Quiet Dignitea and Style

Or, How I Learned To Read The Labels And It Worked

Really excited about trying out our quiXotic Brand Teas; I spent most of this morning checking out Adagio to make sure I don't make a mistake in brewing any of these¹. I looked through the kitchen supplies that Debbie gave us when we moved in² - thanks again, Debbie! - and we have a kettle but no teapot, and no filter for making tea.

I know enough about tea⁴ to know that you don't put the tea in the kettle - unless you want to spend a couple hours with a wire brush and no way to get it inside - so I'm looking at a couple different choices of teapots. There's an inexpensive one that seems to be getting great reviews, and a not-as-inexpensive but fairly low-priced glass teapot that is absolutely gorgeous. Both of these are the perfect size for just two people, and they certainly seem to be getting great reviews - the first one has over three hundred positive comments and only two negative ones - so I'm pretty hopeful here. (Tea-drinkers, any thoughts?)

As long as I was on this site I figured it'd be neat to check it out completely, and I was looking at the custom blends option. Turns out there's more to my present than arrived in the box - that, or I didn't look closely enough at the packaging. The blends have custom descriptions, which further show me how awesome Gen and Rene are. Not only do personal Warcraft playing experiences translate well to names of professional tea blends, but check out the description of MacRae's Divine Favor:

From the quiXotic collection: A traditional blend of Chocolate, Hazelnut and Cream allow this tea to imbue your tastebuds with a critically delicious flavor.

HOW AWESOME IS THAT⁵

That's not all, either. Let's take a look at Cosette's Presence of Mind:

From the quiXotic collection: A sweet blend of Caramel, Almond and Cinnamon make this tea perfect for giving a burst of energy right when you need it.

Seriously looking forward to this.

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1. I've never brewed my own tea before. I've always had pre-made tea, or someone's made tea for me. I've visited Melissa at Teavana and she's made me stuff before but I wasn't really paying too close attention.


2. No, seriously, it's a metric crapload³. The only thing we needed to actually get for the kitchen that she didn't give us were cups, utensils, coffee mugs and plates, and most of those came from my parents.


3. The difference between a Metric crapload and an Imperial Standard crapload is that only one of those changes when you go to the moon. Mass =/= weight.


4. i.e. I read it in a Terry Pratchett book.


5. See, it's because Divine Favor makes your heals crit. IT'S A TEA PUN.

Theorycrafting Corner: Holy Paladin, World of Warcraft

This is a column I've wanted to write for a while, and I'm in a writing mood. I'm hoping to make this a semi-regular occurrence; sometimes I'll talk about characters and classes, sometimes I'll talk about mechanics, and sometimes I'll talk about world-building and campaign-setting exercises. I'll be pulling from a variety of my experiences all across the roleplaying board (as it were); sometimes from Warcraft, sometimes from D&D, and sometimes from text- and forum-based adventures.

I put varying amounts of thought and dedication into my roleplaying, and it's all tied directly into my writing skills and creativity. Some of it, of course, is tied into my mathematical and scientific skills, and sometimes I pull from just about anywhere that makes sense. I'm a true Red Mage, after all; I'm a jack-of-all, master-of-none. (True story: my manager at work calls me Versatility Guy.)

This week kicks off with a class that's very near to my heart. When I want to kill things in Warcraft, I rock the Hunter, but when I want to be Group Utility Guy, there's nothing better than a Holy-spec Paladin.

( Healing, in general, is like having a toolbox, and the Paladin is a sledgehammer. )