Turkish Apple Tea – Elma Cay
Brewed tea is recognized as the national soft drink of Turkey and is consumed in far greater quantities than coffee or other beverages. The country grows nearly all of what it drinks from the large tea plantations located on the Black Sea coast.
Robust black tea and apple-flavored tea are among the most popular choices… and are readily available any time of the day or night from a plethora of tea houses, street vendors, tea gardens and retailers.
Among Turkey’s treasured brews, Turkish apple tea – referred to as Elma Çay – is growing in demand globally. It is a soothing hot beverage during cold winter months and a refreshing thirst quencher in the summer when served over ice.
The popular tea is made from quality black tea leaves that are enhanced with apple flavoring and spices. Some apple tea blends also feature other fruits, herbs and plants that provide a unique taste alternative. Turkish tea may be blended with blackberry leaves, hibiscus flowers, pineapple and/or lemon to create a zesty brew that can be served hot or cold.
Traditionally, all Turkish tea is brewed samovar-style, with a small pot of intensely strong tea sitting on a larger vessel of boiling water.
The tea is poured into clear curved glass cups and diluted with hot water to the desired strength. Turks typically use cubed sugar to sweeten their brew.
According to Jane Pettigrew in her book, The Tea Companion, some households in Turkey keep a pot of tea constantly on the fire, adding fresh, hot water to the leaves before serving.
The author further points out that tea is so important to domestic life, that mothers make sure that future daughters-in-law know how to brew it correctly for the rest of the family.
Tomorrow: A recipe for Apple Tea
No Quarter For Pedophiles
Of all the crimes in our society I don’t believe there is any which raises the ire of people more than crimes, especially sexual crimes, against our children. Children are the future of any society, without healthy children a future healthy adult society just wont happen.
Two stories have been getting a lot of press time lately. The first is the series of scandals hitting the Roman Catholic Church and in particular the Pope’s possible involvement in attempts to coverup the crimes of its clergy. The second is the National Parole Board’s decision to grant a pardon to Gordon James, a junior hockey coach convicted of sexually molesting two players, one being a former NHL player.
I read accounts over the Easter weekend of those who condemned the RC church for not raising the issues during Holy Week services. Others who condemned the few attempts to defend the church from the pulpit by referring to the charges as ‘petty gossip’. Opinion columns, like Anthony Persichilli’s in the Toronto Star, who predicts the resilient church will overcome the scandal. Or from the other perspective in the same paper, Ted Schmidt sees the very rot of the institution enshrined in the scandal.
The New York based blog “Blogging Religiously” asks the question: “Are the Media Picking on the Catholic Church”. The writer argues with all the church has put in place to attempt to screen and identify pedophiles, the mistakes of the past should not be haunting the church of today.
Meanwhile we had the revelation that Gordon James had been pardoned in 2007 and that would likely have remained unknown had another accuser not come forward and wanted to bring a complaint against him. The reaction of the government was to promise a review of the pardon process saying “certain types of criminals cannot be rehabilitated”.
My take on this mess is maybe a bit simplistic.
The government hasn’t gone far enough, the churches (and yes I mean all of them) haven’t gone far enough, institutions as a whole have not gone far enough. It has become increasingly clear over the years that pedophiles do not change, their urges to offend are kept in check by either being removed from society or being allowed no corner to hide in.
Not only should convicted pedophiles never receive a pardon for their crimes, they should be on permanent parole, subject to state supervision for life.
Churches and institutions will continue to find themselves infiltrated by pedophiles, it’s the nature of the beast. Screening programs and police checks can keep out those already known but not those not yet identified. Programs to protect will help to reduce the ability of a pedophile to operate freely, but wont necessarily stop them. So, what’s a group to do?
Resist the urge to close ranks around the perpetrator and thus ‘protect’ the institution. Authorities should be called in immediately without exception. It doesn’t matter if the accusation is from the past or the present, the law should be allowed to take its course with the full cooperation of the institution.
The uproar with the Roman Catholic church (and others in the past) is not so much that a pedophile was able to operate within the institution but that the institution moved to provide cover for the perpetrator while failing to be faithful defenders of the safety of the children.
Their attempts to hide who may have had dirt on their hands only adds fuel to that anger. Do the mea culpas and faithfully turning out those found in their midsts from now on will go a long way to letting the anger cool.
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