Tea for Two

Ok, so maybe not for two... But, thought I'd babble on tea today.

I don't drink coffee. I used to. It was one of those things, that "everybody" does. Drink coffee in the morning. Go for coffee. Have a cup of coffee with friends....

So I did. Didn't really like the taste of it much. Now and again, though, I'd find a restaurant that served coffee that actually tasted all right. But, I really didn't like the taste of it overall. So, a little over three years ago, in the spring time, I finally "woke up" one morning... sorry... and realized, that I didn't *have to* drink coffee just because everyone else does.

I started making coffee in the morning for my husband, and making tea for me. I'm so much happier. I still get a shot of caffeine in the morning, and then I switch to drinking water or herbal teas.

But, we're not going to end the discussion there. ;) I've been buying an assortment of herbal teas. Trying different ones out, forcing myself to finish one type, stocking up on another. Different brands, different stores...

I really enjoy several flavoured teas. One of the store brands, called "President's Choice" has some interesting flavoured teas. As does "Stash" brand. I used to buy a lot of "Celestial Seasonings" teas, but they've gotten boring - I've shopped at a few stores, and the variety/selection isn't that great. They still have some interesting ones, which I pick up now and again.

Besides the herbals, in the "regular" tea department, I've really developed a taste for Earl Grey, Lady Grey, English Breakfast, Irish Breakfast, and Traditional English. So much so, that recently, I was using some "orange pekoe" tea that I'd bought for the cabin. Finally understood something that I'd heard way back when I was a teen.

My family are immigrants. They came from England. Some of my aunts and uncles also emmigrated, but they settled in the North Eastern US. One summer, I got to go visit some of these relatives, along with meeting some who still live(d) in England. One morning, when one of my cousins asked for tea, our aunt pointed out to him that he wouldn't enjoy it anymore that day than any other, (they had arrived before me) as she had told him before that the tea in US was not the same as the tea in England. That she'd had to get used to it herself over time. Now, back then, I thought tea was tea, and didn't understand.

Of course, being of English background, I'd grown up on tea. Tea in the morning was normal. I even had (still have!) a favourite pink teacup. Recently, I've learned that the difference between white tea, green tea, and black tea is all in the picking - older leaves are used to make black tea, younger leaves for green tea, and the baby leaves for white tea. I've also learned that technically, the stuff that I call "herbal tea" is really mostly a "tisane". Not a tea at all, because there are no tea leaves in most of them. But, since they come from the store in the tea and coffee section, and since they are packaged in tea bags, and since they are made by pouring boiling water over the bag and steeping them, I'm gonna call them teas....

So - what was that last bit all about? I discovered that the English style teas do have a distinct different taste than the pekoe style teas. And I definitely prefer the English style teas over the others.

Now, what the heck am I going to do with all that orange pekoe tea?