The Hog fish cannot be caught. It can only be hunted and speared. This makes it a very difficult fish to enjoy as not many brought to the table. It not a rare fish but it is a rare fish to eat because of this. It is also an EXTREMELY GOOD fish to eat. It is tender, sweet, firm and not dry. It looks like a HOG…look at that snout!! So when one of my favorite restaurants (The Clam House in Palmetto) announced that they had a large Hog fish available I bought the whole thing.
Eight of us showed up to enjoy the feast which was probably a bit too many people but who cared..we all got to get a taste of this rare dish…I freely admit that I am a “Foodie”…but there are worst things in life to be. I think I have mentioned before that If you make your living tasting things, then why not taste as many things as you can. Life is for living after all.
Thank you Mr. Hog Fish. You made my evening, and it would appear Capt. Bob’s as well, he is my friend clutching the tail end of the Hog!

Anyone who can go through life with the first name of “Noble” deserves respect. To go through life with “Fearnley Hutchinson Fleming” as your other names deservers more than respect it deserves awe!! To make life easier on the rest of us N.F.H. Fleming acquired the nickname “Toby” because of his love of “Toby Jugs”, those unique English drinking vessels. It stuck with him.

Toby was an awesome figure in my life and I dedicated my book to him and the influence he had in my life. He had a wonderful dry wit, and a gentlemanly demeanor but when required he had an eye that could freeze a waiter at sixty paces. He hired me in London in 1970 to come and join Lipton in the US. No sooner had I arrived then he suggest that I get my hair cut, as he gently put it “I don’t think you are a hippy Barry, so I don’t want you to look like one”…mind you , my hair barely touched the back of my collar…but I dutifully went off and had a haircut. He was a wonderful mentor, a skilled tea man and a gentle manager who lead his team of tea buyers with aplomb. My favorite story that I told many times was of a lazy, warm summers day. It was a Friday to be precise because that was the day that all of us tea buyers had to troop into Toby’s office, sit in a semi circle in front of his desk and discuss the buying orders we were about to send out to the various auction centers around the world. There were three of us…Richard, Tony, Me. Tony was discussing the orders he planned to place in the Cochin market when all of a sudden there came a gentle snore from Toby’s side of the desk. He had fallen asleep! Tony was at a loss and stopped talking and we just sat there waiting for the great man to awake. Toby had about a five minute nap then awoke with a slight start and without a moment’s hesitation said ” Quite So…yes…sounds good…whose next” It was my turn and without blinking an eye I gave my report and we all filed out.

Such style, such aplomb, such a character. He changed the world of tea and not many people can say that.

I flew over to Paris for Toby’s 90th birthday…and that is the picture above. Toby passed away this week.

I loved you Toby…I will miss you greatly.

I have always admired innovative advertising so I got a real chuckle out of a pest company and their attempt to be noticed. The little yellow car in the picture has a long black tail that sticks up in the air but what really gets your attention are the two large black ears that pop up every time the car stops. It was hysterical, I followed the car for a couple of lights and got a good laugh at every stop light.

Getting noticed in business is a key to success and reaching the point where the public in general recognize your brand is a good place to be…I certainly try and do this with my tea. I did not overtake the yellow car so I did not read the name of the company on its side doors (I had to turn to the right to continue my journey) but the next time I see an ad with two mouse ears….I will know what their business is all about..!!

Years ago I read a book called “Makes of Distinction”. The book dealt with those skilled in the arts of hand making expensive things. Such as shoes ..Lobbs of London or Berlutti of Paris. Or hats …Lockes of London was a name I remember and I suppose it is now Prada of Rome? Anyway to this list of august makers of distinction we can add the name “Rocky of Houston”.

Rocky is a bootmaker.

Not an ordinary boot maker but a cowboy-boot maker who has crafted boots for a long line of Presidents. Presidents Reagan, Clinton, and both Bushes have all had their cowboy boots made by Rocky. Rocky has flown on Air force One and attended a number of Presidential inaugurations as a guest of Bush Sr. and then Bush Jr.

On every occasion a President asked for a boot to be made Rocky would make a duplicate and here I am holding the duplicate made of Bush Juniors second term and you and clearly see the Presidential seal on the front of the boot. Rockys place is chaotic. Actually that is not a fair description. It is beyond chaotic, it is boot mayhem! But you don’t go to Rockys by accident, you have to know someone who can introduce you. My old rugby days in Texas produced many long lasting friendships and it only took one phone call to an old friend to lead me to Rockys place. To own a pair of Rockys boots is to stand tall.

I have ordered a pair…

Late last year I made the second of two round the world trips looking at the tea gardens and checking up things generally. Sounds like fun doesn’t it? Actually being on the estates, breathing that wonderful fresh air, touching the tea and talking about the forthcoming crops and quality we can expect really is fun. The travel …UGH!!..the jet lag…really UGH.!! In more refined times it took 3 weeks to get out “East” on a ’steamer’ that chugged its way across the ocean. Now you lock yourself into a long metal tube. Fasten a seat belt and 17 hours later you are among the tea bushes with an old friend that you have known for more than 40 years….I would not change a moment of my life, the good, the bad and the ugly is all a part of my life. But on reflection, if there was one element I could ADD to, it would be spending more time among the tea bushes and on the tea estates. I just love that part of the business. So even after a 17 hour flight I still look pretty happy…………..

I have always believed you should never take life too seriously and when faced with a “downside moment” take the opportunity to laugh at life in general and the occasional ridiculousness of it all. Put another way…the glass is always half full….

I was raised in the highlands of Kenya, at 5,500 feet above sea level on the equator. Add those pieces of information together and you get the earths nearest point to the sun, a lot of sun, and a lot of time out in the sun.

Skin cancer comes in many forms…I was lucky to have a mild form…and the fact that it was near the end of my nose and the resulting pressure bandage make me look like Rudolph (I should have colored it red) is a chance to laugh at the other immaculate imagery of my bronze sculptor…..

Laugh at life and others will laugh with you…cry and you cry alone….

I am all for laughing ……but skin cancer is no laughing matter so if you have an unexplained bump or lump get it checked out……its worth the time even if you do end up looking like a lost reindeer….

The sun set on the British Empire some time ago….and Hong Kong was one of the last “jewels in the crown” so to speak.  In the “old” days it had a piratical air to it…a sense of raucous fun as well as a palpable sense of danger if you strayed off the beaten path.  Not so today….as the sun sets over HK it sets over a secure, vibrant, safe and business savvy city.  It is still an exciting place to be because you sense that you are on the frontier of growth and intrepid expansion.  I walked around the “old “part of town and it was full of bars catering to young upwardly mobile professionals…..not sailors looking for a good time.  Nowadays the container ships unload and turn around in less than 10 hours…hardly time for a modern day Matelot to slip ashore to make merry. 

as the sun sets over HK it sets over a secure, vibrant, safe and business savvy city.

I was recently in China….actually Hong Kong, but that is China now….

It is amazing to me how the cultures of nations define buildings and there is no mistaking a Feng Shui structure.  I am told it is a Chinese art and science developed over 3,000 years ago that shows how to balance the energies of any given space to assure the good health and good fortune for people who live in the building.  Apparently the large spaces you see are for the dragons to fly through the buildings unhindered, and not disturb the Chi or energy of the building….

Whatever the explanation…it does make for in interesting shot….personally, I would prefer to live in the smaller buildings in front of the high rises…but then again they don’t have holes in them so how do they cope with the Dragons?

Mind the Dragons, a photo by CooperTeaMaster on Flickr.

I have received comments that my blogs are being missed….!  Well thank you kind readers…we shall resume, perhaps not as frequently as before but certainly more often than the last 6/ 9 months….!

So where to start?  In my world TASTE is EVERYTHING.  I make my living by tasting, and tea tasting is a passion for me, and the sensory joy of flavors and aromas literally “make my day”.

Thus I resume my blog with this extraordinary taste sensation. It was prepared in Naples, it was delicious, savory, aromatic, chewy yet fresh, laden with goodness and at this point I am beginning to feel hungry just describing the emotions I experienced consuming this dish.

You at least dear reader can enjoy the picture!!!!

A Delectable Treat, a photo by CooperTeaMaster on Flickr.

]]> http://www.cooperteablog.com/2011/a-delectable-treat/feed/ http://www.cooperteablog.com/2011/5k-pajama-jog/ http://www.cooperteablog.com/2011/5k-pajama-jog/#comments Mon, 01 Aug 2011 17:44:18 +0000 Barry Uncategorized http://www.cooperteablog.com/2011/5k-pajama-jog/
5k Pajama Jog!, a photo by CooperTeaMaster on Flickr.

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