My love affair with tea

Posted on Wed, Jul 29, 2009 : 9 a.m.

My love affair with tea

By Sue Talbert

My parents are Anglophiles. There is no other way to explain why they don’t drink coffee (it’s tea only), use British teapots (exclusively), eat British foods (most of the time) and pop their pinkies out when sipping from teacups.

In all honesty, my paternal grandfather came to the US from England in the early 1900s - his port of call was Boston, and he made his way to Michigan to work at a Chrysler assembly plant. So my dad comes by it honestly.

For the longest time though, I didn’t appreciate tea.

And if I did drink it, it was herbal tea - you know, fruity flavors that are steeped in hot water … not really “tea,” but close enough for jazz. And then, something switched for me. I’m not really sure what, but I know that it happened quickly and almost imperceptibly.

Mark bought me a beautiful teapot last year - a Japanese tetsubin. It’s enameled cast iron and is gorgeous, but most importantly, it keeps tea hotter than a clay pot that requires a tea cozy. In the teapot is a beautiful device called an infuser - a small, finely-meshed basket that allows me to steep loose teas. I am completely smitten.

As I began experimenting with different teas (looseleaf and otherwise), I found a great little online retailer for teas and other British foods. It’s called EnglishTeaStore.com and is a delightful place to find great deals on amazing teas. They carry all the traditional British brands (PG Tips, Twinings, and more), British foods, etc., and have both looseleaf and bagged teas at excellent prices. I get nothing out of promoting this little place, it’s just my favorite place to buy British specialties.

But some of my favorite teas from the site include Irish Breakfast tea, which is a stronger tea with a beautiful nutty flavor to it. I don’t steep it terribly long, but I adore it for a quick pick-me-up in the afternoon (I still drink coffee in the morning). I also love Twinings Lady Grey tea

- it’s a beautiful blend of citrus and an Earl Grey tea - little bits of lemon and orange zest and blue cornflowers in it. It’s not very strong, but makes a wonderful cuppa that goes well with dinner or dessert.

In the same vein, Twinings also has some wonderful bagged, flavored teas - they smell amazing and taste even better. Peach Black Tea is fantastic hot or iced, and their Cinnamon Apple Breakfast Tea is good too - it’s not too heavy on the cinnamon and the apple is readily discernible. My all-time favorite flavored tea from Twinings is their Four Red Fruits Tea - it has bits of strawberry, red currant, raspberry, and cherry in the tea bag with the leaves. It smells incredible and tastes even better - and I keep a bag or two with me when I’m out and about for the day, just in case I need a good cup of tea while I’m away from home. Others have smelled my teacup and commented that it "smells like Starburst!" but there's no sugar in it — it's just how the dried fruit combines with the black tea leaves.

But by far, the best tea I’ve had to date is Lady Londonderry, a house blend of English Tea Store. It’s a mixture of black tea, daisy petals, strawberry bits, and lemon zest. It’s light, airy, beautiful and delicious - and would be fitting for high tea at Buckingham Palace. There’s not a tea-drinker or tea-hater to whom I’ve served this who hasn’t immediately fallen in love with it - that’s *that* good. Hot or iced, it's just delightful.

Do I know that there are more than just British teas out there? Absolutely. An acquaintance of mine has a tea blog that has introduced me to all sorts of different Chinese teas, teas from all over Asia, even monkey-picked teas. It's a bit overwhelming, but fun to consider. Right now though, I'm enjoying getting in touch with my heritage and drinking traditionally British teas. I drink it straight up - no milk, no sweetener, either hot or cold, the latter of which is anathema to my parents and any good Brit.

It's a good thing that tea is good for me, because during these warmer summer months, I feel like a fish in a tea pot - an iced tea pot, that is.

Photo credits: all images Attribution-NoDerivs Creative Commons
top right: Mendhak
upper left: Joe Lencioni
middle right: Wikimedia
lower left: iirraa

Comments

Marc

Wed, Jul 29, 2009 : 9:19 p.m.

I've read several comments about the TeaHaus on 4th Ave. which I love. I live out of town part of the year and shop with them online when not in A2. www.teahaus-annarbor.com Their selection is amazing and the service is the best. If you can't go into the shop, just go online. Also, their tea tasting events are a must for everyone.

mary lynn

Wed, Jul 29, 2009 : 9:11 p.m.

Just a reminder to all you tea lovers that we have a tea store worthy of any big city right here in our midst - the chic TeaHaus on Fourth Ave. They have an amazing variety of the best teas - about 200 in all - and the energetic and creative owner, Lisa Hewko, is willing to spend whatever time it takes to help a novice navigate the selection. I also love their selection of tea ware - from the more traditional to very modern and sleek to some intriguing Asian designs. All in all, a really fun and stylish store, and if you can't find a tea you like there, well, it probably doesn't exist!

Natalie Marble

Wed, Jul 29, 2009 : 11:55 a.m.

I really enjoyed your story on tea. I, too, recently discovered tea on a whole different level. You've got to check out TeaHaus on 4th Ave. -- a few doors down from the Food Co-op. The variety is amazing, and the staff so knowlegeable! It's the only place I get my tea now.

Lisa@TeaHaus

Wed, Jul 29, 2009 : 10:36 a.m.

I enjoyed your post about tea and how lovely it is. I lived in Europe for almost 14 years an became accustomed to drinking tea everyday - all day. Because I missed the amazing quality from overseas, I opened a tea store right here in Ann Arbor on 4th Ave. We have tea like all the above mentioned ones and then some (over 200). More importantly, one doesn't need to turn to the internet or to huge companies to get tea anymore. One can shop locally and keep Ann Arbor businesses alive. Perhaps you can stop by some time for a cup. Cheers!

Tammy Mayrend

Wed, Jul 29, 2009 : 9:35 a.m.

My all-time-favorite tea was one my mom brought home from her trip to Africa - It was a fabulous loose tea from the Mabroukie Factory. And my family immigrated from England as well so we have been introduced to milk in our tea... The kids even love it!