Tea Review Tuesday - A Review of Canton Tea Co's Mi Lan Dan Cong Oolong

Because of the delicacy of this oolong, I decided to brew this in a gaiwan with short infusions. First, while I heated the water, I took a look and smell of the dry leaf. Opening the pouch, I bring it to my nose and inhale deeply. The scent is sweet and heavy. Complex, because the heaviness and "darkness" in it seem to be along a different track than the sweetness, which seems to spiral through the tea, never settling in one place. The leaves look dark, twisted, and almost fragile. I rinse the leaves and prepare to begin.

The first steeping is for 30 seconds, and produces a deep and sweet smelling liquor that entrances the nose. The flavour mimics the scent, with a floral profile and a dark flavour reminiscent of a Formosa oolong. A sweet aftertaste sits on the tongue and coats the inside of the mouth. Immensely potent describes this steeping well.

I eagerly steep the leaves again. This steeping is much more subdued. The various elements are well-pronounced. This tea is very delicious and is quite the joy to drink.

By the third steeping, the aroma has become lighter and more vegetal, while maintaining its sweetness. The sweetness of flavour, mingling with the newly developed vegetal flavours, bursts in the mouth quite pleasantly.

The fourth steeping seems to have leveled out the flavour profile. It tastes much like the third steeping. I resteep the leaves again and decide that I am not going to get any more transformations from this delectable tea. 

I will continue to steep these leaves until they give out, but this has so far been an excellent experience. 

I give this tea an 85/100 on my personal enjoyment scale.

Photo credit to Canton Tea Co.
This oolong can be purchased from Canton Tea Co's website, here.
This review was unsolicited and uncompensated.

Yet Another Writing Sample (YAWS) - Or Lack Thereof

Sorry, folks, travels have kept me away from the computer and this blog. For this week's YAWS, I decided to share this snapshot from my desk, offering a hint of things to come...

Would anyone care to hazard a guess as to the inky contents of the two boxes (or as to the pen in the photo, though that is quite a bit easier)?

Stained Fingers on Thursday - A Review of De Atramentis Sapphire Blue Ink

Another nicely shaded ink from De Atramentis, though this one is not scented, as many of the De Atramentis inks that I review are.

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.

Lego Chess - Custom Boards

Lego and chess. A fabulous toy and a fabulous game, both with very rich histories. In the past, Lego has already taken the two and combined them in fabulous sets. Easily customized with a user's own figures, these were fantastic and a great addition to Lego's product lines. I especially liked the themed sets. However, when I began playing and experimenting with chess variants, I quickly realized that the fancy, raised boards in the official sets would not be easily modified for some variants that involve boards of greater size than the standard 8x8. Thus did I craft a very simple 8x8 board...and add option rows and columns! Onward with playing chess variants on 8x10 and 10x10 boards!

Next up - it is time to craft some sets of chess pieces! Themed, perhaps? Maybe more boards in other color combinations!

Photo credit to Built from Ink and Tea.

Tea Review Tuesday - A Review of Tazo Calm Chamomile Tea

Here I am on another Tea Review Tuesday, reviewing what - in my opinion - is one of the least mediocre teas, produced by Tazo. I shall not go into talking of the others at this moment, the focus is on this one. As this is an herbal blend (and not technically a tea), I am not as off-put by the fact that it is bagged. Indeed, many bagged chamomile blends taste quite as good as their loose counterparts, since there are no full leaves to unfurl.

Upon opening the bag, I oddly smell spearmint - not chamomile - first thing. Hmmm, how strange. The ingredients on the package only list chamomile, rose petals, and "soothing herbs." As their website reveals, one of those herbs is spearmint leaves. Mystery solved (except for why the spearmint smells so strongly!) The taste of "Calm" involves a lot of flavors. As per the website, the herbs are quite a few things, all of which play their part in the taste of this blend. Thankfully, the chamomile presents its flavor above all the others - very good. The spearmint takes a back seat and the lemongrass laces the edges. Floating through the middle, somewhere, are subtle notes of rose and lavender, just barely present.

My main problem with this blend - everything tastes a bit flat, like the ingredients are old or something of that nature. 

Tazo could have done far, far worse than this blend, and I quite like that they seem to have spent the effort to craft it well. On my personal enjoyment scale, I would rate it a 76/100.

This tea can be purchased in Starbucks stores or from their website, here.
Photo credit to Starbucks.
This review was unsolicited and uncompensated.

A Review of The BrickGun Book!

Here it is, folks! As promised, a review of another great offering from No Starch Press! You may recall me hinting, earlier this month, at new content to come on Built from Ink and Tea that would include such a review, and here we have it. Released in May of this year, The BrickGun Book by Jeff Boen takes a close and hands-on look at a genre of Lego modeling that is definitely not geared toward the typical young Lego audience. As the book warns, these models are not suitable for children under the age of twelve. That said, let us take a closer look at the book itself!

The author, Jeff Boen, begins with a short history of how he came to build model guns from Lego, which provides a nice background and lead-in to the instructions themselves (which comprise most of the book). Included in The BrickGun Book are instructions for building the BG22, 92FS, Desert Eagle, 1911, and Mac-11. A couple of these models have special additions. The BG22 has a removable magazine (complete with visible Lego bullet!), and the Mac-11 can launch rubber bands. That one of the models actually fired something impressed me, greatly. However, the other models are by no means just static creations. The BG22 has a movable slide, switchable safety catch, and working trigger. The 92FS, Desert Eagle, and 1911 include all of these features, plus a moving hammer that can be cocked. Not only does the Mac-11 fire rubber bands, the instructions seem to suggest that up to five rubber bands may be loaded at once.

After going through the book, the pictures of the 1911 model impressed me the most, complete with the look of the wooden laminate grip. The build itself took some time, but everything was very well explained. Next, I think it would be very cool to try one of these models in some other unique color - dark green, perhaps, or a bright red - just for fun.

One of my greatest difficulties with this book lies in the style of binding. The binding itself is excellent; however, it is most easy to use Lego instructions when they can lay flat and open with ease - something that the binding on this book was not aimed to do, especially when near the beginning or the end. Thus, I found, while building, that I had to prop the book open, placing weights on either side to spread the pages, which was a bit annoying, when it came time to turn the pages. (Yes, an ink bottle proved to be a nice page holder.)

The instructions themselves are incredibly clear. In some instances, I felt myself wishing that the instructions in Lego's booklets were as easy to follow. Mostly, I could see this affecting a younger or newer group of Lego builders, whose experience, with the various pieces and how they fit together, was perhaps not as advanced. Of particular note is a section in the front of the book, describing how the instructions are laid out and how best to read them. Preceding each section of instructions, a parts list provides quantities, suggested colors, descriptions, and even the official Lego part number for each piece that will be needed in the model. This alone takes the instructions to a higher level of technicality than Lego's own manuals - a necessity when you are dealing with parts that do not come prepackaged together. For myself, it allowed me to fully prepare for building, being assured that I was not going to be scrambling to find an essential piece, after beginning.

Lego enthusiast? Handgun enthusiast? Realistic model enthusiast? Check out this book. It is definitely worth your time. If bigger guns are more your thing, be sure to check out LEGO Heavy Weapons, also available from No Starch Press.

The BrickGun Book, by Jeff Boen, is available directly from No Starch Press and Amazon.com. If you are looking for even more cool BrickGun instructions, Jeff Boen runs the website, BrickGun.com, where he sells kits that include all the pieces necessary to build the models, featured in The BrickGun Book. Additionally, his website offers fantastic wallpapers, a disc of all of his BrickGun building instructions (including some not found in The BrickGun Book), and some free instructions. I found these free instructions to be very cool, as they mainly show how to build add-ons, such as laser sights, flashlights, and scopes for the BrickGun models!

(Note: I now have a tag, below this post and on the right sidebar, for all of the posts involving books from No Starch Press! Check it out and take a look at other great Lego books, which I have reviewed.)

Photo credit to Built from Ink and Tea.

How to Fill a TWSBI Fountain Pen with a Syringe

In my estimation, the fountain pens made by TWSBI are fabulous, right down to and including their ability to fill from TWSBI inkwells with no mess! However, what if you are trying to use an ink sample with your TWSBI pen? Ink samples that are one or two milliliters or less can pose a difficulty in transferring from vial to pen. However, Ana at The Well-Appointed Desk has written an excellent set of instructions on how to best utilize a syringe for filling your TWSBI with ink. I have personally used this method on many occasions, and I definitely recommend giving it a try. Enjoy!

Photo property of Built from Ink and Tea.