In my last Friday favorites I linked to a tea caddy from Cost Plus and it got me to thinking that I should do a post about tea. It is my beverage of choice (after wine..haha!) and I have some tea related favorites that I thought I would share. I am not, and never have been a coffee drinker. I think, in the US anyway, that we are a very coffee-centric society and I think tea should get more love.
I start my morning with a mug or three of tea. My go to tea is Harney & Sons English Breakfast with their Paris blend a very close second. If I'm in the mood for something cozy I'll drink a chai tea. I haven't found one that I like any better than another yet so I'm just trying different ones for now. Later in the evening I go for Yogi Kava Stress Relief tea because it is decaffeinated. I'll switch to it during the day if I feel like I'm getting jittery from too much caffeine. It is calming, like it proclaims to be.
I have that exact Russell Hobbs electric tea kettle and I love it. I've had it for years and it has held up very nicely. Every now and then I fill it with water and add a lemon, cut in half, and let it boil and then cool down. It gets rid of any mineral deposits. Although I will say that since I switched to just using bottled water in the kettle I haven't had any mineral deposit build up. Also makes for a tastier cup of tea. I can't find that exact one online but this one sure is cute.
I don't have the pink Burleigh Asiatic Pheasant breakfast cup and saucer but oh how I covet it. I wanted to buy a set of two but the shipping from the UK costs about as much as the cups and saucers themselves. What I love about it, other than the fact it is pink and just lovely, is that is larger than your average tea cup. I have an extensive collection of beautiful tea cups but in the morning I really want a nice big cup of tea. Regular tea cups hold a teeny amount and cool off too quickly.
I prefer my tea milky except that I cannot stand milk. Back in 2016 I did the Whole30 for a couple of months and after trying every Whole30 compliant non-dairy creamer known to man I discovered Califia Better Half. Hands down the best non-dairy substitute for your tea or coffee. It is made from coconut cream and almond milk. No added sugar and it's only 15 calories and 1 carbohydrate per serving. It comes in a variety of flavors. I prefer the vanilla.
And you can see I bought the tea caddy from my favorites. All in the name of research, of course.
None of this is sponsored, by the way. Just me sharing my favorites. What is your favorite tea?
I love tea too, although on my honeymoon 32 years ago everywhere we went I would order tea after dinner and they brought me coffee. So, thinking that was a sign, I started trying it. With lots of sugar and milk. Well, I’m sure you can imagine how that turned out…after the second night I started sending it back and ordering tea! Right now my favorite is Teavana English Breakfast with a bit of sugar and skim milk. Later in the day I’ll have a cup of Twinings Darjeeling or Prince of Wales when I can find it. Lovely, smooth tea that one is, and both are low on caffeine. There is nothing like dunking a biscotti or graham cracker into a cup of tea…I try to carve out 10 minutes every afternoon at work for a treat like that! Of course, mostly I drink out of Disney mugs!
Ill have to try the Darjeeling and Prince of Wales. Both sound lovely. Oh how I miss carbs! I used to dunk Marie Lu biscuits (cookies?) in my tea. I dont think you can even get them anymore.
I think what I really love about tea is like you say – just taking ten minutes to stop and relax.