But we have friends in Seekerville who don't drink the stuff. And since I love hot tea, I thought I'd talk a little about it today. I'm becoming familiar with Republic of Tea. But I've also ordered from Adagio as well. Both have some wonderful varieties! And I love to use Teavana's German Rock Sugar. But beware! You'll want to eat it like rock candy! :)
So if you're going to make tea frequently, you might like to look at some of the gadgets like filters or teapots. I previously used a filter that just sits in your cup. But I eventually bought a really easy to use brewer, the IngenuiTEA, that lets you brew tea in the microwave. Once it's ready, you set it on top of your mug, and that opens a valve to let it drain into your cup, keeping the tea in the pot.
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| The tea and gadgets |
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| Draining into cup |
I wish y'all could have seen me when I was opening those little cans pictured above to decide which tea to make for this post. One of them pretty much "exploded" and tea went everywhere, including down my shirt! (Black tea is scratchy on your belly. Who knew?!) ;) What a mess.
I put my tea brewer in the microwave, then went to sweep up all the tea. And I hate to admit this, because I'd love you to think I'm really proficient at something as simple as making tea. But I have to share what happened next. I went back to the microwave, which I had set for 2 minutes (don't know what I was thinking!!). And this is what I found...
Yes. Total disaster. Which only left me about three ounces of tea.
:)
You know, I think maybe it's time to buy some flavored tea K-cups for my Keurig. A lot less risky. Surely I couldn't mess THAT up! :)
So, any tea drinkers out there? What's your favorite type/flavor?
I LOVE THAT YOU POSTED THOSE PICS!!! WE'RE SO STINKIN' NORMAL AT THE CAFE, LOL!!!
ReplyDeleteEvery good cafe should be up on their tea presentation, and obviously Missy is the proficient one in the tea department, microwave and fancy brewing system not withstanding...
honey.... what's wrong with Bigelow tea bags? No muss. No fuss. I'm just sayin'.... ;)
I use regular teabags for iced tea! Luzianne in the family size bags. :) And I do have some herbal teas in regular old teabags. :) But I just love the little flowers and fruit! And all the antioxidants you get in some of the teas. Plus, you've seen how, if I try to put on "airs" and act like a tea snob, then something blows up. So it's all good.
ReplyDelete{big grin}
The coffee gene passed me by. Both of my parents are die-hard coffee drinkers, but I can't stand the stuff. You can't dress it up enough to disguise the flavor. Even coffee ice cream. {shudder}
ReplyDeleteBut tea? Love the stuff. I always start my morning out with a cup or two of Celestial Seasonings Blueberry Pomegranate Green Tea.
Yes, with caffeine.
No fancy brewing for me. At 5:30 am give me my trusty tea kettle and a tea bag and I'm good to go!
Jan, blueberry pomegranate sounds so good!! I'll have to try that!
ReplyDeleteI'm a coffee in the morning, tea in the afternoon kind of gal. What kind of tea depends on the weather (and maybe what I'm reading). I love Darjeeling and Earl Grey but lately, with the cooler weather, I've been enjoying cinnamon tea with a splash of milk.
ReplyDeleteMissy, I had never seen Teavana before but Saturday I was in Bed Bath & Beyond and they had those very cool teas that flower in the pot. Have you tried them?
Jan, I have some Bigelow Blueberry Tea that I drink in the evening sometimes. I don't usually like blueberry flavored things because they taste fake but this is good. I'll have to give the blueberry pomegranate a try.
Mary, no, I haven't seen blooming teas! Sounds really interesting!
ReplyDeleteJan, I think you're in revolt. And I understand that, dear.
ReplyDeleteAnd when I had to go off coffee for cystic problems, I drank a lot of tea...
But I missed my coffee and have re-addicted myself!!!
I do drink hot tea but really don't have a favorite right now. I just have a little filter that I put in a cup. But those little cans are so cute!!
ReplyDeletePatsy, I've had some of the teas for ages, but the cans seem to help keep it decently fresh. Or maybe I just can't tell the difference. :)
ReplyDeleteRuthy, if I'm in revolt, it's been going on for more than 50 years...
ReplyDeleteAre the scones ready yet? It's mid-afternoon tea time here in the west!
My daughter spent a month in London this summer and she came home with some delightful tins of tea she bought at markets there. So, for awhile in August, she and I enjoyed afternoon tea together despite the soaring NYC temps.
ReplyDeleteMissy I found a link with pictures of the blooming teas. I'm not positive I'd like to drink but they sure are pretty to look at.
http://gorgeousandfun.typepad.com/gorgeous_and_fun/2009/01/blooming-tea.html
LOL, Jan! A creature of habit, huh?
ReplyDeleteI'd love a scone, too. I wonder if Ruthy will make us some? I've never actually tried.
Thanks, Mary! My goodness, they're beautiful! Amazing. I'd want to decorate with them. :)
Ruthy doesn't like scones... They're so dry. If I'm going to eat carbs, they must be SO WORTHWHILE.
ReplyDeleteYou know what I mean: Filling... frosting.... pie.
Do you guys do that or am I a freak? I'm always weighing up 'are those calories worth it?"
My pumpkin roll with the kids today????
OH YEAH, BABY! ;)
Ruthy, I AGREE! They are dry. But I just figured that's only the ones I've had. I'm glad to hear it wasn't just me and my strange taste. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, desserts should be moist and butter-laden. :) Pumpkin rolls sound like they'd fit the bill!
Missy (and Ruthy), I don't do coffee (I know, collective gasp), but I LOVE tea. Though I have yet to make it to Teavana. Probably because it would involve driving into Dallas through major amounts of highway construction. No thank you. At present, my favorite tea is Twinings Lady Gray. I do go through spurts though. For the longest time it was Tazo Zen, a green tea blend. It's been a while since I've been a good tea time though. I could really go for some scones with clotted/devonshire cream. Then they're not dry. A few sweets, some savories. Sigh. I think I need to go have breakfast.
ReplyDeleteMindy Obenhaus (for some reason my Google account isn't allowing me to post)
Hey, Mindy! You know, I've never had Lady Gray! I've had Earl Gray and don't care for it by itself. I prefer to mix it in with other teas.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of savory...how about cheese straws?! I love those!
As is the case with any good woman, Lady Gray is a little more mellow than her male counterpart, although still quite interesting, and very flavorful.
ReplyDeleteOoo, yes. Cheese straws are yummy too.
Mindy - P.S. Have you all blocked me or something? (It's Ruthy, isn't it? She thinks I'm stalking her. Well, I am, but....) When I try to comment, it keeps telling me that my Google account doesn't have access to this page. Say it isn't so. I just found y'all.
Mindy, some people have had trouble commenting from the beginning! And for some reason, it won't give either me or Ruthy the option to turn off word verification. I think it stems from an outside template I used in the beginning. I think it messed with the html code. I've tried resetting everything back to the default, but it hasn't worked. I'm sorry!!
ReplyDeleteWomen are supposed to be MELLOW, Mindy-kins????
ReplyDeleteReally????
Oops. ;)
The Google thing is totally MISSY'S fault.
Or a leftover from the cute, fancy designer page we tried ... No one could comment. Oy. So this is better, but it's still blocking beautiful smart Texans... Again, I blame Missy. I just love me some TEXAS from up here in Western NY, but you know how sensitive those Georgia peaches are.
A tad over-ripe, I'd say!
Ruthy failed to mention SHE PICKED THE TEMPLATE SITE I DOWNLOADED IT FROM.
ReplyDeleteOkay, got that off my chest. Now I'll quit my unladylike shrieking and return to sensitive peach mode.
;)
LOL! Ruthy, I think I said more mellow than our male counterparts. That doesn't mean we can't still be CDQs (Hi, Julie).
ReplyDeleteMindy