Stained Fingers on Thursday - A Review of De Atramentis Edgar Allen Poe Ink

Somehow, the name of this ink seems to really fit the rich emerald color, though I cannot say exactly what makes the connection!

This scan was done on an HP Deskjet F4280 at 600dpi.
Note: Because these scans are done with a light emitting printer, actual colors will, more likely than not, be slightly darker than they may appear, here. The colors shown, here, are probably a bit more reminiscent of what the ink would be like under a bright light or if it were held up and viewed with a light behind it.

Tea Review Tuesday - A Review of Teavivre's Ripened Aged Pu-erh Mini Tuocha

I love drinking and reviewing pu'erh. Something about the earthiness in the flavor strikes me as absolutely delicious, clean even in a murky way.

Having been provided with several pu'erh samples by Teavivre, I chose to begin with this one. As I prepared my teaware for a gaiwan session, I read a bit of the background of this tea. Teavivre's website lists this pu'erh as having been harvested in the year 2007. Since it was probably not aged all of the time since then, these tuocha (the name for the small, bird's nest-shaped compression of tea) were probably aged for five or six years. Many times, but not always, a lengthier aging will mellow out a ripe pu'erh (as opposed to raw pu'erh, which is another story entirely). One fact on their website about which I wondered was the statement "Low caffeine (less than 10% of the caffeine in a cup of coffee)."

Please indulge some flimsy science, here. If an 8 ounce cup of coffee has somewhere between 100 and 200mg of caffeine in it (very, very rough estimate, based on numbers taken from around the internet - not decaf coffee), then it would follow that this pu'erh has less than 10 to 20mg of caffeine. While the caffeine content in tea varies, based on the variety of tea and which part of the tea plant is being used (bud versus two leaves and a bud, for example), there is no realistic way in which an 8 ounce cup of pu'erh will have that little amount of caffeine, short of being commercially decaffeinated.

Discussion of tea caffeine levels aside, this tea was ready to go! Gaiwan...hot water...mini tuocha...rinse the leaves and begin the first steep! Thirty seconds later, the steep was done, the tea had been decanted, and I was on my way to tea-drinking enjoyment. I may have over-brewed this first steep, as it resulted in a very dark cup. My taste buds did not care one bit.

The deep, dark cup is full of flavor. As is standard for shou (ripe) pu'erh, it tastes as though you are drinking the smell of a forest, wet soil and all, in the best way possible. For as little aging as this pu'erh has undergone, I am surprised at how smooth it is. Other shou pu'erh of this age tend to have rougher edges. That said, what this tea lacks, being young, is complexity. The impression this first steeping gives is that of a straightforward, tasty, ripe pu'erh. Period. There is some interesting sweetness to the edges, but those flavor tones are a part of the whole and not nuances to be followed down rabbit holes of tasting.

Despite what I just said, I am enjoyed my cup immensely, and the soon the second steeping followed...and then the third... Thus far, the tea had maintained a consistent flavor, and I would have been disappointed, had this pu'erh not been able to withstand three solid steepings. By the fourth steeping, the flavor had begun to wane, but I pushed the leaves through two more, just to extract as much pu'erh goodness as possible.

Teavivre's Ripened Aged Pu-erh Mini Tuocha make for great daily-drinking-pu'erh, as they are quite affordable and a good value for the flavor. On my personal enjoyment scale, I would rate these tuocha at 80/100.

This pu'erh may be purchased from Teavivre's website, here.
Photo credit to Teavivre.
This tea was provided by Teavivre for my review.

Furrow Books Comes "Plowing" into Kickstarter!

Good morning, readers! This morning, I want to share with you another great Kickstarter by a man, who is performing revolutionary work in the realm of notebooks: Mr. Aaron Zeller (of Zeller Writing Company Fame) and his project, Furrow Books.

The concept of Furrow Books revolves around the idea that not everyone wants horizontal lines, vertical lines, grids, dot grids, plus grids, or other pre-determined layouts on their notebook pages. Additionally, having those layouts on the page can often be limiting, when it comes to preferring a different layout for different pieces of content within the notebook (e.g. boxes for storyboarding, lines for journaling, grids for architectural sketching).

Furrow Books strives to solve for all of the above dilemmas. Gone will be the need for multiple notebooks, due to different internal layouts. (Using multiple notebooks is always still an option!) With a dual-purpose lined and ruled card that slips behind the page on which one is writing/sketching/doodling/marking, lines for guidance are immediately present for as long as they are needed. The below graphic from the Kickstarter illustrates the process:

This project makes a great point in that the pre-printed lines in notebooks, regardless of the layout, really do not serve much purpose, once the writing/sketching/doodling/marking is complete. In my own personal correspondence, I find that an unlined piece of paper with writing on it looks so much more clean than a lined sheet with writing. However, I have issues writing in straight lines, and my words start to go at angles to the page. For that reason, I use a lined sheet behind my blank piece of paper, which serves to keep my lines of writing straight yet is removable, when I finish with that page. Furrow Books has taken the same concept; improved it by making it sturdier, more portable, and more versatile in its options; and created this brilliant project.

For this initial Kickstarter, Aaron Zeller has crafted two different sizes of notebooks to span preferences.

The various levels for backing include a variety of combinations for numbers and sizes of notebooks. Plus, in the pocket size, a special edition has been created, inspired by the Kickstarter colors, hand-numbered, and only available for a limited time!

I highly urge you to take a look at Furrow Books and provide them with your support. This endeavor is certain to go beyond Kickstarter, and I look forward to seeing what other notebook styles and card templates are developed in the future! The Furrow Books Kickstarter may be found by clicking this link. Additionally, you can visit the official website of Furrow Books for more information, by clicking here.

Stay tuned for more updates as Furrow Books "sprouts" into action!


All images credit to Furrow Books.

The Search for the New Lavender Purple

While perhaps not as famous as Montblanc British Racing Green ink, Montblanc Lavender Purple nonetheless was prized by many... (Click the photos below to see the larger versions.)

While this by no means concludes the search for a suitable replacement for Montblanc Lavender Purple ink, none of the Noodler's Ink shades provided perfect or near-perfect matches. Among those tested inks were beautiful colors, but none were quite so rich as Montblanc Lavender Purple. What do you, the reader, find to be a good substitute?



This scan was done on an HP Deskjet F4280 at 600dpi.
Note: Because these scans are done with a light emitting printer, actual colors will, more likely than not, be slightly darker than they may appear, here. The colors shown, here, are probably a bit more reminiscent of what the ink would be like under a bright light or if it were held up and viewed with a light behind it.

Stained Fingers on Thursday - A Review of De Atramentis Montepulciano Ink

There are a good number of wine-looking, if not also -scented, inks. This one, in my opinion, is one of the best in both replicating look and smell.

This scan was done on an HP Deskjet F4280 at 600dpi.
Note: Because these scans are done with a light emitting printer, actual colors will, more likely than not, be slightly darker than they may appear, here. The colors shown, here, are probably a bit more reminiscent of what the ink would be like under a bright light or if it were held up and viewed with a light behind it.

Tea Review Tuesday - A Review of Teavivre's Taiwan High Mountain Oolong Tea

Thanks to the kind folks at Teavivre, this morning I am bringing you a tasty oolong review!

Eager to provide my gaiwan with a tea session (and to benefit myself from said exercise), I eagerly open the package of tea and breathe in the aroma of the dry leaves. The smell is decidedly subtle but not weak. Above all, it actually reminds me a bit of the smell of a Ti Kwan Yin, yet with marked difference. The floral aromas coming from the leaves are as far as that comparison goes. The leaves do not smell strongly vegetal, but they have a touch of sweetness. I hesitate to term it a fruitiness, but is almost as though the sweetness is partially (or wholly) apart from the floral notes. Light and bright are good descriptors.

After preheating my teaware, I rinse the leaves to begin to open their flavor and aromas more. Taking a whiff of the now-wet leaves in the gaiwan, I find it interesting that this high mountain oolong is even more floral than initially thought. Steeping the leaves for thirty seconds, the brew is eagerly poured from gaiwan to fairness pitcher to cup. My first sip is...unexpected! Now, I certainly mean this in a good way.

Based on the aromas that had been dancing from the dry and wet leaves, as well as the freshly steeped tea itself, I anticipated a light and perhaps sweet taste. What I got was bolder, a veritable flood of flavor across one's mouth, yet it remained true to the original aromas.

The body of the taste is a certain floral greenness, yet not so green as to taste like one is drinking green tea. Natural sweetness laces the edges of the tea, but it seems that there is only enough sweetness to override any hints of astringency. Unsuspectingly, there are very few, if any, notes of creaminess about this oolong. The flavor is deep, though; my description making it sound far too simple. From sip to sip, it shows off a fully body of tastes, literally altering flavor as one sips, holds the tea in one's mouth for a moment, and then swallows. This oolong has a mostly-green aftertaste. Hints of the floral profile stick around to remind the drinker of what they just experienced. It leaves one's mouth feeling clean.

Over several more steepings, the flavors become more pronounced and a bit more bold in the green-area.

Despite the Teavivre description of their Taiwan High Mountain Oolong Tea being a beginner Taiwanese oolong, I think it is much, much more than that, eager and willing to show its complexities. I would definitely recommend giving this tea a try, and, unlike some of the teas that I recommend, I do not think that I shall say "if you like such-and-such a tea, give this oolong a try." No, just give this oolong a try, unless you are adamantly opposed to floral oolongs. I think you will enjoy it. On my personal enjoyment scale, I rate this tea an 83/100.

This oolong may be purchased from Teavivre's website, here.
Photo credit to Teavivre.
This tea was provided by Teavivre for my review.

Stained Fingers on Thursday - A Review of Noodler's Zhivago Ink

Awesomely dark is this green-black ink.

This scan was done on an HP Deskjet F4280 at 600dpi.
Note: Because these scans are done with a light emitting printer, actual colors will, more likely than not, be slightly darker than they may appear, here. The colors shown, here, are probably a bit more reminiscent of what the ink would be like under a bright light or if it were held up and viewed with a light behind it.

Tea Review Tuesday - A Review of The East India Company's Cannon Ball Green Tea

For this review, we have "Cannon Ball" by The East India Company. While I would love to tell you exactly what this tea is, I am not quite sure. Their website lists it as a green tea, and the description suggests it is a green tea, yet the label on the container specifically says "It is a lightly fermented oolong tea."

Well....okay then! This tea basically looks like an over-sized version of gunpowder green tea, thus the naming fits, cleverly. The smell of the dry leaves is faintly reminiscent of that smokiness present in gunpowder green tea. Yet the slight floral taste brings to mind...shockingly...light oolongs. This tea becomes more and more mysterious, and I grow more and more curious!

Unsure as to the water temperature, I opt to use 1 cup of water prepared for green tea (to be on the safe side), coupled with 1 teaspoon of leaves. What works for gunpowder greens and oolongs should work for this too, right?

Three minutes of steep time, says the packaging. I can do that! The resulting brew is a pale yellow-green and smells like...hmmm...very light, floral oolong. Not overly floral, as one might encounter in the tasting of a jasmine oolong. At the same time, it carries the gunpowder green tea flavor, but with a little extra, as though one took a pouchong and mixed it with a gunpowder. This is definitely different, in a pleasant way. Overall, however, the brew seems a bit weak, and perhaps a longer steep time is required.

I love the smokiness of gunpowder green tea, and the fact that such a quality carried over in a new way to this tea definitely caught my attention. While this is an interesting and decent tea, it might be better to order a small sample to try initially. I thought I would love this tea, yet I now can only see myself drinking it occasionally, not every day. On my personal enjoyment scale, I would rate it a 73/100.


This tea is no longer available.
Photo credit to The East India Company.
This review was unsolicited and uncompensated.

Stained Fingers on Thursday - A Review of Noodler's X-Feather Ink

This ink holds a permanent place in my collection, and I almost always have a pen filled with it. For note-taking on cheap paper, it is hard to find a better black ink.

This scan was done on an HP Deskjet F4280 at 600dpi.
Note: Because these scans are done with a light emitting printer, actual colors will, more likely than not, be slightly darker than they may appear, here. The colors shown, here, are probably a bit more reminiscent of what the ink would be like under a bright light or if it were held up and viewed with a light behind it.

A Review of Beautiful Lego

Contrary to the impression, which the title of this post may have given, I am not writing today to review a beautiful Lego set. Rather, I have in my hands the latest book offering by acclaimed Lego designer, Mike Doyle, Beautiful Lego. There are a lot of things that I could say about this book to describe it to you, the reader, yet I do not want to spoil the experience by revealing all of the contents. Thus, if you are looking for a brief word or opinion on this book, here it is: Beautiful Lego by Mike Doyle is an amazing, high quality, incredibly robust collection of some of the most awesome, and beautiful, Lego designs of this era. In my opinion, the inspiration and appreciation that this book drives goes beyond that of any other Lego book, ever.

So you want to know more? Well, to begin, the cover photo of the book is stunning. A creation by the author (see the above photo), the massive, 200,000 piece diorama showcases what is certainly one of the most beautiful Lego creations of 2013. (Side note, the name of this creation is "Contact 1:  The Millennial Celebration of the Eternal Choir at K'al Yne, Odan" and is built in a micro-scale. The full model is approximately 5' by 6'.) This cover draws the potential reader to the book, enticing them to open its pages for more amazing creations.

Picking up the book, I realize that "big and thick" are the most frank, yet best, descriptors. Truly a coffee table-style book, the fact that it contains so much content (and is paperback, nonetheless) is impressive. The organization of the book serves to carry the reader along. Interspersing sections on specific artists (and their creations) with sections of themed creations, the book never contains too much of one type of build or theme. Some of the themed sections feature multiple works by an artist, providing a contrast to other models.

I love the fact that Lego has its own sense of scale. When looking at a model, the relative size can often quickly be recognized by the bricks that are used. The photos in Beautiful Lego are well-shot, incredibly clear, and (in many cases) quite large, often filling half or whole pages, if not more. These photos impress the viewer and truly showcase the models, very well. Speaking of scale, I certainly appreciate the fact that so many scales were represented in the book. Ranging from micro-scale, such as Mike's creation on the cover, to larger-than-life animals and abstract human figures (see the seahorse, above), the models within Beautiful Lego suit nearly every preference for scale and theme of design. In addition to their relative scale, Mike has selected a good range of differently-sized models. Some of the smallest models are actually true-to-life scale, such as a collection of snails, while some of the largest models are scaled like the one on the cover. While the content of the photographs impresses the reader with its technical design, some of the models seek (and succeed) at bringing emotion or feeling to the viewer.

As part of this review, I have to share that my favorite section is the starships. Even within this section, while there are no life-size models, the creations represent a range of micro-scale to minifigure-scale. Some of the designs are simple, while others look to be quite complex. Here lies all kinds of originality and great work. The content of this book seeks to share the beauty in these creations, yet it will also inspire, so keep a bucket of Lego close at hand, while reading!


Related links
Mike Doyle's blog with more pictures of "Contact 1"
Mike's website with more information about the world of Odan


Beautiful Lego may be purchased from the No Starch Press website, here.
Photo credit to No Starch Press and Mike Doyle.
This book was provided for my review by No Starch Press.

Tea Review Tuesday - A Review of Mighty Leaf Tea's Chamomile Citrus Herbal Blend

I really enjoy chamomile. It is one of the few beverages that I can drink at night and have it actually help my sleep, rather than hinder it with caffeine. Having been around teas for a very long time, I have already made the mistake of calling things, like chamomile, teas. Therefore, I am here today to save you all from this same mistake. Cue canned audience clapping. In short, chamomile, and any sort of herb or plant infusion is called a "tisane." The term "herbal tea" is a misnomer, as most "herbal teas" do not contain actual tea.

Moving on from the semantics lesson, here we have Mighty Leaf Tea's delicious-smelling blend of chamomile, mint, orange peel, and several different flowers. Like many of Mighty Leaf Tea's offerings, this mix came in a large sachet for what they deem to improve the steeping of the ingredients. The dry ingredients smell predominantly of mint - not an unpleasant aroma, given that mint tends to be quite relaxing, and I am drinking this and then heading off to bed.

Mighty Leaf Tea recommends steeping this tea for five minutes, though because of the composition, if one were to accidentally (or intentionally) leave this tea for a longer period of time, no harm would be done or unpleasant flavors gained. My five minutes of waiting being over, I move on to breathe in the succulent aroma...of oranges. The oranges have taken precedence in the scent of this brew! Hints of the other ingredients are present, though more subtle.

On to the drinking! In the flavor, the flowers and the orange peel are at the forefront. The orange is more of an undertone, while flowers and the ever-present strains of chamomile tantalize the taste buds. If one is looking for a simple cup of relaxation, this may not be the blend to which to turn. On the other hand, if a fun drink with lots of flavor and no caffeine is desired, look no further. I thought it to be a definitely tasty brew and would rate it at an 83/100 on my personal enjoyment scale.



This herbal blend may be acquired from Mighty Leaf's website, here.
Photo credit to Mighty Leaf Tea.
This review was unsolicited and uncompensated.

InCoWriMo 2014 Is Over - Giveaway Coming Soon!