Sven says:

That name could be from Dickens, but it is the blog name of Sofia from Sweden, who is now a university student in London. She is a skilled photographer, and I also like what she writes in her blog. I only wish she could blog in her own English beside the Swedish. Google Translator is OK if you stick to normal Swedish, but if you use irregular phrases the result in English may be odd. Enjoy her pics anyway!

and the ingredients of garam masala, as well as many other useful things!

It is winter in Sweden now. Snowy, windy. I will not be surprised if the temperature switches to plus in a few days, but right now it feels really cold. This calls for more hot drinks! Tea or coffee? I like them both.

At work I have more coffee than tea, and at home more tea than coffee. Why is it so? Because in our country coffee is the social thing. The “coffee break” is a firm institution at workplaces. Of course you are not obliged to drink coffee, but it is called coffee break all the same. Those who prefer tea at such occasions are an almost invisible minority. Also after lunch there is the kaffe på maten, “coffee on top of the food”. All lunch restaurants offer both coffee and tea, but coffee is the common choice.

At home I always have a stock of 1) black tea, excellent with the breakfast, 2) green tea, mild and soothing in the afternoon when I tend to feel tired, and 3) red tea, that is rooibos (which is not a tea in the narrow sense, but you use it as if it were!), the proper choice for a calm evening. I consume some coffee at home too, but very little, simply because it would be too much coffee for me, considering the habits at work.

Do not ruin your tea or coffee with boiling water. The water should be just slightly bubbling. And for green tea, something between 70 and 80 centigrade. This is what I use, and I really recommend it: