the path less taken
@path-less-taken.bsky.social
100 followers 36 following 1.7K posts
i make strange food www.instagram.com/path_untaken
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the path less taken @path-less-taken.bsky.social · 17h
Though even fully slipcast works from this period are cool - it was not a fully developed technology at the time, so if this was slipcast, it is a very, very impressive piece nonetheless
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the path less taken @path-less-taken.bsky.social · 17h
This one is pretty high end - most decoration from this period was either machined or was slipcast separate to the body. Given there's no clear seam that I saw and no visible shrinkage in the decor, this one was probably carved by hand!
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the path less taken @path-less-taken.bsky.social · 17h
I've written about this period - it's a 1750-60s Staffordshire pot, and is when Yixing imitation pots in England were widely produced. All pots from this era tend to be 'Chinoiserie', even the undecorated ones!
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the path less taken @path-less-taken.bsky.social · 1d
Right? I was really hopeful that no one else was going to get it, but I thought it'd go for 350 or something if someone did
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the path less taken @path-less-taken.bsky.social · 1d
antiques can get expensive!
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the path less taken @path-less-taken.bsky.social · 1d
comforting to know i was never actually competing for this item
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the path less taken @path-less-taken.bsky.social · 1d
was bidding on a teapot today, estimated £40-60 by the auctioneer. tapped out pretty early on, someone placed a max bid i couldnt beat. checked back later, after the auction ended. hammer price?

£3700
Staffordshire redware teapot, globe form with geometric and architectural decoration
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the path less taken @path-less-taken.bsky.social · 3d
these id guides tend to carry other information about the plants, such as their season. i have used this approach to learn about some ferns in my area, but i mostly focus on other plants
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the path less taken @path-less-taken.bsky.social · 3d
i have been learning to forage recently. there are no people near me to teach me this, so I've been learning to ID plants by taking pictures of them at multiple angles, using google lens and then comparing the actual plant against id guides for the names lens gives me
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the path less taken @path-less-taken.bsky.social · 3d
its nice to be able to get the experience of drinking olive oil without actually drinking oil
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the path less taken @path-less-taken.bsky.social · 3d
tried an interesting tisane late last night - olive leaf. early steeps have a slightly oily coating texture and the experience is overall like drinking olive oil (spicy, herbal, bitter, etc in the same way) without the consistency of actual oil

#tea #teasky
a white teacup on a wooden tea tray next to a glass teapot full of green leaves
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the path less taken @path-less-taken.bsky.social · 6d
essenceoftea.com/products/200...

That is actually cheaper than some of the teas I have just as a special occasional sample. Huh. No way to tell if it's legitimate, though
2006 Bingdao Lao Zhai Ancient Tree Puerh
This tea was a small production by one of our good tea friends in Kunming. He has been in business since the 90's and in the puerh boom in the mid-2000's was making large quantities of ancient tree te...
essenceoftea.com
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the path less taken @path-less-taken.bsky.social · 6d
I wonder if that menthol effect is what you get in Bingdao - never will be able to afford any though!
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the path less taken @path-less-taken.bsky.social · 6d
I don't drink tea after 5:30pm so never tea after dinner for me!
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the path less taken @path-less-taken.bsky.social · 6d
Also tried EoT's 03 Jingmai and their 04 Xiang Yun Hao the other day. Both were quite strange, with the Jingmai being discordant and having a distinct menthol cooling effect and the XYH having a very thick brothy texture and a grain note. Need more sessions to dial in

#tea #gongfucha #puerh
A white teacup filled with brown liquid on a rattan coaster, next to a red clay teapot on a wooden stand
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the path less taken @path-less-taken.bsky.social · 6d
The difference is 1 gram and a different teapot, and slightly more attentive brewing today
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the path less taken @path-less-taken.bsky.social · 6d
It's pretty interesting how much and how little a pot (and your brewing) can make a difference on your tea. Today's session with EoT's 05 Duoteli is a nice and clean liubao with some interesting notes, while yesterday's tasted like carrot cake and was incredibly vegetal
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the path less taken @path-less-taken.bsky.social · 11d
Currently drinking Postcard Tea's Classic Tieguanyin, which has revived my interest in Anxi oolong, which I have generally found to be too green or fragrant in processing to be enjoyable. This one has no such flaws, and an aroma that fills the room without tasting like perfume.
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the path less taken @path-less-taken.bsky.social · 11d
Cool pot, is that one of EoT's?
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the path less taken @path-less-taken.bsky.social · 17d
Mushishi is why I own a cast iron wheel medicine grinder

The soundtrack of the anime is one of the things that really does it for me
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the path less taken @path-less-taken.bsky.social · 18d
Great series
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the path less taken @path-less-taken.bsky.social · 19d
no picture today but EoT's 1999 light ferment shou is real nice. quite clean tasting, thick. no bitterness or astringency, even when overbrewed. has a few lower grade leaves. will let it settle a bit longer but it's already quite promising. good candidate for getting an entire brick
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the path less taken @path-less-taken.bsky.social · 19d
#3 was incredibly unsettling to drink. Practically no aftertaste, aroma was akin to how smoke mellows out, there were genuine "ferment" notes (mushroom, earth) and little minerality. The only way I knew it was a yancha was the dry leaf.
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the path less taken @path-less-taken.bsky.social · 19d
three shuixians from eot
1. 2020 zhang hui chun. strong roast, done well. material slightly weak
2. 2006 seadyke at102. overripe fruits, thick, earthy/aged. sweeter than 1
3. 2016 rui quan. vanillic, mushroomy, hints of chocolate. i would id this as tianjian in a blind

#tea #gongfucha #oolong
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the path less taken @path-less-taken.bsky.social · 21d
Essence of Tea are very generous - got a $1/g puerh as a free sample in with my latest order
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