Hope you saw that the comments are now in a pop up window. I sometimes forget and keep clicking on "comment" like a mad woman, and then discover that it's hiding behind my blog!The pleasant Californian weather took a dip in the 60ties, so I've put my sweater back on, and I keep myself warm with hot coffee and tea.
In my first years of living on this side of the big pond, I discovered to my big amazement that in most work- and school places in the US they don't have a coffee break in the morning and a tea in the afternoon.
In Europe they would not go for that. Coffee and tea is a serious business and should not be meddled with!
I came with my hubby and three kids to the US to do my graduate training, so after I got my doc degree and a job, things got worse. The only time to drink tea of coffee was when I was with a client. My meal times shrunk to 5 min. in between two appointments. Now, I have the freedom to make my own schedule.
Not any coffee will do. After so many years living here, my stomach would protest to the strong Dutch coffee. I do make a 2 hour drive to buy my fresh decaf cappuccino that they grind right in front of me. In the winter I often may drink a mocha or chocolate mix from Hills Bros.
But the morning and late evening I reserve for tea. At the moment my favorite teas are on the pic above, Jasmine Green tea, white tea with Pomegranate (from Trader Joe in CA stores), and fruit tea from Mightyleaf. From China I brought oolong tea, delicious, but pricey. One keeps the tea leaves in the water while one drinks it. I like to drink tea from a tea glass.
Apologize for the quality of the pic, you can see I suffer already from the jitters of caffeine withdrawal!
To have tea or coffee without a cookie is unthinkable in my world. Speculaas is a typical Dutch cookie on the left of the pic below, and is store bought. On the right is the wooden mold that they use for those cookies. You may see the word "wipmolen" underneath, which is one of the varieties of windmills Holland has (don't ask me for technical details, because I don't know, LOL). In Holland you can buy speculaas, as well as the wooden molds in all sizes.
The US must be the home made cookie land in the world. I never made cookies until living here. Just sent a package to my son in Asia with "stroopwafels", another Dutch cookie (translated: syrup waffle. Yes, waffles do not come specifically from Belgium, OR chocolate, OR what some call Belgian andive, for that matter - it seems a fable that is hard to erase, sigh)
I am borrowing this idea from Rosie's blog about my favorite coffee mugs. This coffee mug I like especially on cold days, because a tall and narrow mug keeps it hot longer. Even though I bought the same mug with "latte" on it for my hubby, since that is his favorite coffee, I have to hide mine, because he favors these so much that he grabs the first one he sees.
Can you read what is on the right mug? That's settled then:)
I have some coffee and tea stories, but I'll save that for another time. Have a good weekend, bloggie friends with your favorite coffee, tea, or other drink.
