I had a lovely surprise on Saturday morning. Through my letterbox, along with the inevitable bits of rubbish and a bill, came a plain white envelope addressed to me. Inside, were three teabags.
Now, this may not seem like anything especially amazing, but I was half expecting them and I was delighted. You see, I follow the blog of Jane Wenham-Jones – the author of Wannabe a Writer and Wannabe a Writer we’ve ever Heard Of, amongst other things. Fiction as well. She’s very nice, if a bit mad, which suits me fine – no rude comments out there! If you pop over and see her blog, you’ll not only discover someone well worth reading, but also that she has been given a load of teas to try from the lovely ‘tea-temple’ people, TeaPigs. I have only had their green tea before, but it is lovely and I was delighted to read that she was planning to give some of these little gems away. First up were the minty ones, which she had decided she didn’t like at all.
Now, I don’t have dairy, which means I have to drink black tea or put something else in there, like soya milk or rice milk and I don’t like it straight or with any of that other stuff. It just doesn’t taste the same. Vile, ugh. So I gave up ordinary tea, the English Breakfast sort, when I gave up dairy. (Migraine trigger, if you’re wondering). These days I drink the weirder sorts of tea. Fruit infusions, green teas, herby mixtures and mint tea. The best I ever drank was when I was invited to take tea by the Bedouins in the desert in Jordan. Minty, herby and yes, quite sweet, but not as sweet as the sort they serve up to the tourists. At home, I make do with a peppermint teabag in a cup.
Anyway, back to Jane Wenham-Jones: She decided she didn’t like the mint teas and offered them in her blog. Yay! I leapt in the air, jiggled a bit with delight – well, OK, not quite, but I did compose a quick comment and emailed her and hooray! – the teas arrived on Saturday.
I couldn’t wait to try them. So this week-end was a bit of a tea-fest.
How about liquorice and mint? No, don’t knock it. It was really good. I know it sounds peculiar, but I was surprised. There was a very slight tang of liquorice and of peppermint, but not much. It was just a lovely cosy cuppa. Warming. Because I’m frugal (OK, I admit it, a bit tight), I kept the teabag and gave it another bash with the boiling water. It made a great second cup too.
Later in the day, I gave a whirl to the ‘tummy tonic’ peppermint leaves, which were also very good and so was the Green tea with peppermint, with which you also get the caffeine hit as well. The last one did two cups too, but that’s because I’m a bit woossy with my green tea and don’t like it very strong.
I took a look at the TeaPigs site as well, which is worth the peep. They have this thing called a mood-o-meter so you can decide what sort of mood/state you’re in and choose your tea accordingly. Reviews on the site varied enormously and a couple of people said the liquorice and mint one was far too sweet, but most agreed with me that it was gorgeous. It’s supposed to give that warming feeling and is good for sore throats apparently.
So that was my tea-fest.
How about you – do you enjoy the rush of English Breakfast or do you mix and match the joys of the infusions world? Or are you a coffee freak who wouldn’t touch tea of any sort with the button of your mouse?
patwoodblogging 
I can’t drink coffee anymore, I am just too caffeine sensitive. I drink the green teas in the morning and love decaf mint teas later on in the day. They still pick me up, even without caffeine. I do admit, when I go to my favorite coffee shop, I have latte envy…..
🙂 Like the idea of latte envy! My favourite tea of late has been blackcurrant, gingseng and vanilla, but I think it has a rival now. Than you for coming by and commenting. Nice to know I’m not the only mint tea addict.
I am a tea addict! I alternate between Chai Black and Peppermint throughout the day. Hey, Pam. Have you tried almond milk? We switched over last year…it is amazing! Works well in those black teas and cooking, etc.
Recently discovered white tea which I can drink without milk. Almond milk sounds quite interesting. Thank you for the tip. Maybe I could give that a whirl. 🙂
I don’t drink coffee, but I love a cup of tea while I read the newspaper in the morning (and yes, I still read a print newspaper…) I like green or black tea, but I have to have milk with the black tea or its taste is too strong for me. What a pleasant surprise to find tea in one’s mailbox rather than political flyers. 🙂
Yes, the tea made a pleasant change to all the usual rubbish. Most enjoyable. Can’t cope without milk in black tea but Britt Skrabanek suggests almond milk so maybe I will give that a whirl. Thanks Carrie. 🙂
I love the tea-pigs peppermint tea. It’s the best one there is, really minty and will also clear your sinuses! There is another tea-pig flavour that I tried which was disgusting – like drinking a bonfire. The name of it escapes me (or maybe I’ve blotted it out because of the trauma) but it was supposed to detox you.
I am a huge fan of tea – all sorts, but especially chai or others that are similarly spiced. However, sometimes there is nothing like a cup of English Breakfast with a spot of milk and honey!
PS – You should give Almond milk a go, as suggested by Britt. It’s nicer than soya, and will even make a decent hot chocolate.
Thanks for that. Yes, the almond milk does sound like a good idea. Really hate the soya milk – it isn’t right or proper to put that in tea! I haven’t tried chai, but feel I ought to give that a whirl some time as well.
Good one Pat! 🙂
there are cultures that have made tea preparation an art 🙂
There certainly are and very beautiful too. No art with me, usually gasping when I take my head out of the computer and realise I need tea and get it made as quickly as possible! Thank you Sharmishtha.
I am a tea aficionado for sure and have a lovely collection. I am always looking for something new to try. I start every day with green tea (a variety of flavours) I also love Rooibos tea (red bush tea from Africa) I recently bought a packet of Tiramisu Rooibos tea. So yummy you hardly need dessert. My husband only drinks Tetley tea (with milk)
Like the sound of Tiramisu Rooibos… mmm. I start with (at the moment) blackcurrant, ginseng and vanilla, but I like to change quite often. My husband has now got my habits in tea! He drinks pretty much the same things, but draws the line at anything with mint in it!
So you think there is hope for my Yorkshire man. Maybe not. He did just make me a lovely cup of pineapple camomille, perfect before bed while he enjoyed his Tetley tea.
Then I should leave him alone. He’s just lovely. My man makes me peppermint tea, brings it to me at the computer, then goes away and drinks his coffee. Fine with me. Actually, more than fine with me. 🙂
I must admit to being a coffee drinker. I also drink tea, but in small doses. When I do drink tea, I prefer peppermint or rooibos. No matter what I drink, I always enjoy it with honey- or as we call it in our house, ‘bee spit’. It’s nature’s greatest sweetener.
Urgh! Bee Spit would put me off entirely! We have horrible names for things in our house too, but bee spit is a new one on me. I haven’t been able to take to rooibos so far, but perhaps I should try it with honey.
Thank you for that – I think. I’ll have a vision now every time I put honey in something! 🙂
My name is Tersia. I am addicted to tea…. I love normal Ceylon Tea. I have a little Fat Free Milk with it and no sugar. It is such a problem when I travel in the Middle East and I am offered the sweet tea…I just HATE it. I have learnt to say “Mafi Sugar…Diabetic” That ensures lovely bitter tea!
🙂 Made me laugh – yes it is a little like my name is… I am addicted…! When I used to drink ordinary teas – and coffee for that matter – I used to get through gallons of it. All caffeinated of course. I still have the caffeine – I drink that dreaded diet coke and I limit myself to no more than two a day.:-)
But since I drink loads of water and all those weird little teas, I figure it can’t be doing me too much harm….
I prefer hot coffee over hot tea. If I drink hot tea, it has to be either black tea or white tea or mint. Earl Grey or ceylon is fine as well. No cream, no milk, no sugar – just plain. I love iced tea and drink a cup of iced tea with lunch everyday. Same deal, just give me plain black or white tea, no sugar with a lemon wedge.
I don’t think I have ever had iced tea. Maybe something to try… but I need something in that black tea. Can’t get near it. Although I drink green tea quite weak, so maybe I should try black tea weak and see if I like it better… or lemon wedges sounds a nice idea. Thank you for the thoughts. 🙂
I love a nice cup of Earle Grey in the morning. I don’t have milk in my tea, but I do have a couple of sugars (hmmm). I’m going over now to check out this magical tea blog you’re referring to 😉
Earl Grey is a bit odd, isn’t it? Bergamot flavour is quite strong. I have had this before, but wasn’t overly struck on it. If you visit Jane’s blog – I’m on there now. Woohoo! Fame – well, for fifteen minutes! 🙂
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