I’ve always enjoyed a good cup of hot tea here and there but recently I’ve grown a true appreciation for the soothing drink. My days are packed full of non-stop motion – from balancing my PR/marketing work, planning events to chasing around Baby Luke – a cup of hot tea has become a welcome staple to the end of my day. While I am nowhere near a tea connoisseur, I thought it might be fun to share my tea experiences with my blog readers! So, each month I’d like to share with you my tea adventure, including, what I drank, tea reviews, things I’ve learned and anything else I can possibly think of (sorry this month is a bit late). Keep in mind I’m no expert so pardon me if my “tea manners” aren’t quite what they should be – I’m learning!
What I Drank This Month:
I purchased the Twinings of London Black Tea Variety Pack to start with. I selected this brand because it happens to be one of my Great Grandmother’s favorites. You can purchase these pretty much at any grocery store. It’s great for beginners because most people are familiar with black tea, there is a variety to try and they are in individual tea bags (I don’t quite have everything I need to do loose tea yet). To learn more about Twinings click here.
A little trivia for you – Twinings is out of Andover, Hampshire and began in 1706.
- Twinings of London: English Breakfast Tea – This is tea was made to complement traditional English breakfasts. While I didn’t completely dislike the tea, I found it to be a bit bitter (maybe I steeped it too long). I did learn the tea is “pure Assam and Kenyan tea leaves grown in India”. After trying it multiple times this month it is really growing on me quickly. Don’t brew longer than 3 min. though for a cup.
- Twinings of London: Earl Grey Tea – This was definitely my favorite tea in the box. As soon as I opened the package I enjoyed the smell. I recommend adding a bit of sugar but no milk. Definitely what I liked the best was the citrus fruit flavor of Bergamot (a type of fruit found in Europe).
- Twinings of London: Lady Grey Tea – This is also a tea I like the more I drink. It’s a pretty light black tea with a hint of a citrus flavor. I originally drank it with a bit of sugar but now prefer it black.
- Twinings of London: Irish Breakfast Tea – I don’t like this one as much as the English Breakfast Tea but I still like it. It’s definitely a bit stronger than the others. Since I’m still a newbie, with this tea I recommend a bit of milk and a full pack of sugar.
Another brand I tried this month was Yogi. Yogi Tea Company began in 1984 and now offers over 60 tea blends. Yogi uses five traditional Ayurvedic spices on their teas including: cardamom seed, cinnamon bark, clove bud, ginger root and black pepper.
- Yogi: Tahitian Vanilla Hazelnut – This tea was absolutely scrumptious. I would consider it to be dessert! Immediately when I opened the package I was caught off guard by the delicious scent coming from the tea bag. I think before I took every sip I sniffed the tea because I just loved the smell. You really don’t need to add anything to this tea but I did try it with sugar and a tiny bit of milk and it made it amazingly creamy. It reminded me a bit of a chai tea because of its spiciness. This is also a caffeine free tea.
Tea Quote of the Month:
Each cup of tea represents an imaginary voyage. – Catherine Douzel
This is my sTORI being written as you read. – Love, Mommy Tori.
I found your blog from “sleeping should be easy’s” blog.
My dh drinks milk in his tea all the time.
I can’t stand it but must have it in my cocoa.
Hey, I am going to try the Yogi tea out. Sounds wonderful. thanks.
Interesting blog, I’ll subscribe.
Thank you so much for stopping by! I find that if I like milk in my tea I only like a tiny bit. I hope you like the Yogi tea – let me know!
Tori, thanks you for commenting on my 19th Century Hungarian house.
Your blog is awesome. I am commenting on this page because I LOVE TEA. I prefer English black tea- very strong and milky. I always look forward to it first thing in the morning!
Pamelaxx
Thank you so much! I’m just learning about tea so if you have any brand recommendations send them my way so I can try them out!
I also love their Earl Grey. Another I have enjoyed is Earl Grey from Rishi. It’s loose and you can steep it 3 times so it makes a lot of tea. Now if only you had a teapot…he he. I emailed you about that.
Awesome! I haven’t tried Rishi and will be on the lookout. Definitely need a tea pot! I didn’t get your email though. Did you send to tori@torijohnsonpr.com?
yes but it did not go out. i just sent it again.
I’ve been looking for a caffeine-free tea to drink at night, and the vanilla hazelnut sounds sooo good! Thanks for the rec. I love loose leaf orange sencha (by Two Leaves and a Bud), sweetened with a little honey.
J&S
It truly is scrumptious. I love the sound of the orange sencha! (Actually sencha is a fun word! *sitting at computer saying sencha over and over again).
Earl grey is my favorite, always make a cup after putting the kids to sleep 🙂
I definitely love Early Grey as well. I just had the Tazo Earl Grey the other day at Starbucks and really enjoyed it.
Tori,
As long as you are still trying teas in tea-bags you should try to find a brand called Stash. They make a few really good chai’s as well as some other delicious flavors. Stash is in Portland Oregon and you can order their product online as well. I have tried a few flavors and all of them have been quite delicious. They have a chai made from Green Tea, so you get the health benefits of green tea but the warm spices of chai together (don’t steep too long or it gets bitter as most green tea does). They made a chai with white tea leaves so it’s not as spicy and strong as normal chai but still quite good. They also have a chai they made during the holidays that has a bit of an egg nog flavor to it, it’s delicious! There is also another chai that has a hint of an almond flavor that is fantastic…but my favorite is their Double Spice Chai. Oh..they also have a chocolate hazelnut tea that is caffeine free and devine with milk.
Another brand I like is Tazo. They make some really good varieties as well.
I know I have seen Stash at the grocery store so I’ll pick up a box next time I’m shopping. The chai made from green tea sounds like something I’d really like. I didn’t know they were out of Oregon.
I have tried a few Tazo’s recently and I like their quality.
Thank you for the recommendations! Keep em’ coming!
Thank you for sharing this beautiful write-up. Life is indeed short and there is no point in wasting our time holding the petty pride fights. These days I have a cup of my favorite tea just calm myself and it works instantaneously just like some sort of magic. thanks again for this blog and I hope and believe the people you miss might be seeing you from the somewhere better than here.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe. Once in a while, I used to have this in the evening but now I prefer having a hot pot of tea; variety keeps changing, sometimes I go with green tea and sometimes I prefer oolong tea. Makes me refreshed for the second half.