Tea

My mother was a tea drinker. She drank her tea plain.  For years, she drank coffee in the morning, because my father drank coffee.  Sometimes, she would drink iced coffee in the summer. But she preferred tea, and at the noon and evening meals, she drank tea.  After many years, she drank tea in the morning.

For years, I was a coffee drinker. But I kept tea on hand.  Because when I did not feel well, or needed a hot drink to warm me up, I preferred tea to coffee or cocoa. 

My mother drank orange pekoe or pekoe tea, and for years, I did not realize there was any other. In high school, I was introduced to Earl Grey and English Breakfast tea.  And, somewhere along the line, I was introduced to jasmine tea, at a Chinese restaurant.

In college I was introduced to herb teas, which, I believe are really infusions.  We thought it was exciting to drink Celestial Seasonings teas http://www.celestialseasonings.com/ , as they were a "hippy" product. Well, they are a very mainstream and well respected product now.  Over the years, I have grown to enjoy many of their teas.

I really like Bengal Spice, more for the aroma than the taste.  One of my most favorite is Peppermint.  I can drink a lot of that.  I sometimes make it into iced tea in the summer, although I prefer to drink hot tea, even in the summer, most of the time.

I tried a wellness tea, and it was too bland. I do like the Sleepytime teas, and Tension Tamer.  Most of the teas I prefer have some menthol, mint or eucalyptus in them. Many also have licorice.  I have a licorice tea. I drank too much one time, and my heart pounded, I became dizzy and felt awful.  I think it was the effect of the licorice http://nccam.nih.gov/health/licoriceroot.

I have tried many kinds and flavors of tea. Many are just pekoe tea, flavored. I like those okay, but I still prefer herb teas.  One of my early favorites was Ginger Twist, http://liptontea.elsstore.com/view/product/?id=17641&cid=296, a Lipton tea I can no longer find locally.  It was truly soothing to my stomach.

I have also had and enjoyed African Red tea or Rooibos, or bush tea.  I drank this years ago, and remembered it when I watched the TV series and read the books about "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" http://www.mccallsmith.com/botswana.htm, in which the protagonist drank bush tea often..

But when I am cold, nothing warms me like hot orange pekoe tea.