Thursday Tea

Thursday Tea is a little meme hosted at BirdBrain[ed] Book Blog. 

The Book: I can't get my nose out of this book at the moment. I'm reading Secrets by Lesley Pearse. It's set in the 1930s and is the story of 12-year-old Adele. I'm almost halfway through and already it's kept me on the edge of my seat. So far, Adele has had to cope with so much - I'm hardly coping reading through it all. But the "secrets" have yet to come out, and I have no idea at this stage what they can be.

The Tea: I've gone for just a good old cuppa today. Strong brew, bit of milk and in a very large mug!

Do they go together: I think so. There isn't anything exotic about this tea, but it seemed kind of fitting with the story being set in England - home of the mighty tea drinker! - and at the moment it's set through the depression of the 1930s which gives a bit of a grey, dull atmosphere to the place. Kind of like what my tea looked like today! Still good though :)

Thursday Tea

Thursday Tea is a little meme hosted at BirdBrain[ed] Book Blog. 

The Book: I've got two books on the go at the moment, but the one I'm curling up with for tea is Fast Friends, by Jill Mansell. It was just time for another of her books! I'm still getting into it, so learning about each of the characters, trying to work out the relationships between them all, but there seem to be three women who will be the centre of this story: Roz, LouLou and Camilla - the fast friends obviously!

The Tea: I've chosen  'Fresh & Fruity: blackcurrant, ginseng, and vanilla'. 

Do they go together: Absolutely! The tea is a bright pink colour which is just as vivid as the colours on the cover of this book, and I think the "fresh & fruity" element is going to complement these characters perfectly. The box also suggests this tea would work well as an iced summer drink - maybe I'll save that for my next Jill Mansell treat!

Thursday Tea

Thursday Tea is a little meme hosted at BirdBrain[ed] Book Blog. 

The Book: I'm just getting into The Rhinestone Button, by Gail Anderson-Dargatz. It's the story of Job, a bit of a loner, lives on the farm by himself, and is able to "see and feel" sound in colours and shapes. I'm not quite sure how this works yet but further into the book I'm sure I'll find out!

The Tea: I've gone for what we (that's us Kiwis!) call "good old gumboot tea". (Gumboots is what we call Wellingtons/Galoshes). Black tea, usually boiled in a billy over a campfire - although I haven't quite mastered that today and instead got my tea leaves nicely enclosed in a tea bag!

Do they go together: Hhhhmmm, yes and no. Yes, because Job is on the farm and that's where I was first introduced to gumboot, aka billy tea. But also no, because Job is obviously a character who sees the light and the sparkle in objects so this tea doesn't have quite the colour that I think Job would appreciate.

Makes for a nice cuppa though!

Thursday Tea

Thursday Tea is a little meme hosted at BirdBrain[ed] Book Blog. 

The Book: I'm currently reading The Little Giant of Aberdeen County, by Tiffany Baker and absolutely loving it. This little giant is such a sweetie, despite the horrible people around her. I'm about two thirds of the way through - it's either going to be an all nighter tonight to finish it, or I'm going to savour it for a little longer and finish it tomorrow. Can highly recommend it though.

The Tea: Chamomile... with a touch of honey. I love chamomile tea, but sometimes it can taste a bit like muddy river water. However, I've found a solution to that. Just add a teaspoon of honey to it. Sweetens it up in an instant... particularly when it's honey from my dad's own bees. Yum!

Do they go together?: I don't usually drink chamomile tea in the afternoon, instead I tend to save it for the evenings when I'm just wanting a nice relaxing cuppa before I go to bed. However, I thought chamomile would go absolutely perfectly with this book - and it does. The calming sense of chamomile seems to somehow reflect the gentle giant's character and her sweetness is reflected in the addition of honey.

Thursday Tea

Thursday Tea is a little meme hosted at BirdBrain[ed] Book Blog. 

The Book

Well, I'm currently reading - finally - Anne of Green Gables. It has taken me three decades to get around to reading this all time childrens' classic, and I only wish I had picked it up sooner. It's great fun. I love Anne's fieriness and her endless chatter. I'm only a third of the way through the book, so have plenty more of the story to enjoy, so it's perfect timing to sit down on a Thursday afternoon with a cuppa!

The Tea

Oh, I've been trying to work out which tea would go best. Camomile is too relaxing, ordinary tea is too bland, what I really need is a spicy red tea of some sort. I think that would be most fitting. The closest I can get through from my only little tea supply is "Orange and Cinnamon" 

Do they go together?

Yes, I think they do. The orange provides a lovely fruity flavour and goes perfectly with the spicy cinnamon. And as the little red-headed girl  is providing much spice to the other characters in Avonlea, I think I've got a match!

Thursday Tea

I came across this little meme at BirdBrain[ed] Book Blog and as it's Thursday - and tea time - thought I'd make a contribution. Sadly I don't have cucumber sandwiches, or freshly made scones with jam and cream to go with it, but perhaps next week.

The book: 
Goodbye Sarajevo, by Atka Reid & Hana Schofield
I'm halfway through this book and feeling a sleepless night coming along. Something I can ill afford having been up way past midnight most nights this week reading! I just can't put this one down. It's the story of two sisters in Sarajevo during the Bosnian War and the chapters alternate between them.

The tea:
This provided me with a great excuse to take a look through my tea cupboard (and find hoards of tea in half empty boxes!!). But today I've gone for a spicy chai tea, blended with cinnamon, cardamom, star anise, cloves and ginger.

Do they go together?
I think I may have found the perfect match. It's the spices in this tea that go so well with the book and the setting I think. I guess I associate such teas with this part of the world. I can't really explain it. I'm just glad I was able to make a cup of tea so easily though, rather than having to avoid sniper fire to collect water and burn clothes to keep the fire going. What these sisters endured is incredible.