Your ViewsKeep your e-mails pouring in, it's good to know that there are lots of you out there with views and opinions. To help you work out what is what, are now little icons to help you see biscuit related themes. And now you can see at a glance which are the most contested subjects via this graph (requires Flash 6.0 plugin). Please keep your mails coming in to nicey@nicecupofteaandasitdown.com | If you like, you can use this search thingy to find stuff that matches with any of the icons you pick, or use the fantastic free text search, Yay! | Your e-Mails |
Rachel Simpson |
The reason tea from vending machines tastes rank is because the water isn't freshly boiled (as well as the tea being the stuff they swept off the factory floor). Everyone knows you have to actually boil the water and use it pretty much straight away to get a decent brew, but no vending machine or even urn of hot water like we have in our office, can do this. In a world where I have access to the technology to gripe about this problem in an international forum from the comfort of my own home, I have to ask why it is impossible to provide freshly boiled water in a vending machine or hot water urn? Taking a kettle to work would be the answer but I imagine this would contravene health and safety regulations.
Also this is the reason why coffee will always taste better from machines, as you need water that is just off the boil so it doesnt scald the coffee.
Rachel |
Nicey replies: Most vending machines that I've encountered use that freeze dried instant tea rather than leaves. Freeze drying anything drives of the volatile bits which are especially important in the taste of something like tea.
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Liz Hall |
Dear Nicey
I'd just like to put my oar in regarding the supply of tea and biscuits at blood donation sessions. I am a regular donor and strongly advocate the practice, however something radical has happened lately. No longer does a large plate of assorted biccies await the parched donor, from which there is always a silent fight for the rare chocolate ones, but now you are greeted by little sellophane packs of dull digestives (apologies to staunch digestive fans). After losing a pint (sorry, half litre) of blood, the last thing I want to do is have to battle my way through impregnable plastic. Bring back the pleasantly arranged plate and the chocolate ones and say humbug to health and safety rules. By the way, the quality of tea is always high, served by extremely nice little old ladies. This makes up for the biscuit coup.
P.S As a Cornish girl, the jam ALWAYS goes on the scone first, followed by suitably substantial lashings of clotted cream. I was at the Eden Project myself last week and found quality cream teas and excellant Fair Trade tea to quench our thirst from our simulated trek around South America, Africa, Asia, Italy etc etc etc.
Liz H |
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Jim Boff |
I recently visited the French resort of Nice and was shocked to find that the liberator of Italy - Garibaldi - was born there. One town associated with two biscuits - is this a record.
Also - Nice biscuits are generally nasty - is this the same attitude to naming that means that any country with the word "Democratic" in its name is not? Similarly, Fig Rolls don't (roll) and neither do Jammy Dodgers (dodge). How many other misleading biscuits are there? Should something be done to prevent confusion? |
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Dominik Cwojdzinski |
Hi Nicey,
I was whiling away the hours at work until the weekend, playing an email game, finding biscuits or chocolate covered confectionery for each letter of the alphabet, but was unable to find anything from Q. I'm sure that if there is anything for Q then someone on this site will know. Any ideas?
Also, does anyone know where one can purchase those lovely boxes of broken biscuit assortment that i would happily devour in a couple of days as a youngster?
thanks,
Dom |
Nicey replies: Radio 4 did one earlier in the year the results of which were a bit like when the younger members of staff invent new words by changing the letter at the beginning of normal words like 'porridge' to get 'morridge'. There also seemed to be a lot of completely made up ones that have never existed or arbitrarily acquired cream. At the time I was quite charitable about it but in hindsight its a bit tragic and quite irritating. Type 'alphabet' into our search box and you'll soon find it.
I'm sure your list is lovely though.
Iceland for the broken biscuits. |
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Paul Diamond
Tim Tam vs Penguin Review |
Nicey,
Can I just say that your website is a wonder of the interactive age and is almost solely responsible for the recent media explosion of biscuit, tea and sitting down related pastimes - without your efforts I can hardly think that we would have seen 50Cent chomping on a gypsy cream whilst reclining with a cuppa backstage at last month's MTV music awards. Keep up the fight!
I am writing regarding the Tim Tam, a delightful biscuit in its own right, but it worries me that they are being shipped half-way around the world in refrigerated containers. Can they not be produced in the UK? The calorific value of a packet of Tim Tams may strike fear into the heart of the average Atkins dieter but it is negligible in comparison to the enormous amount of kilo-joules that are wasted transporting it from Australia to the UK. If our supermarkets were truly environmentally conscious this arrangement would cease immediately and licensed production of the Tim Tam could start in the UK forthwith.
The Tim Tam is a nice biscuit but shouldn't we be a little more eco-friendly and buy Penguins instead? Biscuit consumers, it is in your hands!
Yours Faithfully
A Concerned Biscuit Lover |
Nicey replies: Well yes I did bring up this very point at the UK launch. Tescos had spent 18 months working out how to ship them here so they weren't too receptive to the idea that it might be a bit eco-unfriendly. Arnotts have got the big 'Made in Australia' thing which is very admirable. However, it does mean when I approached them about how they would feel about licensing to other manufacturers they didn't rule it out but they didn't rush at the idea. |
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