The One Taste of Truth: Zen and the Art of Drinking Tea
A book about Zen Buddhism and teaism and the fascinating connections between the two.
It's good. I recommend it.
It inspired me to get a traditional Chinese-style cast iron teapot and brew my tea from raw ingredients in a semi-ritualistic fashion.
Just finished Kill Creek. It's a debut novel I'd read a couple of good things about. It's about four horror authors who are invited to stay overnight in a famously haunted house. It never quite delivers on the set-up or goes deep enough into anything, it's an okay popcorn read and nothing more.
The One Taste of Truth: Zen and the Art of Drinking Tea
A book about Zen Buddhism and teaism and the fascinating connections between the two.
It's good. I recommend it.
It inspired me to get a traditional Chinese-style cast iron teapot and brew my tea from raw ingredients in a semi-ritualistic fashion.
It's a lovely tea set:
Pardon the off topic post but I have friend who does tea properly like that and it is fantastic. So tasty and you can keep on brewing it for multiple cups. All that caffeine does funny things to me though!
Pardon the off topic post but I have friend who does tea properly like that and it is fantastic. So tasty and you can keep on brewing it for multiple cups. All that caffeine does funny things to me though!
It is a great way to brew tea. As you say, the ingredients can be used several times so it's very economical, and cast iron is an excellent heat retainer, so the tea can be enjoyed leisurely without going cold. Regarding your reaction to caffeine, there are many caffeine free teas - freshly grated ginger, a slice of lemon and a little honey, for example, is very tasty and invigorating.
The best aspect of preparing tea like this though, and this is something the book alludes to, is that you enjoy the tea so much more. Making tea this way requires effort - the kettle needs to be pre-heated before pouring in boiling water to protect the enamel, and it requires cleaning with hot water immediately after use and then needs to be dried straight away to help protect from rust, and the ingredients need to be gathered and prepared, so there is a certain ritual to the process - and the consequence of all that is you give more attention to the taste of the tea and the moment. It's a little time to simply enjoy tea and nothing else.
You know when you are just browsing the Internet and suddenly you come across something that hits you in the chest with nostalgia.
Well I found this and had to buy it. I'd forgotten all about this book and I loved it as a kid.
You know when you are just browsing the Internet and suddenly you come across something that hits you in the chest with nostalgia.
Well I found this and had to buy it. I'd forgotten all about this book and I loved it as a kid.
Good call. Funnily enough I re-bought that second-hand quite recently along with Citadel of Chaos and Forest of Doom (I saw the new re-prints with their awfully bland art and had a sudden pang to own the originals again).
Currently reading Larry Niven's Ringworld. A right grin, it is. Technicolor aliens and zero-gravity sex - proper 1970s sci-fi for men.
Good call. Funnily enough I re-bought that second-hand quite recently along with Citadel of Chaos and Forest of Doom (I saw the new re-prints with their awfully bland art and had a sudden pang to own the originals again).
Currently reading Larry Niven's Ringworld. A right grin, it is. Technicolor aliens and zero-gravity sex - proper 1970s sci-fi for men.
Wow, no way. I thought I was the only person who knew this existed. I almost bought Supercomputer too.
Recently finished The Hellfire Club by Peter Straub. It doesn't make you work like some of his other books but it's a decent read. Basically a serial killer thriller at heart.
Currently reading Future Noir - The Making of Blade Runner. Great insight into the film making process and a reminder that magic doesn't just happen, it takes a ton of hard work and skill.
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