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Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Tea Time

I am a tea drinker.

Other than my brief love affair with sweet tea while I was living in Florida, I drink hot tea exclusively. The cold bottled variety loses something in translation.

I start every morning with a cup of English breakfast with milk and sugar.

Sometimes when I'm cold at work I will have an herbal "tea" (not really tea at all but an herbal infusion or tisane) to avoid any additional caffeine.

When I decided, after finishing my last book, that I needed something more light-hearted to read, I picked up the next in the Tea Shop Mystery series by Laura Childs. The series falls into the "cozy mystery" category, meaning that they are generally not terrifying or gruesome. The main character owns a tea shop, so there are fabulous descriptions of teas and tasty treats throughout the books. Reading them always makes me want to relax with a steaming mug of oolong, a snugly blanket, and a good book.

This morning when I got to work I decided to make myself a cup of Golden Tips (a loose artisan tea made by Numi). I can definitely feel the extra caffeine zipping through my system, but it was worth it for the yummy, full-bodied flavor.

I recently came into possession of a brand new, unused copper tea kettle (Revere Ware). Brand new from 1972, that is. It was apparently a wedding gift my parents received and has been collecting dust at my grandparents' house ever since. It is lovely. I've never owned any copper pots or pans, but I am anxious to get this one cleaned up so I can use it. Is there a specific method for cleaning copper?

I can't wait to drink my first steaming cup of tea made from the gleaming copper tea kettle that looks so snazzy sitting on my stove top.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm a tea drinker as well. Although I drink coffee too. Mr. LS and I drink lots of tea all winter long. He usually stops then but I love it year round. I keep some good teas in my desk at work. Right now I have Refresh (different kinds of yummy mints), Zen (green tea with mint), and a variety box that mostly has Chai left in it. My all time favorite though is Constant Comment steeped perfectly with lemon. Yum!

Interesting post. And I saw your whine over at Phantom's about the job stuff. People always joke around in my office when people are dressed a little nicer than usual that they have an interview elsewhere. I wore a new dress today and they were all joking that I was already looking for a new job. I'm not, but maybe you can make a joke out of it if your coworkers bring it up on Friday.

Nicole said...

Nothing like a day filled with cozy tea and a good book. Unfortunately, I never have been able to properly replace my addiction for coffee with tea.

Jenny F. Scientist said...

They make copper cleaner- nasty, but works great. Otherwise, baking soda and a little water and a lot of scrubbing should work (works on the copper bottoms of my pots).

I also have an amazing love of cozy mysteries.

I'm glad you know it's sweet tea, NOT iced tea!!!

BerryBird said...

Mmmm. Definitely another tea drinker here. I love how coffee smells, but for consumption, tea always wins. If you want to splurge, try some Rishi sometime, it is fantastic. SodaBoy even likes it, and he has never been a tea drinker, except of the highly sweetened Arizona variety.

jo(e) said...

I love a cup of hot tea. My favorite treat is to put a square of dark chocolate in my mouth and then take a sip of hot tea so that the heat melts the chocolate. Mmmm ....

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

I hope you enjoy your new teapot and that it gives you mmany years of good service. Mmm tea, love good herbal tea, LOL!