Monday's Musings - Literary Libations - Tea Shop Mysteries - Gunpowder Green

 For the next 20 weeks or so, I plan to keep reading the Tea Shop Mystery series and trying various teas as introduced in the book titles. With life getting a little busier because of summer and reopening of various activities, I might not be able to maintain the rate of a book per week (I'm not a fast reader and can't justify just sitting down and reading for long periods of time), but I'll try.

The second book in the series is "Gunpowder Green" and is about a man killed when the pistol he was shooting to signify the end of a yacht race "accidentally" explodes in his hand. Since Theodosia and crew were catering the event, she was first to reach the victim and was soon convinced that the death was not accidental. Who could want the very likeable Oliver Dixon dead?

What I liked:

Again, I like the camaraderie, the aura of the cozy tea shop, the history and tea education that are included in the book. I like the collection of recipes included at the end. I like that we're getting to know the characters a little more as we go along.

What I could have lived without:

 I feel like in this book, some of the characters could have been more developed and more tying-up questions answered about them at the end. And though Jory is called Theodosia's boyfriend, you really don't get a feel for much of a relationship at all. Maybe that grows as the series goes on.

The tea:

I must confess that I'm not a big fan of green tea despite it's claim to healthfulness. So, it was with some reluctance that I tried Simpson and Vail's Gundpowder Imperial Green Tea. (I like that you can buy small samples of their teas just in case it's not a favorite and you don't want to be stuck with a lot.) Guess what?! I like it. I did, again, pay more attention to how I prepared it, inspired by the teamaster, Drayton, in the books. I didn't quite boil the water and I steeped it only two minutes per the instructions on the sample bag. It turned out milder than other green teas I've tried and is very enjoyable.

The recipe:

I never got to any, though I have in my life enjoyed making and eating scones of various kinds. I do still hope to make the Earl Grey Sorbet as that would be refreshing in the summer heat.

I hope your day is refreshing and that you get to give a try to these books and teas.