I love a good cup of tea. I can even say that I’ve become a bit of a tea snob. I can’t bear the idea of some grey nondescript brew that leaves the mouth dry and if we don’t (generally) have our breakfast all day long why should we have our breakfast tea all day?
It was quite a while ago that I rediscovered loose leaf tea. It brought back memories of teenage me visiting my best friend on a Saturday morning. Knock on the door; it’s me! My friend, her Mum, and other visitors are sitting around the dining table: “Put the kettle on and top up the pot, love.” Another spoonful of tea, top up with water. Drink. Talk. Good times with good people. By the end of the day I would have drunk enough tea to sink a ship!
At about the time that hubby was getting fussy about his coffee “this blend, that coffee machine, the milk just the right temperature” I thought “why am I drinking boring tea when there has got to be much more interesting tea out there?” There wasn’t much, in my budget to be honest. I began blending my own tea from what I could get at the supermarket: a little long-leaf, a generous amount of Ceylon, and some rosemary and chamomile from the garden kept me going for quite a while.
Now there is much more to chose from. It’s not cheap, but if you’re prepared to pay $4-$5 a pop for coffee then it’s not that bad in comparison. Specialist Breakfast teas, flavoured black and green teas, herbal infusions, teas to drink cold, you name it. Now we all know that the fastest killer of passion is the repetition that leads to boredom don’t we? No problem! Dunedin Dawn to start the day, Beauty Queen green tea mid-morning, coffee with lunch (yes I did!), Black Rose in the afternoon then a Juicy Cranberry Sensha or Tummy Tea while making dinner, then a relaxing Sleepy Dream Time tea on the way to bed.
We have the Australian based T2 teas who will have your tea with you in a matter of days when you order online, or have a few stores around the country if you’re impatient. As well as their specialist teas they have a huge range of teawares – tea pots, cups, tea-for-one sets and sampler sets. I am currently loving using the Teamaker: I’m sure the tea tastes better!
In New Zealand we have Tea Total. Online and with stores around the country, it’s a love story of Tea fiends and Tea ambassadors – all done with the understanding of the love and passion that Kiwis put into their brew. Not quite as expensive as T2 and you could easily spend a couple of hours in their concept store in Albany, sniffing teas from all over the world.
Back to boredom busting. Do you like a pot of tea at home, but can’t be bothered at work? There’s a new site just launched beautifully called Oojiemaflip. Disclaimer: it is run by our very own Amanda Jackson who is dedicating herself to finding the most fun and curious knick-knacks that can make our Zero Waste Journey more interesting. The rubber Manatee and little man infusers will make any workaday cuppa more lively!
Well, I’ve finished my cuppa for now, and I’m already looking forward to the next one!