Friday, February 24, 2012

Tea

My love for tea has only started in my 40s. My parents drank a very strong tea every night after dinner when I was growing up. I always found Orange Pekoe to be too strong of a tea for me...still today, I will only drink it if there is nothing else...and very very weak.
I enjoy herbal tea / green teas much more.
It really started with a cup of green tea that I would get in little tea bags at the supermarket.
My favorite being Tazo teas.

Then one day, hubby and I went to meet our grand daughter shortly after her birth,
in Calgary, Alberta...that was 2 yrs ago.
During the week we spent there, we rented a car to revisit our beloved Banff in the Rocky mountains. For lunch I ordered an Organic Maghreb Mint Green Chai tea (quite the mouthful!!). It was a loose leaf tea served in a pottery tea pot. I fell in love instantly with this delicious hot tea and asked the server if it was possible to buy some of it to bring back home with me.
I was so happy to be told that the tea was produced in Banff and that I could buy it at a store just down the street from the restaurant!
Naturel Teas are also available online. They will ship anywhere in the world. I am currently drinkin the Well Throat tea to keep hubby's cold at bay!


Back in Ontario, I began to look for interesting loose leaf tea and I find lots to choose from Teopia. There are lots of those stores all over.

My parents gave me this wonderful cast iron tea pot a few Christmas ago.
It has a filter for the loose tea leaves.

And a warmer in which I put a tea light to keep the tea warm.

I love this little tea pot.

And then, there are flowering teas.  They are little bundles of tea leaves wrapped around one or more dried flowers. When immersed in hot water, the flower opens up as if blooming right before your eyes.  It is best to make these teas in a glass tea pot so that you can enjoy watching the flower slowly open up.
I have a few bundles gifted by a good friend waiting for next tea time.

Watch this Youtube video and relax.


I leave you for now to sit and enjoy my warm cup of tea.

4 comments:

  1. I LOVE your tea pot and warmer. I MUST have one. I have never loved hot tea. I would drink it if that was what was being served, but preferred iced tea or loved coffee. I must say, I have always loved Earl Grey, but again, I love it iced. About 2 months ago I had s blend of Black tea infused with ginger. I bought it from a vendor at my favorite Eastern Market. I bought the loose tea and the little silver bulb thing. What fun. Maybe I will go make a cup.

    barb

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you so much for sharing the links. I've been fascinated with tea ever since I read a friend's paper on Chinese tea and herbal medicine. I've always loved tea but I've never unlock the various types of flavors and the numerous ways in which tea is made. I was pretty disappointed when I discovered I couldn't grow my own tea leave in this area. Loose tea is difficult to find locally.

    ReplyDelete
  3. As a fellow tea fanatic I have to say that I loved this post!!! Finding a good teapot with an infuser has been an obsession of mine since forever. I am sad to say I actually broke my favorite one this morning. I am going to have to look for one like yours!

    ReplyDelete
  4. ooh, I love tea as well!! that teapot is gorgeous, and I bet it's so relaxing to choose a wonderful tea to brew in your great little pot.

    ReplyDelete