Technical Tea

It was decided when Dad and Alma visited recently, that we would do a "town day". I determined to take them to tea and to a local museum. Dad is a retired university professor. He has been responsible for the education of many electronics technicians and engineers over the years. I really wanted to take him somewhere that would interest him and remembered that one of the tea shops in town was co-owned by an IT computer scientist and electrical engineer. Perfect!

It was decided that we would participate in a tea tasting. Olga was a wonderful host and spent much time discussing teas and tisanes and their history, sources, and usage.

She spent several hours with us, explaining things and answering all our questions.

We tried four different types of teas and/or tisanes. They were:

Mocha Roca Rooibos: a naturally sweet, earthy tisane with subtle hints of chocolate; the best rooibos I have ever tried; excellent (I don't usually enjoy rooibos tisanes).

White Bergmot Honeymoon: a super floral black tea; a blend that is all about the aroma; smelled like roses; rich in the oil of bergamot, also called beebalm (I have lots of it growing in my herb garden right now); dad's favorite of the day and my least favorite.

Ceylon Nuwara Eliya: plain black tea; dark mature; flowery broken orange pekoe; full-bodied and delicious!

Yunnan Royal Gold: a red tea from Yunnan, China; made from young leaves, buds, and tips; very flavorful and my favorite! Most delicious of all!

Chocolates, fortune cookies, and artisan candy was served with tea so that we could cleanse our palates between kinds of tea. Olga was generous with the tea portions and attentive to the pace we set in enjoying our teas.

We spent time looking through the gift shop where tea containers and accoutrement's from all around the world were displayed and available for sale.

It was an enjoyable time and I loved going to tea with Dad and Alma. They were great conversationalists and were interested in the tea experience.

Generally, after tea with a friend we'd go to some of the nearby gift shops. But, I decided to treat Dad to a visit to our local museum instead. It was the highlight of his day! He walked inside the front door and was met by a docent. That is where he stayed for the next two hours and the two of them discussed ideas of mutual interest. The docent was exactly Dad's age and was a physicist who spent his entire career in our community where he worked in the nuclear industry. He shared history, perspectives, and answered questions galore! Dad never did see the displays.

Alma and I browsed through museum displays, learning about nuclear power along the way. It didn't take us two hours, so we each found a comfortable chair and relaxed while Dad enjoyed his visit with the docent. 

Afterwards, I thought I really should take Alma to a gift shop or two, just to be fair. We ended with a trip to Frosted Cupcake Sweet where we each had a decadent cupcake! It was a very pleasant day.