One cuppa, two cuppa, three cuppa, more

I'm not sure why, but on the boat I'm a tea drinker. In the States, I drank coffee pretty much all the while I was there and never thought twice about it. Perhaps, because everyone in the family drinks coffee; it's there, the Mr. Coffee is always ready to brew and it's just more convenient. David drinks coffee on every continent. But me, as soon as I step foot back on the boat, I put on the kettle for a cuppa and it's always tea. The problem I'm finding is that with the cooler weather here and my new writing projects, I'm sipping tea all day long. I'm usually up early and have my first cup before 0600 and then it's constant throughout the day. Heat the kettle, make a cup of tea and … the cup is empty again. I don't even remember drinking it all; it's just gone. My usual morning tea is regular old Lipton black although Earl Grey with its distinctive bergamot addition is a real eye-opener. I take it “white”, that is, with milk.

Australians drink tea...probably as much tea as Americans drink coffee. They stock Lipton in the supermarkets. Dilmah from Sri Lanka claims to be 100% Ceylon tea and is a popular brand here. Twinings makes an Australian Afternoon Tea that I have yet to try, but plan to. Lord knows I drink tea well into the afternoon. In fact, sometime I'm sipping my last cup as David is pouring the evening glass of wine. Interesting to note, if an Australian invites you to “tea”, it usually means a dinner invitation, not just a cuppa.

There are definitely lots of teas to choose from, no matter where we are. There's Perfect Tea from Papua New Guinea and there are Indian teas and Chinese teas available. I always judge the local population's interest in a particular food by the amount of shelf space that is allotted to it in a big supermarket. Tea definitely takes up a lot of shelf space in Woolworths and Coles here. My favorite tea from New Zealand was Black Adder, a strong anise tea that really made my taste buds stand at attention. It's got a huge snake on the front of it, but I like it anyway. South Africa offered their native rooiboos tea, but I was never able to acquire the taste for it. I never got into Argentina's bitter maté either. And then of course, there was coca tea in Peru, but we won't get into that.

We visited Celestial Seasonings Tea while we were in Colorado last summer. We enjoyed their free tour and stocked up on herbal teas. I love their “zingers”. Tart and tangy lemon, mango, acai, cranberry, raspberry. It's evidently hibiscus that gives their teas the “zing”. Bengal Spice is a wower. I'm not content with a “hint” of anything. I like whatever flavor I choose to be full strength. If it's cinnamon and clove...let me have it. And then, of course, there's the Celestial Seasonings artwork, quotes and interesting trivia on the box. Always a lift-me-up as I'm downing my fifth cup.

Brew-meister at Work

As if the boat is not already torn apart enough with the battery load testing/charging/equalizing process going on … oh, yes, that's still in process … David decided to make beer today. He's been making beer since we arrived in Australia last November. We initially decided to make our own beer because 1) even inexpensive beer in Australia is very expensive (US$50+/case); 2) beer kits are easy to find and fairly inexpensive in Australia probably because of #1 above, which appeals to our frugal mindsets; 3) it was a fun challenge on a rocking boat and something we'd never tried before; and first and foremost, 4) we like drinking beer. He gathered together all the ingredients. It's pretty much a kit, but this still took over an hour since things got “put away” six months ago when we left for the States and now finding them again is challenging... some things may never be found. The notion of having a new batch of beer was incentive enough for him to root around and eventually find everything he needed. It wasn't hard to locate the 27 liter/7 gallon plastic cauldron in which he mixes his brew though. It's pretty hard to lose something that big. As he added boiling water to the brew mix and yeast , it foamed up and the steam rose and he looked more and more like a warlock brewing something other than beer. I half expected eye of newt and a few desiccated frogs to be added, but I was disappointed. He's brewing an Australian Pale Ale this time, but there are lots of “flavors” to choose from.

A yeasty smell overtook the boat … overpowering even the smell of the bilge. A pleasant, earthy, bread-ish smell conjured up images of Oktoberfest. He moved the 20 liters of anti-fouling paint, which has been resident beside the mast, to the forward cabin, so he could make room for the 7-gallon plastic container containing the brew. We really need a few more things on the sole next to the mast. There's not nearly enough to trip over yet.

Mixing the yeast and brew mix together is pretty much all there is to it. Now we wait for a week or so. The specific gravity (an indicator of alcohol level) will be tested after that time and once it remains the same for two days in a row, it's ready to be bottled. It will sit another week or so in the bottles and then it'll be ready to drink. Might be done in time for Hallowe'en. You're certainly invited aboard for a taste.

Not spilling or kicking over the 7 gallon container of brew is also key to the process. So far...so good.

Cold Winds and Comfort Foods

The icy cold Antarctic winds continued throughout the night. With each renewed blast, we snuggled closer and closer under several warm layers of blankets to keep the cold at bay. This blasted wind is getting rather tiresome. We borrowed the marina's courtesy ute today (translation: ute=pick-up truck) to do a bit of grocery shopping. We're used to having the larder quite full just in case the weather is bad or we can't borrow a vehicle. With the cold weather, we've been eating lots of soups, stews, casseroles and chilis...all the old standbys. Food that “sticks to your ribs”, warms you going down and keeps you warm. I'll be glad when we can switch to salads again.