Drinking a daily cup of tea will surely starve the apothecary. ~Chinese Proverb

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Coffee, wine, a good beer, are all fabulous — but tea is my drink of choice – it’s beyond passion – it’s my ritual. I drink it first thing in the morning and throughout the day.  Jane Pettigrew’s The Tea Companion sits prevalently on my desk with Origins, the Oxford Dictionary, Mastering The Art of French Cooking, The Wine Lover’s Companion, and the Beacon Handbook.  However, being a tea snob in a challenging economy has forced me out of my comfort zone of boutique teashops and limited edition tea clubs and into the aisles of the supermarket.I have discovered that Trader Joe’s has a couple of good teas (requiring two bags per steep but still, not bad teas); that The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has something to offer my afternoon sweet tooth; a good quality Hoji Cha can easily be ascertained from the local Japanese market; and that no herbal sachet compares to boiling a fresh ginger root.

In Trader Joe’s, I have discovered a lovely thirst quenching, juicy Pomegranate White Tea; a pleasingly fruity, mild Organic Ginger Pear White Tea; and a Crimson Blossom Green Tea tangy with rosehips and hibiscus blossom (both believed to cleanse the kidneys).  All of these teas require two tea bags per cup to please my palate but are about $1.99 per box of 20 tea bags.

At the local Japanese market, I have found Hoji Cha by Enrich, a roasted green tea by the Tea Maestro, Hiroyuki Sugimoto. Hoji Cha is taken as an after meal digestive or bedtime tea, made from Bancha late harvest leaves that includes stems and red stalks. It’s not tannic, very gentle on the stomach and quite comforting. It’s about 10.00/2 oz. bag but an infuser full can be steeped and enjoyed several times. I first tried this tea when I was in Japan and fell in love with it.  I have found that very good quality loose leaf Japanese teas are a bit pricey and that you must learn the proper brewing technique to get the best results.  Follow the steeping instructions on the bag since they will vary depending on the varietal.

I have discovered Pukka’s Love tea, an organic tisane of rose, chamomile and lavender flowers that claims “to warm your heart.”  It has a delightful floral bouquet and is soothing and relaxing.  For $9/20 sachets, I would have expected to have gotten at least two quality steepings per sachet.

For truly warming my heart and body, I prefer fresh ginger root tea. I have replaced dried Ginger Root sachets with simply boiling a chopped up, unpeeled fresh ginger root.  After simmering the root, it can be left on the stove top, reheated, and topped it off with water repeatedly for two days. You can also refrigerate the tea and reheat when desired.  The ginger is full of warmth and intense flavor and I can’t seem to drink enough of this during the cooler weather and first thing in the morning.  Organic ginger root is about 6.99/lb.

Lastly, nothing goes better with a pink cupcake than The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf’s Strawberry Cream Tea.  When you open the tin, the fragrance is intoxicating.  One tea bag can be steeped numerous times — the trick is not to oversteep this tea, as the green tea will become bitter and astringent. I steep maybe one to two minutes – never the recommended three minutes.   If you are craving dessert, a teaspoon of honey and a drop of cream make this a very satisfying treat.  This is the perfect “tea party” brew for tea drinkers of all ages — my girls love this tea. CBTL Strawberry Cream Tea is about $10/20 tea bags and you can get many brews from one bag.

 

 

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