Come, let us have some tea..

"Come let us have some tea and continue to talk about happy things!"- Chaim Potok

So, as I have already expressed my over-abundant and over indulgent love for coffee, I should inform you that this love, although not quite as animated and not near as strong does extend to most warm beverages . Tea, cider, wine (yes, wine is good chilled, room temperature and toasty), you name it and there is a 99.2% chance that I will or have enjoyed it. Today I am going to focus on tea. My grandmother, (who is perfectly wonderful in every way) born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland is probably the biggest tea enthusiast I know. For as long as I can remember she has a pot of tea simmering on the stove. Morning, afternoon and evening. I  have vivid memories of drinking tea at an age well below five with my grandmother, lots of milk , laughter, stories and an extra helping of sugar. Not much has changed except that I no longer ruin my tea with sugar.

Tea is also a beverage that most people like. They may not like coffee (they obviously have never given it a fair chance) but tea, especially herbal tea tends to be a big hit. Peppermint, green, wildberry and any of the wonderful and flavorful loose teas from the market or Davids Tea calm me down and are the perfect fix me up at 3am during a twelve hour night shift. There is also nothing better than sitting around with my sister or any number of my family members or friends and catching up.

So I am going to pass on a possibly well known trick to making the perfect cup of orange pekoe tea. My nanny, being a tea snob has always stressed this fact to me (and she is the first person I know to complain of a bad cup of tea) and this trick is to properly warm the pot. I am not sure why this makes any difference, but I am told it does and I have practiced this for my entire life..

So boil your water, I like a whistling kettle myself, when the water is good and boiling, pour some into the pot or cup or mug you are using. Give it a good swirl, dump that into the sink and then toss in your tea bag(s). Let it steep till your desired strength, dress it up however you like and enjoy!
-m

bubbling..

this makes tea parties even more fun!

perfect cup of tea!