Welcome to the Tea Potential Mobile Experiment.
The Tea Bike is equipped with the essential equipment for an elegant Tea Party.
On each expedition, the bicycle seeks out: plants to brew up, water, fuel for the fire and company.
The Tea Potential of each place is assessed on the availablity of these ingredients.
At the beginning of October, the Tea Bike took part in ‘Divergence n50.26 w03.40′: a show of playful interactions, thoughtful interuptions, and beautiful experients by ten graduation gstudents from the unique Arts & Ecology MA at Dartington College of Arts. With the help of Bicycology’s marvelous James who provided power with his pedalling, I presented the ‘Findings of the Tea Potential Mobile Experiment’ (so far) at the Cube Microplex. This was a summary of the tea bike’s adventures in Bristol from August and September.
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A fruitful trip to Bristol…
Sunday 17th: Temple Meads Station to Easton, via the Bristol & Bath Railway Path. An abundant green passage-way.
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Pants foraged: Nettles, Yarrow, Red Clover, Rose.
Also saw rosehip, rowan-berries, hawthorn and blackberries but didn’t pick them.
I arrived at Eastside Roots garden and their storm kettle was already on the boil, fuelled by dried buddleia branches from the clearance of the site. I made one pot of nettle tea, and one blend of red clover and rose, which was delicate and good for the heart!
The garden was busy with volunteers planting a herb spiral, and hauling soil onto the new ‘living roof’ with an ingenious pram-wheel pulley.
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Sharing tea brought out several stories today. Kumi, from Japan, told me a recipe for Mugwort Rice-cakes, using the young spring leaves. Kean told me that he’d spent a year drinking wild teas whenever he was working outside (which was most days). There’s always something you can use, although certain plants taste better than others. His favourite s are ground ivy, nettle and wild mint. And Kam explained how she drinks nettle tea every day to help with anaemia, as it is so high in iron.
I also heard a potted history of Eastside Roots, and how this vibrant growing space came into being from a rail-side waste ground.
Monday 18th: The storm kettle is leaking. Woe is me.
Tuesday 19th: I visited Biggles’ bike workshop, a treasure-trove of bike parts, piled to the ceiling with frames, wheels, tyres, tubes, and crazy inventions. A very inspiring chap!
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I went to Narroways hill in St Werburghs, for a gluttonous foraging expedition! Climbed plum trees with Claire to pick a pile of delicious sweet wild plums. Dave of the Selfsufficientish-ists came to meet me, and gave me lots of foraging-in-Bristol tips. He told me that Rosebay willow herb can be used as a tea, and is popular in Russia. We picked haw-berries and blackberries, yarrow, nettles, blackberry leaf, black horehound, sage, rosemary, wild marjoram, and rose.
The herbs will be dried for teas, and the fruit will be used for jam.
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Friday 12th September: Plant walk round Martin Crawford’s Forest garden, Devon.
Frank Cook and Martin introduced us to particular plants, explaining their characteristics with passion.
Martin started the forest garden in 1994, and it is now an established and abundant space full of unusual plants, that are planted carefully to support one another. Many of the plants can be used as food, medicine, for dying or for fibres.
His project website is http://www.agroforestry.co.uk/
Martin explained the wonders of the Lime tree, and showed us a tree he keeps coppiced, to keep a crop of frest leaves for salads.
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Frank is another tea enthusiast. He said that tea (of the foraged variety) is the best medicine. Different parts of the plant have different healing properties: the roots are useful for chronic conditions; the stem is structural; the leaves contain a lot of nutrients; the flowers support us emotionally; and the seeds are for the next generation.
http://www.plantsandhealers.com/
Frank introduced us to the many properities of the humble dock, which greatly surprised me. The root purifies and detoxes the system. It can be made into a tea or tincture. The leaves are edible, and Frank described making a lasagne using dock leaves instead of spinach.
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Hello. The Tea Bike has moved… the Uber website wil be closing on monday 29th September so for the moment, check this blog for news of the Tea Potential Mobile Experiment (about).
EVENTS IN BRISTOL THIS WEEK
The Findings of the Experiment so far. Presentated as Part of ‘Divergnece n50.26 w03.40′: Thursday 2nd October 7-10pm. An evening of films & live artwork at the Cube Cinema, Dove St South, Bristol.
GRAND FORAGED TEA PARTY. Saturday 4th October 2-5pm. Eastside Roots Garden, Stapleton Road Station. Taste teas from around Bristol, enjoy pedal-powered sounds and try your hand at foraging in the Bristol Brew Challange. ing skills.
