What is the flavour of the archivist's dream?

[radiantfracture]

Last night on our work Zoom jasmine_r_s came up with the most beautiful name for a tea: Dreaming in the Archive. Since then I have been daydreaming of blending it.

I couldn't decide amongst green or black (or white or red) tea, so I thought maybe a blend of herbs you could mix in with a caffeination of choice.

What goes into such a tea? I have been thinking lavender, because of dreaming (though it could be chamomile or hops).

Vanilla, probably, because the smell of lignin in paper is close to vanillin. From Smithsonianmag.com:

Here’s how Matija Strlic, the lead scientist behind that study, described the smell of an old book: "a combination of grassy notes with a tang of acids and a hint of vanilla over an underlying mustiness, this unmistakable smell is as much a part of the book as its contents."

But just vanilla-lavender sounds too sweet. What else is in the archive and its dreams?

I mentioned I was drinking Murchie's Publisher's Blend: "A chocolatey, nutty and malty blend of black teas, best accompanied by stacks of manuscripts that need reviewing. Originally commissioned by the UBC Press." I would add that I taste the slight tang of smoke.

{rf}