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A Passion for Tea!

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic (by 6 people)   Your rating: 1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic

Ranked #3080 in Food, #108899 overall

Rated G. (Control what you see)

 

I acquired my passion for tea on my first extended visit to Ireland in 1995. Every morning, we had a lovely "cuppa" with breakfast. Every afternoon we had another with lunch or a snack. After dinner, it was not unusual to have 2 or 3 mugs with biscuits (cookies to the U.S. folks) while enjoying casual conversation. And after a night on the town, tea was the drink of choice, as if it might prevent a hangover!

Tea Technicialities 

Tea is an infusion made by steeping processed leaves, buds, or twigs of the tea bush, Camellia sinensis, in hot water for several minutes, after which it is then drunk.

The processing can include oxidation, heating, drying, and the addition of other herbs, flowers, spices, and fruits.

The four basic types of true tea are black tea, oolong tea, green tea, and white tea.

The term "herbal tea" usually refers to infusions or tisane of fruit or herbs that contain no Camellia sinensis.Dictionary.com search Herbal tea URL accessed February 15, 2007.

Tea is one of the most widely-consumed beverages in the world, second only to water. It has a cooling, slightly bitter, astringent flavor. It has almost no carbohydrates, fat, or protein. Tea is a natural source of the amino acid theanine, methylxanthines such as caffeine and theobromine,Archive - Food Surveillance Information Sheets and polyphenolic antioxidant catechins (often referred to as tannins).

The word tea came into the English language from the Chinese word for tea (Category: wikt - :?|?), which is pronounced tĂȘ in the Min Nan spoken variant. The British English slang word "char" for "tea" arose from its Mandarin Chinese pronunciation "cha" with its spelling affected by British English arhotic dialect pronunciation.

A Brief History of Tea 

Tea is indigenous to southeastern China, Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), and the Assam region of India. It is widely believed that the Chinese were the first to enjoy tea as a beverage, having done so for centuries. The first record of this usage dates to the first millenium BC. The use of tea as a medicinal herb designed as a stimulant is unclear.

Readings About Tea 

These items from amazon.com are sources for great info on the traditions associated with tea drinking and for tea time recipes.

Teas to Try! 

A Few of My Favorites

Although I drink many varieties of tea, and am always trying new ones, there are a few stand-bys which I consume on a daily basis.

My normal morning teas are from Twinings, mainly the Irish Breakfast Tea and Four Red Fruit varieties.

My afternoon teas are usually either from Twinings (English Afternoon Tea, Prince of Wales) or The Republic of Tea (Blackberry Sage)

When I indulge later in the evening, I prefer fruitier blends, or decaffeinated varieties.

While I was in England, I was addicted to Whittards, especially their English Rose blend. Another tea I drank almost daily while in the UK was Yorkshire Dales.

Tea Company Links 

Online Shops and More

The Republic of Tea

The leading purveyor of premium tea.2 points

Whittard of Chelsea

Whittard offers specialty teas and coffees from th more...1 point

LIPTON Tea, The Tea Experts

Tea information from LIPTON, The Tea Experts. Tea more...0 points

Celestial Seasonings

A variety of teas and herbal infusions from this w more...0 points

TAZO Tea

Tazo's extensive and exotic variety of filterbags, more...0 points

Revolution Tea | Premium Tea Company

Tea information from REVOLUTION. Assorted tea prod more...0 points

Beautiful Tea Mugs 

I prefer taking my tea in colorful attractive mugs such as these great choices from designers on Zazzle!

In association with Zazzle.com
In association with Zazzle.com

In association with Zazzle.com

In association with Zazzle.com

Tea Related Photos from flickr 

I found at least 2 groups on flickr dedicated to tea lovers. This week I chose to display a selection of photos tagged "cream tea". Remember, members choose their own tags, so it's possible for unrelated images to appear!

Summer Walks! by claireg73 - I may be some time, technical hitch

Summer Walks!

Scones by adactio

Scones

Scones with jam and cream by adactio

Scones with jam and...

Cream tea by sonewfangled

Cream tea

Cakes by sonewfangled

Cakes

Tiago Enjoying English Country Life by Paul & Aline

Tiago Enjoying Engli...

First Cream Tea in Over a Year by Paul & Aline

First Cream Tea in O...

Cream tea in Fylde by David Jones

Cream tea in Fylde

cream tea by pixelthing.com

cream tea

5 go for cream tea by the sea the sea

5 go for cream tea

Tea Lovers Check In! 

I would love to hear feedback on this lens from tea lovers and anyone with constructive criticism or positive comments!

rockycha

mmmm constant comment

Posted May 01, 2008

rtyndall

Hi
Nice lense

Thanks for stopping by. I lensrolled you.

Posted April 19, 2008

TeaLady

Thanks for linking to my tea lens. This lens is a good connection.

Posted August 11, 2007

LizzyCake

Hi! Good lens. Just enough content and shopping links.

Posted March 28, 2007

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