Tuesday: Plant Parenthood

[mylandmyrules]

Nell was happy to be in her own store where the plants got along much better. Her cats were enjoying the opportunity to sleep in the sunny windows while she worked and she had some quiet music playing in the background.

She was startled to receive a text from Sister Erasmus shortly after lunchtime saying that her Mama and Mawmaw wanted to set up a time to see her 'whenever she could make her way back from that heathen city of hers'. If she seemed distracted after that it was because she still didn't know how she felt about everything or how she wanted to handle it.

Comments

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

Jon had class again tomorrow. He had a lot of notes about tea. He still had very little good practical knowledge. But Nell at the plant shop did tea! So here he was, coming in a bit wide-eyed and panicked nervous. Though still taking time to smile at the cats, who were frankly adorable.

"Hello?"

[mylandmyrules]

"Hello," Nell said with a smile, coming out from the backroom. "Welcome. How can I help you?"

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

Jon took a deep breath and let it out. "I'm supposed to be teaching about tea. I'm hoping you can help me learn something."

[mylandmyrules]

"Tea? Of course," Nell said. "I make my own blends and I'm happy to help out any way I can. Perhaps the class could come here one day if you wanted and I could show them what I do."

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"Oh, thank god." Jon had maybe been panicking a bit. In his defense(?), he wasn't at his best to start. "I don't really know much of anything, except apparently I make it wrong, but I have no idea how to teach it."

[mylandmyrules]

"You make it wrong?" Nell asked. "I mean, I know different people make it different ways, but I'm not sure any of them are wrong necessarily. Just maybe give you a better flavor. But I'm happy to help with what I can."

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"I, um. Well, my...my girlfriend was horrified. And my boyfriend refused to let me. So I must be doing something wrong. Apparently you're, um. You're not supposed to microwave it."

You also weren't supposed to forget it, let it get cold, and then re-microwave it, Jon.

[mylandmyrules]

"Hmm..." Nell said trying to be diplomatic. "Well, no, that's not the best way to get good flavor from your teas. I'd always go with boiling water in a kettle, though yes, a microwave would work in a pinch, I suppose."

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"Right. So...I have no idea why that's the case," Jon confessed. "I should think hot water is hot water."

The Eye was not enlightening him; it apparently had no opinions on tea.

[mylandmyrules]

"I'm no expert on microwaves, but I know it doesn't heat food evenly, so I'd imagine it's the same with water for tea," Nell said. "I know it definitely changes the taste of the tea and not for the better."

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"It d...erm, I...I hadn't realized that." Maybe he would have to try it later?

"All right, so...so a kettle. I can do that. I assume an electric kettle is fine." Martin hadn't seemed to mind them, anyway.

[mylandmyrules]

"That should be fine," Nell assured him. "Different cultures have different ways of preparing it." She went into a bit of detail about that, pointing out some of her teas and how they were best prepared.

"Some people give specific temperatures and times for different types of teas, but most people aren't anywhere that exact."

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"But you're...it sounds like ideally you're supposed to," Jon said.

[mylandmyrules]

"Ideally? Perhaps," Nell said. "But until I came here I did all of my cooking on a wood stove and I certainly didn't check the temperature of the water when I was making tea. A range of temperatures and times to steep works well enough."

She smiled at him. "Besides, where's the joy in having a cup of tea to destress if you have to be stressed about such specificity. It's an art, not a science."

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"An art. Right." Jon nodded, trying to readjust to thinking like that. "But I'm supposed to be teaching about it, so...so I should probably know the scientific sort, too."

[mylandmyrules]

"I suppose," Nell said, "Most teas should steep for 3 to 5 minutes, less if it's a green or white tea - those should only be about two minutes. Herbal teas or tisanes should steep at least five since it takes time for the herbs to release their full flavor. If you want much more specific than that you'll have to look elsewhere."

She gestured towards her tea area. "I'm good at putting together herbal teas to either suit someone's taste or help with a health issue. The deep science behind temperature and time is outside my field of expertise."

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"Right, so, um. Tisanes, I don't know if they count, but I suppose it's my class. There are...quite a lot of them. But I thought the health benefits were...erm...well, negligible," he finished awkwardly.

[mylandmyrules]

"Most people just call tisanes herbal tea," Nell said. "And I certainly wouldn't give someone just a tea to treat pneumonia, but there are definitely some health benefits. Just think of all the Chinese herbal medicines that have turned into more Western medicine - digitalis for example. And Native Americans used to brew up willow bark for pain and to reduce fever and we now know that is because it is high in something like the acetylsalicylic acid that we call aspirin."

She considered for a moment. "And yes, there can also be a bit of a placebo effect, but researchers have found that holds true for actual medicines as well at times. So if you feel that chamomile tea with a bit of honey at the end of the day soothes and relaxes you, it's certainly something to do with the tea. One way or another."

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"So, um. There are some benefits," Jon concluded. "And I read that tea is...well, it's supposed to have antioxidants, which are supposed to be helpful."

He wasn't entirely sure how, but that was something he could look up. "Right, so water, and...there are different sorts of tea, too. Actual tea, I mean. Black and green and so forth."

[mylandmyrules]

"Yes, black, green, white, oolong, and pu'erh teas," Nell agreed."At least those are the main types. There are actually over 3000 varieties. They're a bit like wines."

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

Jon nodded. "I did research a bit. But, um. I'm not sure how they're different, other than scientifically."

[mylandmyrules]

"All the different varieties?" Nell shook her head. "I don't know much about wines, but it seems the same thing. Differences to a serious connoisseur, based on where they're grown and differences because of that, but your average tea drinker wouldn't see much difference beyond the main categories."

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"So I imagine it's mostly, um. Personal preference or mood, as to what sort of tea is 'best'," Jon noted.

[mylandmyrules]

"Yes," Nell said, "Though I imagine the people who grow the rare teas would disagree."

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"But are...I'm curious if there are things they agree on. Tea connoisseurs."

[mylandmyrules]

"That I couldn't tell you," Nell said. "I learned about herbs and teas back home, but I've never had much truck with fancy people like that, I'm sorry."

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"I'm interested in anything you can tell me, though," Jon said.

[mylandmyrules]

Nell obligingly filled him in on what she knew about herbal teas and varietals and the rest. Hopefully he was taking notes or recording her. "And you're always welcome to have a class come here and I can let them try some of what I have, or show them how I put my blends together."

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"Could-" Jon interrupted himself. "Thank you! If you really wouldn't mind." He tried to make sense of her information, filing most of it away for later. He didn't need a recording, but it was a lot all at once.

[mylandmyrules]

"Absolutely," Nell said. "Just let me know when."