Robert Hove
@roberthove
🦋 Married to Carrie. Photography, art, poetry, jazz, servant to cats, tea, cooking, Norwegian-American🇳🇴, Michigander. #BlackLivesMatter #LGBTQ+ Ally🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ #IndigenousPeoplesRights 🟧 #StandWithUkraine🇺🇦 #UglyDogs #LansingMI. NO DMs. 🕊️
Morning tea: 1st up-a shot of cold brewed Gyokuro. So much umami!! Next-a hot brewed blend of matcha, sencha & toasted rice. One shot of this too. Heavenly! No time for tasting notes today-Carrie is getting a colonoscopy at 6:30 am.
Good morning Linda! This is what the sun looked like when i headed out to PT this morning.
Morning tea: an interesting Japanese Wakoucha, a black tea from the Shiga Prefecture. Fresh figs, brown sugar, toasted nori, Fuji apples, walnuts, with a hint of maple syrup in the finish. Gives an easy-going energy. “Happiness consists in realizing it is all a great strange dream.” -Jack Kerouac
Morning tea: a unique 2026 Yunnan Black made from tea trees in an ancient wild tea forest. Baked orange, black currants, muscatel with a grapefruit, hoppy craft beer finish (no alcohol) Gives a mellow, happy energy. “A room without books is like a body without a soul.” -Marcus Tulius Cicero
Here it is. The gaiwan & cup are based on a Ming dynasty design & the sleeping baby dragon is a newly acquired tea pet 😁
Morning tea: a splendid 2026 Jin Jun Mei, a black tea from Fujian. Brownies with burnt edges, malted milk, sweet cherries and roses. Gives a an easy going energy. “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.” -Albert Einstein
Morning tea: Bi Luo Chun, a 2026 green tea from Jiangsu. Sweet bean paste, buttered daikon, buttered sweet corn, spring meadows, pears & zucchini. Gives a bright & lively energy. An old pond The sound of water When a frog jumps in -Bashō
Went for a 2 mile walk this morning in Sharp’s Park. Found these friends foraging there…
Morning tea: a 2018 Jian Tian Shilang (fermented dark tea pressed into a 500 kilo log) Cherrywood smoke, dried dates, vanilla pods, baked apples, cardamom, chocolate wafers, miso & caramel. Gives a bright high energy. “We’re all just walking each other home.” -Baba Ram Doss
Morning tea: a 2019 Liu Bao Hei Cha (fermented dark tea) Dark chocolate with sea salt, ripe fruits, mushrooms sautéd in butter. With a long sweet finish. Calm days The swift years Forgotten. -Taigi
Another Slumgullion stew: poached bone in skin on chicken thighs that I deboned & deskinned & cubed after poaching, a mirepoix of carrots, onions & celery & a packet of carrots & peas. Plus Swiss chard, kale, thyme & oregano from our garden. Brown basmati rice. OMG!! So savory & delicious!!!!!!😋
Morning tea: a hearty 2019 Ya’an cha (fermented dark tea) from Sichuan. Tibetans love this tea-they use it to make butter tea.Dried fruits, apricot jam, dates, wet rocks, yeasty buns. Gives an alert and aware energy. 🕊️ “listen; there’s a hell of a good universe next door: let’s go.” -e.e. cummings
Well we don’t want poisonous snakes around you!! Here is a sneak peek of flowers for my tea table 👇🏽
Hi Charlie! I was just thinking I need to get more flowers for my tea table.
Morning tea: a 2022 1 kilo Year of the Tiger Fu Brick. From Anhua in Hunan. This has “golden flowers,” a beneficial yellow mold that gives a pronounced honey flavor. There’s also brioche, mandarin marmalade, candied pecans & dark rum (no alcohol.) Gives a reviving energy and a slightly spacey high.🕊️
Morning tea: Tun Wu, aka Cloud & Mist, a green tea from Zhejiang. Chestnuts, cantaloupe, lemon oil with a hint of chocolate in the finish. Gives a gently lifting energy. “Because of your smile, you make life more beautiful.” -Thich Nhat Hanh
Here are some more photos of what we have in bloom in our pollinator garden. Hoary verbena, butterfly weed, and milkweed. Just in the last week we’ve started seeing a lot of monarch butterflies too! ❤️
Morning tea: a 2026 Yunnan black from 300 year old tea trees.Honeydew melon, blueberry jam, a hint of orchids Gives a calm, balanced energy. “Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world revolves-slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.” -Thich Nhat Hanh
Morning tea: a whole tangerine hollowed out & stuffed with Shu Puerh (fermented dark tea). These are then baked over a low fire for 26 hours. The result is a rich & unique flavor that combines citrus notes of the dried tangerine with brioche & chocolate notes of the Puerh. Gives a peaceful feeling.✌🏼