Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Tasty Teas Tuesday (in lieu of Coffee Day)


Photo of a coffee I had

Well! Since I missed International Coffee Day yesterday as I blogged about my recent award, I'll write about tea instead! Besides, it is my favourite drink!

Though I LUUUUVVVVVVV (that's "love") the smell of coffee just as much if not even more than the taste, I rarely drink it for various reasons: I seem to get acid reflux if I drink it, i.e., the "regular" coffee anyway (maybe not with espresso), and also it interferes with homeopathic remedies that I take. However, I occasionally treat myself to an espresso coffee, sometimes a tall, dark Americano ;) - couldn't resist that but true! - or a latte.

However, I would say my favourite drink would be tea. I find it amusing that I had actually been wanting to write about this and here is the perfect opportunity to do so.

Tea is calming, nurturing, grounding, and soothing for my soul and spirit. I sometimes remind one of my work colleagues that if I am ever upset in any way, then tell me to drink some tea. Better yet, serve it to me! ;) Tea just seems to have a way of settling me down. In terms of a feeling, I equate it in my imagination as being cocooned in a cozily-wrapped, warm blanket on a cool day...oh, while sipping hot tea of course! ;)

According to, my opinion, one of the supremacists of teas is David's Tea comparable to haute couture in the fashion world (http://www.davidstea.com/). Think of it like a royalty tea shop as there are eight types of tea with many flavours in each category. And here I thought that there were only white, green, herbal, and black teas. According to this shop, there are white, green, oolong, black, pu'erh (never heard of that one before!), mate, rooibus (I thought this was a type of herbal tea), and herbal teas.

Though unfortunately I dislike the taste of green tea - I will have it as part of an Asian meal, mainly Japanese though, I understand that it has a lot of major health benefits, including that of the heart.

Thus, I am "killing two birds with one stone" (an expression I do not like, but metaphorically means dealing with two things at the same time by blogging about Coffee Day as well as World Heart Day, well, both indirectly. ;)

People who drink green tea on a regular basis, may be less prone to developing heart disease as well as cancer. It can "improve some of the main risk factors for these diseases. This includes cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides." (http://authoritynutrition.com/top-10-evidence-based-health-benefits-of-green-tea/)

One of my favourite teas is Earl Grey tea - organic please as certain (non-organic) brands, even some of the most popular do not do it for me. In fact, they often leave a bitter aftertaste in my mouth. Cream of Earl Grey is delicious too!

Even more pleasant and tasty is a tea known as 'London Fog, a drink so called because it is - think London, England here folks - made of Earl Grey tea and steamed milk that creates a foamy 'fog.' Ok, that's my interpretation! Check out the real McCoy here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_fog) Delish! (short for delicious).

London Fog tea can also be known as 'London Fog Tea Latte' or 'Vanilla Tea Misto' or an 'Earl Grey Tea Latte.' Stash brand of tea has a wonderful double bergamot early grey tea bag, but there are others such as Mighty Leaf which make for some great-smelling and tasting tea.

Their 'Vanilla Bean Latte' is fabulous and you can make your own version of the drink using this tea. David's Tea also has 'Bombai Chai Tea' as well - a note for you Indian bloggers - though I haven't had this one for awhile.

And speaking of which, I also love chai tea; see picture near bottom of this post. I know there are many variations; however, as long as it's steamy, but not too spicy, I am on good terms with it.

Since I haven't drank regular milk in years, I usually prefer almond milk or the like with my teas. And though I used to drink tea with sugar in it, I no longer do so, except for chai which prefers a bit of sweetener. In that case, I may use some honey or raw cane sugar or stevia or the like.

In terms of herbal teas, I would say my favourites are Organic India's Tulsi Sweet Rose which I'm drinking during the writing of this post as well as Stash's Licorice tea. The latter appeals to me 'cause, after all, I'm Dutch! Dutch stores are often filled with tons of licorice from sweet to salty, even double salted: Yum! ;)

Licorice tea is good for digestion while the sweet rose tea, according to my naturopath, is good for self-love. Who knew!? ;)

And in the summer, I prefer iced teas with a wedge of lemon or not.

By the way, does anyone know of a tasty darjeeling tea? I drank a really great brand in my 20's; however, haven't come across one that I like yet, albeit I drink it rarely now.

After you read this post and hopefully comment below, go ahead and make yourself a wonderful cup of steamy tea in whichever form you like. You deserve it! Don't you?

Which types of tea do you prefer and why? Does it change your essence as you are smelling it, tasting it, hmmm? Hmmmm.... ;)

...STAY TUNED...I HAVE A BRIEF TRIBUTE TO ALL YOU ULTRA BLOGGERS ... a bit later this morning, my time (for good reason) ;)

21 comments:

  1. Ah you've mentioned so many varieties of tea here Elly, most of which I'm not aware of. Tulsi and sweet rose tea sounds heavenly and I do feel like borrowing a sip from your culpa ;)
    Although I'm a coffee person, I always welcome a good cup of tea :)

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    1. Ah, but the brand is Tulsi and the tea is "sweet rose," a delightful cup of tea Vinodini. I'm sure you would love it. ;) <3

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  2. You really love your tea, don't you?

    Well I don't really like tea or coffee that much...I guess I'm slightly weird in that department ;) .. Infact I don't really like chocolate or icecream as well... My favorite drink would be water.... I'm too boring no? :D

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    1. Well Nabanita, there is nothing wrong or boring with that you know! Water is a great drink to favour for all its health benefits, especially as we are primarily made up of H2O. ;) You must be really healthy! <3

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  3. I couldn't survive without my cup of coffee in the morning but Hubby and I always end our night with a cup of tea in bed. There is something so relaxing about tea.

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    1. Yes, there is, isn't there AMummysLife. Hopefully it's herbal tea you are drinking surely before retiring for the evening? ;) <3

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  4. I can see you are a die-hard tea person. Well, neither love coffee or tea. But yes, I need half-a-cup in the morning to dip the rusk to begin my day

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    1. A half-cup of coffee or tea - can't tell which - is not bad Nisha! You are obviously not dependent on these substances...and that's a good thing! ;) <3

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  5. I love tea and never drink coffee. As an Englishwoman, formerly Australian, I like the normal roasted tea that comes in huge packs at the supermarket. You're so right about comfort. But I limit myself to three cups a day, the last being at midday. After that I sip fennel tea, mixed berry tea, and mint tea after the evening meal.

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    1. Being English, I can see how you love your cup of tea Francene! Roasted tea: now that sounds delicious! Don't think I've ever heard of that. And fennel tea: how yummy that would be for me who loves licorice as they are close cousins, no? Sounds like a good order of tea for the day...good for you! ;) <3

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  6. I adore coffee, but I am not a tea fan!

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    1. That's okay, you needn't be Sophie. I was only asking! I don't blame you for loving your cuppa coffee! ;) <3

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  7. What a fragrant post and I fully support your tea claims, Elly. There is something soothing about tea that coffee doesn't achieve. I can only share a tea story. I love fruit teas and found a terrific collection while visiting the US. I took a box back with me to Australia and obviously declared when going through customs/quarantine. The tea was processed, sealed, in bags. But, that was not good enough for the customs officer who checked my teabags one by one confiscating those that had any sign of citrus - my favorite. HUGS <3

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    1. So sorry to hear such a sad story about your tea Judy. They obviously weren't a tea drinker! Shame on them! ;) <3

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  9. Thanks for the tribute, Elly :) but i must confess i'm not a tea person (nor a coffee person for that matter) i just don't seem to get what the whole world revels in these two beverages about! (but it's my fault, i'm a little different when it comes to the famous-and-favourites) i cannot have any hot liquid made of milk, unless it has something solid in it or to go with it or to dip in it :p phew! a whimsical child, am i not?!

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    1. Interesting! Do you mean solid as in marshmallow or tofu! ;) What kind of solids are we speaking of dear Asma? ;) <3

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  10. Elly,what a great post in favour of tea.! Even though I love coffee, I don't drink it daily. Only once or twice a week I take coffee.I take three cups of tea every day.I think that this cant be called addiction.

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    1. Thanks Usha. I don't think I made it clear but the idea came from a WriteTribe prompt. ;) Is your favourite chai when you drink tea? (The last photo is supposed to be chai...do you think it looks like it?) Three cups of tea is not necessarily an addiction, but who am I to judge? I feel like I 'need' a cup of tea daily...that might be considered more of an addiction! ;) <3

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  11. I am so glad to read this post. We share the same love and passion for tea. Cheers !

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