I may be delusional,

Oh, Kathy-Jean. The important thing is, you’re still fun to watch on your good days.

So ‘samovar’ was the codeword for ‘crack-pipe’. Got it.

She doesn’t actually claim that the original Tea Party folks called themselves teabaggers. What she says is that the American Revolution still trumps the Urban Dictionary in the minds of most Americans, a claim sufficiently removed from the actual realities involved that she can’t quite be accused of lying or stupidity. She’s just guilty of bullshit.

But let’s take her whine seriously for a second, more seriously than she takes it. Her complaint is that the liberals have pulled America in such a degenerate direction, that we, and the large segment of the population that has been debauched byour pervey ways, are more attuned to sexual meanings of “teabagging” than we are to our country’s origins in brave patriotic struggle, etc., etc.

But what are you to say about folks who can’t see a difference between actual, full-blooded tea such as our Revolutioanry Era ancestors drank, and the degenerate dreck that results from that industry innovation, the teabag? To achieve some bullshit ideal of quickness and convenience, the industry cuts up honest tea way too fine, so fine that it oxidizes and goes stale, then puts it in these bags that do nothing but add expense and an off-taste. You can enjoy real tea by buying the same sort of whole dried leaves our ancestors threw into Boston Harbor, and putting them in slightly sub-boiling water for a couple of minutes (you save maybe 30 seconds if the leaves are chooped fine, teabag style). If you’re finicky about having all of those used leaves floating around the bottom of your cup, you can use a teapot or a tea ball, but grown-up people are fine with them just sitting on the bottom of their cups forming interesting patterns.

Our ancestors rose in righteous indignation against the East India Company’s collection of a modest excise tax that was to be used for the defense of the colonies, because they had no other means of input allowed by the system of government they lived under. Modern teabaggers mindlessly fork over a much bigger cut of their tea purchases to the industry for the privilege of getting a stale product inside a useless scrap of paper, and use this self-subjugation as a symbol of their righteous revolt against the people they just lost an election to, because these people propose to submit for the public consideration of the duly-elected legislature, a revenue-neutral plan to insure all Americans for health expenses.

K-Lo is right. The teabag is a perfect symbol for these people.

I think it is a wonderful homage to the Cars’ award winning music video (remember those?) ‘You Might Think’ wherein a woman I thought was Ric Ocasek spouse, former model and Tyra Banks budget cut victim Paulina Porizkova, but who it turns out is non-super model Susan Gallagher, is run over by a cut-and-paste 1957 Pontiac (remember those?) convertible and squished flat much as K-Lo’s face is, but comically rather than tragically, as is the case with K-Lo’s face.

Hey ya pinko, if ya like samovars so much whyncha move to Russia?!?!?!

The history behind the tea infuser is that it became popular in the early 19th century when the drinking of tea was very much part of the daily culture. At this point in time the tea bag had not even been invented yet. During the 19th century silversmiths would make the tea infusers. The infusers not only were functional, they also became great works of art.
With the many silversmiths competing to make the most beautiful one thus, retaining the most money as well. This garnered the silversmith very highly.

The simple function of a tea infuser is to act as a barrier against loose tea leaves from going into the tea pot or individual cup. Some people believe that loose tea is the freshest tea available and that loose tea provides them with an aromatic experience as well.

How to use an infuser is simple, one can place leaves into the infuser and lower it over the top of cup or tea pot. Second, simply pour boiling water over the infuser and then let steep (brew). If using a spoon kind, fill the lower half of spoon and shut the door. Place the infuser in the tea cup or one serving pot. Pour boiling water over as well. Leave to steep (brew). If the holes of the infuser are large, leaves may seep through and a strainer may be needed.

One thing to add is that people often may have the tendency to overfill their infuser. Putting too much tea in the infuser will result in the fresh tea not being able to have enough room to expand. This will heed the fresh tea from fully releasing its entire flavor. So it is always recommended that any infuser be filled only half full.

Today as it was in the 19th century the tea infuser is still an object of art. Tea infusers come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. Some common shapes are: spheres and cylinders. Some may have handles, or are connected to spoons. They can be made out of lavish materials, some with simple bamboo handles, and some are even simple paper pouches that resemble coffee filters. They can be just functional utensils or some infusers are ornate and can be sold at auction to collectors. If you are a loose tea drinker, then an infuser is a vital accessory and the way to make your perfect cup of tea.

Link

http://joshfulton.blogspot.com/2009/10/pentagon-to-use-brain-dead-cyborg.html

How old are tea infusers, I wonder? Wikipedia mentions them becoming popular in the 19th century, but it seems like they could be quite old (one site sells ones that are basically little woven baskets).

Then again, it seems like people enjoyed reading tea leaves in their cup so much…