November 18, 2008

Tea Bagging It

Coffee smells better than it tastes. It just does. But that has to do with the fact that I only drink decaffeinated coffee. I can't drink regular coffee because it gives me the shakes. I'm sure decaf is chemically altered or something and so it doesn't taste like coffee should, but man, I hate the shakes. So instead I choose to smell, not drink, as much of it as I can. You can find me breathing deeply in coffee shops like I'm recovering from hyperventilating. I just love the smell. (And buckets of coffee ice cream.) Besides, I really enjoy not needing a first cup of coffee to get my day started. It's like I am free of the shackles of my father- who needs to drink it black first thing. Instead I drink tea.

I really have no idea why I'm drawn to it. I don't drink it the way Mom does or the way the British do. I drink my tea straight up. I appreciate a well made tea so I don't drink too much of it with milk or sugar. I used to when all the tea in the house was Lipton. That stuff tastes like shit without a ton of milk and sugar. But if I have REAL tea the milk and sugar take away from my tea drinking experience. Lately I've been drinking Stash brand tea (I'm obsessed with their Earl Grey blend) but I also very much enjoy Harney and Sons. They make some really great blends that Lipton wouldn't dream of.

There's more to tea than the tea leaf. There is an art of mixing different herbs to create the perfect tea. People don't realize there are a plethora of tea combination and flavors. There is white tea, black tea, green tea, oolong, roobios, on and on. I recommend trying something other than the usual black tea. Peppermint tea is good for a sour stomach and green tea, according to every science report about cancer to come out in the past three years, will apparently keep you from getting any kind of cancer. Tea is simply an amazing herb. White tea is also good for you. I'm not saying coffee is bad for you. In fact, that has been shown to help your liver and other organ functions. Of course, coffee must be drank in moderation. Tea doesn't. I drink so much tea I must be immune to the caffeine. Last night I had tea right before bed and I don't remember waking up once. Maybe I should do that more often...

2 comments:

Tina Winston said...

I, too, love me some tea. I drink it in the afternoons to keep the caffeine buzz from my morning coffee going. I mainly need the caffeine to keep the migraines at bay, but something about tea is very soothing. My fave is Earl Grey, but I have also recently tried Stash brand Licorice Spice, Chocolate Hazelnut (all the wonderful flavors, none of the guilt!); and Tazo Organic Chai. Delicious!

abby - the geek girl said...

I have always loved tea. I keep it in my desk at school. My dad drinks Earl Grey or a Breakfast Blend with milk and sugar... sometimes I add a bit of sugar to mine, but I just love the flavor! I have white, green, red, chai, black, peppermint, herbal and chocolate in my cabinet right now. I am thinking of investing in a tea chest actually. And Lipton does make good iced tea blends.