Tea....Oh tea.
Being born in the Uk, Tea made up a staple part of my diet growing up. I'm encouraged today to write about this tasty brew, because I'm sitting here with family. Tea by our sides, we sit back and watch a buzzy semi future based show, about a hardy group of netflix models, who travel through time to save the past, which, of course is the perfect accompaniment to a warm mug of tea. Nothing left to do but sit back and sip.
Now ( reaches for mug....just had a gulp )... I'm a bit of a tea traitor... In reality i'm not, but in England I may be. You see.. I've given up on caffeine..'soo'...well which means, i've given up on black tea... 'errr'....Tetley...'nooooooooooooo'.. I know I know, I miss it to, you see i've become a bit of a health freak, and somehow caffeine found it's way onto the ever expanding list... I can see you weep..I may join you..
I can still write this though, because although it's been many years, I can still recall those subtle variants and blends, and of course on my new path i've stumbled upon an ever expanding array of 'infusions'.
Infusions are non caffeinated teas, they leave you feeling warm, happy and silently gloating. No no, in truth.. it can be a little shit!....So let me break it down.
In my years of trying to recreate a familiar 'tea' experience, I stumbled on many different blends.. I'd been to Egypt amid my foray into black tea abstinence, and coming to the land of Mint tea was I quickly found my eyes scanning the coffee shops. Before I knew it I was sitting there with a steaming glass of mint internally absorbing the herbal rays. It wasn't bad.
After years of Mint tea, and Decaf ( I KNOW I KNOW 0.001 % ) anyway.. Finally I found, Yogi tea.. Auravedic tea blends... Long story short... Choco Aztec spice.. that's the one! for me at least.. I tried the majority of them, and that's the one that did it for me, tasty, sweet'ish' slightly spicey, and then there's the choco.. nice! So where was there to go from there? I'd journeyed far into the outer fringes rebel tea blends, continents and spices, I was a tea tourist! What next..
I once again felt the pang of nostalgia of that old childhood warmth that came from the perfect blend of milk and tanine. I couldn't drink the caffeine, and then I found it... Rooibos. To this day, for better or worse this remains the closest thing i've found. I could add milk, and yup it felt like a proper gulp, so tea was back on menu. Yum.....But then..... some deep hidden memory came flooding back... memories of something so beautiful, the perfect tea...I never knew what it had been..until one day I heard the name.
Chai....there it was. Chai. Oh chai. Now I didn't know what Chai tea was, I had no idea, at least I thought i didn't. But... it seems that I did. While strolling round with friends as a kid, perhaps 15/16 at the time, I found myself at a friends house, a great guy ( RIP Vishal ).. he was a super gent. Anyway. So I remember sitting on his rug, with another friend, and he asked me if i'd like some tea, of course I said yes. two moments later out came a porcelain mug decorated in gold and intricate details... it may of glowed..hmmm that bit might not of happened. Anyway so there I sat, he asked if i'd like some milk, I said yes, and he added carnation milk to this beautiful concoction. I took a sip and .... OH MY GOD... Vishal what is this?. he floated off... and there it was, my forever 10/10 tea. Vishal sir you were a gent.
Chai tea, which I since discovered is what I was given, perhaps that cup of chai, has been my gold standard every since. It's warm, perfectly balanced tasty goodness was able to summon something in me, which just made life quite literally better... yep i'm easy. So years later, I found my way into a starbucks, which was a novelty to me, seeing as I'd lived in starbucks free Malta for some time. My brother helped me understand that was the type of the type of tea mentioned. None of those Teas came anywhere close, and in fairness it would be very difficult for them to replicate such a thing. It was a whole different species, though It was a chai.
Of course there's Green tea, and Berry tea... I'd been on a clippers berry tea kick for a while lately, Noooot bad... not bad at all. Green tea I found out had the caffeine, and so i'd have to give that up to, but at the time it helped me with both a healthy gloat and a somewhat sharper focus. Then there's the Chinese strains of tea, which I hadn't managed to make my way towards as the majority were caffeinated. I can quite easily see myself quietly sipping on a warm gentle cup of jasmine flower tea, while sending out happy nods and smiles as i sip fragrant contents. Alas..
There are many Teas out there, and you're all special and wonderful in your own way. But I need to finish with those which brought me here, the teas from back home. I'm talking about English Breakfast, Darjeeling and of course....Earl grey...Ohhhhhhhh EARL GREY..... the pinacle of your English Brew.. that sneaky warm aged taste.. You tea pot gentleman...When I think of Earl Grey, I picture myself quite literally in a Earls Palace... Perhaps he's grey.. I don't know.. he's not there.. perhaps he's pottering near by encouraging me and the other family members to scouf down some crumpets and scones...'Have yourselves the lot!' ok that's my diet talking.. Anyway.. there on that large wooden table, sits a pot of your finest aged earl grey. A fine teapot waiting to be poured.. Ok if you insist.. I'll have some. Earl grey is where it's at! :)
So my friends this is how it ends, years of tea, teaing can only be condensed so far. Perhaps one day i'll be able to expand upon this. Tea has played quite a large role in my life, and i'm sure a couple or more of yours to. Thank you tea, and all those who've brought it to us. For those quiet nights alone huddled near a radiator or out on the porch/sea looking out on the horizon, whimpering on someone's shoulder....oops there's mr tea. Thank you! and bless you!
Thank you for reading...Pretty please..give me a little vote if you like this, so perhaps i'd buy myself another Yogi Choco blend. Have a lovely day and I very much appreciate you taking the time to read.
Most pictures from https://pixabay.com - Excellent site!
I also used one from rivertea