taina

recently i posted about my staple tea brand Do Ghazal, and the Ahmad Tea earl grey that i bought when i couldn't find Do Ghazal anywhere. so i opened the package a while ago and i've been drinking the Ahmad Tea earl grey for a few weeks now so here's my review:

it's nice! it's very intensely citrussy, though to the point of pretty much overwhelming the rla. it's hard to compare to Do Ghazal because by the time i finished the box i had, the aroma had faded nearly to nonexistence (it had been open since 2016 – i know, i know). but i have a vague memory of it being more full-bodied and malty back when i first opened the package. and i think i liked that a little more?

and i've actually fucking seen Do Ghazal in the shop again recently, but i can't buy it because i have nearly 500g of earl grey to finish first.

i have thought of mixing it with unflavoured black tea to achieve more body, but the unflavoured black teas i have are more expensive and that would defeat the appeal of Ahmad Tea as cheap bulk tea (or a significant part of it anyway, because even ignoring the price, it's genuinely good tea). i have also considered buying a box of cheap Ceylon tea (Do Ghazal, possibly) but i don't drink enough non-earl grey black tea to justify that purchase. not that it would be very expensive but y'know. just feels wasteful.

( tangent on green tea )

j'ai remarqué un flacon de liquide à vaisselle dans la cuisine d'un des bureaux où je travaille (comme nettoyaire) et, voyant qu'il était au parfum de bergamote et gingembre, je l'ai reniflé. c'était un des meilleurs parfums que j'ai déjà sentis ! (je ne comprends pas comment on peut laver la vaisselle sans avoir envie de la manger avec tels savons).

j'ai trouvé une solution pour pouvoir le manger quand même, ou plutôt boire : l'ajout d'une tranche de gingembre au thé Earl Grey donne un arôme très agréable. le gingembre contribue à la saveur sans couvrir la bergamote. une trouvaille !

there's this tea company Nordqvist whose teas have lovely names like:

• Uskollinen ystävä
• Sadepäivän ilo
• Keisarin morsian
• Tiikerin päiväunet

and i've always thought that tiikerin morsian would be way cooler, there's a name that tells a story! and i just realised that that story is When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo. i should reread that.

do you have a certain place at home for reading?
sometimes i'll sit on my bed to read, but usually i'm just in my chair at my desk, where i live. i spend 95% of my life sitting at my desk.

bookmark or random piece of paper?
i used to use random pieces of paper, but nowadays i use those bookmarks that i keep getting from book shops. i mean, i have them anyway, might as well use them.

can you just stop reading or do you have to end at a chapter or a certain amount of pages?
i do like to stop at a chapter break, especially in the evening (sometimes i'll even pick up my book one more time just before going to sleep, just to read a few more pages until the end of the chapter), but i'm perfectly fine with just stopping anywhere, i just need to finish the paragraph.

do you eat or drink while reading?
i recently found out this is controversial, how about that. i wouldn't say i eat while reading, but rather that i read while eating. especially breakfast and lunch, but i even used to read during dinner.
and as for drinking; yes, tea combines perfectly with any sedentary activity, so i absolutely do drink while reading.

music or TV while reading?
i sometimes listen to music while reading. it can be a little distracting, which is why i generally avoid listening to music while doing homework or studying, but it's not a problem for me when i'm reading for fun.
i don't try to read and watch videos at the same time. sometimes i'll try to read with a livestream in the background, but usually what ends up happening is that i watch the stream while uselessly holding a book open.

do you read one book or several at once?
i always have an anthology that i read one story from after each book i finish. sometimes i'll also read more than one novel at the same time. usually that happens when a book is slow reading for whatever reason and i read something else in between.

reading at home or everywhere?
everywhere. i always carry a book with me just on the off chance that i'll have to wait somewhere. you never know. i'll also read a few pages while waiting for class, and i love reading in the train: two solid hours with relatively little distraction, i usually make quite good progress. on a few rare occasions i've gone to a park or something to sit down and read.
i mean... in theory i read wherever i go, but since i never go anywhere, in practice i always read at home.

do you read out loud or silently?
i always read silently. sometimes when i'm reading a German book, i might read half a page or so out loud just to taste the words. because German is a lovely language and no one can convince me that it doesn't sound cute.

do you read ahead or skip pages?
i skip sex scenes, i'm too ace for that shit. i may also skim particularly awkward or embarrassing passages, but usually i read everything.

breaking the spines or keeping books brand new?
i prefer not to break the spine because i feel like that decreases the structural integrity of the book, but i'm not as bad about keeping books in perfect state anymore as i used to be. they're allowed to show marks of use! they're allowed to live!

do you write in your books?
yes! i've always written my name and the year i got the book on the title page or the one before that, but nowadays i've also started annotating books. just underlining stuff i like or that i find interesting and writing thoughts and ideas in the margins. sometimes there's a specific theme, like the translation choices in Défaillances systèmes or identity and social problems in Le Gone du Chaâba, sometimes just my own thoughts and feelings, like i did with La Princesse et le Pêcheur, but often a mix of personal and analytic, like with Frankly in Love and I Was Born for This.
i really enjoy annotating books, it makes them feel more personal and i like the idea that someone would one day read one of my books and see all the notes and know what i thought of it (although let's be real, no one could decipher my tiny scribbles). to facilitate this, i'm being very reasonable and always write my notes in the same language as the book.