Morning Coffee & Afternoon Tea

Chocolate Friday: Good for a Laugh

Some of my favorite chocolate quotes:

I'm not overweight. I'm Chocolate-Enriched.

The Chocoholic 12-Step Program: Never be more than 12 steps away from chocolate!

Chocolate doesn't make the world go around, but it sure makes the trip worthwhile.

I only recognize two food groups: fruit and chocolate.  And if it's fruit, it should be dipped in chocolate.

One of life's mysteries is how a two-pound box of chocolate can make a person gain five pounds. 

Man cannot live by chocolate alone.  But I bet a woman could.

Put "eat chocolate" at the top of your list of things to do today. That way, at least you'll get one thing done.

Say fast 10 times: A cheery chipmunk chucked chewy cherries in a cheap chocolate chip shop.

Chocolate is nature’s way of making up for Mondays.

There's more to life than chocolate ... I just can't think what.

There are four basic food groups: milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, and chocolate truffles.

I have this theory that chocolate slows down the aging process.... It may not be true, but do I dare take the chance?.

Chocolate Friday: TechnoChoco

Check this out -- chocolate for the techno geek, from Corporate Gift Showcase. 

They have chocolate cell phones (no, not this kind, the kind you can EAT!), chocolate computers, chocolate microphones, chocolate computer accessories, even a chocolate remote. 

I really want some of these, but you know, they wouldn't last more than about 5 minutes on my desk. Heheh.

Found via Chocolate Nerd

Note to Self for Mornings

Dear Self:

Important!

This:

is not the same as this:

One does well in the grinder. 
The other does not.

Finding Love, the Tea Way

I got a chuckle from this article over at the Samovar Tea blog: How to Spot Your Own Darjeeling.  You can tell a lot about a person by the stuff they consume and how they do it.    Tea Guru Julian knows all about that.  And this applies not only to tea, but to other foods as well: ice cream, coffee, dinner, dessert...   

When you're first getting to know somebody, the truth is, all the signs are there.  At the end of a relationship you can always look back and see it... how the signs were there from the very beginning, if only we had been looking and aware.

Does your date order like Sally, everything on the side and specially made?  Careful!  You might be going home with Mr. or Ms. High Maintenance.  That's not to say high maintanence people don't deserve love too, they certainly do.  And if you love them enough, you're happy to ... maintain them.  :) 

China's Really Big Tea Pot

Finally a tea companion to the roadside attraction / big coffee pot series!  This is definitely one to add to my travel plans.  If I ever get to China to visit the Tea & Horse Road, this will be on my list of other places to visit!

It's located in Changshu, in the Jiangsu province of east China.  A ginormous teapot (5.5 meters tall) is pouring "tea" into a bowl. Made of reinforced contrete, it took five artisans thirty days to finish. 

Pretty cool!

This Barista's a Doll

No, really, a DOLL. 

Remember when I blogged about the Jane Austen Action Figure?  I thought I'd seen it all with that one.  Well, here's another doll-ish oddity, this one for the coffee hounds.  A really truly Barista Action Figure.  Go figure.  Heh.

This is Nico, "the barista who pours your morning espresso."  According to the features list:

• No other barista in town makes a latte like Nico.
• Her beans are always freshly ground, she never tamps the filter basket too tight and her foam is perfect: thick and decadent, like a pillow of edible clouds.
• Each 5 inch tall hard plastic Barista Action Figure has moveable arms and legs and comes with two interchangeable heads and two different sized cups (tall and grande) that she can hold in her hand.
• Comes on an illustrated blister card with Nico's history and other valuable information on the back

Now, I could make a comment about the two-headed barista that works in that awful coffee shop up the street...  but I won't.

Found via Vancouver Coffee

Yule Fuel

Boo!

Coupla Coffee Quotes

Just to prove that coffee quips come in all shapes and sizes. 

Psychological:  Even the stain on the coffee cup seems not coffee but the physical manifestation of one's inner stain, the fatal blot that from the beginning had marked one for ultimate aloneness.  Jane Fonda

Anatomical:  I could serve coffee using my rear as a ledge.  Jennifer Lopez

Intellectual:  Science is, on the whole, an informal activity, a life of shirt sleeves and coffee served in beakers.  George Porter, British Scientist

Humoresque:  If I asked for a cup of coffee, someone would search for the double meaning.  Mae West

Confused:  If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee.  Abraham Lincoln

Really confused: I never drink coffee at lunch. I find it keeps me awake for the afternoon.  Ronald Reagan

For the Jane Austen Enthusiast

I don't know why I thought this was so funny.  People collect all sorts of "action figures".  When I was a kid, "action figure" meant GI Joe with the strap-on gun, or that large-muscled stretchy guy that my brothers tortured.  Now, however, you can get almost anything in a doll... all sorts of characters from yer favorite comic books and movies. 

I don't know if these would even be considered toys anymore though.  They're "collectibles".  Anybody see "40 Year Old Virgin?"  What's the value of a Star Wars figure, still in the box, never opened?  It's unbelievable, big business. Go ahead, Google "action figures" and see how many returns you get.

Well, anyway, to the point.  While browsing through my copious catalogs, I ran across this -- a Jane Austen "action figure" from Signals.  I wanted to call this a figurine, but I'm not sure that fits.  Does a figurine have to be porcelaine?  It doesn't say what this one is made of.  Well, anyway, here she is, Jane Austen, standing a full 5 1/4 inches tall wearing a frilly cap and a dress much too long to be practical.

And what action figure worth its salt would be complete without some kind of accoutrement?  This Jane comes  complete with a copy of her own book, "Pride & Prejudice", a writing desk and a removable quill pen.

You know, as much as I laughed at this, I was almost tempted to get it.  Except that she's not very pretty, and there's no tea cup or teapot, and as far as I can find, no options to expand her accessories.  I guess I could buy a Barbie tea set and just fake it, eh? 

Oh, I'm just cracking myself up here.