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Showing posts from 2020

Tea Lore: Wei Yin and Guanyin, the Iron Goddess of Mercy

Tea Legend Time! Ti Kwan Yin (also spelled Tieguanyin) is commonly called "Iron Goddess of Mercy," as it's named for Guanyin, a Chinese deity of kindness and compassion. The story goes that a poor farmer named Wei Yin spent all his days in back-breaking labor, but still found moments to tend to a dilapidated statue of Guanyin in a run-down temple he passed every day on his way to and from the work fields. One night, an exhausted Wei Yin fell asleep in the temple while tending to her statue. In a dream, Guanyin led Wei Yin to a cave behind her temple, where she told him he would find a gift. When he awoke, he followed her guidance and found a small tea shoot. Wei Yin was delighted, and vowed to treasure this gift. He took the tea shoot home and replanted it, where it grew strong and healthy, with large glossy leaves! This beautiful tea plant was a sight for sore eyes, as the region was arid and the farmers had little success. Wei Yin, being a kind and loving soul, shared c

Stress Management in the Shittiest of Times

 My hands have been freezing like a damn corpse for the entirety of Fall, I've had multiple stress nightmares every night this week and a persistent right lower eyelid twitch for nearly a month. Time alternates between zooming past and sluggishly progressing at a glacial pace, neither of which thrill me. When I ask my friends "how are you doing?" I can't help but say it in the "I already know the answer and I wish I could give you a hug but I can't because of a global pandemic that is showing no sign of slowing down" voice. Despite the glimmer of hope for positive change on the horizon (and flip tone aside here, I genuinely do believe there's hope), these are truly the shittiest of times and there's only so much that positive thinking and Zoom therapy sessions can help. Clearly I have no insight into every individual's response to this year's ever-increasing shittiness factor, but I do have a big heart and the ability to make an easy-to-s

Tea Pets 101

     Have you been harboring a curiosity over the small statues in Chinese tea shops? Do your friends, with their fancy slatted trays and rare oolongs, have a little friend who frequently graces their tea table? Are you super super into tiny cute animal figurines and delicious teas? You, my friend, are ready to get hooked on tea pets.     These little buddies date back to the Yuan Dynasty (1206-1368 AD) when pottery artists began playing with teapot scraps, fashioning whimsical figures out of the spare clay to entertain themselves and their clients. The practice caught on and soon there was demand for intentionally fashioned statues designed to represent household spirits and mythological guardians such as dragons, great turtles and luck-bearing dogs. A bed of coins under the pet (or one in the mouth as pictured below) represents a pet that will bring financial prosperity to a household. Birds are thought to bring wisdom and happiness. Some are fashioned to look like a beloved pet, whi

Friday's Holiday Gift Guide!

  'Tis the season for thoughtful gifts and quality time spent with friends and family! We at Friday Afternoon are firm believers in the uniting powers of tea. What better way to show love than with one of the world's oldest social beverages? Cozy, flavorful and dripping with personality! I have taken a bit of time as we move into the holiday season to personally curate for you a list of delicious gifts. Treat the myriad characters that doubtless surround you this season, and don't forget to pick up something tasty for yourself! Happy sipping! Ok, potty mouth. This one's for you. Clean it up with this rich and creamy dessert tea. White tea with toffee and fudge will chill your vulgar tongue and convert your "What the F*ck" to a more socially-acceptable " WTF !" No more side-eye from Grandma. You're welcome. Got a wild one in your life? This spicy-sweet black tea bites back and is sure to delight the daring gourmands. The war

Recipe: Lemon Pound Cake with Death's Flower Glaze

 Lemon Pound Cake with Death's Flower Glaze Death's Flower Hello, darlings! A few months back our house teen, Teacup, designed for us a whole collection of teas inspired by the hit D&D actual play show Critical Role. The blend featured in today's recipe post immediately became a fan favorite, and we drink it frequently in our house as well! Death's Flower is inspired by Caduceus Clay , a kind-hearted and loyal Firbolg cleric. The tea itself is a humusy, rich, dark earthy blend of fifteen year cave aged puerh tea with dry grapefruit peel and perky hibiscus. Our friend Celeste Conowitch mentioned in passing that this tea would be fantastic in a glaze of some sort, and while she may have meant a savory glaze for roasts (which would also be delicious for sure), I immediately  decided we were talking about cake. Because as the tea house's Executive Fae, it's my job to be sure we are always talking about cake. On the spot, in that moment, I promised y'all a

Ten years of tea in Seattle

Friday Afternoon Tea turns 10 today! It has been my heart's joy and pleasure to serve and help cultivate this wonderful communitea over the past decade. From a single bookshelf of tea in my apartment's dining room to a full-fledged store in Seattle's darling Wallingford neighborhood, we have a lot of growth to celebrate! Ten years of scrapping and stubborning-out has paid off for us in a big way. We have built a third place for all Thirsty Nerds. We have actively contributed to our community and facilitated a fantastic work environment for our staff to grow and be supported as individuals as well as team members. We have taught, learned and been inspired by all of you. On a personal level, this tea company has served as a fertile field for my own inspiration and drive. It has allowed me to pursue my tea dreams while raising a kiddo on my own. Teacup (now fully a teen) and I love our family business with all our hearts and are grateful to see the love on all of your faces as

Diving into Pu-Erhs

Hello, Thirsty Nerds! I've been receiving quite a number of emails, dms & in-person questions regarding pu-erhs lately. It seems there's an upswing in popularity for this complicated and delicious tea family and y'all are thirsty for knowledge! Pu-erh tea (most closely for American tongues pronounced as "poo-ahr," try to swallow the R) is one family in the category of tea known as "heicha," (pronounced "hay-cha"). Heicha is the sixth type of tea and the outlier when defining true teas (leaf from the Camelia Sinensis plant). All other tea types are defined by their oxidation range at time of processing as such: White tea is unoxidized: 0% Yellow tea is delicately oxidized (also smothered to slow the oxidation process): 1-4% Green tea is lightly oxidized: 5-10% of possible oxidation in the leaf Oolong tea ranges widely from moderate to high oxidation: 11-99% Black tea is fully oxidized: 100% of possible oxygen saturation in the leaf

BTB: Modern Pro-TEA-theus

For those new to our blends, welcome! Our themed teas are mostly developed from CEO Friday Elliott's neurological superpower, lexical-gustatory synesthesia . These BTB ( behind the blend ) posts serve as a dissection of Friday's process and experience.  Today, however, we are examining one of our blends NOT developed by Friday. This tea was created by our shop teen, Teacup, also a polysynesthete. We interviewed Teacup about the inspiration behind The Modern Pro-TEA-theus. Portrait of a Young Blender Friday: Teacup, hello! Teacup: Helloooo Friday: Can you tell us why you chose Frankenstein as subject material? Teacup: We were working on the Horror Collection, and so I felt like having a good Frankenstein tea would be really really beneficial to the collection, especially because it's like a "classic horror monster," and I thought it would be fun to do that. Also I had several ideas for it. Friday: Tell me about the tea! Teacup: The tea is a fu

10 Common Tea Myths

When it comes to tea, there's a whole world of information floating around out there. Agriculture is a complicated realm and tea in particular has been spread, traded, cultivated, spliced and specialized into about a million versions of its original self. With thousands of years of culture and evolution, information about tea can feel like a game of telephone. Here are ten of the most common misconceptions we've encountered over the years, and the real facts behind the myths. 10. "Tea doesn't go bad." While your tea leaves should certainly not be going moldy on you (unless you're rocking that post-fermented tea life), they will absolutely go stale and lose flavor. The more light and air hits your tea, the faster it will stale out. The average bag o' loose leaf will last you about 6 months before it's noticeably degraded. Much longer if you can keep it in the dark and airtight! 9. "Drinking tea makes you lose weight." Lo siento,

Behind the Blend: Writer's Fuel

For those new to our blends, welcome! Our themed teas are mostly developed from CEO Friday Elliott's neurological superpower, lexical-gustatory synesthesia . These BTB ( behind the blend ) posts serve as a dissection of Friday's process and experience. Caffeine jolt with a leather body and smoke underbelly You know that energy dip that hits about 70% through a writing session? The total drop in motivation and the brain fog that accompanies it? This tea is designed to taste like the opposite of that. Sometimes we all need a little bolstering, and sometimes we need a lot of bolstering. That bolstering kick in the butt tastes like no-nonsense peaty earthiness and bitey smoke with a honeyed zip of go-get-em smile. These qualities manifest in today's featured tea, Writer's Fuel ! I started with a base of Rwandan black tea , a smooth and sweetly malty-floral black tea from Africa (made with cultivars brought from Taiwan, hence the floral notes). It's full-bodied