Tuesday, January 27, 2009

I Like Tea

I go through phases where my morning beverage of choice is coffee. Then it's hot chocolate. Then it's a combination of the 2.
But lately, an old love has returned and won my heart and loyalty.
Tea.
Hot tea, iced tea. My only requirement, at least for tea that I buy, is that it be some sort of herbal or fruit infusion.
I'm in second place for best tea stash in the office- Christy is the reigning champion.
Surrounding me, it colorful and pretty little boxes, are the following variety of teas.
Celestial Seasonings chocolate caramel enchantment chai (this one is in my mug right now)
Stash raspberry and white tea
Lipton herbal peppermint
Stash moroccan mint green tea
Celestial Seasonings gingerbread spice
Celestial Seasonings sugar cookie sleigh ride
Lipton herbal apple cinnamon
Lipton herbal orange
Celestial Seasonings acai mango zinger
Celestial Seasonings red zinger
Twinings Pure Peppermint herbal tea
And I have some individual tea bags or small sample packets of...
Tazo China Green Tips
Celestial Seasonings country peach passion
Celestial Seasonings raspberry gardens green tea
Celestial Seasonings chamomile
What is it about tea that is so wonderful? From Christy's plethora of options, I love the Tazo Wild Sweet Orange. She is enjoying a mug of it now and I stole the packet that the tea bag came in because the smell is so divine. "A juicy blend of lemongrass, citrus herbs, licorice root & orange essences." If I inhale slowly and deeply, I can sense each of those individual notes. It starts with the orange, moves to the subtle lemongrass and citrus herbs and then leaves a tiny little hint of licorice root. There is something so comforting and simple about a cup of tea. The warmth, the calm, the scent, the flavor. But I don't just drink my teas hot. I also enjoy them as iced tea. I will steep a tea bag in some sugar water (packets of sugar dissolved in hot water- just enough water to dissolve the sugar). Once the water has developed the intense color of the tea, I add in some cold water and then top off with ice. At home, I do this in a larger container. At work, it's in a 32 oz cup (souvenir from a summertime excursion to the local zoo). For Christmas, Christy gave me a flowering tea set. A cute little clear glass teapot and a series of various loose leaf teas that have been hand tied so that when the hot water combines with the tea, it opens up and blossoms and changes size and shape and such. It sounds more spectacular than it is but the tea is amazingly good (Numi brand), especially the jasmine tea.

You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.

~ C.S. Lewis

May you always have walls for the winds, a roof for the rain, a tea beside the fire, laughter to cheer you, those you love near you and all your heart may desire

~ Irish Blessing

The spirit of the tea beverage is one of peace, comfort, and refinement.

~ Arthur Gray

10 comments:

Mary Ellen said...

I'm a plain tea kind of gal - black tea or green tea - but no wild and crazy flavors. Sometimes I go for broke with a touch of lemon or milk!

Boozy Tooth said...

The South is known for its love of sweet tea, you know. I like it, but usually drink ice water (who am I kidding... Chianti for everyone!). My favorite hot teas are good old Irish Breakfast and Oolong. Go Ireland! Go China!

mimbles said...

I LOVE that C.S. Lewis quote :)

I've played around with fruit and herb teas but I always come back to a good strong hot Twinings English Breakfast tea. I have at least 3 cups a day. Adam also found a very nice blend at the British Museum when he was in London but we're nearly all out of that one.

Chris said...

Great post! I also am a tea head.

Joanie said...

That raspberry and white tea sounds yummy! I'll have to look for that when I go to the grocery store again.

I've been drinking hot green tea for the past few years and I like it much better than pekoe.

John has Twining's Cherries and Madagascan Cinnamon tea. It's quite good!

Anonymous said...

i LOVE tea. i don't drink it enough. in fact, i think i'll go get some now. :]

i'm not sure if i told you or not, but thank you SO Much for my bloggy award! i love it.

ANNNNDDD, i've moved.

www.singingwithmyheart.com

Candy said...

Obviously I'm a tea freak myself - treat yourself to some Hawaiian Islands Tea Co. http://bit.ly/3XKahJ particularly Mango Maui and Hibiscus Honey Lemon. They are awesome!!! My all-time-favorite-if-stuck-on-a-desert-island tea is Genmaicha - green with toasted brown rice. Guess I'll have a cup now, thankyouverymuch!

Jackie E. said...

I'm with you on the whole tea thing! I pretty much like any of the Celestial Seasonings tea but when I'm traveling in Europe, I usually just drink Earl Grey. There is a thing we drink in Jamaica called Sorrel and there is a tea that they make using the same bush. It tastes wonderful!!

KPCL Girl said...

Totally NON-related comment:

Liz did you direct "Schoolhouse Rock" at the Belfry just a couple years or so ago?

Kristi said...

I Love tea! I don't get into the real fruity ones, but I love the spiced teas! And of course Tazo Chai Tea Latte is a personal fave.