Wednesday, January 9, 2008

havea cuppa tea.


The Kinks sang about it, the British plan their days around it, stuffed animals attend parties based on it, and some women's colleges have hours of the day set aside to enjoy it.
So... I'm diving in too. I'm going to be a tea drinker.

I'm officially attempting to quit drinking coffee, and switch to tea.
It's going to be healthy, and delicious, and I'm going to lower my blood pressure and...someday...perhaps years from now... when I pass coffee on the street, I'll be able to give it a polite nod without tearing up over fond memories.
Okay. I'm not all for this plan. can you tell? 2008, however, is going to be a healthy year, and this is my alternative to halting consumption of mass quantities of cheese. (One thing reduced at a time, right? No reason to be drastic).

So far, friends have been pretty helpful in suggesting different varieties, but I thought I'd put out a call for tea favorites on here, just for good measure. So far, the most delicious tea I've come across is "African Nectar" by Mighty Leaf Teas. The downside of this one being- it's caffeine free. Not helpful when you're aiming to give up coffee. I've recently discovered Mate (the e has an accent over it, making the pronounciation: "Mah-TAY") which has substantial amounts of caffeine, but I haven't found a good brand yet.

I'd love to find a local tea maker and feel even more earth happy than I already do. Any Baltimorons out there making tea? (so long as it's not from local plantlife..because.....agghhhhhhhhh).


3 comments:

Carly said...

Rachel,
Spend time at Teavolve, down in Fells and you will be very easily convinced of the glory of tea. AND you won't be tempted by coffee because they don't serve it!

Lindsay said...

I highly recommend www.theteatable.com

The have great explanations of the different kinds of teas and flavors, and they sell loose leaf tea by the ounce and it's really affordable and they have fabulous service.
check out the various rooibos (pronounced roy-bus) teas...it is also south african and caffeine free.

do you have a diffuser or a teapot with the little screeny thing for loose leaf tea? loose leaf makes it much more fun than bagged. :)

Jennifer said...

You know I swear by Celestial Seasons "Morning Thunder" which is black tea and Mate mix that I used to ween myself off coffee....But I got a new cast iron tea pot w/ a screen basket for christmas, so I'm going to attempt to make my own mixtures from now on. I'm drinking Yerba Mate right now, which is super good for the body and full of natural caffine, but honestly, it tastes like dirt water. I still like it though...mmmmm.