I think its a family thing, my whole family loves tea, if you visit my aunts house she will offer you a second cup before you are half way down your first!! My mum always offers tea when we pop round or more accurately I will have been in the house for 10 minutes and will hear 'emma run and put the kettle on' hehe
Then there are my friends who also enjoy a fine cup ... or several. If you visit A or Ns house you are offered a variety of teas from their cupboards usually an earl grey or lady grey. In contrast fiancé's friend L offers tea by the ever filling mug full, he's a big fan of tea after Uni and follows the same rule of thumb as my aunt ... if you are half way down a cup its time for another.
Anyway I wanted to write up a little post about some of my favourite teas.
This is my current collection:
PG tips was on offer so who can turn down a giant box - it will keep us going for a while an keep my work draw stocked.
Peppermint - I discovered the joys of peppermint tea after I developed a bad stomach last year. My stomach would get really bloated and hurt after I ate, didn't know what was wrong but a pharmacist suggested I try colpermin peppermint tablets, they contain pure peppermint oil which settles the stomach. I did a bit of research and discovered that mint has been used for years to settle bad stomachs and ease bloating, peppermint in particular is really good. So after that I bought some peppermint tea, this way I could take a little bit of peppermint throughout the day.
Both the tablets and the tea really settled my stomach. Now I keep peppermint because a) its nice and b) its great if you are having a 'fat' day, it soothes my stomach and makes me feel normal again.
Green tea and Green Tea with lemon - This was bought for the fiancé when he was still loosing weight as it helps to increase your metabolism. Green tea has been drank for centuries by the Chinese and has been found to help increase metabolism a bit like chilli. Its really nice if you want a light tea for an afternoon or for with your lunch. Fiancé isn't a bit tea drinker and found it a bit sour so did a little reading and discovered that if you add a little lemon it gives a bit of a lighter taste. Hence why we also have green tea with lemon tea bags, stops him having to add lemon juice.
Red berry - I got this one after trying some different fruit tea at the coffee stop next to fiancés training sessions. I wanted something fresh and light to drink but a bit fruity so picked up this red berry one from Tesco to try. I looked at some of the expensive brands but didn't want to shell out on tea bags to find they were too sour or sweet for me. This turns out to be really nice its fresh and fruity but not too strong that you feel like you are drinking warm Ribena hehe
English breakfast - this is a fairly light standard tea which can be drank when ever you fancy it really. You can add milk or drink it black depending on how you feel. I find that some normal or breakfast teas can taste a bit bitter but this one is really nice with or without milk. Personally I don't take sugar, I used to take loads when I was little but slowly stopped taking it at all. All my immediate family are milk only even the fiancé and sisters partner, but that wasn't really their choice hehe the rest of us just forgot to put or offer any sugar to them. We offer guests sugar ... but family you have generally been making them tea so long that you just make up a load of cups and hand them out normal for everyone then black for my sister in law. So now neither of them take sugar either hehe probably a good thing as we generally don't have sugar in the flat, if you want any it has to be caster sugar out of the baking cupboard.
Now for my Twinings teas:
Lady grey - this one I love either black or with a splash of lemon. Its a bit lighter then an Earl Grey so a good starter tea hehe if you feel like branching out from PG tips etc. I couldn't tell you how it tastes with milk as I only ever take it black.
Mango & Strawberry - this is my latest tea addition I picked it up on offer in Tesco the other day. I wanted something similar to the red berry but with a bit more citrus so thought I would try this one. Its turned out really nice, fresh like the red berry but with a little something sweeter from the strawberry and a hint of tropical from the mango.
I tend to drink my fruit teas a little cooler then other tea as I feel like you loose some of the flavour when they are very hot. Might just be my taste but if you find that you cant pick up the flavour very well leave it a few minutes.
The last little gem hiding in my tea stores is the little balls in the baggie on the left. These were from my mum they are tea flowers. You might have seen them in some Asian restaurants, they are awesome. You out the little ball in the bottom of a large wine or other big clear glass then fill with warm water, the little ball opens up to reveal a flower which flavours your tea. I cannot wait to try them they look so pretty, this one is jasmine, I might even try it this weekend. I will be sure to write a post about it and no doubt will take loads of pics.
So there you have it my little tea collection. I thought I would finish with a little pic of my other tea love .. tea pots. If I had more space I would have loads of tea pots you can get loads of really fun ones but always check the spout no use having a pot that pours terribly.
LtoR - Nana's teapot older then me, Cow from my bro (ornamental as its got a broken spout :( ), Red spots from fiancé, Butterflies from fiancés parents. Can't have tea with out a milk cow then my tea spoon/tongs and teabag dish.
As I have been typing I am sure that my mango & strawberry has gone cool so I will have to put some more in from the pot ... oh dear ... what a shame hehe
Let me know what your favourite teas are and if you find any fun tea related things like the tea flowers. I hope this may have inspired you to try some new and different teas.
xXx
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