(no subject)

[nanslice]

Hello friends, I am slowly feeling better. I've been taking antibiotics and painkillers like clockwork (not the painkillers prescribed because they make me dizzy for a full 24 hours and I still need to be able to get to work, so I'm still feeling quite a bit of pain haha) and have been able to eat real food! Woo! The 20th can't get here quick enough!

I watched someone play a bit of Soma and uh. This game looks psychologically terrifying. ;;; I'm going to definitely watch someone play the whole game (definitely not playing it myself). I'm looking forward to the full game coming out.

I've been looking for something to replace soda in my diet and I've decided to give tea a shot. I asked for advice on plurk and then went over to Adagio with a $5 coupon and bought the Chai sampler! I'm kind of excited. New things! \o/

I haven't really done anything else. ;;; I'm mostly just trying to be okay. One day I'll be more interesting again. |D;;

Comments

[spectrier]

Glad to hear you're doing better!

Soma looks incredibly cool! It also really reminds me of Alien Isolation, right down to the "set in a creepy derilict facility" and "machines should not be doing this" aspects. I've yet to get through Alien because I'm a big baby so I expect Soma will be the same for me. :>

[the_rck]

Depending on how you feel about bitterness in your tea, you may end up wanting to steep those teas for less time than the recommended five minutes. Five minutes is needed to bring out the full flavor of the non-tea stuff mixed in, but I can't drink any of the Agagio chais if they've actually steeped for more than three minutes. They're just too bitter.

I have a tea tag on my journal where I talk about my experiences with various teas and what I've tried. What I've liked probably won't work for you, but it might give you some ideas of things to try.

I sweeten my tea with stevia. Stevia has a very definite flavor, and I'm still not sure I like it. I make sure I get stevia without erythritol because I seem to have trouble with erythritol. Also, a packet of stevia is too much for a single mug of tea. Half a packet is the absolute most you'll want (and that may be too much).

My understanding is that it's completely possible to use the same tea/teabag for several brewings. Each will be weaker than the one before, but it still works pretty well. Second and third brewings aren't as good for caffeine because most of the caffeine comes out of the leaves in the first few seconds.

[nanslice]

Thank you!

It looks so scary! And it also looks like (from the small piece I watched) that it has a completely unreliable narrator and that's something that, when done well, should be a real joy to watchplay. |D

[nanslice]

I honestly have no clue how I like my tea, to be honest! This is a whole new adventure for me. I'll vary the steeping times to see which I prefer.

I'm going to be sweetening the Chai with honey, since a plurkfriend told me that's how it's traditionally sweetened. It works out because I love honey! :D

I'll definitely check out your tea tag! I'm completely ignorant when it comes to tea; I've only drunk green tea and not regularly. I need all the help I can get, hahaha.

[the_rck]

If you want to get really into how to make different kinds of tea, you might look at something like this: http://lifehacker.com/5974068/make-the-perfect-cup-of-tea-with-these-steeping-times-and-temperatures

The temperatures on this chart are different from those I've seen elsewhere, and I have no idea how accurate they are. I found them by googling 'tea steeping temperatures.' I seem to recall the correct temperature for green tea being more like 195F or even 199F in other sources. As I recall, all of the samples I got from Adagio listed the correct temperature and steeping time on the pouch.

I also recommend longer steeping times for purely herbal teas. For those, I consider five the minimum and seven more usual. Most herbals don't get bitter, though, so steeping them even longer doesn't generally hurt.

Part of my purpose in starting to drink tea was to cut down on the calories I was getting from pop and coffee and tea with honey. That's why I went with stevia.

[houtarouh]

I'm glad to know that you're getting better!