Tag: Tea

The tea problem

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Morning all, Young Master Duke is outside for the 2nd time this morning. He’s had his Secret Voupies, and is observing the Squirrel population and the walnut tree. My beloved is in bed, and he ran the dryer this morning.

Holy crap, that’s huge.

I have a cuppa bengal spice (2nd time on this tea bag) and Earl Grey tea. Oh my goodness, it is delicious. Yesterday, I did a grocery order, and they had a sale on Celestial Seasonings tea. My favorite, all time is Apple Spice tea. However, there are so many other kinds available.

Once I got the tea home, I had to upgrade the packaging for storage. Celestial Seasonings comes in waxed paper lining inside the box. This is not air tight, and the tea loses it’s flavor exposed to air. So, I take the wax paper bag out of the box, and the box lid. I put them together with the tea in a quart ziplock bag. This protects the tea, and keeps it fresh longer.

Having a variety available is something I have done whether it is tea or coffee for years and years. I used to buy coffee beans by the bag. I have a canister for it, and would mix the coffees according to season. For example, in winter, cookie flavors are available. I’d buy a cookie flavored coffee, a hazelnut, and a Christmas variety. I’d put them in the canister and mix them.

When I ground the coffee, I’d have a unique blend of coffee that was available only by chance. As time goes on, I’d add different coffees, and mix them in. This was pre-covid, that I did this. Now, buying coffee beans by the bag has become quite difficult in my community, so I have tea.

Now, for the tea, I use each bag twice. I have a caffeinated version in the morning, and later in the day switch to a spice blend. After the 2nd dunk, the tea bag if I had a garden would go into compost. It doesn’t look like next year I will be gardening, so it goes to the garbage. I’m sorry.

Meanwhile, the tea collection is going strong for winter 2022-2023. It’s delicious, and my husband didn’t complain about it. Cool beans.

Hugs my friends, take care. -L

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The coffee addict and the tea problem

anonymousknitterLeave a comment

Morning all, March is almost over, and camping season is soon to start. What do I mean? It’s almost April, Minnesota regularly gets snow and freezing temperatures in April. You are nuts Wease. Yes, I figure if you have read my blog for any length of time, you will realize that I’m nuts.

But first, let’s talk about Tea.

I was born in the early 1970’s, almost half a century ago. Holy Crap, this year is my half century mark, Woot woot! Okay, enough of that. My first caffeinated drink was iced tea. Sun Tea to be precise. Long before Diet Dr Pepper became my cold beverage of choice, it was tea in a gallon jug, left in the sun all day to steep.

The addiction to coffee didn’t arrive until I began to wear scrubs for a living. Coffee was too expensive to waste on kids. We had our tea with sugar and stirred the snot out of it. In winter, a hot cup was nice to have on Saturday or Sundays, but that was rare. I wasn’t allowed near a stove until after I moved out of the house.

My upbringing was less than usual, as I’ve found out.

Now that I’m older, and have made my peace with most things, in the afternoons and evenings, it seems that tea wins the day and my eternal love. For many years, I didn’t have it in the house, unless it was the instant tea mix that I switched to when soda became a problem. I just didn’t bother.

Then, I was corrupted into chai. I also found Earl Grey, and English and Irish Breakfast teas. There’s a lovely cranberry tea, and a to die for Lapsang Souchong. Tea has become my ritual, my serenity, and a cup of peace int he evenings.

I take my camping pot, which I keep at my desk, and head to the kitchen. I put the water on to boil, and head to the necessary. When I return, the water is bubbling and happy. I take my little pot of hot goodness back to the desk, and prepare the cauldron… my cup. I put the bag of choice or whichever looseleaf I’m interested in in the strainer. Put the strainer in the cup, add 2 sweetener packets, and pour the hot liquid over the top.

Once my watch’s timer goes off, I remove the bag or leaves, stir the fragrant deliciousness, and have my first sip. My back eases. All tension leaves my neck. My shoulders drop, and my neck, sometimes pops from relief of strain. From my scalp, to my toes, all cares and worries leave me. For a brief 20 minutes, the world is a perfect, sweet, comfortable place to be.

Afterwards, I pour the dregs into my philodendron. The little bit of cool water left in my camping pot goes in there as well. I grab a fresh flour sack towel, and wipe out both my cup and the strainer, and it goes back into the pride of place spot on my desk. I clean everything else up, and am ready to do the next right thing.

This little ceremony doesn’t have any reproduceable medical benefits, only psychological. For me, it’s better than any anti-depressant I’ve ever taken. It’s certainly cheaper.

I hope you are well, I hope your day is sacred to your soul. I want to Thank You for all you do. Huge hugs, from Minnesota. -L

P.S. I’m thinking of putting a Lapsang Souchong and a lovely Jasmine tea on the next Amazon order. Hmm…