Geek Steep: Tea & Fandom Podcast! (Now in SEASON THREE!)

Just subscribed. Peaked my interest when I saw Doctor Who as the latest episode but when I saw Buffy the Vampire Slayer as Episode 1… Well if it wasn’t 6:30 am and i haven’t slept yet, I would be listening to it now.

Episode 18 – The Runaways

Look…

Sometimes our weekly blog post pulls from the deeply rooted personal connections we have to the ‘Geek of the Week’ or touches on the larger real world impact a fandom has had – and there are definitely threads in either of those camps that could be pulled upon with this week’s fandom – The Runaways.

But sometimes the blog post is just two people nerding out about their fictitious “dream collection” inspired by the characters of this week’s fandom – Adagio Style. That’s what this week is.

Alex Wilder – “The Strategist”

What better a blend for the highly charismatic and strategic leader of this ensemble than a classic and full bodied blend inspired by the Southern Sweet Tea your Auntie used to make!? We start with a bold and full bodied Kenyan black tea & add fresh lemon and wholesome “All American” apple. The twist? This apple has a surprisingly sour side to it! Make it by the pitcherful & take it to your next cookout – that is, if you don’t sacrifice the neighborhood to the Gibborm first!

Ingredients: Kenyan CTC, Lemon peel, Acidified apple, Natural lemon and green apple flavouring.

Karolina Dean – “Lucy In The Sky”

This fresh and juicy herbal blend of strawberries & all natural vegan cream flavouring perfectly embodies this down to Earth and cheerful ‘Girl (well, Majesdanian) next door’. We’ve accented it with an explosion of colourful and ethereal flower petals to match both her dazzling physical appearance and honor her Pride as a proudly LGBTQ+ Alien.

Ingredients: Strawberry pieces, Vanilla bean, Natural strawberry and cream flavouring, Pink cornflower petals, Blue cornflower petals, Safflower petals, Calendula petals, Marigold petals.

Gertrude Yorkes – “Arsenic & Old Lace”

You don’t need a telepathic link with a dinosaur to realize that this simple blend of camphourous, earthy & grounded Menghai Shou pu’erh accented with just a hint of parma violet is a perfect representation of this violet haired social justice advocate and her paleolithic partner in crime. You may need to push through a few rough first steeps, but underneath that tough exterior you’ll find a soft steep waiting for you. Made using only the finest ethically sourced, Fair Trade, kosher, vegan, and organic ingredients.

Ingredients: Menghai shou pu’erh, Violet petals, Parma Violet essential oil.

Nico Minoru – “Sister Grimm”

This dark and haunting blend is the perfect representation of Nico’s Gothic persona and inner battle to find balance between the darkness she draws power from and the light that motivates her! Made with Lapsang Souchong, dark but sweet Bordeaux cherries, and accents of light cherry blossom petals to honor her Japanse heritage and the light within the darkness. Caution: Be careful not to steep too long or, like the darkness within, the smoke will overshadow everything else.

Ingredients: Lapsang Souchong, Whole black cherries, Persimmon pieces, Cherry blossom petals, Natural cherry flavouring.

Chase Stein – “Talkback”

Okay, let’s be real here – Chase would not be a tea drinker, and he wouldn’t give a fuck what you thought about it. However, an overly sweetened instant iced tea powder that could be hastily made to drink on the way to football practice is maayyybbeee the closest we’re gonna get here – and thus our proposal is a Nestea and Marvel collaboration we’re dubbing “Nestea: Talkback”. Quick, dirty, and straight to the point.

Ingredients: Cane sugar, Powdered Black Tea, Artificial Lemon Flavouring.

Molly Hayse – “Princess Powerful”

What eleven year old wouldn’t love a bubblegum and cotton candy flavoured tea blend!? Accented with shimmery pink Unicorn sprinkles and edible pink glitter, this high caffeine yerba mate blend packs the stimulating caffeine punch this super powered mutant needs to make it through the day – whether that means stopping the end of the world or just dealing with the stresses of being a teenager. It even steeps bright pink!

Ingredients: Hibiscus, Yerba Mate, Guayusa, Pink unicorn sprinkles, Artificial bubblegum and cotton candy flavouring, Caffeine extract, Edible pink glitter, Stevia.

Geek Steeped:
Runaways Volume 1

Teas drunk while recording:
Kelly- Genmaicha (Calabash Tea & Tonic)
Marika- Blue Shadow (Retro Leaf Tea)

Teas drunk while geeking:
Kelly- Grapefully Yours (DAVIDsTEA)
Marika- Headache Halo (DAVIDsTEA) & Honey Bee (Geek + Tea)

Listen to our latest episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts!

Want to get ahead of next week’s episode!?

We’re taking a bit of a genre shift and doing, essentially, a novel study as we explore the first Science Fiction novel ever written – Frankenstein.

Post Written by Kelly

Episode 19 – Frankstenstein (Novel)

Here at Geek Steep, we have made it our business to pair the right teas to the right fandoms. We have some hits (Mastic Black Tea with Dune) and some misses (Coconut Milk Chai with Dune), but the real joy of the pairings is figuring out why they work so splendidly when chosen correctly and the delicious analysis into what went wrong when somehow, in spite of your best intentions, it all falls apart.

Pairing a tea with a novel was not something I was worried about when we prepped our outline for Season 1 of the podcast. I was more concerned with how to find a tea for the X Files and V for Vendetta than I was this week’s fandom, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Pairing movies, tv shows and graphic novels seemed more innovative, definitely requiring more conscious effort on my part to make it work. But a book and a tea? Please. Working in the tea business for close to 20 years and having studied English Literature at University? I was built for this. Besides, even without my credentials, modern mega bookstores like Indigo and Borders have a made a successful business model of selling books alongside large mugs, tea bags and loose leaf tea, all adjacent to their in-house coffee shop. Book and tea pairings was obvious, I wasn’t going to waste any time overthinking it.

Nothing like being hoisted by your own petard, huh?

Having spent hours trying to pair a tea with this geek (to a piece of lit I had already read BTW) was one of the most difficult pairing work I have done since we started Geek Steep. I kept telling myself that Frankenstein is also the oldest fandom we have explored, having been published a little over 200 years ago. Modern teas sensibilities weren’t even entirely comparable to what was being drunk in England in 1818. So, I mean, it was normal that the exercise was proving difficult when you take the historical facts into account.

It is truly amazing what bullshit the human brain is able to come up sometimes.

The simple fact is, you spend so much more time with a book that you do a movie or comic. You have to get comfortably seated, find the right blanket, and in many cases, the right cup of tea. I was so blinded by the exercise of finding the perfect pairing that I forgot the main point behind why teas and books pair so well: they both force you to pause, take a moment, and reflect. Slow down. Think. Enjoy the journey and stop focusing on the destination. Just flow with the universe baby, stop trying to force things to come to pass. Kumbaya and all that jazz.

Making a cup of tea, a proper cup, is an incredibly meditative and mindful exercise that takes only a few moments, but always adds a positive vibe to my day. Taking the time to read a great classic of English Lit is also incredibly meditative and allows for reflections on how society has changed, language has changed yet stayed so much the same, and a thousand other ideas that come to mind as you become more and engrossed in a well spun tale.

Books and teas go together like peas and carrots. Finding the perfect pairing? I believe dear readers, I have found a new dragon to chase, and I could not be more delighted.

Teas drunk while recording:
Kelly- Stormy Night (DAVIDsTEA)
Marika- Magnolia Oolong (DAVIDsTEA)

Teas drunk while geeking:
Kelly- Halloween Pumpkin Seed (Adagio) & Body and Soul (Bitterleaf)
Marika- Monster Mash (DAVIDsTEA)

Listen to our latest episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts!

Want to get ahead of next week’s episode!?

It’s our season one finale! We’re tapping into some serious 90s level childhood nostalgia with one of the biggest fandom franchises to exist – The Power Rangers! Don’t worry though, we’ll be back for a second season after a short pause to catch up on and explore some new fandoms!

Post Written by Marika

Episode Twenty – Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers

Well, we have reached the end of the road. Season 1 of Geek Steep has come to a close, and I could not think of a better geek for us to have our season ender steep to.

Mighty Morphing Power Rangers is not a geek I have ever been particularly fond of. Even when it first aired, I found it to be cheesy to the point of undigestible. It was clearly geared towards children younger than myself (I mean, I was 11, but a very serious 11) and held no interest for me. I had not revisited it since the late 90’s, and when it came up in our list of things to watch, I secretly dreaded the preparation required on my part to make our podcast episode happen.

Having watched it again, as an adult, I can now say this with certainty: I do not care for these Power Rangers and I doubt I ever will. I do however, have a great affinity for anyone who considers themselves to be fans of this geek.

I get it, I do. The Rangers are everyday teenagers upon whom great power and responsibility is suddenly thrust, they get to ride cool robots and fight weird and dangerous monsters. What’s not to love? A simple storyline, straightforward and unpretentious execution, cool gimmicks and an epic setting. Oh, and did I mention that Godzilla style man-in-a-rubber-costume style of fighting? By jove there is something here for everyone!

More than that, I see the power of nostalgia that these rangers wield. I know that there are more updated versions out there, but the 90’s nostalgia was very potent for me, and brought me back to a simpler time. A time where Megazords in the shape of dinosaurs could burst forth out of the earth and help masked teenagers defeat giant lizards…and the governments of the world were not involved in anyway. What I am saying is that we held our fantasy shows and movies to standards much lower than anything produced now. In 2021, we expect all fantasy and sci-fi based tv, movies and comics to have a ridiculously high detailed realism, tie-in to any number of other fandoms (I’m looking right at you MCU) and have a longevity that can last a generation. I love the time we are living in. I love that these genres are so mainstream that they now have an injection of millions of dollars to bring Hogwarts and Middle Earth to life. It is everything I ever dreamed of.

But…sometimes I miss a simpler time. When we did not have everything handed to us on a plate of perfectly CGI rendered perfection. Our own emotions and imaginations could fill in the gaps of realism lacking in older fandoms. If you could see beauty in these no budget, no post production time, fly by night executed fandoms, then you are my kind of people. You love the content, not just the pretty CGI painted upon it. You don’t judge a book by it’s cover. You judge a tea not by the package it comes in, but by the quality of its infusion.

I cannot wait to start Season 2 with you all and discover more through it and with you. I may not like or love your fandom, but I love your style.

Geek Steep on my friends.

Geek Steeped:
Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers S1 Episodes 1-5

Teas drunk while recording:
Kelly- Raspberry Revitalizer Lemon Mate (Plum Deluxe)
Marika- Earl Grey (Twinings)

Teas drunk while geeking:
Kelly- Green Seduction (DAVIDsTEA)
Marika- Bonfire Toffee (Bird & Blend)

Listen to our latest episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts!

Want to get ahead of next week’s episode!?

Sadly our first season has come to a close and we’ll be taking a pause to explore new fandoms and get a jump start on recording new episodes! However, we’re currently in the planning phase of season two so if there are fandoms you desperately want to see covered…

NOW IS THE TIME TO LET US KNOW!

Please, share your fandoms with us! We would very much like to incorporate more fandoms that you guys love into our next season.

Post Written by Marika

Hi friends! I’m so excited to say… Geek Steep is back!

After a few months of break and a few more months of planning & delving into many new fandoms, we’re back for our second season – and on our one year anniversary as well!

We’re doing a couple things differently with season two. To start, in order to better manage our time/prevent burnout with the second season, we’re putting the blog on pause. We’ve loved doing the longer write ups each episode, but they weren’t reaching as large an audience and so we felt like the time commitment for each wasn’t justified.

However, on a more positive note – we’ve added a new category to our episode rotation: Audience pick fandoms! We got a lot of good fandom suggestions over the coarse of the first season, so we’re excited to expand this seasons fandom line up to showcase some of your awesome suggestions!

The first episode of our second season is out RIGHT NOW on all major podcast streaming platforms – if you can’t find us on the platform of your choice, let us know and we will figure out how to be there! So, what did we explore for our premiere!?

S2E1 – Wonder Woman 1984

For this movie watch, we were also joined by our very first (of hopefully many) “Guest Geek” – Tori of the tea blog Siply Tealicious. This was one of her fandom suggestions last season, and we were just delighted to have her on to deep dive into the movie with us and answer some of the broader questions about Wonder Woman than we had!

Teas drunk while recording:
Kelly – Wonder Woman (Geek and Tea)
Marika – Power Berry Acai (DAVIDsTEA)
Tori – Cherry Blossom (DAVIDsTEA)

Teas drunk while geeking:
Kelly – Power Berry Acai (DAVIDsTEA)
Marika – 2020 Hot Brandy Mini (White2Tea)
Tori – Iron Goddess of Mercy

Listen to our latest episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts!

Want to get ahead of next week’s episode!?

For our first “brand new” fandom of the season, we dove into our very first non superhero comic of the podcast: Usagi Yojimbo! Catch this episode next Thursday, wherever podcasts are found ;)

S2E2 – Usagi Yojimbo

I’m a day (technically two since it’s after midnight) but our first “new fandom” episode of the season dropped yesterday and it was all about Usagi Yojimbo! When we planned this second second, it was important to me to push past what we had explored season one, and you’ll see that this season in a few ways. The first, however, was this comic exploration – it’s the first comic we’ve covered that wasn’t from either Marvel or DC! It’s also the first not centered around super heroes/vigilantes/anti-heros.

As much as Marika and I both love superhero content (a lot!) it was refreshing to explore something different like this, and we hope you’ll give the episode a listen!

Teas drunk while recording:
Kelly – Oriental Cherry Oolong (Tealyra)
Marika – Genmaicha (DAVIDsTEA)

Teas drunk while geeking:
Kelly – Nadeshiko (Camellia Sinensis)
Marika – Cherry Blossom (DAVIDsTEA)

Listen to our latest episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts!

Want to get ahead of next week’s episode!?

Next week the focus is on one of my fandom selections, and I’ve chosen to take Marika on a walk through of Steven Universe! I think this very beloved to me children’s animated show is one that is going to forever shape future children’s television programming and impact so, so many people’s lives… and you’ll just have to listen next Thursday to find out why!

(Bonus points… We go back to recording in person instead of over Zoom in this upcoming episode!)

S2E3 – Steven Universe

This is the first fandom that was my fandom selection this season! I really, really heavily debated adding this to Season One but ultimately opted out of it, but after She-Ra and The Princesses of Power I was dead set that come season two this would be my first fandom!

Probably our longest episode yet, this is a dense episode but I think we did a reaalllyyyy good job of really breaking down just how meaningful this fandom has been to so many people as well as tackling the long term real world influence it’s already had and will likely have in the future!

Teas drunk while recording:
Kelly – Ruby Oolong (Rishi)
Marika – Thai (Paru Tea Bar)

Teas drunk while geeking
Kelly – Strawberry Rose (52Teas)
Marika – Duvet Day (Bird & Blend)

Listen to our latest episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts!

Want to get ahead of next week’s episode!?

We’ll be tackling one of Marika’s fandom selections – the music of Janelle Monae’s first two albums! This is our first time exploring music through the podcast and it was a really fun, unique experience. We’ve very excited to hear what people think as we continue to stretch the definition of “fandom” and tackle new forms of media.

S2E4 – Janelle Monae

As I said in our teaser last week, this is the first week where our featured fandom has actually been a musician! It definitely felt a little weird sitting down and listening to our geek instead of watching or reading it, but it was really fun to get to explore a whole new medium on the podcast – and since Janelle Monae’s albums are so conceptual and inspired by science fiction it really didn’t feel like we’d strayed away from our usual type of fandoms all too much!

Teas drunk while recording:
Kelly – Fruit Punch 2020 Spring Huangzhi Xiang Dancong (Bitterleaf Tea)
Marika – Hazelnut Chocolate (DAVIDsTEA)

Teas drunk while geeking:
Kelly – 2016 We Go High (White2Tea)
Marika – Houjicha (The Tea Practitioner)

Listen to our latest episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts!

Want to get ahead of next week’s episode!?

We’re going back to our podcast origin story with our very first resteeped fandom – Buffy The Vampire Slayer! We just couldn’t resist diving right back in and taking another look at this fandom that is so beloved by the both of us – this time choosing to focus on a single episode… Once More With Feeling!

S2E5 – Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Once More With Feeling

Oh man, it feels good to be back to exploring Buffy! This is the fandom that really, truly, started it all and so it just makes sense and feels right to be going back to it for our first “resteeped” fandom. It’s also kind of funny that, following our first episode centered solely around music, we decided to tackle the musical episode of the series!

I’m totally biased, but I just think this is such a fun episode – both in terms of Buffy and of the podcast! If you caught our first Buffy episode, consider it a prequel/primer – in particular for both my and Marika’s history with BTVS in general. That said you don’t really need to have listened to it to jump right into this one since the vibes of the episodes we selected between the two podcast episodes are so, so different.

Teas drunk while recording:
Kelly – Tropic Tango (DAVIDsTEA)
Marika – Super Soldied Serum (Happy Turtle Tea)

Teas drunk while geeking:
Kelly – The Chosen One (Adagio)
Marika – William The Blood Tea (Adagio)

Listen to our latest episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts!

Want to get ahead of next week’s episode!?

Once again we’re tackling a new medium and exploring the worlds of both Dungeons & Dragons and Critical Role! Fans of this table top RPG series may well know that tonight is the premiere of the third campaign, but we’ll specifically be taking a look at the premiere episode of Critical Role’s second campaign – following the adventures of The Mighty Nein.

S2E6 – Critical Role: The Mighty Nein

We’re back this week with another viewer recommended fandom! This one was suggested by a couple people, but I’d be lying if I said the biggest influence in picking it was the fact my brother has been trying to convince me to check out Critical Role for years now.

It’s not a secret that I’m a fan of Dungeons & Dragons and I think that at this point it’s almost impossible to be a D&D player and have not heard about Critical Role. It’s just infamous. I wont spoil the entire episode, but suffice to say… it stuck. If you follow my tasting notes here on Steepster, then you’ll know that I’ve been working on catching up on the series since about February!

Teas drunk while recording:
Kelly – Aurora Sour Raspberry & Kombucha Beer (Le Bockale)
Marika – Chicken Cage Pole (West China Tea)

Teas drunk while geeking:
Kelly – Jasmine Pink Lemonade (Sloane Tea) & Mulled Wine (DAVIDsTEA)
Marika – Fireflake Dancong (White2Tea) & Fireside S’mores (Dessert by Deb)

Listen to our latest episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts!

Want to get ahead of next week’s episode!?

We’re going back to the world of Studio Ghibli with what is infamously called the “Saddest movie ever made” – Grave of The Fireflies. It’s gonna be an interesting one, y’all.