A Passion for Tea!

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Tea- The World's Most Popular Drink

It's true! Tea is actually more popular, in terms of number of drinkers, than coffee.

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!(and actually, the caffeine aspect may mean there's some truth to that)


Have a look at some facts about tea...and some of my favorite types.

Tea Technicialities 

Tea refers to the agricultural products of the leaves, leaf buds, and internodes of the Camellia sinensis plant, prepared and cured by various methods. "Tea" also refers to the aromatic beverage prepared from the cured leaves by combination with hot or boiling waterWebster's Third New International Dictionary, and is the colloquial name for the Camellia sinensis plant itself.

After water, tea is the most widely-consumed beverage in the world. It has a cooling, slightly bitter, astringent flavour.

The four types of tea most commonly found on the market are black tea, oolong tea, green tea and white tea,Four Types of Tea all of which can be made from the same bushes, processed differently, and in the case of fine white tea grown differently. Pu-erh tea, a double-fermented black tea, is also often classified as amongst the most popular types of tea.Tea types and tea varieties

The term "herbal tea" usually refers to an infusion or tisane of leaves, flowers, fruit, herbs or other plant material that contains no Camellia sinensis.Dictionary.com search Herbal tea URL accessed February 15, 2007. The term "red tea" either refers to an infusion made from the South African rooibos plant, also containing no Camellia sinensis, or, in Chinese, Korean, Japanese and other East Asian languages, refers to black tea.

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.

Twinings Teas 

I drink Twinings on a daily basis and can personally recommend these choices:

Twinings Lady Grey Tea - 4-pack

Amazon Price: (as of 07/13/2009) Buy Now

Twinings Four Red Fruits Tea, Tea Bags, 20-Count Boxes (Pack of 6)

Amazon Price: $19.45 (as of 07/13/2009) Buy Now

Usually ships in 6-10 business days

Twinings English Afternoon Tea, Tea Bags, 20-Count Boxes (Pack of 6)

Amazon Price: $16.98 (as of 07/13/2009) Buy Now

Usually ships in 24 hours

Twinings Blackcurrant Black Tea - 4-pack

Amazon Price: (as of 07/13/2009) Buy Now

Readings About Tea 

These titles 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.

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.comIn association with Zazzle.comIn association with Zazzle.comIn association with Zazzle.com

Pretty Tea Pots Too 

Churchill China Chelsea Blue Willow Tea Pot

Amazon Price: (as of 07/13/2009) Buy Now

WMF Surf Water Kettle, 2-1/2 Quart

Amazon Price: (as of 07/13/2009) Buy Now

Frieling 0110 Tea Maker with Infuser Basket

Amazon Price: $71.50 (as of 07/13/2009) Buy Now

Churchill China Brook Pink Tea Pot

Amazon Price: (as of 07/13/2009) Buy Now

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!

Cream tea by Stephen Fulljames

Cream tea

Cream tea for Jon by chatirygirl

Cream tea for Jon

Cream tea and a creamless scone (for me) by chatirygirl

Cream tea and a crea...

Jon's Cornish cream tea by chatirygirl

Jon's Cornish cream...

cream tea by saragoldsmith

cream tea

Cornish cream tea by chatirygirl

Cornish cream tea

Cornish cream tea by chatirygirl

Cornish cream tea

cream tea by frollein2007

cream tea

Cream tea. by pixelthing

Cream tea.

The Cream Tea Times by photomequickbooth

The Cream Tea Times

Tea Lovers Check In! 

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

eclecticlens wrote...

Great lens - I've added it to my lensroll.

ReplyPosted February 23, 2009

Jodi_k wrote...

Nice lens. I'm a Twinings fan too. My favorites are English Afternoon and Darjeeling.

ReplyPosted January 28, 2009

GregGiordano wrote...

I am a big fan of Twinings myself. Thanks for the great lens!

ReplyPosted September 18, 2008

rockycha wrote...

mmmm constant comment

ReplyPosted May 01, 2008

rtyndall wrote...

Hi
Nice lense

Thanks for stopping by. I lensrolled you.

ReplyPosted April 19, 2008

 
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