I had something else planned to post for Oolong Owl’s Sunday Tea Hoots but then realized it was Father’s Day today. Plus June 21 is also my Dad’s birthday. Poor guy, often Father’s Day is in the June 20s so he gets stuck with the same double duty gift!
I don’t think my dad really reads Oolong Owl, but that is okay he has an excuse. My dad is legally blind so he’s not that computer friendly. He can somewhat get by with a iPad, mostly for email, taking photos, playing games and watching videos I send him. (You want to know what kind of videos I send him? 100 attacks to the groin | Kung Fury). Due to his eyes, he recently retired and has been active in his hobbies of making swords or leather armor. My dad also lives back home in Canada, he visits me on Christmas since I moved to the USA, though I am seeing him this summer.
My Dad mostly drinks coffee, a couple cups a day, 1 cream no sugar. He also drinks tea. He’s a big Trekkie and when Captain Picard was drinking Earl Grey, Hot, Dad got a bunch of Earl Grey to drink too. When he visits I unload tea on him. Last Christmas we had many sessions of drinking tea while playing Cribbage. The guy skunked me a few times! His hand is the one on the top.
Since I got a crazy tea stash, I had to narrow down what teas Dad liked. I started on Earl Greys and then expanded the black tea range. Turns out he really likes spice teas, like Chai. I find his enjoyment of spicy chais odd as he can’t normally handle spicy food. I had enough guts to give him ripe pu’er, which I thought he would like since it’s an easy transition from coffee. He tried some really good ripe pu’er that I had on hand. He seemed to like it, but though he’d drink a couple cups from my obnoxiously small gongfu cups, it would run right through him.
Despite my tea being more effective than prune juice to my Dad, he seems to like my tea crazy ways. He bought me a big tea shelf to display all my teas for Christmas 2014 – he was insistent that I needed a better set up to show it off. (Yes, I know I haven’t posted pictures of this yet, it’s coming). He was happy to go to DavidsTea, which is a short walking distance to his house, and buy me tea ware. Since then he goes to DavidsTea often, drinks the samples, and bothers the women working there by showing them pictures of his swords and gives them my blog business cards. If you are reading this DavidsTea workers – don’t give him ripe pu’er!
Anyways, I’m having a round of Mandala Tea’s Special dark thinking about my Dad. I’m out of good black chai tea since he drank them all over Christmas.
Happy Father’s Day/Birthday Dad!
