CLIP OF THE DAY: T-time

Do people really change....?

I'm not sure about that, but they certainly adapt. I know I have (in so many levels).
Take tea for example: I used to hate it as a kid, but after 8 years living in London I gave in....and today you will find me drinking it out of my free will. Now, for the people who know me personally, they most probably heard me telling the "tea story" (if so, I was either trying to impress you or bored....) Whatever the reason was, its because I've heard it myself a 1.000 times, thanks to my father who has no memory record what so ever and insisted on telling me this story as if it was the very first time.  Well, since a very early age in my life, I always felt this urge of "sharing is caring" and so I thought you should all know it too so in some way I could feel less idiotic. Time has gone by and today I have my own blog and accoding to stats over 400 viewers a day - (great opportunity to tell my "tea story").

Sorry Clippers, but here it goes: Tea was actually imported to Europe during the Portuguese expansion of the 16th century, at which time it was termed chá (and this is still how we say it in Portuguese). In 1750, tea experts traveled from China to the Azores Islands and planted tea, along with jasmines to give the tea aroma and distinction.  Portuguese Princess Catherine of Bragança, wife of Charles II, took the tea habit to Great Britain around 1660 and by the turn of the 19th century tea became as widely consumed as it is today in Britain and around the world.

My favorite part: Why everywhere else in the world (except China and Portugal) we call it Tea, Thé, etc...?? Because when tea was beeing imported to Europe, it was placed into big brown bags where a large letter "T" was stamped outside that stood for "Traffic". There you go, something to "CLIP" it in mind next time you are trying to pretend you are cultured on a date or bored at a cocktail party.

CLIP-IT: Brazil's first true and new Tea Gourmet Store, located in the bohemian district of Vila Madalena in Sao Paulo. This really cool tea room is the brainchild of local architects Alan Chu and Cristiano Kato, who transformed a small house into a concept store inspired by little tins of the 35 blends offered by “the gourmet tea”.  Also check out their website for all sorts of crazy tea utensils and trendy tea gifts.