Early this summer, my friend Theresa gave me a tea kettle as a birthday gift. Because of its' kitchen-ey nature, it found a home (still in its' box) in the pile of wedding gifts slowly taking over a corner of our dining area. Recently I finally started unpacking and organizing all of the wonderful gifts we received, and last week I unpacked the kettle. I have always been an iced tea drinker, but I never ventured into hot teas. Lots of my friends around here drink hot tea, and after a few warm mugs full at friends' houses, I decided that hot tea was something I could get into.
After opening my shiny new red kettle, I went to the grocery store and bought three different kinds of tea; a white tea with lemongrass, green and white tea blend with vanilla, and a black spiced tea. I brought the tea home and began assembling a basket full of a variety of wrapped tea bags (I haven't ventured into loose leaf tea just yet), including several I already had at home. I've been sampling the different varieties this week, and enjoying the warm, aromatic coziness a cup of tea brings.
Luis enjoys hot teas too - well, some of them. This morning, as he was drinking his mug of green tea, I brought him my cup to smell. I was trying this India spiced chai I had in the cupboard (a gift from a friend some time ago...) and it had the most wonderful spicy aroma. I held the mug out to him and he leaned forward and inhaled, then pulled back quickly with a crinkled nose and exclaimed, "it smells like a god damned ham!"
I guess maybe he'll stick to the plain green.
It's been a week, and already I have no idea how I ever survived without a tea kettle. To make tea in the past, Luis and I used to boil water in our old stock pot and then try to pour from that into mugs or a pitcher. It was a mess. The kettle makes making a cup of tea so easy! I'm sold.
5 comments:
If you haven't already tried it, masala tea is traditionally drunk really quite sweet with a lot of milk in it. It's an amazingly comforting drink served like this, especially when it's cold.
Also a mug of Earl Grey, served with a little milk (my preference) or lemon, as you prefer, is a great refreshed on warmer days.
That's "refresher" not "refreshed". Curse my inability to proof-read first thing on a Monday morning.
"this tea smells like ham"... ...possible never-been-said-before sentence?
my favorite tea is egyptian licorice tea by yogi. i don't like licorice in particular, but this doesn't remind me of it - i can't think of how to describe it, but as long as you're on a tea kick maybe you could pick a box up and give it a try :)
also, 'evening in missoula' has a permanent place on my tea cycle - you can get it at butterfly herbs for sure, and maybe even good food store now.
Tea is something that I've learned to reach for during times of stress. And like Mr. Atrocity's masala tea, I drink it very sweet. Comfort drink as opposed to food.
Oh yeah, and by "cold" I meant the weather, not the tea. I am such a dolt at times it beggers belief.
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