Thursday, August 7, 2008

Would you like a cup of REAL TEA?

Hot tea is something that, as a child, you only have when you’re sick. As you get older, it reappears as a drink alternate and this is when people’s tastes begin to change.

In my teens, I drank black tea with honey. In my 20’s it was black tea with a spoon of sugar and a lot of milk. In my 30’s it was black tea with 16 grains of sugar and a big splash of milk. In my 40’s (as in ‘still 40 for one more month’, thank you) it’s 16 grains of sugar and a medium to small splash of milk. My current reasoning is that the sugar shaves off the bitter high points of the tea, and the right amount of milk provides a nice body to it. That is the way I normally take my tea.

As a ‘tea person’, I also can drink tea with honey, herbal tea, and the only tea so far I couldn’t handle at all was Lapsang Suchong, which tasted like a hot wet ashtray. I love iced tea in its various forms (sweetened and unsweetened home made), the only brands I like in a bottle are real brewed with lemon Snapple and the Assam Black Honest Tea.

As far as hot teas, these are MUST HAVES in order of favorites:

Yorkshire tea – I prefer the red box

Canadian Red Rose tea – Red Rose Brand tea in Canada is MUCH better than the US version, can only be ordered from Canada

PG tips - they have the triangular tea bag

King Cole (they also carry THE BEST black decaf I've had to date)

Barry’s Tea - I've been drinking the Irish Breakfast but I hear it's all good.

If you are a REAL TEA drinker, I strongly encourage you to try these teas! Please comment on your personal favorite teas, we’re willing to try anything if it’s good!

3 comments:

Christine said...

don't forget to try Revolution Teas at http://www.revolutiontea.com/index.html
They are the BEST. I love the Earl Grey Lavender and Pear especially. Their mint and chai teas are brilliant as well. They tea bags themselves are completely unique...they feel exactly like silk. I always feel like I'm whipping up a magic spell when I brew a cup of these teas. MMMMMmmmmmm. I also love to splash a little flavored milk in...something with a bit of vanilla...of course. There's a great song by Colin Hay called Beautiful World that mentions Lapsang Souchon.....go have a listen. -Sissy

Anonymous said...

Well, this is fun -- my first experience with a blog, and about my favorite drink (well, almost)! Good to know about these other teas I haven't tried yet. Earl Grey is an all time favorite, also Tazo Om green tea, and Eco Teas organic Yerba Mate. Sometimes it's fun to mix a couple different teas together, like a green and black...
--Maddie

Marli said...

I'm a big fan of loose leaf chais. Pumpkin Spice chai, Red leaf chai... chai teas generally have a spicier and fuller feel to them, and welcome milk in a way many teas do not.

Tealux, in the Prudential Center, generally carries one or more good chai options.