London Fog

London Fog, originally uploaded by Ayala Moriel.

Maybe it's the fog that's been possessing the city for the past week or maybe it's something else - but I've been obsessed with London Fog tea and Earl Gray in general. London Fog is Earl Gray steeped in steam milk with a touch of vanilla extract - or more likely you will get the vanilla syrup in most coffee/tea shops.

High Tea @ The Empress Hotel (Victoria), originally uploaded by Ayala Moriel.

Thinking about it, the London Fog fascination started last Sunday morning, when I was in Victoria visiting DJ and I *almost* ordered it as my morning breakfast. Instead, I ended up getting a smoothie and watching DJ enjoy his very first cup of it (he did share some with me of course). Later that day, we went for High Tea at the Empress Hotel (if you are ever in Victoria you should go there too!). The Earl Gray tea on it's own does not excite me much (except for Earl Gray Cream which has vanilla and I believe also some lavender in it), but there were Earl Gray shortbread cookies on the top tier. Mmm...

On the way home the next night, we stepped to the deck to try a vanilla flavoured cigar. It's not as burning as other tobaccos but I still think that it's better to passively smoke pipe tobacco than actually have the smoke linger in your mouth. It was very much like drinking a cup of tea that was steeped too long - acrid and burning but a little sweet too. The fog hugged the boat so tightly and was so thick it looked like a screen was hang in front of the deck. It was chilly.

Vancouver Fog, originally uploaded by Ayala Moriel.

I came back to Vancouver only to find that the whole city is fog-bound. We're practically living in a cloud for a week now with only glimpses of sun yesterday and today. Going for a walk on the Seawall on Saturday one could not see where the ocean ends and the sky begins. There was no horizon whatsoever. And so I've been indulging on London Fog teas as you can see (the on the laptop screen is from January 15th, and the “real” one is from today). Yesterday I found a particularly exciting chocolate at the new Urban Fair the just opened a block away from my place (phew, finally a grocery store that I can rely on - it opens daily at 6am!): Earl Gray flavoured dark chocolate by Dolfin from France. The surprise thing about it is not just the intensely Earl Gray flavour, but also the crunchy tea leaves inside. It’s a new favourite.

Dolfin Chocolates (featuring Earl Gray), originally uploaded by Ayala Moriel.

So how’s that all connected to perfume? I’m not sure yet. Should I try to make a Londong Fog perfume? Perhaps not. Perhaps I should keep sipping the tea and indulging since Gaucho has such a significant amounts of both bergamot and tea (not black but mate has the same acrid note in that context) I really shouldn't. But if I know myself at least a little, I probably won't be able to help myself.

Cedars & Fog, originally uploaded by Ayala Moriel.