One of the delights of living in a big drafty house is that one always has an excuse to drink a cup of tea. I really enjoy different kinds of tea, but I admit that I am loyal to my first love -- Constant Comment. I discovered it in junior high. Back then I used a lot of honey in it. Now I use a little teeny bit of agave nectar. I love the fragrance and the way the hint of sweetness brings out the orange and spices. Lovely.The children like my tea-drinking habits and not only because hot tea means that there is usually warm water available for hot chocolate. Sometimes they take breaks from playing to come over and bury their noses in my cup of Constant Comment. And they like to carry my tea bags to the garbage and squish them between their fingers so that the scent is released again. Yesterday, Daniel kept coming over to me to smell my tea so often that I asked if he wanted the rest of it. He enjoyed every last drop.
My other favorite tea is one I never have on hand -- peppermint with honey. My grandmother sometimes grew peppermint behind the garage when I was a child and occasionally she'd make some into tea for us. Or when we'd go for a hike with my father in the local woods, we'd find wild peppermint and bring it back to her. And I remember my friend, Becky, bringing one of those bladder canteens full of hot peppermint tea to a church outing when we were in 7th grade. I think we felt very grown-up and it had something to do with the tea.
I keep thinking I need to branch out and try different kinds of tea. Hence, my cupboard is full of tea boxes with one or two bags missing as I attempt to love them. But I always return to my default. Do you have a favorite tea you'd recommend?
9 comments:
Since my years in Hong Kong back in the 70s, I have come to love Chinese Jasmine tea. I still have pictures in my mind of language school where big thermoses of Jasmine tea were available at all times during breaks between classes.
My husband is Chinese and still gets Jasmine tea in bulk for us from the Asian market here in Portland. Life is good!
i'm sorry to be such a copycat, but constant comment is my favorite as well! :) and i normally drink my black tea with milk and sugar but constant comment is the only one i drink black (with honey). i love it so much during the cold months and was excited to find a decaf version of it for my evening cuppa. :)
again, with the copycatting, i also love jasmine tea. my friend brought me a tin home from china a few years back and i love the frarance of it, and how the jasmine balls uncurl at the bottom of my cup.
oh, how i love tea days (i just finished a cup, myself!).
Pretty picture...very comfy looking.
I'm a big fan of hot chocolate and I live in a draft house so I always seem to have a mug in hand, too.
oops. I don't live in a draft house...just a drafty house. :)
Constant Comment is a marvelous tea, and I still love peppermint too. Now that I've given up caffeine, my choices have been somewhat limited, though most things are available in decaf (like CC, for instance).
I especially like a few Republic of Tea teas: Good Hope Vanilla (a rooibos/red tea) which I drink with sugar and milk, Orange Ginger Mint which is also GREAT iced, Ginger Peach (decaf), and Blackberry Sage (decaf).
I also love Bigelow's Sweet Dreams tea and pretty much anything with lemon or hibiscus in it, like the Zingers.
Enjoy!
(And yes, drinking tea can make children feel very adult. Or maybe just fancy because it seems British-ish?)
I love a cup of Sleepy time extra tea before bed. It makes me feel all warm inside and so totally relaxed. I never experience insomnia if I drink this tea before bed. :)
I am a spiced chai fan (Celestial Seasonings is the best) - with lots of honey in it. I'll have to try CC. It sounds good.
Loving your blog by the way. My kids are 17 and 20, for which I'm glad, but it's delightful to read about your children!!
I live in a big drafty church (at least during the day) -- and my current favorite tea is Good Earth decaf Sweet and Spicy Herbal Tea. It's kind of like Dentyne gum in a drink! Constant Comment is a regular at our house, too -- in addition to many others like Tension Tamer and Bigelow's Perfect Peach.
Peace and Joy this Christmas!
I haven't had Constant Comment in a long time - thanks for reminding me.
I like Tazo teas and African Redbush and Wild Sweet Orange are my favorites; my wife likes the Tazo Joy tea but it is only available around the Holiday season I think.
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