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| My Ecclectic Tea Set Collection |
Notes from a Devout but Casual Tea Drinker
I'm a tea drinker, though I don't get too fancy very often. Though my tea set collection is quite fancy, as seen in the above photo, I'm pretty casual about the tea I like.Daily Tea Routine
My very favorite black tea is Twinings Earl Grey. Even the box is one of my favorite shades of yellow. Most of the time, though, it's just black tea from Wegmans in my cup. It's a tasty and very affordable way to get one's caffeine fix for the moment. I like my Wegmans Black Tea served plain. I'll have a cup of coffee to start the day, but can't have too much caffeine later in the day, so I switch to black tea in the afternoon. |
| Wegman's Black Tea Is My Daily Go-To |
Herbal Teas
I've been trying different herbals at night. I look at what's on sale in the tea section of various stores, like Whole Foods, Wegman, or even stores like Christmas Tree Shops. My newest acquisition is Chaga Tea from Buddha Teas.
I really like floral teas. Rose green tea. Lavender herbal. And if you're inclined, lemon balm is one of the easiest (and most aggressive, so keep it in a container) herbs to grow. Adding a few leaves to whatever tea your making gets a lemony taste. You could even just have lemon balm on it's own as an herbal tea, but I like a few leaves in an infuser with a black or green tea the most.
Loose Leaf Tea
In the event that I want to consume the little bit of loose leaf tea I have, I have one of those spherical infusers for my loose tea, I got it from Ikea. I have loose leaf tea friend gave me that they didn't like that is a rose insued green tea. And, even though the trip was a decade and a half ago, I still have the loose leaf tea that my mom brought back from China and Taiwan, when she and my Aunt Eiko, who was from Taipei, went there on vacation in 2003.
The "Ahhh" of Tea
What I love as an indulgence is the days when I can make a whole pot of tea and pour out of one of my tea pots into my one of my tea cups. I have an eclectic collection. I don't go with many full sets, that way I can have a nice variety of tea things and don't need to worry about matching.
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| One of my many funky mugs for tea or coffee |
Getting Fancy with My Tea, Somewhat
My newest favorite fancy tea drink is a recipe inspired from The Best Brunch Place in the Wide World, Julians on Broadway, which is a block from my house.
Fancy Early Grey Tea Drink
2 tsp honeydash of cardamom
dash of cinnamon
1/2 tsp coconut oil
1 vanilla roobios bag of herbal tea
2 earl grey tea bags
1/2 cup milk (I use soy)
Steep the tea in a teapot for about 5 minutes. Blend 1/4 cup of the hot tea, the oil, milk and herbs together in a bullet blender, so it's got a little latte like foam. Pour is back into the tea pot, then stir gently. Pour into cup. Scoop a bit of the foam to the top of the cup from the pot if enough didn't get in the cup.
It's so good.
What the Connoisseurs Say
More discerning tea drinker would never dream of using anything but loose tea. They steep their tea over, and never squeeze the leaves because it releases the tannins (the bitter part of tea). Not me. I kinda like the better and I'm too lazy/busy (paradox?) to bother with the loose leaf very often.
Still, I do love my tea!