Ah, the gift of insomnia. Now that it's almost two in the
morning, and considering that I have to get up at seven, I should
really be sleeping. Alas, I am not. Instead, I'm sitting here writing
this and try to solve control systems problems. So I've brewed up a
nice cup of peppermint tea, and here is what we have...
The beauty of diffusion, it is a wonderful thing. The cool tea bag
in hot water, water circulates, cooling, warming the leaves, and
carrying away the flavor and color, to be mixed with the rest of the
water in this white cup. You can see the flavored, colored parts of
the water, they drift to the bottom of the cup, cooler than the rest by
warming of the leaves. Bubbles form of the tea bag, on the surface of
the cup, minute little bubbles, so tiny and delicate. At a critical
point they rise to the surface, pushed by buoyancy, and linger on the
surface of the water, disturbing the surface, until, finally, they
burst, and are replaced by more from below.
A sip now, it's not to hot, not to flavored, but colored
strongly. These bags are old, none to fresh; they were improperly
sealed, and all the wonderful flavor and aroma leaked out of them and
into the cupboards. What a wonderful experience, to open a cupboard
and to enjoy the strong odor of peppermint that wafted forth.
A big mouthful, a swallow, and a deep breath, Relax. Relax. And
sleep...