A Postcard a Day - Tuesday 19 March 2024 - T for Turku, tea (and lots of coffee)

 Hello lovely ladies,

   Are you ready for this? Another T-Party hosted by Elizabeth and Bleubeard. A drink is in order. But more of that later. Let me show you my postcard for today which comes to me from Finland.

It shows a window of the Cathedral in Turku, a town in Finland.  Here is the map to give you an idea where Turku is:

Wikipedia writes:

It is is the only medieval basilica in Finland and the Mother Church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. Considered to be the most important religious building in Finland, the cathedral has borne witness to many important events in the nation's history and has become one of the city's most recognizable symbols.

The cathedral is situated in the heart of Turku next to the Old Great Square, by the river Aura. Its presence extends beyond the local precinct by having the sound of its bells chiming at noon broadcast on national radio. It is also central to Finland's annual Christmas celebrations.

The cathedral was originally built out of wood in the late 13th century, and was dedicated as the main cathedral of Finland in 1300, the seat of the Catholic bishop of Turku. It was considerably expanded in the 14th and 15th centuries, mainly using stone as the construction material. The cathedral was badly damaged during the Great Fire of Turku in 1827, and was rebuilt to a great extent afterwards. 

Below is the cathedral before the fire:

The stamps are very nice too:

The bird on the left stamp is the melanitta fusca: The velvet scoter, also called a velvet duck, is a large sea duck, which breeds over the far north of Europe and the Palearctic west of the Yenisey basin. The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek melas "black" and netta "duck". The species name is from the Latin fuscus "dusky brown".

Elizabeth has been showing us what types of coffee could be found at that fantastic store, The Spice Merchant. So I thought I'd show you which coffee I drink.

I like Colombian coffee:

I keep my coffee in the fridge. (Don't ask! It's an old Italian habit).

I also have a decaf coffee as I sometimes fancy a coffee in the evening:

Here's another decaf coffee (I have taken the coffee out of the bag and put it in a jar):

It's Brazilian coffee, washed in water.

I also have another Brazilian coffee:

It mentions milk chocolate and caramel, but I don't taste that at all. It just tastes like coffee.

I make coffee in a French press:

I put a heaped teaspoon of coffee in the glass jar, pour over boiling water, stir and put the lid on with the plunger up. After a few minutes I froth the milk separately. Then I push the plunger down so the coffee dregs get pushed to the bottom. I pour my coffee and add the froth and a teaspoon of sugar to my (large) cup. That is how I like my coffee.

On Thursday I was invited by friends, one of whom is Colombian. She made me Colombian coffee (of course):

Here is a close-up of the bag:

She makes coffee differently to me. She brings a pan of water to the boil and then adds previously ground coffee. It boils for a few minutes and then left so that the dregs sink to the bottom. It was very nice, not at all bitter. 

I was going to tell you all about my visit to Huescar, but that will have to wait. This post is already long enough.

I went to visit my best friend's daughter, Isa, who has just moved in to their recently renovated farm house. The kitchen hadn't arrived yet so it is an improvised cooking space: 

The bags you see in the foreground are different types of tea.

That is it from me today. Next time I'll show you more.

Take care now,

keep smiling,

Hugs,

Lisca