Crafts are my passion, Cats are my obsession

My crafting adventures, my cats, my dogs, my opinons - I never did keep a diary as a child, but I'm doing it now!

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Dilemma

So.  I gave up drinking coffee many years ago.  I can't recall exactly how many, but I'm thinking four or five years now.  Time kind of flies sometimes... I know I've been not working for nearly two, was part owner for one, worked for one and a half before that, and it was before I started working or just after I started working, that I gave up coffee.  So - at least four years.  Never really cared for the taste (or smell!) of coffee.  Only started drinking it because "that is what people do".  There were times when I would drink tea in the morning instead of coffee, and given the option at other times of day, I'd often take tea over coffee. But mostly it is a case of, I just don't like coffee.

I do still like espresso, though.  And I did enjoy the odd cup of flavoured coffee.  So, here is my dilemma.  I have some flavoured coffee, enough for a pot or two, as well as some flavoured beans.  DH does NOT like flavoured coffee at all.  So.  If I drink the flavoured stuff (egg nog flavoured ground, hazelnut flavoured beans) does that count as drinking coffee?  I mean, it may have coffee as the base, but it is really a flavoured drink, rather than the straight coffee people drink in the morning.  And being flavoured (dang, I wish spell check would quit underlining that word!)means it doesn't taste or smell like regular coffee.  I'd hate to see it go to waste - -

In the meantime, I've discovered a cool store - I was briskly walking through one of the shopping malls I go to now and again, when I need something from one of the stores there.  Some of the small specialty stores come and go; high rent, being too focused, crazy economy, etc. make it hard for some to make a go of it.  Anyway, there was, right by the entrance that I usually use to the mall, a coffee bar.  The smell nearly overpowers me every time I have to walk past it (I guess I could try parking by a different entrance, but this one is so close to most of the stores I need...)  Anyway, that day, they were offering free samples... And, further up the - uh, hallway? uh, aisle?  Uh, mall? - was another coffee/snack joint... Anyway, I managed to avoid them.  Did my errands.  Was on the way out, when I was "accosted" (too strong, really, but sometimes the people offering samples almost seem like that is what they are doing) by a young lady politely offering samples - as I brushed past her, mumbling a firm "No, Thank You", her words sank into my brain.  "...tea".  I stopped, did an about face, and apologized for my brusqueness.  I'm hooked.... David's Tea is a great little shop, where you can buy some wonderful blends of herbal as well as regular teas by the ounce.  Loose tea.  Not tea bags.  The prices are - well, higher than the supermarket or name brand bags - but the tea is wonderful.  And as a treat, will last me a while.  I'll still use my inexpensive bagged English Breakfast tea for my morning two cups, with Earl Grey or Lady Grey or one of the other basic black teas now and again for variety.  But, for later in the day, when I'm in the mood for a hot drink, or an herbal tea, I'll be reaching for the David's Teas. :)  Now, some of them, though good, do not stand out enough to make it worth buying more.  There is a fruit blend that I'm drinking today, that is very much like any of the berry herbal teas from the grocery store (various brands) so I'd rather save money and just stick with those.  But, David's Tea also has some other blends that are much less common, and so very delicious!!  :)

The labeling they put on the packets when you buy the tea suggests 1 1/2 tsp per cup - well, I've found that for some of the teas, you can easily get two cups from the same 1  1/2 tsp of blend.  So, I've taken to using only a half teaspoon at a time  - if that is on the weak side, for a second cup I'll use one teaspoon.  Most are fine with the half per cup.  Making it more economical ;)

Besides the wonderful flavours to choose from, I like this tea because: A) all natural ingredients, B) no preservatives, and C) I haven't found one yet that I feel the need to add sugar to.  Ok, so I've only tried six so far, but still. I like the tea.

The shawl is progressing.... I'm looking forward to getting onto the next section of it.  Still got a long way to go.  I'm thinking I might need to do a third repeat of the first lace pattern.  It isn't getting as long as fast as I thought it would... but I'm liking the way the beads are looking on the yarn... :)

1 Comments:

  • At 9:08 p.m., Anonymous Cindy from Dallas said…

    I think flavoured coffee is a hybrid, and can be considered to be either a coffee or a flavoured drink. So, if you don't feel like starting to drink an odd cup of coffee again, I would just call it a flavoured drink. It would be a shame to let it go to waste.

    Sounds like you found a wonderful little gem with that tea store. Good for you. I must have missed a post, I will have to read back sometime, I am very curious about this shawl. Next time a picture?

     

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