Gratitude for Tea

February is... not my favorite. I think, "When will winter end?" And I think, "I guess never." And then I think, "Well, I'll have another cup of tea." 

 

In wintertime, tea is my placeholder for many other things. Like going outside, or having any kind of inspiration to get something accomplished (maybe working on my knitting project, or cleaning something). Instead, I have some more tea. Tea gives my hands and my heart something to do, and makes me feel warm outside and hugged from the inside. I think tea is getting me through the winter, really. As February finally draws to a close this weekend, here's a little tour of my tea shelf and some thoughts about this wonderful substance.

Let's start with caffeinated teas. I have learned from trial and error that I should only drink this kind of tea before noon, or else it will keep me awake past midnight. My favorite black tea is Red Rose: such a classic. Red Rose has been the go-to tea in my family for as long as I can remember. Remember when they used to put little collectible figurines in each box? Apparently you can still get figurines in specially marked boxes or if you order directly from Red Rose. I think Red Rose (Original) has a nice, soft mouth-feel--similar to a Darjeeling tea (it's actually Orange Pekoe). I like it with milk and sugar.

I'm also working my way through a box of Lemon Lift black tea and a box of Chai black tea (which is black tea with spices in it). I like the latter with a big spoonful of sweetened condensed milk.

If it's afternoon, a nice fruit tea is good. I recently got two Bigelow teas--the Perfect Peach is great (it says that it's supposed to taste like peach pie, and I'm a fan of that). The Red Raspberry is OK but it has a bit of hibiscus-y tartness that's not very raspberry-like.

 

Next, inspired by the peach pie tea, I started looking for other interesting fruity or dessert-y options, and found these two from Tazo. The Wild Apple Sarsaparilla claims to be "Inspired by the Midwest" which I think is hilarious. It's a little apple-y but also has a spicy-woody twist that is nice. The Glazed Lemon Loaf tea is lemon-y but also has notes of liquorice or anise, which I presume is to make it more robust and... loaflike.

 

 

If it's evening and I'm still craving black tea, I really like Twinings' Lady Grey decaffeinated black tea. It has that same "soft sip" that I enjoy in the Red Rose. I'm also a big fan of Nighty Night Extra with Valerian in it from Traditional Medicinals. I swear it really does help me get to sleep. One of my favorite weekend treats is a mug of Night Night Extra and a slice of cake.

I do have some tea goals. I would like to get my hands on Strawberry Cheesecake tea (made by Red Rose), to see what that's like. I'm on the lookout for white peach tea and mango tea. I also found a Sweet Rhubarb tea by Taylors of Harrogate that sounds pretty delicious.

 

There are some teas I don't like--I'm not a fan of rooibos. I also don't love teas that are essentially a base of chamomile or green tea with other flavors added.

If I ever get to Japan, I'd like to get some Karel Capek tea. (Yes, it is named after the Czech writer who coined the word "robot.") Karel Capek tea packaging is gorgeously illustrated by the founder Utako Yamada, who opened the Karel Capek tea and sweets shop in Tokyo in 2002. The flavors are fascinating like Milk Caramel, Fruits Party, and Girls Tea (Strawberry), and I would love to learn more about Thank You Tea, Birthday Tea, and Pancake Tea. Please watch this Rainbowholic video about the store and Utako Yamada if you'd like to learn more!

 

 

 

So tell me about you and tea. Do you love it? What flavors do you like?