing you to manage their money.

Furthermore, they are never, but never satisfied. Worse, they think they could be doing your job better than you (some clients could! But these are not the kind of clients I am talking about now).

I still remember the first months with Mrs Rubenstein. She would call me every Thursday morning, 11 am sharp. In fact at one point I was at my coworker’s desk when I realized that the phone on my desk was ringing. I decided to answer the phone call at his desk. Looking up I saw that the time was 11:06 am. “Something is wrong with her. She is late” I said to him. When I put down the phone he grinned at me "the clock must be 6 minutes ahead" he said. It was.

Anyways, Mrs Rubenstein must have always carried with her the most up to date rankings and data on every investment house. Every time I beat the market (and I do that quite often ;-) she would pull out a name of an investment house that did better than me in the last month.
When I replied to her “Very well Mrs Rubenstein but have you checked their performance over the past say 6 months?” She would always have the same or similar answer to “Oohh don’t you be cocky with me young man, I could be your grandmother”. To tell the truth she could be my grandmother’s grandmother.

On one occasion I did exceptionally well and wanted to call her informing her about it. Just as I was about to pickup the phone I had cold shiver run through my spine, she beat me to the call by a second.
“I know what you are thinking young lad” were her first words “but the Chinese market had some similar result!”
“But we are not trading in the Chinese market madam”
“Oohh don’t you be cocky with me young man…”.

I am most likely not to have mentioned or think about her was it not for the phone call I received last Friday morning.
It was her grandson (the real one).
Apparently Mrs Rubenstein has died on Thursday around 11 am. The doctor simply said it was a heart attack.

The truth is she must have checked online her account. It was the first time the market beat me.
More then it knocked me down, it killed her.

Tea drunk while thinking of dear Mrs Rubenstein – Korean Puerh (my all time favorite)

Why? Well, I was not celebrating or anything like that – I am not evil. I was merely celebrating life (life after Mrs. Rubenstein).

Mrs Rubenstein (and I know you can read my inner thoughts – I am having a shiver through my spine right now) I will miss you.

May her soul rest in peace.

Sandwich-craft

2007-07-22T07:24:00.000+03:00

By Josh

Building a truly great sandwich is like building a tall building in that it must be constructed perfectly or else it falls apart. It was just yesterday in fact that I was pondering this very thought as I constructed my rendition of “The Big Sandwich”. There are many different interpretations of this concept, not least of which is a Katz’s Corned Beef Sandwich:

Heaven on a Plate

Unfortunately, being several thousand miles away from New York City in what has affectionately been called “the sixth borough” does not make it easy to indulge in this pleasure as often as I might like.

“The Big Sandwich” is not so much a recipe for one particular type of sandwich, but rather an abstract concept that fulfills most of the following:

Is greater than four inches in height and six inches in diameter.
Made on the spur of the moment and uses whatever you have available at the time. No trips to the store!
Made under conditions of hunger such that the size of the sandwich has genuine purpose.

The first decision for any sandwich is the choice of bread. In my opinion, no bread is better for making a sandwich of this caliber than pita bread. Pita has distinct advantages over most other forms of sandwich bread in that it is very strong and resists going soggy in the presence of liquids. Good pita bread will also not break under pressure which is very important, given that inevitably a big sandwich requires a firm grip to hold it together.

The perfect pita. Good color, texture and thickness.

Pita keep very well in the freezer thus having a bag on hand is not a bad thing. It’s amazing how a toaster can bring a frozen Pita back to life, nearly replicating that fresh-from-the-oven aroma and taste. Do not settle for generic brand Pitas as these tend to be very thin, flat and taste like cardboard. Frozen pitas also have another great advantage, shown below:

Warning: Science Content Ahead!

Frozen pitas inevitably contain moisture throughout and when this is heated in a toaster, it is converted into steam which causes the Pita to expand. Expansion may or may not happen and if your Pita suffers from ED (Expansion Dysfunction), you can try giving it a couple of taps on the top of the Pita.

Toasters are incredibly varied so experimentation with your particular toaster is key. As a guide, this particular toaster set to 4 out of 7 gives perfect results. From frozen, we toast through one cycle and then flip the pitas around 180 degrees and toast again.

The next step is to slice the pita. Be very careful at this stage, as super hot steam is contained in the pita’s cavity and could burn if not careful. Now the real construction begins.

Lacey Swiss, Hard Boiled Egg, Whole Grain Mustard and some tender chicken breast to start

Tomatoes to finish off the first layer

With the first layer closed off, we add some onions, mayonnaise and mustard to start the second layer.

Topped off with some more tomatoes and lacey Swiss cheese completes the second layer.

And there you have it! A genuinely big sandwich that eats as good as it looks.

The 8th Wonder of The World - Hummus

2007-07-12T09:08:00.000+03:00

Every country has some sort of an institution or monument it is proud of and resembles a great aspect of what that country stand for. France has the Cordon Bleu, Italy has the Coliseum, Egypt has the Pyramids, Cuba has Castro, Taiwan has the Tea Research and Extension Stations, Afghanistan has Bin Laden, the US of A has the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and my hometown Kfar-Saba (Israel) has "The Academy of Hummus".

Admittedly, the building is not as glamorous as the Kodak theater, neither has any graduated student appeared on T.V. - yet. But the Hummus is first class and service outstanding.

(Picture: On the Left - "Professor Hummus", On the Right - "Nutty Hummus")

(A Master Thesis on "the effect Ful (Egyptian bean), Tehina, Hummus beans, Olive Oil, Lemon and Garlic sauce - and of course Hummus - on the human palate & bowel")

Professor Hummus also known as Boaz Ygal does not know how to cook very well - so he says. However, he does know one thing very well, the art of hummus - so I say. Family and friends were always eager to visit him and his family and it was not only for their great personality and welcoming face.

His hummus dishes soon became a legend in his home town and its surroundings.
Until about a year and half ago Boaz was a happy networks engineer and part time "hummus entertainer". This sadly changed one day when Boaz was fired.

A Lesson for Life
For six months Boaz worked hard at perfecting his hummus recipes. He searched on the Internet and looked at various cooking books. He had a dream, and he was going to make it reality, a hummus speciality restaurant.

Until this day Boaz says he is continuously learning and adapting his recipes.
Boaz has two secret ingredients. One which he was willing to share with me, the other which you will have to discover for your self.

The great secret of the Hummus Academy is its prodigy Yonni ("Nutty Hummus" pictured above). Yonni, a drummer in a well known hard-rock band called "Melakekei HaPinka" ("The Bowl Lickers") - how fitting - participates in all cooking experiments and plays a vital part in adjusting and fine tuning the recipes.

Hummus (for First Degree Students) - A Must Try!
By: Professor Hummus

Makes about 1 kg of Hummus

Ingredients:
1 kg Hummus (Haddas variety if you can find)
3 Garlic cloves
1 Tsp of Cumin
1.5 Tsp of Salt
100 ml "Divine Tastes" Olive Oil (Yes, the Academy of Hummus uses the exact same olive oil)
150 ml Lemon juice
350g Tehina

Method:
Soak the hummus for 24 hours, changing water every 3-4 hours.
Drain well and wash the hummus.
Put the hummus into a pot.
Add water, enough to cover the hummus twice over (for example, if the hummus fills half a cup then fill water until the cup is full).

Cover the pot and let it cook for about 3 hours. The test to know whether it is ready is to hold a hummus between your fingers. If you can squeeze it easily it is ready.

Take out 500 ml from the liquid inside the pot and store at a safe place, you will need it later.
Drain the rest very well.
Insert all ingredients with the exception of the Tehina and the liquid you put a side before, into a mixer.

According to the texture you add a bit of the liquid (first a bit) only then do you add the Tehina.
Afterwards continue adding according to the texture from the liquid.

Enjoy!

“You are a Vegetarian Ha-Ha!”

2007-07-08T12:39:00.001+03:00

Last Thursday I invited two friends, one of which is a childhood friend that never ceased to take the piss out of me for being a vegetarian (you won’t believe how many jokes exist about vegetarians).

When ever I invite someone for dinner I always ask what they don’t eat – for obvious reasons.

My friend (the ‘funny one’) boosted that he eats “everything”.

“Great” I thought. This would be easy.

I was not going to convert him into a vegetarian, so early that morning I went searching for fish. I have never tasted fish in my life never mind cook one. But, for a good friend (he even makes taking the piss out of me entertaining) I would go the extra mile.

After a few giggles here and there we all sat down at the table.

To cut a long - menu - short, this ended up becoming a host's worst night mare.

Mushrooms – “I don’t eat mushrooms, because I don’t like the shape”.

Feta cheese – “I did not have any milk products for two years and it will affect my stomach”. Duh, we had a pizza together a week earlier.

Eggplant – “childhood memory of being forced to eat something with eggplant”.

Him: "Oh, didn't I tell you?"

Me: "No you did not".

Mayonnaise (home made!) - “I don’t eat eggs”. At this point I started to wonder if he turned into a Vegan.

Amongst the other things he would not eat that meal was: Avocado, Okra (lady fingers), Melon and Broccoli (to which I told a “joke” that follows a similar story line to this one:

A young and beautiful woman gets into the elevator, smelling like expensive perfume. She turns to an old woman in the corner and says arrogantly, "Giorgio Beverly Hills, £100 an ounce!"

Another young and beautiful woman gets on the elevator and also smells of very expensive perfume. She arrogantly turns to the old woman and says, "Chanel No. 5, £150 an ounce!"

About three floors later, the old woman has reached her destination and is about to get off the elevator. Before she leaves, looks both beautiful women in the eye, turns and squeezes out a fart......"Broccoli - 49 pence a pound!”.

Nobody laughed, but funny guy decided to take a bite of the broccoli. He liked it.
I regretted I did not have any other silly jokes about “lady fingers” or “Eggs” (eggy farts are the worse).

Anyways, he has not been taking the piss out of me since than. Shame, I was kind of looking forward for it this time.

Main Dish of the Evening:

Spicy Tuna (apparently tastes nice)

Ingredients:

Fresh Tuna -rinse the fish and leave in a drainer – you don’t want a watery fish.

Sauce:
2 tsp Garlic.
Olive Oil (Divine Tastes - Golden No.1 – fresh strong greenery taste) - enough to make a “sauce”.
Mexican chilly seeds.
Salt.
Dried Coriander.
Squeeze half a Lemon.

Mix all sauce ingredients together.

Cover the tuna with the sauce on both sides and let it absorb the tastes for about 5 hours in the fridge.

Frying the Tuna – Place the Tuna steaks in a pan with a touch of "Divine Tastes Olive Oil. Cook for about 3-4 minutes. Turn and cook for 3 to 4 minutes longer. You want it to be nicely fried on the outside but still pink in the center.

Tip: Apparently tuna gets very hard if over-cooked so be careful.

(for some reasons I put the lemon separately)

(mixing to make a sauce)

(into the fridge for 5 hours)

(funny guy's plate with a hint of the broccoli)

How Old Are You - Really?

2007-07-07T23:04:00.000+03:00

They say when a human is born with two certificates, a “birth certificate” and a “death certificate”. The difference is that on the death certificate there is no date stamped.

Depending where you live, oil olive producers usually state the “best before” date but not the “pressing date”. And if they do state a “birth date” it is usually the “bottling date” which can take place much later then one might want it to… .

A Tip:
In general don’t buy olive oil a year after it has been pressed.

An Old Joke

Doctor: The tests show that your cancer is advanced. You have six months to live.
Patient: But, doc, I can't pay off my medical bills in six months.
Doctor: In that case, you have six months more.

Moral
Some olive oil producers mix old olive oil with new olive oil to “prolong the life” (and reduce costs) of their products.

Have a trusted source.

Santa Claus in Taiwan

2007-07-05T13:41:00.000+03:00

Not for my mother, I am most likely to have encountered Shirely Temple, if at all, only on the "E!" Channel, possibly on the same programme as Macaulay Culkin ... .

Anyway, I just finished watching (again) the movie "Poor Little Rich Girl" when I remembered a quote or two of hers. This inspired me to write about Kilns-go figure this out.

"I stopped believing in Santa Claus when my mother took me to see him in a department store, and he asked for my autograph."
Shirley Temple

The firing of green ware was a very important issue in Yingge, Taiwan. In the beginning there was not much more then pits in the ground. But with the increasing importance of pottery ware for the region, the kilns changed from bun shaped kilns into steeped kilns, rising kilns and traditional snake kilns (there are some very long snake kilns still to be seen near Yixing, China).

During the Japanese occupation period, square kilns were introduced followed by gas fueled shuttle kilns, tunnel kilns, electric kilns and roller kilns.

Inside a (fake) Tunnel Kiln - Yingge Museum

The tunnel kiln is a relative of the shuttle kiln. Instead of using only one cart, it uses a train of carts. Some tunnel kilns reach length of some 100 metres, where by the finish product comes at the end. The kiln is divided into three sections: preheating, heating and cooling.

Fit for HRH?

2007-07-02T13:55:00.000+03:00

If the “size" (bigger) was to matter more then “quality” than these two would come first place.

Source of idea: The Big Olive Story

This is perhaps the time and place to mention the Queen (or is it the King?) of the olive-oil blog sphere – Ladies and Gentleman it is my honor to introduce to the ones who don’t already know

The Olive Blog

Designer Tomatoes

2007-06-29T10:35:00.000+03:00

I don’t like shopping very much, but the fruit and vegetable market always holds new, interesting and tasty things for me. When it comes to the “duties for the house” mine includes – amongst not so many things - buying the fruits and vegetables as well as emptying the bin - occasionally.

I love strolling by the “stalls listening to all the bargaining going, even participating in it myself when I see fit. Taking a bite here and there when ever offered. Not to be “out done” by everyone occasionally I might lift a water-melon and tap to listen as to how ripe it might be.

Occasionally I might find an “interesting looking” orange, potato or tomato. This kind of stuff excites me a little bit. So imagine how excited I was when I found these three tomatoes almost next to each other.

"Satan's Gift?"

I love tomatoes, my nephew loves them even more, but in a world of fanaticism even Tomatoes are not safe.

Have a look at “Tomatoes are Evil”

Olive Oil - Guide to the Perplexed - Part 1 out of 101

2007-06-26T11:31:00.000+03:00

Fruitiness

In order to become a certified olive oil taster there are various things that need to be achieved.
One of which, not surprisingly, being able to distinguish between various grades of olive oil. For example, Extra Virgin and Virgin.
This is of course the easy bit, but the most important aspect for the governing board (organizing official tasting) giving its authoritative stamp of approval for a certain grade.

The attributes of Virgin Olive Oil (VOO) are classified into two categories.

Positives and Defects

The positive attributes tends to represent the primary state of the raw material, that is to say the olives on the tree. There are three positive attributes, one of which is fruitiness.

The defects reflect the damaged conditions of the olives, bad management (e.g. the olives waited for too long before getting pressed, causing them to ferment), the very extraction process it self could be damaged and even the storage of the olive oil.

Without any doubt the most important positive aspect of VOO is its fruitiness.
It is not just the frame or the background of a picture but the image and lively colors of the VOO.
Have you ever smelled any raw soy oil? What about sunflower oil? The fruitiness of the VOO is not the only difference to other vegetable and animal oils, but a main difference none the less.

In the lectures the fruitiness was defined as “Set of the olfactory perceptions characteristic of the oil which depends on the variety and comes from sound, fresh olives, either ripe or unripe. It is perceived directly or through the back of the nose”‏.

The fruitiness of the olive oil can be simple or complex depending on the quality of the olive (only for competitions). The complexity of it will enrich our experience ultimately decide whether we classify it as edible or not, it lies at the heart of it’s very quality, although not alone.

According to my experience the complexity of olive oil is on par perhaps only with tea.
However, you are likely to find more frequently “green apples”, “green tomatoes”, “strawberries”, “banana”, “almonds”, “artichoke” and “rosemary” in good extra virgin olive oil than in your cup of tea (unless its flavored :-).

A question one might be tempted to ask in Q&A is perhaps “how to we grade an olive oil with no defects and no fruitiness?”

The fruitiness of the VOO depends on various factors which will be dealt with separately but here are a few to mention: olive variety, maturity degree, irrigation and how the olives were picked. Some of you might still remember the “Green” and “Yellow” olive oils I sent and how different their aromas (and taste) were where the main difference was the degree of maturity.

The other components of the flavor i.e. tactile and kinesthetic perceptions perceived in the oral cavity can be for example bitterness, kernelled, body, viscosity, astringent and “in mouth” fruitiness.

It is important to note that exceptional aggressiveness in say pungency and bitterness is not considered a defect! However, it does affect the way we judge the olive oil in competitions and even on the label.

A Legend - Korean Pu-erh

2007-06-25T00:38:00.000+03:00

It was on my last day in China, I entered a Pu-erh shop on Malian Dao, one among the many I entered and passed by. Due to my lack of Chinese, and their English, I did not have any decent conversation that day and after the long hours the day started to kind of “grow on me”.

I opened the door, had a quick look around and sat by the brewing table. “This is it” I was thinking to myself “I am not going to leave until they chuck me out of here”, my legs hurt and I felt dizzy. My stomach was roaring.

Little did I realize but I sat next to a South Korean Antiques dealer.
We quickly found our selves discussing all sorts of things not least fake antique tea utensils. He pulled out of his little suitcase some replicas from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Some replicas were better then others. He gave me a crush course in how to spot the “tell-tell” signs. I gave him a crush course at what was interestingly my favorite topic at the time, how I was continuously tricked by tea vendors (I learned most from those tricks).
Noting of which he did not experience before. In fact I felt I still had a lot more to “learn”.

We continued our conversation over a multiple of issues. We were not told to leave the place, but after a while we kind of got the hint. So we departed with each other’s email.

I wrote to him once I arrived back to Israel, and sent him some bottles of olive oil.

In return he sent me two “samples” (is almost 100g still called a sample?) of “Mulberry leaves tea” and “Korean Pu-erh”.

It was not until today that I actually drunk the Korean Puerh (I still have to taste the Mulberry Leaves “Tea”).

Before I opened the “sample” I was kind of joking how funny (well, it is not really funny) it would be if this happens to be the best Pu-erh I ever tasted. I could picture the blog’s post title: “The Best Pu-erh – Don’t Come from China”, “China attacks South Korea …”.

Little did I know but my third thought after the initial sip was “this is a self fulfilling ‘prophecy’”.
Although I usually like to mumble a lot and prolong suspense where there is none to be found, I think it is quite safe to say that I can not remember tasting any beverage as tasteful and exciting as that one - at least in the past 5 years.

As one or two of you might know tea is not my favorite beverage, however, after this tea, it might just become.
I truly can’t remember ever getting so excited about a freaking drink. Of the record, I think this is a potential dangerous character development.

Anyways, I have repeatedly said that I am not inclined to publish tasting notes not least because of my poor writing skills. Writing about this tea will do it too much injustice.

I mean what can I write? That the scent of this tea is so good that Jean-Baptiste Grenouille murdered for less.
As I write about this scent there is still a hint of the dominant pine wood smell still lingering in the nose (illusion?) and tongue, damn that's a great taste/scent.

It was 36C indoor when I drunk this tea earlier on today. However, I could not stop drinking this hot Gnostic beverage. It even cooled me down on this hot day.

In the beginning I felt like an explorer wanting to find what I can get out of this tea, soon enough I wondered how this tea will affect me, what will be the next sip like, will it still have the same hair raising effect, will I like it as much now as when I “finish” drinking this tea? I wanted to be an explorer but I ended up being taken for an adventure.

Sip after sip, sniff after sniff, I kept fighting to distinguish all the different scents, tastes and secrets this tea treasured, there were so many smells and tastes which I could not name but which were so comfortable and soothing.

I kept smelling apricots, musky, all sorts of honeys to say the least, but most of all there was this dominant Pine wood scent.

Each taste (I could swear there was honey in there) fought for its 10,000 taste buds of fame. If only life could be as sweet as this tea. Just the thought gets my saliva running again. In fact there were times when I kind of felt like a Dog Bordeaux. Indecently, Bordeaux is the color of this liquid.

Drinking this tea I was intrigued as to its origin. So I got in touch - while drinking - with the guy that provided me with this gift.

Usually I don’t care for the stories behind the teas as I know perfectly well that they are most likely to be just that – “stories”. But this was a tea that deserved a good story.

I have edited some of the email he sent me.

“The tea has been made by the elder sister of my friend’s daughter's master. She is a Buddhist nun, and has been living in remote forest alone, growing tea trees and doing meditations.”
…..
Apparently, the tea maker, a Buddhist nun, is a disciple of previous tea master who handed the technique of tea making to her. The technique of tea making has been initiated into their disciple, because in basic it is the tradition of Buddhist temple inside. The tea in general was sold out in the circle of Buddhist temple, because quantity is not enough to supply to outside market, and they are not a kind of merchant. Even in Korea, only a few of people know of the tea, because of the reason I told above. In fortune, I got know the tea because my daughter is the disciple of younger sister of the tea maker.

Oh, you asked the reason why the person grows or makes the tea? The reason is that the tea maker live alone in forest, and in oriental Buddhist tradition, some of Buddhist priests live in self-sufficiency. So tea making can be said a kind of living means and practice of Buddhism.

The tea trees have grown in about 250m above sea level, southen part of Korean peninsula. The field of tea trees is surrounded by mountain peaks, about 300~400m high above sea level. The forest consists of many kinds of trees, but mostly pine trees. So you can smell and taste the perfume of pine tree, because spring time the pollens of pine trees spread all over the moutains, penentrating into the warehouse where the tea leaves have kept.

If you have any chance to come to Korea, I will take you the place of tea field. The warehouse is just downside of the house in forest where the Buddhist nun lives.

I heard that the tea was a littel over 10 years old about 2~3 years ago. So in present, it should be about at least 13 yeasr old.”
Source: "Inbox"

Well it is not exactly the most romantic or for that matter dramatic “tea story” you might have come across (neither is it really a 'story' as such), but it is real and I have kindly asked him to book a place for me in the warehouse.

This is an extra virgin pu-erh tea - a tea without any defects.

I will post pictures of the wet leaves tomorrow when I finish drinking - see end of post for those pictures.

(Dry Leaves)

(First Brew)

(A later brew for a much longer time)

(Over night brew - still, a perfect cup of tea)

I wish 99% of all teas could taste as good as this overnight brewing tea.

(Used leaves - did not open very well but who cares it was great)

This Sport Is Good for Your Skin! - "Yagli Gures"

2007-06-14T17:20:00.000+03:00

Do you know this guy?

("Hi")

What about this one?

("Did I flash the toilet before I left the house?")

What about this one?

("Which one of you $%&*ers drunk my tea?!?")

If you liked the Kazakh martial arts scene "Borat vs Azamat Bagatov".

AND

The "Oil Scene" in the bus depot from the movie "The Transporter" (1)

THEN

What the Turkish people call "Yagli Gures" (literally: Oiled Wrestling) might be your cup of tea.
Yagli Gures is a sport where each fighter is a "hero" - literally (the Turks call it "pehlivan"). However, what makes this sport so different - amongst many other things - is the fact that each "hero" is immersed in olive oil.

(No virgins here...)

If you are interested in reading about the rules of this game press here.

I am still puzzled as to what they mean by "The first wrestler whose “umbilicus is exposed to heaven” loses the match."

("A bit to the right, ohh yeeee. Thank you!" "My turn")

("My Love for you is like diarrhea ... I can't hold it in")

(No Comments)

(Lets just say this is no first aid)

Why Do They Apply the Oil?

"For many years the practitioners of the sport of wrestling have prepared in religious settlements. The first wrestling sketches were found in Egypt in Beni Hasan temple which was built five thousand years ago.

In Central Asia, religious men called "shamans," and "dai" have been involved with wrestling. In the Ottoman Empire wrestlers were brought up in religious environments called "tekke" for seven hundred years. Just like five thousand years ago, Japanese Sumo Wrestling and Turkish Kirkpinar carries over the religious motifs of the past.

Man is not simply made of matter, the other half of the human equation is our spirit and spiritual being. Wrestling without the spiritual relationship has been accepted to be harmful for the improvement of the human character. The wrestlers oiling each-other is a signification of the importance of "balance" in such competitions.

According to English thinker Bertrand Russel, the Roman Empire collapsed due to the infected mosquitoes that spread Malaria. In those times, living at sea level, to 400m above sea level was close to impossible. Even mosquito nets, burning animal feces, standing in smoke during sundown were not sufficient for complete protection from mosquitoes.

The oil extracted from a vegetable particular to the Mediterranean region: "the olive," was used in cooking and for protection from mosquitoes. When humans learned to mix a specific ingredient "kafur" with olive oil for full protection from mosquitoes, the Roman Empire was long gone.

The people of Anatolia who spent day by day applying olive oil on to their bodies, continued to wrestle with their bodies oiled, and a new style of wrestling surfaced from this condition: "oil wrestling." "

Sources: Text All About Turkey)

Wrestling Pictures: Turkish Wrestling

(A rare picture of the titanic 1982 Yagli Gures Championship Final)

Sun Moon Lake – Part one

2007-06-10T23:30:00.000+03:00

The first part of "Sun Moon Lake" is dedicated to a dear friend of mine who wished to bid at the previous auction but lacked the means for the reserve price. Currently she is raising money for this children hospital - Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana.
If you can, please help to raise money by donating here.

Thank You.
__________________________________________________

The first time I wanted to go to Sun Moon Lake, I ended up going to Yingge.

To cut a short story shorter, I talked to BBB about going together to Sun Moon Lake (apart from a beautiful lake it is also “the place" in Taiwan for black tea). Regardless of me coming or not, BBB was going with his friend the next morning. If I wished to join them I would have to make it to the Taipei Main Train Station at 10am.
I made it, but unfortunately my schedule did not allow me to go for a long enough period I deemed to be “enjoyable”.
I apologized and we went our own ways. They went ahead with their plan, and I ended up in Yingge (not before getting lost).

A few weeks later I got my chance to visit Sun Moon Lake.

I have no idea what the sights are like going by train, but taking the bus was very enjoyable. One gets to see some very beautiful rich agricultural land. We were dropped at “hmmm where the %$#& are we?” – there was no lake at sight. However a short walk up the road was a sign directing to the "Sun Moon Lake Antique Assam Tea Farm".

This was the first of many stops on our trip, and a place that celebrated the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
"Sun Moon Lake Antique Assam Tea Farm" is more then just a place where you get to follow the tea from almost the very beginning (tea trees) to the nice metal presentation boxes.

Of course there was the usual suspect - a tea shop, but also guided tours to almost all the stages of the black tea process and equally important (we were very hungry) some of the best vegetarian restaurant I have ever visited, where many of the dishes were cooked with tea – a divine taste!

- keep scrolling, there is more text and pictures-

Some of the material, equipment and process used (not in order):

It so happened and we arrived at the “last meal” – of the restaurant (it closed down for “at least a few months”) and what a feast it was.
Interestingly, the place is run by its previous owner, one of the nicest people I came across. She is a Buddhist organic-vegetarian and the teas, food and overall environment of the place are positively influenced by this.

At some point we were asked “where do you guys stay?” to which we mentioned a hotel we looked up that was reasonably priced and apparently near by (so the bus driver told us just before he dropped us in nowhere land). “Oh… you will not see anything …I have a friend who leaves to town maybe she can give you a lift and help you find a decent hotel with a nice view”.

Enter “Lonika”
Lonika is a meditation specialist who recently moved back with her mother to take care of their family tea farm. Moreover, as we were to experience a day later she is a tea master.

"Black tea with milk on top, black tea at the bottom = yummy"

To be continued (please don't forget to donate).

Q & A

2007-06-05T13:54:00.001+03:00

This is your chance to ask the questions you always wanted to ask about tea, olive oil, the meaning of life and who killed J.R.

Having said that, we ("we" = 'professional panel') would appreciate if you could please try to limit your questions to tea and olive oil.
We don't promise any answers, at least not good ones, but we will try our best.

Please leave your questions in the "comment" box and we will frequently add them to the main text.

Question:
"Dear Doctors, my husband and I constantly argue about how to chose our olive oils. His method is to rub various olive oils on my back and ask which one feels best.
My method (passed on to me by my late grand mother) is a touch more complex and involves the full lyrics of "'Eni, Meni, Maini, Mo".
We would appreciate your wise comment as to who is right.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs B. from Glorious Kazakhstan

Answer:
To him: We frequently come across people who think that this is the best way to chose their olive oil. And in some respects this is true!
But the question is what you are going to use the olive for? If it is "massage" you are looking for then this is perhaps an excellent way to go about it.

To her: We understand that this is how the Glorious Kazachstan Olive Association ( in Kazakh abbreviated "E. VIRIGIN") recommends choosing edible olive oils but there are other different ways at least as good.

Assuming you want to chose the frutiest most balanced olive oil for food consumption, our panel tends to use the official IOOC (International Olive Oil Council) cup.

This is a hand-blown glass specially designed for olive oil tasting. It is in blue so that one does not judge the olive oil by its colour - as the colour does not matter in quality judgment of olive oil.

You want to learn more - press here!

If you do not own such a glass we recommend you do the following:
1) Purchase one (we can help with it)

2) Pour a small amount of olive oil in a small cup ideally similarly looking in shape. Place it at the palm of your hand and cover it with your other palm to warm it. After a minute or two of calm circular motion, place the cup under your nose and then take a quick powerful sniff to appreciate the bouquet of the oil. This procedure will allow you to detect some of the defects and positive attributes of the olive oil in question.

You then need to taste the olive oil. Allow the oil to run all over your tongue, register the bitterns, saltiness, astringencies and no sweetness!
Then swallow for the pungency effect.

If you would like to find out what olive oil goes well with what food or what are legally considered positive and negative attributes please do not hesitate to ask us.
You might also wonder why olive oil never has any sweetness, yet there are olive oils we call "hmm this is sweet".
Though we will appreciate questions that bother you at your day to day life.

Kfar-Saba's Tea Association Most Successful Event - To Date

2007-06-04T00:42:00.000+03:00

A few minutes ago I arrived home from the hospital. The Kfar-Saba Tea Association (that’s Yechezkel and I) decided on preparing a traditional tea ceremony for the doctors, nurses and patients.

Initially the idea was to visit the oncology department since the antioxidants in tea are much talked about. We were some what surprised that such a department does not exist at our local hospital. Hence, we decided upon “the closest thing”.

Lessons we learned for next time
The timing was some what odd as it was late (we arrived there at 9.30 pm) but our philosophy is that happy doctors and nurses equals better treatment for patients. Moreover, we could not get there earlier.

If you are planning a similar experience, there following might be of some consideration to you. Find out the shift times. We arrived just as the old shift was leaving – so they mainly cared to go home.
Furthermore, the new shift just got busy, and could not justify a break as well as being very busy. Talking about this to the nurses they suggested we come when they take a break.
Another tip we received was to come at the “quiet zone time”. Find out when these are.

We also found out that the ‘unusual equipment’ (that's the yixing pots) and some interesting descriptions and perhaps a story about the tea got their interest. However, try not to push it too far as they really just want to take a break and clear their minds.
There is no use in bringing more then 3 (ideally perhaps 2) tea varieties as each break is at most 30 minutes after which you get to sit in the kitchen for hours upon hours drinking the tea and eating the cakes you brought – make sure you leave lots of cakes.
It is important to note that some people are turned off by previous tea experience they had and would not dare to taste tea no matter how different it tastes – again, bring lots of cakes as these are always a winner.

We literally surprised them with our initiative and this had some bad consequences too. The staff members were some what too shy to even enter their own kitchen. It might be useful to coordinate this kind of thing perhaps leaving a notice that you will arrive the next day.

We would appreciate any other comments you might have as to make this whole experience more positive, efficient and entertaining.

So what did we achieve?
The staff felt appreciated and their morale was definitely high (might have nothing to do with us though). It is a very rewarding experience to see refreshed nurses that felt their life saving work is greatly appreciated. Needless to say we increased the awareness of good tea.

A truly fascinating experience the Kfar-Saba Tea Association is already looking forward to repeat - this time better prepared.

As for me, I will continue to enjoy my tea, however, once in a while I will have it in this special place where I can let others enjoy with me and perhaps make their lives a little bit easier.

Although it may seem like it, I am not trying to preach, just telling about a new way I realized that can bring my tea experience a whole level higher and perhaps even into a new dimension.

“Superheated Tea” (the physicist’s answer to instant tea and tea bags?)

2007-05-29T02:26:00.000+03:00

Before one reads further on please read this – don’t forget to come back here.

DISCLAIMER: I am not liable for any sort of damage that might occur as a result of anyone following this experiment or any other experiment suggested in here .

I did something stupid today (I tend to do stupid things but this was dangerously stupid and almost sent me and my friend to the hospital).

None the less, it was fun and I recommend you too do that - as long as you are absolutely safe.

So what did I do?

Well, I had what one might call a “superheated tea” or perhaps I should say “Instant Tea” (the teas were instantly ruined).

We tested various teas, Chinese green tea, Oolongs, Tenbu and even Tea bags using this water.

Whereas I recommend the experiment (it is very dangerous!), I do not recommend preparing your teas like this on a day to day basis if only because the tea taste …hmmm ‘different (?!)’. One can forget about any water pouring technique….
Needless to say there are no fish eyes and if you don’t watch it you will lose your own eyes.
In fact, this makes “old man’s water” look like it had a face lift.

Press here! for a short video of our first experiment– It contains some foul language and extreme violence so it is rated 18.

The teas were rather flat tasting, and for a reason (apart from the fact that some 90% of the tea leafs exploded anywhere but in the cup).

I suppose the reason is because one liter of superheated water heated to 101 °C (i.e. only one Celsius higher!) is already extremely unstable and can even produce about 3 liters of steam – instantly.

In English:
“The latent heat of vaporization of water is L = 2.23 MJ/kg. This means that it takes 2,230,000 Joules of heat to evaporate 1 kg of water at 100 °C and at normal atmospheric pressure. (One kilogram of water is about one liter.)
The specific heat capacity of water is c = 4.2 kJ/kg. This means that it takes 4,200 Joules of heat to raise the temperature of 1 kg of water by 1 °C.

Suppose that we heat one kilogram of water from 100 °C (its normal boiling temperature) to 101 °C, i.e. it is now superheated by 1 °C. When it begins to boil, it will very quickly cool to 100 °C, and the heat liberated turns water into steam. Cooling this kg of water by 1 °C gives 4.2 kJ, which is enough to evaporate c/L = 4200/2230000 kg of water.
This is only 1.9 millilitres of water, which does not sound very much, but it turns into 3 liters of steam. Those three liters of steam are created inside the hot water, quite suddenly, so the water is ejected violently from the container.”
(Source: http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/superheating.html - Emphasis added)

I think it is useless for me to rewrite all the details so beautifully written by the “source”. Please have a look at it as it is very interesting and informative.

Furthermore, I realized that Diana Rosen from the Teamuse (a monthly newsletter by Adagio) conducted some similar tea experiments.
Her report is much more informative then mine. There is no need to repeat.

Note: If you have a proper functioning thermostat I would recommend that you superheat the water and test it after it cooled down to the usual temperatures. We can then compare notes.

Please don’t forget to report your results on here.

Yet again, this is a very dangerous experiment!
A F1 helmet is strongly advised.

Now, please don’t just read this.

Please Open Your Heart and Wallet!

2007-05-24T17:37:00.000+03:00

For some reasons beyond the scope of this blog, I visited a hospital today.

Everyone knows what is going on in hospitals (i.e. how fragile our lives are), but sometimes we need to get reminded -yet again - how lucky we are.

On the way back from hospital I was thinking "what can I do?".

My blog perhaps has the smallest readership on web, but I believe in you(!), which is why I am conducting an auction here.

I have two tea olive-tree spoons. One of which will be auctioned here.

("Serving Suggestion")

The starting price is 20 USD.
The auction will end on the 3rd of June (12 pm GMT).

If you happened to make the biggest bid by then, all you have to do is donate that amount of money to your 'favorite' hospital.

As soon as you have completed this, you should email me (see profile) with the following:

1) Either some sort of receipt or giving me your word that you have donated that sum.

2) Shipping address.

Don't forget that the donation you are likely to give is tax deductible so it is better to keep the receipt.

Please leave your bids in the comment box.

Thank you very much.

Olive Oyl

2007-05-21T14:49:00.000+03:00

On a recent interview I had with Popeye I asked him.

Ido: “Are you a sailor?"

Popeye: "Ja think I'm a cowboy?"

(Pipes and Spinach, a Balanced Diet?)

Not many people know that Elzie Segar the creator of Popeye did not even intend to add him in the original cartoon (mistake baby?).

Ever since the first episode I saw, Popeye was my favorite cartoon character. He is what he is or in his own language "I yam what I yam" and he is the best!
A good hearted, short fused (though considering what Bluto did to him he is a Saint), tattooed, always sharp and funny sailor. Popeye, I miss you (don't worry he is not really dead).

For some reasons, Olive Oyl, Popeye’s love is one of T.V most boring characters.
Her personality is as thin as her body. She flirts with his sworn enemies, and is convinced that she is something special. There is nothing to her that I like, and in many respect she is the opposite of Popeye (and me ;-).

I never liked Olive Oyl and never will.
But one question still remains. Why did Elzie Segar name her Olive Oyl? Did he have a bad experience with olive oil?

DO YOU KNOW?

It is OK to admit you were singing this while reading:

I'm Popeye the Sailor Man,

I'm Popeye the Sailor Man.

I'm strong to the finich

Cause I eats me spinach.

I'm Popeye the Sailor Man.

I'm one tough Gazookus

Which hates all Palookas

Wot ain't on the up and square.

I biffs 'em and buffs 'em

And always out roughs 'em

But none of 'em gets nowhere.

If anyone dares to risk my "Fisk",

It's "Boff" an' it's "Wham" un'erstan'?

So keep "Good Be-hav-or"

That's your one life saver

With Popeye the Sailor Man.

I'm Popeye the Sailor Man,

I'm Popeye the Sailor Man.

I'm strong to the finich

Cause I eats me spinach.

I'm Popeye the Sailor Man.

And may I add “TUU TUU”

To this day my mother still reminds me that I only accepted to eat spinach after I watched Popeye.

The Rationale

2007-05-17T20:25:00.000+03:00

Hi everyone, I am back from an amazing trip of which crown jewel was Tuscany, Italy. Soon I will published some of the pictures and stories.

Some time ago I sent some tea samples to friends of mine.
The tea samples arrived only labeled by colored stickers.
One reason for sending them like that is very much like my dear friend VL described. But there was another reason.

This is the story of the other reason

Every tea house has a menu. Mine was almost done, so I thought.
A very good Taiwanese tea vendor with lots of very good online reviews. Interesting Chinese teas and very good Indian Black tea vendors. 'Other teas' (herbal, fruits and blends) were also to appear on the menu.
Having tasted the teas, I was pretty happy (relative to the price and overall quality I wanted to achieve in my future tea house).

It all crushed during a very long week not too long ago.

I tested a 'mini menu' (the menu consisted of teas that were to be offered on the menu, as well as some scarce teas -where by I wished to see the tester’s reaction to some more special teas- and teas which most tea blogers would considered unfit for consumption. I did not test any Taiwanese or herbal on that occasion). All together there were 19 testers.

The testers represented what is most likely to constitute my future customers’ demography.
I placed on the table all the tea tools that will be present in the tea house i.e. Gaibei, yixing pots, English tea pots, kettles, measuring tools etc. Each person was told to use what he/she preferred to use with the given teas. They were not told what the teas were or how to brew them. The results were eye opening - despite the fact that I spent most of the time closing them in despair and disbelief.

Putting aside the fact that almost everyone asked for sugar, things went from bad to really bad. Most teas were over brewed - people are used to brew their teas here for some 5-7 minutes and put a huge amount of sugar or some sort of sweetener (needless to say tea bags is the norm here). Expensive pots were almost broken, 1 Gaibei broke!

Tastes that I consider as unfit for consumption were liked because they were "...so different!" - think of those Puerh that smell and taste like the bottom of a very dirty pond - it's a hit here! The findings were numerous, some were funny others depressed me so much that I considered to give up the whole project - perhaps there is a need to reconsider the business model… .

Back in Taiwan the best teas I had would taste great despite over brewing (or bad brewing techniques in general). But these teas are too expensive and so scarce that it is almost impossible to get even for own consumption.

Yet, it is obvious I need to do something about all the problems that I encountered, specially the "brewing problem". After a short email to a friend living in Beijing I received 4 samples of Chinese teas that my friend suggested "might be something worth looking at". These teas can apparently be brewed for longer time and are very cheap (when asked how much the testers were willing to pay for the experience of sipping tea in a traditional tea house setting it was lower then expected - no premium for the experience in theory).

I tasted the teas after sending them to my friends. Two of them appealed to me very much and I absolutely hated the other two. There were some similar and very differing views but more about this on perhaps a different day.

Since I received the samples as I was packing the olive-oils, I decided it would be a good idea to hear what my friends think of these teas. The fifth sample (not yet saying which label, but it is obvious) is a sample Bao Zhong tea I bought on my trip to Taiwan. Why did I send it? Simply because I was drinking it on the day - and I like it :-)

Having said this, getting what some might consider weaker tasting teas is not what I consider to be the ideal solution , but it is one and I have not ruled it out completely - this is "the rationale" for getting these teas in the first place.

Needless to say, I am currently working on brewing notes for each tea so as to simplify the brewing instructions and achieve better results - these notes also include pictures as well as a stop watch to be placed on top of each table. Although trained stuff members is a must, I am not planning on having them sit at tables brewing teas. At least not the second pot...for free. Tea brewing demonstrations to improve the customers knowledge are also considered.

Any recommendation as to how to improve the brewing ability of customers sitting at the table will be most welcome.

As I said, I did not test with brewing instructions, but perhaps a short booklet will be sufficient to do the trick.

This Is To Certify That... .

2007-05-02T18:12:00.000+03:00

The Certificate
I have just finished the first stage a very intensive short course (not the last) of becoming a - "Professional Olive Oil Taster" certified by the International Olive Oil Council - nice!

It will take me a long time to internalise all the things that were taught, but most of all I need to practice, practice, practice ... practice.

All will be revealed in the future.

Shopping
Every time someone mentions the word "shopping" I get a twitch.
I hate to go shopping for almost anything.
Some three weeks ago I was asked by a friend to join in a rather unconventional shopping spree.
My friend went to shop for an ancient olive tree.
A lot can be said about ancient olive trees, but they are not economical to the farmer and this simple fact is sometimes good enough to give them a "new home" in the best case or cut their future short in the worst. Upon asking an old farmer once why he sold his ancient olive tree, with tears in his eyes he simply replied "money!".

So what does money buy you these days?

("I look younger then I am")

For a mere 3200 USD (prior to negotiations)you can buy this Souri variety olive tree. How old? the shop owner estimated it at 800-1000 years. Now, I am by no means able to tell the age of olive trees. However, I have seen trees reported to be 800-1000 (and even more). Most looked much older others, less. I have no idea!

Travelling across the country I came across quite a few of this ancient olive trees supermarket. They are sometimes huge (500 very ancient olive trees and many others around 200 years - reportedly).

To be honest I found it difficult to look at it. Its not that the trees were stolen or anything, each tree is in fact very well documented. Huge, beautiful trees out of context if one can say that. However sad we were, we ended up buying 300 ancient trees... . Not exactly.
Actually we ended up with nothing. Ironically we did not find a young(!) enough tree - code word for "in price range". I can see my self coming back to one of these places if only to study the trees. Hopefully these trees find a nice caring home.

P.s. I am going to Italy towards the end of the week for two weeks, can't wait to see their olive trees and mills.

Shadows, Age and Salad Dressing

2007-04-29T18:08:00.000+03:00

This week two teas stood out from all others I had:

1) "Tenbu Funka" from T Ching
2) "1960s Bao Zhong" from Tea Masters

I strongly recommend one reads all the details about the "Tenbu Funka" in the link provided, it is fascinating (I can only wish I read them more carefully myself before I published my tasting notes there).

The Bao Zhong from Tea Masters is a great "taste of the past". I am not sure if this tea is acctually for sale, but it is worth asking Stephane and making him an offer he can't refuse.

It is not only for the great complex taste that I recommend it (this tea is outstanding), but for the fact that it is a great way to taste well aged oolong if you never tasted one before.

HONEY-LEMON TEA DRESSING
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons strong black tea
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons honey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon juice, tea, mustard and honey. Season with salt and pepper. Makes about ½ cup."

SOURCE: New Heaven Register

In the Memory of "Little Miss Sunshine"

2007-04-26T21:25:00.000+03:00

It is with tears and sorrow that I have to announce that what has come to be known "Little Miss Sunshine" is no longer with us.

For those who did not follow, little miss sunshine has been a little (yet great!) olive-tree twig that I-we followed the development of for some three weeks (1, 2, 3).

It has been reported to me that Little Miss Sunshine had a "frontal collision" with the replacement gardener. The gardener is well (wait until I get him!).

Little Miss Sunshine best moment... .

("Let the sun shine, let the sun shine...")

Upon hearing this I felt like 'climbing a tree'! - Literally - So I did.
I have taken a picture of the same olive tree at about the exact location only some 1 meter higher.

You are more then welcome to give this twig a name - specially you Lin.

(?????)

May we all live long, healthy, happy and moral life.

Rice, Shrimps and Tea

2007-04-24T11:14:00.000+03:00

Depending on the main meal, I am likely to boil rice with black tea, and on rare occasions oolong. This is the easiest 'cooking with tea' recipe I know. Highly recommended!

Today I was looking for something new to cook with tea. Searching on line I came across the following recipe. Although I am unlikely to cook this anytime soon, you might find it interesting.

"TEA-BRINED SHRIMP

1 1/2 cups water
3 bags oolong tea
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups ice
1 pound shrimp, veins (and, if desired, shells) removed
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a small saucepan over high heat, bring the water to a near boil. Remove the pan from the heat and add the tea bags. Steep for 5 minutes, or until the tea is dark and fragrant. Remove and discard the tea bags, then add the salt and sugar and stir until dissolved.

Add the ice and stir until melted and the tea mixture is cool.

Place the shrimp in a large bowl or zip-close plastic bag. Add the tea mixture, then cover or seal the bag and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Drain the shrimp and return to the bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and add the garlic. Toss to coat evenly. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet and arrange in a single layer. Season with pepper.

Bake for 8 minutes, or until shrimp are bright pink. Serve immediately.
Makes 2 main or 4 starter servings."

Source: PressTelegram

Is Color a Measure of Quality in Olive Oil?

2007-04-21T22:11:00.000+03:00

Recently I visited an olive press which sells its products to the wide population.

What I found interesting is that many customers were fascinated by the colors of the olive oil. Upon asking the customers what they were looking for they replied that the greener the olive oil the better it is.

This was not the first time I heard this, but I doubt it has anything to do with the quality of the olive oil.

In fact the color of olive oil is never a measure of quality when determining extra virgin olive oil from say virgin Olive oil – and for good reasons!

To begin with olive oil is easily colored by the criminals of the industry – they sometimes do this for the above reasons. Furthermore, it is easy to color (at the cost of taste and quality) by leaving some leafs (contain a high amount of chlorophyll) through the filters.

So if the color is not used to determine quality what can it tell us?

The truth is that for me it is very confusing as there are so many factors that affect the color of olive oil. I am just not an expert to tell in – practice- whether this or that olive oil came from a two phase or a three phase machine, stone or a metal grinder... . Yet I can easily tell the more obvious tell signs whether the olives were ripe or not when pressed.

In order to tell what the color tells us, we need to know where it comes from.

In short the color of olive oil is the various pigments of the olive.

Perhaps the most important factor determining the color of the olive oil is the time of harvesting of the olives. This is due to the fact that green olives have higher chlorophyll content (the green color we seem to love so much). As the olive matures depending on it variety it turns something like this:

Mission Variety: Pale Green to Straw (early season), light pink to dark red, dark purplish, black, light pink to dark red, dark purplish(late season).

Sevillano Variety: Slight blush stem end, half or more dark red, straw, slight blush stem end.

As you can see (I wish I had pictures) there are no black olives and green olives, just olives that turn black after green and sometimes greenish again –depending on the variety. Yet another misconception some people have about “black olives” and “green olives” .

Chlorophyll (derived from ancient Greek: chloros = green and phyllon = leaf) is of course only one of the main pigments in olive oil. Another main pigment is Carotenoids which provides it with the yellow red color.

As the olive ripens, the combination of the different pigments such as Chlorophyll and Carotenoids as well as other pigments changes, from higher proportion of chlorophyll to a lesser one. As a result so does that olive oil’s color change. If pressed early in the season, the olive will be dark green. As the olive matures the color of its juice changes to a paler one.

There are many more reasons that affects the colors of the olive oil such as the weather, cultivar and pressing method etc. However, I believe the season (early/late) to be the most dominant factor in the color of the olive oil.

Some time ago I made a “give away”. I hate to spoil , but each one of the receivers will get one large bottle of olive oil and two samples (there are other surprises;).

It is important that the olives are tasted in the following order Yellow label , Red label and Green label.

The yellow and green labels are of the same cultivars – ablend of Barnea and Picholine - yet they look different.

(Yellow Label -Left , Green Label -right)

The reasons I included the "green label" and "yellow label" is to show how the same cultivars made by the exact same machine, stored at the same place, harvested from almost identical fields, look and taste so different.

How do you think they will taste?

Tea with Mandela Auctioned on Web

2007-04-17T19:12:00.000+03:00

Imagine your friends asking what you did over the weekend, and you replied "I had tea".

Nice! but no big deal.

Imagine you replied, "my buddy Mandela and I had tea together...you two should meet up, he is a nice guy actually...his wife makes amazing 'gefilte-fish'.

Thanks to Mastercard, this is possible!

"From the 14th May 2007, for ten days only, the MasterCard Priceless Moments charity auction will give people worldwide the opportunity to fulfill their dreams by bidding online for a host of 'money-can't-usually-buy' South African and International celebrity priceless moments, in order to raise funds for seven African children's charities.

The charities that will benefit from the MasterCard Priceless Moments initiative are:

The Walter Sisulu Paediatric Cardiac Centre for Africa (WSPCCA), the Childhood Cancer Foundation (CHOC), the Reach For A Dream Foundation, Cotlands, the South African Red Cross Society, the Ithemba Trust and the St. Mary's Aids Hospital in KwaZulu Natal.

Together these charities face enormous financial challenges every day to provide for approximately half a million children collectively.The initiative was borne out of a visit to the WSPCCA in Johannesburg in 2006, by two former state presidents - Bill Clinton and Nelson Mandela. Moved by what he saw at the Centre, President Clinton donated US$30 000 to help two children receive life-saving heart surgery.

Not to be outdone, Mandela joined Mrs. Albertina Sisulu, widow of Mandela's late friend and mentor Walter Sisulu, in offering up their time to be auctioned off to raise funds for the Centre." (http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,90753.shtml)

I believe this is the ebay page. Please mark these dates and donate. Alternatively it gives you the possibility to get an email reminder regarding the auction.

My Promise:
If one of my readers is the lucky winner! (lucky because he/she is rich enough to win!)

I will donate priceless tea for the occasion.

(The picture was taken from a tea competition catalogue)

Of course I would need proof that you are the winner - inviting me to join in is at least one way I can think of.

On a different note:

Here are some forwarded FACTS I received on Chuck Norris.

Chuck Norris frequently donates blood to the Red Cross. Just never his own.

Chuck Norris ordered a Big Mac at Burger King, and got one.

Chuck Norris counted to infinity - twice.

When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.

Chuck Norris can piss into gale force winds.

They once made a Chuck Norris toilet paper, but it wouldn't take shit from anybody.

There is no chin behind Chuck Norris' beard. There is only another fist.

Chuck Norris is currently suing NBC, claiming Law and Order are trademarked names for his left and right legs.

Chuck Norris is Luke Skywalker’s real father.

Chuck Norris uses staples as hair gel.

On his birthday, Chuck Norris blows out his candles by blinking.

TOP SECRET – For Your Eyes Only

2007-04-16T13:17:00.000+03:00

On a recent undercover operation, acting upon the Israeli Mossad intelligence, US Special Forces -Delta– and the British SAS found new evidence on the Iranian war machine.

The Iranians, having learned their lesson from the Iraqis have devised a cunning plan to disguise their long range missiles.

Knowing how important tea is for the British, and tea bag for the Americans the Iranians combined their deep understanding of both cultures with their technological advancement.
Don’t ask me how, but I was able to get some of the classified information.

(Photo: Jane International)

This might look like an ordinary wrapped tea-bag to the naked eye!

(Photo: NASA)

Having unwrapped the paper under heavy fire, the special forces were not yet able to understand what was so special about this so called “tea bag” Colonel Chuck Norris had a ‘hinge’ and decided to keep searching.

(Photo: US Satellite, NSA)

They opened and ‘unloaded’ what was initially believed to be gun powder at the very least. Soon enough, the “big guns” - sniffing bees and dogs – were called in. “red bush tea!” came the immediate reply from the MAYA command centre located thousands of miles away.

Still every thing seemed “kosher”. Did the Israeli intelligence falsify intelligence reports? Colonel Norris knew better. “Continue fighting” he shouted to his men. There was no choice, it was now or never. The truth must be known and told, the fate of the world is at hand.

After hours of heavy fighting Colonel Norris was able to finally figure it out.

He hooked himself with a live-camera. He was injured everyone around him was dead. He was the last man standing.

Lying on the dessert sand this was the last thing Colonel Norris saw.

Next time on "TOP SECRET": The untold story behind the "T-Shirt"

A note on “what makes a great tea master?”

2007-04-15T09:20:00.000+03:00

The other day I was wondering what makes a “great tea master”?

I met many people who describe - themselves (!) as tea masters (this has nothing to do with the tea masters website whose author really is tea master)

There are people who can tell you the age of the tea tree, location/s, how many different trees were used in a specific cake, with minute details how the tea was stored, for how long, whether the tree was in a shadow or on a slope … etc. And all this without ever even tasting. Great!
Then there are the great blenders of tea. Those who could blend various tea to get the required taste. Indeed Tea masters too.

Yet I found one characteristic that was dominant in the greatest tea masters. They all knew how to brew a perfect cup of tea from not-the-best-of-leaves.

This is much harder then it sounds. Shortly after I arrived in Taiwan, I had a tea brewing competition with Stephane. I left there with tears in my eyes - figuratively speaking. You can read about it here.

The greatest tea master (according to my idea of what makes a Great Tea Master) was a mysterious old guy.
The same teas always tasted best when brewed by him. His secret as he put it was the ability to understand the tea at hand - and the available brewing equipment.

Understanding the tea is key for a successful brewing. The one that brews the best teas given the same equipment is for-me at least- the greatest tea master - this is if you like my litmus test.

This brings me back to a conversation I had with Stephane of which the conclusion was something like this: If one brews the best tea, yet does not understand the tea. In other words not brewing to its maximum potential. The tea is likely to taste about 70% of its potential.
However 70% of a best tea is still amazing!

Making an average tea taste like the 70% of the best tea is however what we all should aim for.

A great tea master always brews the perfect cup i.e. 100% potential of the tea. And this comes from a deep understanding of all aspects of the tea.

What is your definition of a tea master?

A recommended reading

Just In

2007-04-14T21:54:00.000+03:00

Drinking tea and sipping olive oil does not immune you completely from the flu - fact!

Considering the events of the last two days as well as the side effect of the medicine I take for this horrible flu, I was seriously considering whether to publish what I just wrote. Let just say I don't want this blog to be "flagged".

To save the day/blog just as I was about to press the publishing button the door bell rang. To my delight it was my sister and nephew. They brought me a little present a beautiful "bonsai olive tree".

Is this their way of telling me they don't want me to take pictures outside their door of "Little Miss Sunshine"? Of course not! which is why there is a new picture.

(Little Miss Sunshine it is)

ADMINISTRATIVE NOTE (as seen on Mary R's website)

2007-04-12T19:31:00.000+03:00

The winner of this year's competition is:

"DANICA"

(winning never tasted so sweet)

If you would like to thank your parents for winning feel free, but please make sure you also don't forget to email me your address! ;-)

Mary R my heart goes out for you. You join the next competition automatically! (yesssss) Though I am not sure when or if it will take place ;-)

A Word on Tea, Wine, Olives and Zeus

2007-04-09T19:54:00.000+03:00

With what seems like a parallel history of some 5000 years between the Chinese and tea, the Chinese people would have a lot of stories to tell about tea. Not only does it seem that tea is as old as the Chinese, but according to some ‘oral teachings’ it is as old as the world.
Antiquity, myth and legends it seems are the very essence of tea and as such are essence of the world - and our humanity.

Joel Schapira et al. write: “When Heaven and Earth were split asunder, giving birth to the world, the universe was ruled by the twelve effulgent Emperors of Heaven who each reigned for 18,000 years. They were followed by the eleven Emperors of Earth, who were also in power for 18,000 years; the nine Emperors of Mankind, who altogether reigned for 45,000 years; the sixteen sovereigns, and finally, the Three Sovereigns: Fu His, Sheng Nung, Huang Ti. Fu Hsi and Huang Ti lived in Honan, South of the Yellow River, and invented all the arts and crafts which they presented to men. Shen Nung, the Divine Cultivar, was the first to till the earth and so gave the gift of tea to man.”
(The Book of Coffee and Tea, p.145)

Indeed, tea always had the aura and elixir of the gods.
In more "recent" history, Lu Yu, the author of "the Classic of Tea" by describing "the drifting clouds, mist-shrouded mountains, and breeze-strippled water" (ibid. p.151) represented the universal harmony of Taoism.

Wine, obviously too has its antiquity, myth and legends contribution to the world. Moreover, there were gods/goddess of wine.
“Geshtin” in English “Lady of the Vine", was the Sumerian goddess of the wine. Others include: “Renenutet” the Egyptian goddess of the harvest and wine and “Spenta Armaiti” the Persian goddess of the vineyards. These are just a few to mention.

But I doubt any fruit(juice) in human history got as much mentioning, excited, interested… and bewildered as many people from all religions and walks of life for so long as the olive. Kings were crowned, wars got started and finished because of olives, economies flourished and full body massage got a whole lot better.

Indeed Athens the crown of the Western civilization is credited to the mighty Olive (of course there is Gotham City and Jerusalem..).

(The Acropolis of Athens)

There was a contest for the land of Attica – (I am well aware that there are many ‘versions’ for the following story, sorry if this one is not “the real one” – I once almost found my self in a fight with some Greeks friends(!?) for a differing storyline).

Zeus the god of gods promised the land to the one who would bring the most useful gift to humanity. Moreover, the city would be named after the winner. Two of the Olympian Gods wanted to be chosen as the protector of the city.
Poseidon (Zeus’s brother) struck a rock with his trident. Upon his struck, the rock released seawater and a horse that could run faster than the wind, win all wars and do all the hard work for humanity… .
Athens, the daughter of Zeus, goddess of the wisdom, skills, and warfare offered an olive tree.
Now, for me, the most useful animal is perhaps the sheep, it can be used as food (coming from a vegiterian), for drink and clothing. However, the olive tree is perhaps the most useful fruit - in my opinion. It is food (recipes will follow in the near future), medicine (traditional “grandmother” medicines-caution advised!), and light (see “extra virgin olive oil lampante”).

Athena won.

Indeed there are records, and one can still see today how the olive trees dominated and still dominate the area in and around Athens. Throughout history, these trees were brought down for many reasons, at times as omen for the death, as tools of war, and at other times to degrade the spirit of the inhabitants to surrender.

“In 480 BC, when the Persians occupied Athens, they burnt down the sacred tree and this was considered by the Athenians a bad sign. But the next day, sorrow was replaced by joy seeing that the burnt trunk had already budded."(Hellenic Republic, Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

(An ancient olive tree trunk gives birth to new sprouts)

May I add that tea traders are also pretty good ‘modern day story tellers’; see - “Don’t buy the story, buy the cake” and “Tea Stories for the Soul”.

There is still enough time to participate in the give away! ;-)

Little Miss Sunshine(?!)

2007-04-08T11:11:00.000+03:00

A reminder: Every week I would be following the development of this twig.

Can you guess how many olives will develop on this twig?

What variety is it?

Sorry if there is not much change from the last picture, but this things do take their time!

p.s. it is not too late to change the name of this olive twig.

Chose Your Bottle

2007-04-06T12:52:00.000+03:00

Towards the end of next week if everything goes according to plan a post office clerk will be asking me the following: “Does this parcel contain anything fragile, liquid, perishable, or potentially hazardous?”
To the fact that each parcel will most likely read “Fragile, liquid material, oil”, I will put my most serious face and reply “No”.
Thanks for the courage Phyll!

Six parcels will be sent to six lucky(?) people.

These are:
Stephane (because I really, really want his teas – hint! – and I like him ;-)
Phyll (because he is the main commentator of this site – and I like him)
V.L (because he needs to have something other then Puerh ;-) – and I like him)
Tea Parker (a proof that you don’t even need to read this site to receive it -and of course I like him)
Lin (a proof that you don’t even need to run a blog, it is enough to be my friend).
To celebrate this occasion, I went the other day to a bottle supplier to chose - a bottle. These are some of the more appropriate designs I came across.

(A - far left, B,C,D, the bottle on the far right is not yet available in darker glass to please don't bother with it)

The last parcel can be on the way to anyone of the readers of this blog.

All you need to do is to comment on which of the bottles designs you prefer - starting with your favorite– even if you don’t like any of them. In which case I would appreciate if you could describe what sort of bottle designs you would like - this goes also to the already 'lucky' ones - if you read this.
Don’t forget to add your name. If you have a common name just add a random number to the end of it. But I don’t think there will be any duplicates – let’s face it!

Towards the middle of next week I will announce the winner (random pick-promise), in which case it will be appreciated if you then send me your shipping address.

A word about the bottles.
There is a reason why these bottles are only 250ml (other me trying to save on shipping and material costs ;-), the three main enemies to olive oil are oxygen, light and temperature. Oxidation can be minimized with the size of the bottle – the sooner you finish it the less likely it is to get too oxidized, it also helps to have a long narrow bottle. Light can be minimized with a darker bottle. As for temperature, try to store it at temperature at no more then 28 Celsius (82 F) and never at direct sun light – ideally cool dark place.

As for my reasons for choosing glass as the bottle material I will explain next week.

My "Precious"

2007-04-04T16:08:00.000+03:00

All tea lovers have what they call "Precious". A unique tea pot they prefer to use for the best (suitable) teas. A tea pot to take out on special occasions. It so happens that some of them own a "precious" pot made from actual precious metal ;-)

A major reason for my slight extended stay in Taiwan is indeed one of those "Precious".

Towards the end of my second week on my stay in Taiwan I went to a tea brewing competition as well as tea accessories exhibition (more about the tea brewing competitions in Taiwan at a different day).

The tea accessories exhibition was mainly the tea artifacts of the renown potter: Mr. Fu.

I have said a lot, but not enough about how friendly the Taiwanese are to foreigners.
Having expressed my astonishment at some of the work presented, the organisers of the competition and exhibition called Mr. Fu who lives some one and half hours away to meet me. I begged them not to do it but this just seem to make them more determined to get him there to meet me - I am wondering what was he must have been thinking when he received the phone call... .

I started running scenarios in my head as to what our conversation would be like. "Great work Mr. Fu", "Where do you get your ideas from...", "Nice pot", "Is this for tea?", "Why did you come here?" As you can see the questions became worse and worse as I run more and more scenarios in my mind.

Some 4 hours! later Mr. Fu arrived (did they wake him up?). My first question to him was "So, what do you think of the weather?". Well, it was not that, but after some 1 hour of great conversation during which we were offered endless amount of local teas we came down to business.

"How much for a unique tea pot?"

After a short negotiations carried out by his friends! who I had great time with in the previous hours and seemed to be more my friends then his, we agreed on what some would call "Cost price".

The problem it seemed was not money but time. It would take some 2-3 months to make the tea pot (he is a busy guy, and the nature of the process also means that some or all pots will break and one will need to re-do make them).

I did ask him for a couple of specifications though.
1) I wanted a large enough pot for many people, yet not too large - it was a slight mistake.
2) A frog inside - I have seen a pot he made with a frog and liked it - a slight mistake too, it is more difficult to clean.

A few months later I received the pot.

(The handing over ceremony by Vivian, a mutual friend of mine and Mr. Fu.)

(I was too excited to make sure the lid was set up properly)

The only thing left now is make enough friends to drink from this huge tea pot.
Anyone for tea?

Thank you Mr. Fu!

In Search Of Location

2007-04-02T14:35:00.000+03:00

It is not a secret that I wish to open a tea house.

Some time ago it seemed to me like I found the most amazing place to realise this dream.

Next to an affluent population mainly of anglo-saxon for whom tea is embedded in their arteries I found a beautiful place, surrounded by silence only broken by the occasional over mature fruit falling on the ground and the singing of the birds - the rent was not so high as to kill the business if the first year proved to be very, very dry (its important to keep enough money to for the business to function through some hard times).

More then enough parking places, paper work, not too big or too small ... .
It seemed too good to be true.

It was too good to be true.

In two years some 7 meters from the main entrance 5 meters deep ('open roof') in the grounds there is going to be a busy highway. With all the construction and the disappearing silence - I was afraid my business will be buried even deeper. I no longer could envisage my place in there.

Maybe I was too picky.

Please Name It

2007-03-31T20:51:00.000+03:00

The above is a twig of an olive tree right outside my sister's house.

Can you recognize what variety it is - press to enlarge?

Well, put simply I don't have a clue.

It is really difficult -for me! - to establish at such an early stage what variety it is without looking completely silly.

So, I decided to follow this particular tree with weekly pictures.

All I am asking from you is to name this tree so it is more convenient for me to relate to it.

Suggest as many names are you wish.

No prizes for winning name - I am stingy ;-)

"Extra Virgin Olive Oil Lampante"

2007-03-29T20:54:00.000+02:00

(Can you spot the terra-cotta oil lamp?)

On the routine visits I had to the supermarkets in Taiwan and China, I came across huge aisles with all sort of oils. Some things I saw there I was not aware that could produce any oil, others I did not even know that existed.

Scrolling across the aisles I came across a selection of olive oils.
Amongst the different labels and grades I noticed the beautifully labeled "Extra Virgin Olive Oil Lampante - Made in Italy" (I came across a lot of Virgin Olive Oil Lampante, but never across "Extra..."). If I did not know better I would think this would taste as good as it sounded.

Unfortunately next to me was a Chinese lady that did not know much better.

Intrigued as to why and how the Chinese buy their olive oil my friend and I asked her why she was choosing the (cheap!) "Extra Virgin Olive Oil Lampante". Apparently the lady was visiting some "healthy food" seminar where she was told that Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Italy is the best (try telling that to the Spanish, French....Israelis and Greeks). The fact that the description on the label mentioned "Lampante" did not bother her much (was it not translated on purpose?).

My friend and I quickly told her that the nutritional values of "Extra Virgin Olive Oil Lampante" and its other sibbling extra olive oil are unlikely to be exactly the same... . As for taste - never argue about it.

Browsing among the supermarket aisles in Asia, it is pretty obvious that one can get away with almost everything written on the label. This is not -in theory-the case with countries member in the International Olive Oil Council. This is not to say that there is nothing fishy going on in these countries (but this is for a different day)!
As a result of the lack of clear labelling and lack of knowledge, customers are likely to pay too much for bad cheap things at the best case scenario and pay with their health at the worst one.

As a rule of thumb you can get bad olive oil expensive, but never good one cheap.

Virgin Olive Oil Lampante: Lamp oil - do not eat! Off-taste and/or off-smelling virgin olive oil. Usually used in the industrial market. For refining or technical use.

Short Story, Long Life

2007-03-27T08:38:00.000+02:00

(The new face of Chanel?)

Jeanne Calment of Arles is the Guinness book "oldest person ever".
When asked on her 120th birthday what kind of future she expect to have, she answered: "A very short one." (who the hell asked this?)

Jeanne used olive oil with nearly every meal.
Moreover, Jeanne used to rub olive oil on her skin.
So when asked on her 121st birthday how she made it her answer was obvious "olive oil".
"I have only one wrinkle" she said "and I am sitting on it".

About Ice-tea and teddy bears

2007-03-24T19:57:00.000+02:00

Taiwan offers an enormous selection of bottled ice tea. And an even greater selection of "freshly made" ice tea usually with added tapioca flour mini balls. The later is drunk using a very broad straw.

About a 2-3 months ago I decided to taste/test some bottled ice tea. I bought 5 different ice tea oolongs and put on my lab coat. I wanted to test at least two whole fridges.

I don't want to ruin my conclusion, but it would be fair to say that I have not tasted any bottled ice tea ever since, and its not because I wanted to keep the aftertaste.

Ingredients:
5 different bottled ice-tea oolong

Method:
A) Taste the teas ice cold.
B) Taste the teas at room temperature.
C) Taste the teas boiling hot.
D) Taste the teas at room temperature after being boiled with a kettle.
E) Well, I did not bother to get them after back into the fridge after boiling. By that time I had enough.

I have some very, very, very detailed notes as to how each tea tastes, looks (they even changed colours after boiling!) and smells. But the truth is, its not really interesting as this teas smelt like plastic looked weird and tasted even weirder.

(Top line is pre-boiling. Bottom after boiling)

Drinking the "Heysong, High mountain Oolong tea" (first from left) I could taste the fruits of the forest... the trees...the wind blowing ...I can almost feel the birds singing... . Yeah right, I felt more like being chased by a huge hungry bear... . If anything I would give it 5 teddy bears out of 10 i.e. 10 teddies is something "bear"able to drink and actually enjoyable as ice tea.

"Vitalon, Cold mountain tea" drinking it, I felt like a bird...like a free man..without boundaries....a hero...floating in the sky...jumping from cloud to cloud... . Yes it felt like free fall with out a parachute!
"4 Parachutes... ".

Allow me to ruin the suspense, but 5 teddy bears is the highest any of them gets.

"Uni-President, Green Heart Oolong tea". At least when you free fall without a parachute you know when it will all end. This tea has no heart! The long after taste of plastic (notes from the tea drunk hot and I did not heat it in the microwave but in kettle), as well as the feeling of fire ants walking up and down your throat biting you, eating you from within...bite after bite after bite.
"10 heart attacks, 0 Teddy Bears"

"Vitalon, Cold Mountain Oolong Tea". Refreshing after number 3.
"3 Teddy Bears".

"Uni-President, Pekoe Oolong tea" Apparently it has no sugar! Believe me it would give coke a fight for its money! For me it smelt like sugar, tasted like sugar, and by the end of the tasting I was afraid I might need an insulin injection.
"0 Teddy Bears"

Tip: If you don't have any lose leaf tea by which to brew your own ice-tea, just stick 2 of your favorite tea bags for about 15-20 minutes into ice cold water bottle.

Translation of the names by Lin. Thank You.

Nankang

2007-03-19T06:49:00.000+02:00

Two days before I left Taiwan on my trip back home, my dear friend Stephane surprised me with a trip to Nankang.

A place at the outskirts of Taipei, a place where the tea fields are being revived back to their glory days.

Like most metropolitan cities, Taipei is noisy and polluted. It does not have the romantic character of Paris neither the grandeur of Rome. But what it lacks in history and architectonical character it makes up with its kind inhabitants and its most amazing surroundings.

Literally a stone throw away you will find some of the most amazing topography in the world and most definitely some of the best any major city has to offer - that I have visited.

Much of the Pouchong you drink is a product of this surrounding.

This time we went to what I like to call "Thé End".

A step in the wrong direction and you will fall a few hundreds meters into your miserable painful death. But if you step at the right places you get to taste the sweetness of life, breath taking scenery, chat with some great friends, beautiful tea fields and wind that breaths life into your lungs all by itself.
Even the stray dogs have found a shelter in the nearby monastery.

The place is almost Utopian, if only artificial in many respects (there may not be any suffering people there but the moral imperative to help always lingers in the back of the mind and keeps it all real) and momentary.

Writing this, I cannot but think that the most important thing tea represents - to me - is not the connection between man and nature, but the connection between man and his fellow man perhaps facilitated by nature. Furthermore, it represents the development of humanity. Be it the culture, philosophy, artisan work, innovations, generosity, greed, commerce, wars, revolutions, health, folk lure, dreams, art, imagination, communication….that have always accompanied the Eastern civilisation history and in the recent 400-500 years Western civilisation too (other things I can think of that have a such a long and rich history in accompanying human history in various places across the world is wine and olive oil).

This is one of the reasons I almost never drink tea a lone. Moreover, I find it does not taste as good as with friends. Similarly, being in this place without the marvelous people who joined us would not be the same.

We arrived to this magical place fully equipped with a tetsubin (the famous dragon one), outdoor gas oven, "Wenshan" water we picked the other time and if my memory serves me correctly some 2002 YiWu Puerh.
And of course what must be by now the word's most famous and photographed silver tea pot (aka "Precious").

("Precious")

Moreover, the place is 'littered' with beautiful gardens and beautiful variety of tables whether made from stone or wood to sit and sip some tea. There is also a large pond with fish and turtles.

As for the tea, if you want to get a hint of real!! Yi Wu Puerh teas this is one tea to start thinking of getting.

Enjoy the pictures.

Home Sweet Home

2007-03-15T20:52:00.000+02:00

I consider my self a frequent flyer (having just looked at my inbox it is obvious the airlines consider me to be one too). I have had some horrible flights which included some huge air pockets and turbulence, as well being struck by light at lift off.

Anyways, the flight home this time was the worst I could remember in my recent flight history. Ironically, the silence that came after each turbulence "session" (each "session" lasted something between 20-30 minutes and we had 6 of them with about 2-4 minutes of silence in between - sounds like a crash course to me...) was horrifying.

I arrived home at around mid-night, exhausted after a horrible flight and some 30 hours without sleep. I needed a strong drink!

So, I prepared some 'Picholine shoots' (olive oil from the Picholine cultivar) which I helped to make just prior to my 'educational trip' (I have to justify having fun) at what many people might call "tea".

Mmmmm. It was great! Refreshing, rich, fruity .... . In simple English "Yammi".

Looking at my olive oil collection - which will increase considerably within the next two weeks - I was considering some much stronger stuff such as the "Barnea" or the "Barnea Nevali". However, I decided against any further drink as I was in a Picholine mood.

I woke up with a hint of the taste (and I bet none of the nice smell of it) in my mouth.

Talking about olives and drinks.... . There are many stories as to who invented the "Martini". Some credit it to a Californian bar tender who in 1870 mixed some gin with an aromitized white wine and plopped an olive. The bar where it happened was named "Martinez".

Regardless of who invented it, in 1943 F.D. Roosevelt prepared Winston Churchill and Stalin some "dirty martini" (recipe: 2 part gin 1 part 'dry' vermouth and olive brine).

It is told that Stalin's foreigner minister Mr Moltov was not impressed and decided to pursue his own ambitions for a world famous cocktail...the rest is history.

Bye Bye Taiwan

2007-02-28T17:47:00.000+02:00

It's not too late, but I am exhausted. Still have to finish packing my suitcase. My luggage is way overweight, and tomorrow I will need a really big shiny smile in order to get just a fraction of my luggage on board.

Tomorrow morning I will be leaving Taiwan for a very long time. How long? I don't know.

For the next few days I would be staying in Hong Kong and then visit Bangkok (Thailand) for a week or so. Afterwards ... back home.

I am both excited and very sad. Of course I look forward to get back home, but I am sad to leave this amazing place that taught me so much and I don't just mean about tea.

To state (the obvious) that Taiwan (Formosa - the beautiful island...) is beautiful is to do injustice to this place. The sights, sounds, smells and tastes (I did not touch much except tea leafs) of this place are (in the spirit of the blog's name) 'divine'.

However, more then the place I will miss the beautiful people of Taiwan.

The Taiwanese people taught me a lesson or two about being a host and helping people, as well as what it means to be a better being in general. Everywhere I went, I was welcomed with the warmest smiles and most welcoming deeds. People who don't speak a word of English went way out of their ways to try to understand me and help me.
Needless to say a welcoming tea was always offered ;-)

There are countless of people I would like to thank, but there are two who are most special to me.

Stephane, without whom I would have never visited this place, and Lin. Without Lin, I would never have enjoyed and learn a fraction of what I did. Thank you both for the time you have given me!

This might also be a good time to thank Lu Yu (not quite sure how to thank a dead man except mentioning and trying to follow his work) who's words have been my guiding star here all along.

"But the really superior taster will judge tea in all its characteristics and comment upon both the good and the bad.

For every individual criticism there is a reason. If the tea leaf exudes its natural juices, it will be glossy and black. If the oils are contained, than it will appear wrinkled. If it has been manufactured for a long time, it will be yellow. Steamed and tamped, it will have hollows and hills. There is nothing unnatural in that, for tea is like other herbs and leaves in that regard.

Its goodness is a decision for the mouth to make."
("The Classic of Tea", Lu Yu)

I can't wait to share my amazing experiences on this blog.

Lately I did not get the chance to write much on my blog - sorry. Moreover, I am not sure if I will get a chance to connect to the Internet in the next 2 weeks. So, don't expect much to appear until I am back home. However, I promise to make up for it as soon as possible
:-)

27 Shades of Yellow

2007-02-23T05:23:00.000+02:00

Recently I posted a quiz.
Shades of Yellow

A single "Yellow Label" tea from Lipton contains tea from some 27 different tea regions around the globe.

I was very surprised both from the many comments/guesses I received and how close so many of you were to this not-exact number. I would not have done so well myself :-(

Some of the reasons for this seemingly large number is of course that Lipton needs to standardize their tea. When you pick a "Yellow Label" you always want it so taste the same, if not, at least you know what you will get. In order for Lipton to reduce their dependency on weather and other factors affecting the tea, they need to get a large pool of suppliers. They then blend it accordingly.
Furthermore, if they only bought their teas from say the Assam region, there would be greater fluctuations in price and their teas will be associated with Assam too much, not to say it will be much more expensive for anyone buying it.

The winner of the Shades of Yellow quiz is "Net".
If you get the chance to read this, please identify yourself writing to the following email divinetastes@gmail.com

There is a prize waiting for you.

"Don't buy the story, buy the cake!"

2007-02-19T13:32:00.000+02:00

Statistics alone suggests that one will find at least one thing to get in Malian dao.

Lies, bigger lies and... .

However impressive that place is, and it is very! It is very possible that I would not have bought anything that day (due mainly to the silly shopping strategy I used), but I got lucky.

Upon entering one of the very last shops that day in Malian dao, I decided upon "quality versus quantity" strategy. In that context it meant to sit down and have a proper discussion with the owners.

This is one way to get something a bit more special since the good stuff is usually at the back. It also helped that I met someone from South Korea who also speaks English and is a friend of the owners.

As a result I got to see some of their more spacial stuff. This also included a 1.5Kg brick cooked Puerh.

Here is the address of the shop. As the brick did not have a wrapping (and wrappings like everything in China can be faked, so it does not mean anything).

If you decide to taste it, and I recommend (its nothing outstanding, but its pretty good and cheap - if you can negotiate well), ask for the "1.5Kg cooked Puerh brick from the 800 year old trees"

( I might start to write about what I drink actually, but I really can't write as good as others and the worst/best thing is that it will taste different for each person - mouth structure, nose, taste buds etc.. - and depending on the quality of the tea -good teas are more consistent according to my experience- in addition, it will taste different every time because of the equipment used, water, temperature in/out side, mood, people, skills etc not to mention that I prefer reading about other's experiences of tea drinking then write my own. A very good writer can be found on TeaLogic, it is almost poetry - see links).

Back to the brick, if you find it hard to believe that the trees are that old, it is because they are not. Having said it, the brick is made of wild trees for sure! As for the age, lets just say that at least 700 years will pass until your grand, grand, grand, grand, grand children will celebrate the tree's 800th birthday and that's assuming we fight global warming and avoid a nuclear Holocaust... .

The stories when buying a cake are always beautiful. "This cake saved my grand father...", "Mao Zedong himself used to pick up leafs from this tree...". O.K, I made these up, but having had people look me in the eyes and tell stories not less stranger with straight face, I only trust my experience (shame I don't have any! and some real independent experts-lucky I have a few) and not what they want me to believe, or worse, what I want to believe.

This may sound obvious, but until I got tricked with a big sum of money I never internalised it.

Stephane (TeaMasters, see links) put it beautifully to me on the phone upon telling him some stories I came across, "Don't buy the story, buy the cake!".

The Last Day in Beijing

2007-02-15T15:19:00.000+02:00

Having just come back from China, and after seeing a tiny bit of Beijing and almost nothing of northern China/Mongolia I can now say I have really experienced China -
I got food poisoning :-(
(yes, one can get it everywhere but everybody warned me of this before I went there)

China, for vegetarians, if you don't speak the language and don't know where to go exactly can be like a slaughter house.
We all heard about Mongolian horses, but have you ever seen a Mongolian donkey?

(Mongolian Donkey dish)

Back in Beijing I came across this sweet turtle.

And this thing.

(No its not cream)

I will save you from the dish pictures.

Mailan dao

The majority of the stay in Beijing we stayed (I joined a Taiwanese guided tour) at the Da Fang Hotel. On the last day of the trip I wanted to skip the planned trip and do my own thing i.e. go to Mailan dao which I read so much about on online blogs.

To edit an embarrassing story, the hotel we were staying "Da Fang" is the very beginning of the street (if I only dared to look or ask earlier). Literally a 2 minutes walk and the mammoth of a tea street (city?, metropolitan?!) begins.

I don't know how to describe it actually. I have never seen anything like this for anything - never mind tea. Yes, there is a ceramic street, jade street, food street, clothing.... but this is not a street actually, its a city.

There is not much I can say about this place since I only been there for like 10 hours, must have passed by no less then 200 shops, entered some 30 shops, tasted 1-3 teas at around 25 of them and bought only one tea, and to be honest I was still at the beginning of the street, have not entered any tea-shopping malls...and to think they call something else the "forbidden city".

I am not sure how long one needs to hang around there to actually be able to say they have been to Malian dao, but its at least for 2 months.

Since it became obviously clear that I won't achieve much there this trip I had to device a sophisticated efficient, evil, cunning plan.

So upon entering the place, I asked to see the most expensive young raw puerh they had (young puerh is cheaper usually and if its good now it would be great when aged properly. Having said that, this is NOT always the case. I have a puerh cake that according to one expert is best drunk now, and it is excellent now).

Surprisingly many have a very limited variety of raw puerh if any! The reason, I suspect, this was not so cunning is that most people look for older cakes (regardless if good or bad?) so nobody bothers with younger stuff so much. Or, are they telling everyone that the young stuff is old (some cakes certainly tasted like that), and suddenly to say it is young would be short of a miracle?

So the next question was "the most expensive cooked puerh , please" (price can always be negotiated later).
I will tell about the interesting things I came across with this silly question at a later post.
And no, the plan is not cunning or sophisticated or any good for that matter but the place overwhelmed me completely I did not think much that day.

The third question must have sounded to them like "Me taste want Da Hong Pao best".

Da Hong Pao
At almost all places I visted that day, their best Da Hong Pao was sealed and stamped and no tasting was available so I had to compromise for their second best.

Except for one place, every where I tasted Da Hong Pao, it was, so I believe, faked i.e. usually Narcisis - not sure how to spell it(!). Some had interesting mixes of leafs actually even Phoenix leafs were to be found there.

Sad!

But the saddest thing to me is that back in Taipei I saw similar things being actually prepared by various shop keepers!

In fact it gets sadder, many of them told me that if I don't mix, I can never become a tea trader. Its a good thing my dream is actually to own a tea house (I know- still selling tea). In case you were wondering this is a similar story in olive oil, only that there its probably gets dirtier and it even gets the government's approval if you are an excellent thief. The full meaning of this I wish to tell in yet another post.
MixShmix

Here is a (bad) picture* of a Da Hong Pao mix. Its made of some 20% 5000NT/600g (selling price) Da Hong Pao and 80% Narcisis (800NT/600g). Its sells very well for around 3000NT/600g. The fact that its a mix is never stated!

Let me just outline that with current technology the leafs will all look the same!

TRY YOUR OWN MIXES, you will be surprised! On - yet again - different post, I will talk about my experiences with GOOD mixes. Incidentally, there are many good mixes - but the fact that it is a mix should always be clearly stated otherwise as far as I am concerned it is theft!

On yet another side note, mixes in olive oil, and I don't mean it in the bad sense of the word i.e. soybean oil with olive oil, or different acidity levels of olive oil etc. are considered as art!

To be a good olive oil mixer/blender you really need to understand the various characteristics of the olive oils, the best time to mix, the ratio levels etc. This is usually done by expert and is very similar in its art to the work whiskey blenders do.

*I am sorry for this not-so-clear picture as I don't really know where I placed some clearer pictures of mixes.

Leaf Reading - Bao Zhong (Pouchong) - Green and Greener

2007-02-07T03:55:00.000+02:00

The above picture (you can always press on the pictures to enlarge) shows three leafs I took from a single bunch of Bao Zhong (Pouchong).

The top-left leaf is some 80% dark with the rest light green - see tip.
The middle leaf is apart from looking out of place (it should be!) is light green with hints of dark green.
The bottom leaf is dark green. And if you like could be named "standard".

If you observe all these kinds of leafs together in your Bao Zhong (Pouchong) it usually means that not much care was given during the making of the tea - so I think.

However, remember TASTING is all that really matters!

Leaf reading is not exact science... ;-)

Here are some of the possible reasons for this phenomena. If you think of more reasons or disagree, please don't hesitate to let me know - I am trying to get a conversation going on... .

1)

Different moist levels in the leafs. This usually suggests that the leafs are "standard" i.e. up to 5 leafs were taken rather then top two.
2)

Withering problems. The leafs are turned over regularly, maybe they handled too many leafs and some leafs never got the light they deserve.

3)

Pan fire temperature might be too low. In addition, the panning machine might have had more leafs then it can handle. Hence some leafs did not get cooked properly.

Because there is not much 'Harmony' in the leaf/leafs, don't expect to have much when you taste it. Leafs that usually looks like this will be more sour and feel "not right".

Any comments appreciated.

Shades of Yellow (Quiz 1)

2007-02-05T16:35:00.000+02:00

Lipton is by far the most popular tea brand in the world.

How many tea regions are "traditionally" to be found in each "Yellow Label" tea bag?

Hint: More regions then you would initially think.

Want another hint?

More regions then what you still think ... .

The correct answer (there is no exact one) will be given when I see a near enough guess in the comment box.

Teagle

2007-02-04T15:11:00.000+02:00

Recently I visited the Taipei zoo. I never had so much fun visiting a zoo, not even when I was (much) younger.

I spotted some interesting bugs and other animals that live and breed in tea farms. One of which is the Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis Cheela).

It lives in the woods, mangrove forests as well as tea gardens. They tend to shriek when flying in the sky. Their major food is snakes, so in a way they keep our tea pickers (assuming it is not done by machine) from snake harm.

Tea Stories for the Soul (1)

2007-01-31T09:23:00.000+02:00

The engraving says something like this: “Tea skills. At cold winter nights, tea is like wine”.

Taipei is getting colder. At these cold nights there is mainly one tea I like to drink – A 24 hours brewed top quality old (approx 10 years) “Da Hong Pao” of which I received just a few grams from a tea master. Of course I taste it hot as well, but I leave it to brew over night after three or four brews. I find that to get the most of the "old tea" effect, I better leave it 0ver night to brew (no there was no astringency to this tea - it is modestly said "perfect" - wish he would give me more, offered him way more money than I can afford to borrow but to no avail).

Sickly enough I think he enjoyed me begging for 3 more grams.

A cold tea that truly warms the body and soul.

There are many tales as to the origin of the name of this tea. Here is just one

(you can read more on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Da_Hong_Pao_tea)

Da Hong Pao (translation: bright red robe)
Long time ago... monks who lived in the remote mountains wanted to pick up some really scarce tea leaves. These are usually found on very old and therefore high tea trees. To do this, they raised and trained monkeys. In order to keep the 'educated' monkeys from the well ... ordinary monkeys, they made the trained monkeys wear big red vests.

I believe there are only four original trees left – if anyone has any pictures I would appreciate if you could send me. A very limited amount of tea is produced each year from these trees and auctioned at prices above most people ability to pay and/or according with the best Chinese tradition given to the top politicians.

Fortunately enough I was able to get a glimpse at the only original monkey still alive!

(Photo: Lin ; Monkey: Bubula)

Change of Fortune
A tea master I know (different one), recently came back from the Yunnan province and was happy to tell us that some farmers are changing their crop from opium to tea (mainly for the Pu-erh market, as this market is booming - is it a bubble?).
I thought this is wonderful. Just think of it, every time you purchase Pu-erh you fight drugs.

As for me I can’t wait to taste some excellent Afghan tea and Colombian coffee.

Did you come across heart warming stories? If so please let me know.

Know thy spoon and cup - Part B

2007-01-30T18:40:00.000+02:00

As mentioned earlier in Know thy spoon and cup (Part A) different spoons will give different smells due to their shapes and material.

This is very much the story with the cup.

However, different cups in addition to smell (the bottom of the cup after drinking) will give different - COLOUR

and TASTE!

The different colours will enhance the experience of a perfect cup, but all this is nothing compared to the my astonishment every time I try the same brewed tea with different cups.

Some cups will give more body to the tea, others will make it more bitter/sweet/fruity/sour/etc. Moreover, some cups will make it smoother but almost tasteless as they seemingly absorb the taste, others will enhance both smell body and taste.

"The Myth"

The other day while discussing this topic with a friend he suggested to me that older cups are "better". Having tasted tea from different periods and styles, I disagreed with him completely.

I suggested to him that usually the older cups MIGHT enhance the taste because at the past there was much more attention put into each cup as it was not so mass produced. Is it true? of course I don't know for sure, so if you have any other ideas please let me know :-)

I believe there are many reasons for this amazing contrast between cups.

But in general its due to the method of production, the soil used (minerals and hence location etc), storage, heating temperature, glazing (if used), size and shape, the master and all the little nuances that take place during the production. As if this is not enough, the tea's own chemicals, a function of the way the leafs were grown, and prepared will interacts differently with each cup - so I believe.

How do these exactly affect the taste if at all? I don't know (too many parameters to keep 'ceteris paribus')! Again, any help is appreciated here so just leave a comment.

The Experiment (Part 1)
In the second experiment I used different teas to check if I still preferred the same cups, will post in the future.

Hypothesis: I will keep choosing the same order of cup preference each time.

Ingredients:
Different cups (with two cups the same - 'testing cup')
The same brewed tea used in all cups.

Method:
Close your eyes.
Don't touch the cup as this might affect your judgment (use a friend, you might not have any after this :-)
Sip (try while hot and cold).
Give marks and comments.
Repeat 3x

Some of the cups used:

Initial Order

Favorite Order

The result was astonishing, out of three trials, I favoured the cups each time in the same order!

My friend looking at this amazed, tried her self, we had similar results.

This by it self is a very interesting test/result, as I am not sure everyone will favour the same cup.

No conclusion as there are still lots of questions unanswered, but the moral of this story is similar to that of the spoon. When testing tea, always bring a cup and a spoon you know!
For enhancing your tea experience always search for a better cup.

Shopping spree
As for me, I am constantly on the search for the perfect cup.
When I search for a tea/wine cup I always bring my favorite cup and test it against the new one in sight.

Kind of sad really, but when I get back home I won't have the pleasure of choosing cups so 'easily'.

Antique cups from a private collection.

Twelve cups in Wucai styles representing the flowers of the months (Qing dynasty, mark and period of Kangxi (1662-1722)

Bowl with bird and lotus design in under glaze blue and red enamels (Ming dynasty, Longqing period (1567-1572)

Tea Measure - Bamboo

2007-01-25T15:47:00.000+02:00

Some people like to use their hand, others like to use special equipment designed through time and experience.

Of course, I am talking about how one measures the tea and the spooning of the tea (6) into the tea pot. Unless you are using your hand, this is usually done using a bamboo spoon.

(Picture was taken from the Tea Museum in Pinglin – the largest tea museum in the world)

I prefer to use a bamboo spoon to my hand as I usually spill most of the tea outside the tea pot. Furthermore, the hands need to be clean as tea will easily absorb the smells and tastes from your hand, be careful not to get a “dove cha”. It is also easier to measure the amount of tea I will use (unless I use a digital scale).

With this in mind I came across these two beautiful bamboo spoons/measure. Needless to say, they look nicer in real.

The next one is a part of a set of which the owner was only able to acquire two parts of.

While I am talking bamboo I came across this today: