In Sickness and In (not) Taste

After being sick for four days straight, the worst thing that has happened to me is losing my sense of taste.

What a horrible torment this is, to not have a sense of taste.

Candle Making

If you've ever bought one of those high priced, chain store brand candles, then you can just stop. Put down that Christmas Cookie, Balsam, Cedar, Apple, Cinnamon, Fresh Vanilla Pumpkin scented candle and take a step back. You do realize how expensive they are don't you? And you realize that you can actually make your own that smell, last, and look a lot better?

It's easy actually. All you need is a vessel, some wax and some scented oil. The rest is just procedure.

To start, find something that you would be happy making into a candle. Items from dollar stores make great vessels for beginners. They're cheap small enough that you won't waste too much if you make a mistake.

A few Christmas' ago, I made some candles as gifts for the ladies in my family. I used small coke bottles that I bought from a dollar store, some glittered candle holders and some aluminum water cans from Michael's. They ended up loving them, although none of them have actually burned one yet.

Anyhow, once you get your vessel, you need to get some wax. You have two choices of wax: paraffin, a by-product of the petroleum Industry and beeswax, a natural form of wax created by bees. According to Beeswax Co., a company that produces "100% pure" beeswax candles, the two forms of wax are very different.

Their website explains that beeswax is superior to paraffin wax in a lot of ways. According to the company, the natural beeswax burns cleaner and longer than paraffin wax; emits "the same light spectrum as the sun;" and cleans the air as it burns.

Paraffin wax on the other hand, the company explains, "is a toxic byproduct of the petroleum industry;" releases "toxic fumes," much like the ones found in Carbon Dioxide; and burn at a faster rate while dripping excessively.

According to my research, Beeswax is is more expensive then paraffin wax, presumably to it being a product of nature. While I have only ever used paraffin so far, I plan on switching to beeswax once my paraffin supply runs out.

As for cost, a 1-pound block of beeswax is about 3.5 as expensive as a 1-pound block of paraffin, according to Amazon.

With wax in hand, make a double boiler. A large glass measuring cup hooked onto a sauce pot filled with boiling water works. But for larger projects, if the vessels can stand up to the heat, use an empty slow cooker. Place the vessels inside the slow cooker and fill them with wax. Use this method if you don't want to guess how much wax you need. By using a slow cooker, you can use what you need through the process rather than go in blind and most likely waste some wax.

Once all the wax is melted, put in your oil scent and colorant. Paraffin wax is naturally white while Beeswax is yellow. Take that into account when using color.

Put a wick in everything, let it cool and your done.

Enjoy your new candles. Because now you don't have to always buy them when you want your house to smell fresh and clean.

New camera rig

I will probably be posting some rather high quality (hopefully) photos in the next few months due to two new tripods that I got for Christmas.

Along with night time shooting and long-exposure shots, I have been playing with tethered shooting.

Indonesian Tea with the Queen

While on a recent cruise to the Caribbean, I got the unexpected chance to attend a so-called Indonesian "tea ceremony" that was to be hosted by the Indonesian meal staff. Sadly, it didn't live up to my standards at all.

Considering myself a tea connoisseur, I jumped at the chance after reading it in my daily event briefing that Holland America Line, the cruise company I traveled with was playing host to a "tea ceremony." I still don't know how they can call what I experienced a "ceremony." It was more akin to afternoon tea and cookies with the Brits.

Having arrived sharply at three o'clock, just as the day planner had specified being the start time, I was surprised to find many of my fellow cruisers already seated in the dining hall. I looked around as an attendant walked us to a table, watching many of the guests drinking down cups of pre-packaged, loose leaf tea served via tea bags.

Now, I will be the first to admit that I had expectations going in, having already attended a tea ceremony at the Morikami Museum in Delray Beach, Florida. But I did expect something far more than afternoon brunch with the Queen.

This was no ceremony. No. This was a dinner service, at least that’s the impression I got with all the attendees running around offering us things.

"Would you like a sweet, Sir?", “Maybe try another flavor?”

Sweets are small candy delights that are to be eaten in conjunction with the drinking of tea.




Of course I had something of everything, it was free. How could I resist? But the whole time, I still had a lingering thought in the back of my mind. Where was the ceremony? The coordinated, rigorous and ritualistic behavior that comes packaged with the word.

Well, it wasn't there, and that was a disappointment. Especially considering how amalgamated the staff was. On the Holland America vessel I was traveled on, the Eurodam, there were only two ethnicities: Indonesian and Filipino. The Indonesian crew dealt with the dinning services while the Filipinos handled the rooms and the bars.


I mention this only because each crew, all having the same background bring their cultural heritage on board. That culture, I expected, was to show through during this "ceremony." The only real culture, non-commercialized culture I got from this event where the hats that each attendant wore. I asked, they said they were real. Who am I to argue that?

But this was nothing like at the Morikami. The tea was not fresh and the sweets were nothing more than coconut covered coconut balls and banana fritters. Looks like Holland America done goofed on that one.


Had Holland America let their Indonesian Crew actually put together a real ceremony, maybe even explain that Indonesia became a hub of tea production and how the leaf influenced their country. Then maybe it would have been a real "ceremony."

Butter Rhum: A Caribbean Spice

My primary goal when I go vacationing is to find something new and exotic. Like most explorers, items that cannot be purchased or found in the United States, unique treasures created locally that express the local culture are something that I often look for while on trips.

I can say for certain that I found something very much like that during my travel in the Eastern Caribbean.

During a stop in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, I found a box of locally-based Butter Rhum tea bags in a shop in St. Thomas’ downtown. I was surprised that I even found something this local in such a busy port-of-call. There where tourists every which way I went in this city.

St. Thomas is hailed as the shopping capital if the Caribbean by Holland America, the cruise line I traveled with.

This pure premium Ceylon tea is distributed by the Down Island Traders, a company so local that it doesn’t even have a web-presence. It has a hint of butter, but also tastes of spiced rum, something the Caribbean produces in mass. I suspect that the tea is black Ceylon tea, even though the box says nothing about which type it might be.

The tea actually tells a story about the history of the country, something I love. According to the box, the artwork on it is an “etching of Charlotte Amalie harbor as it was in the mid-1800s when the Virgin Islands played an integral part in pirate history.”

Both pirates and merchants came to the Caribbean to sell off loot and merchandise.

If you would like to order this tea, you can visit Palm Traders, a group that seems to sell many Caribbean-based products. Or you can call 1-800-524-2937.

Hawaii Chai Tea: Nuts for the Aloha State

Earlier last month, my mother took a week long vacation to Hawaii, specially Oahu. While there, after visiting the sites and picking up the standard "I went on vacation and brought you something" item: a shirt, she went and found me something really gnarly at a Hilo Hattie shop. While in Hawaii, mom picked me up some Kona Coast Hawaiian Chai tea.

I have to say, my mother has a particularly keen eye for finding exotic gifts from exotic places. It was probably those many years of owning an herb and gift shop.

The tea came in a small brown bag, which I got after a delicious Thanksgiving dinner made by my amazing mom. After inspecting it and realizing what it was, I exclaimed to my mother that we had to have some. So I grabbed the kettle and got to brewing.

The first thing I noticed about the Kona Coast Chai is that it smells amazing. When I first got the bag, I immediately smelled the macadamia nuts and the strong chai scent so prominently boasted about on the front of the bag. That same smell comes through, but stronger with the brew.

After pouring a cup for my mom and I, the first thing that hit me was that heavy, earthy chai scent I mentioned. But after analyzing it a bit more, I detected the macadamia nut oils. They're subtle, but there.

As for the taste, it's pretty fantastic. When first tasting, I first got the traditional chai flavor, but behind that, the macadamia nut oils come through. Sadly, I didn't get a lot of the Kona coconut flavor that is mentioned on the bag. My mother however, hit that flavor early on. Oddly, she wasn't able to pick out any of the macadamia flavor.

Now, I have to point out that I was pretty disappointed that this particular brew came in tea-bag form, as compared to loose leaf. Since loose leaf is always much more flavorful than bags, this tea didn't have the flavor potential it could have had right out of the gate. That and I really wanted to use the small teapot my mother bought.

But, beside the point. This tea is still pretty unique and awfully good.

"It's just smooth," said mom, after through a half-cup. "Some teas have a bit of a bite. everything about this is smooth." I have to agree. I truly enjoy that this tea has no lingering flavors to deal with. Maybe it's because of the form it came in. Since it doesn't have a lot of flavor potential out the gate, then it isn't nearly as strong as it would have been, had the tea came in loose leaf form. But that isn't too say I didn't really enjoy this.

Kona Coast Hawaiian Chai Tea is produced by the Hawaiian Tea Company. They are located in Wailuku, Hawaii.

As of December 04, 2010, the Hawaiian Tea Company's website says that it is down due to inclement weather, but I'm not exactly sure why. I can't find it on the Hilo Hattie website either. I did however, find it on Amazon. It is being sold for $10.99/bag by the Buns of Maui. I would recommend purchasing it through Amazon from them.

Ramen With Egg: boiled, not scrambled

I have decided that for me, tea is not enough. No, no. No longer shall I indulge in just the sweet nectar of the leaf. Rather, I shall embark into new territory, off the silk road and away from the camp, into the damp underbrush of the world.

Thus, as my first step towards that, looking to use the familiar as a guide. I have boiled up a pot of Ramen with egg, not on the side.

Into the pot I put water, clean and pure. Maybe too much, I was not sure. After bucking the thought, I added the noodles. Crushed with a packet of chicken dust. Then after a minute, an egg, then two. Stir, stir, stir. It doesn't look like glue. A dash of pepper, for flavor, of course.

Eaten with chopsticks, its pretty good. Better than expected, even though it doesn't look that good.