Countess Tiffaunie de Fortemps

“Rather than adding milk to boiling water that has been infused with tea leaves, as is the fashion in lower Eorzea, Ishgardian tea is brewed by boiling yak milk and letting dried Coerthan tea leaves steep right into the hot liquid.” This one feels almost too easy, but I’m glad that I got to try making tea this way – I’d never had milk tea before! 

I usually take my tea black and hot, but the milk in this tea makes it a luxurious, creamy treat. Channeling my inner Picard, I used loose-leaf Earl Grey tea and sweetened it with maple sugar as per the recipe. The hint of maple was really tasty with the citrus notes of the Earl Grey.

You can make this with just about any kind of tea and just about any kind of sweetener. (I bet this would be tasty with honey.) Black tea probably works best, since milk is more flavorful than water and you’ll need a stronger-flavored tea to match it. My recipe below makes enough for two mugs of milk tea, but it’s pretty easy to size up or down – fill a mug with milk, then pour that amount into your saucepan once per cup you want to make. And use 1 heaping teaspoon of loose leaf tea per cup you want to make. 

Ishgardian Tea! 

About 10oz of milk 

2 heaping teaspoons of loose leaf Earl Grey (or any strong tea of your choice) tea leaves 

Maple sugar to taste (or whatever sweetener you would like!) 

Hey dudes! Lately I’ve been reaching out a bit to some FFXIV players who expressed interest in getting a hold of lore resources. I mentioned to them I’d  try to set up a post making the most helpful ones I’ve encountered readily available, and this?

It’s that post.

MIRKEMENAGERIE: Easily one of (if not the) most complete and comprehensive collections of lore I’ve encountered online. Includes quotes from NPCs in-game, Encyclopedia Eorzea I and II, item references, and more. The Twelve posts and location lore are some of my favorites but really all of this is fantastic. Very accessible.

HARMONEA: Has assembled a HUGE collection of lets plays on youtube that are organized and well-paced, showing everything from MSQ to Ascian-lore specifically to Job quests and beyond. This has been truly helpful whenever I want to check a reference but don’t necessarily have time to New Game + or check the Unending Journey in-game. It’s easy to jump around to find exactly the scenes you’re looking for, and compare moments from different points during the game.

GARLAND TOOLS DATABASE: Sometimes I need lore details from specific quests, that aren’t in cutscenes or easily found in a video. Garland Tools helps with tracking down quotes, character information, and much more. Also contains data around NPC character designs. Doesn’t have cutscene quotes, but does have enough info to track down what cutscenes you’ll likely need to watch. Whether on youtube or in the Unending Journey, it gets much easier tracking down references.

TALES FROM THE CALAMITY, TALES FROM THE DRAGONSONG WAR, TALES FROM THE STORM, CHRONICLES OF LIGHT: THE HUNT BEGINS, TALES FROM THE SHADOWS: These are official FFXIV short stories associated with A Realm Reborn, Heavensward, Stormblood, and Shadowbringers respectively. The story from Chronicles of Light is also canon but insanely difficult to track down, contains details surrounding Zenos’s backstory and psychology. These absolutely carry lore details! You don’t need them to understand and enjoy the game, but they give added information and context.

ALL FINAL FANTASY XIV 1.X MAIN SCENARIO CUTSCENES: I have not gone through all of this yet but you can bet your ass I have it saved.

FINAL FANTASY XIV 1.X LETS PLAY: Likewise haven’t gone through all of this yet but if you want really detailed 1.0 lore info, this has it.

OZMA’S ASCIAN REFERENCE PILE: Contains both concrete known information, game data, and speculation by Ozma as a longstanding Ascian fan. 1.0 WHITE MAGE QUESTLINE: This isn’t 100% canon anymore, but I’m including it because it actually shows the Elementals in voiced roles and that is a huge deal. Worth noting this youtuber has other 1.0 videos documented too.

BOTANICA EORZEA: This contains all lore surrounding the plants of Eorzea, organized and accessible.

LODESTONE SONG LYRICS COMPILATION: There are often other places you can google around for official song lyrics and I usually use those, but if you want everything in one place this is your spot!

Lastly, while not lore related I do want to share a particularly fun resource with the people who might be peeking over.