It's Tea Time!

Today we had our FIRST rain for the Fall season.

The weather man fore-casted light sprinkles - what we got was a good amount of rain. 

With the gloomy, cold, and rainy weather...what better way to spend it but with a cup of hot tea and a blanket?

Next to coffee, tea is next on my list of favorite drinks to have iced or hot.

Coming from a Chinese family we always had tea with our meals. 

Wait...I take that back.

Change the "we" to my parents as I hated Chinese tea or any tea of the sorts growing up.

The only time I felt tea was acceptable was when I was sick.

And it was never the Chinese tea because it was too 'bland' for my taste...back then.

If I ever had any type of tea it was Wade's Red Rose tea.

I loved this brand, not because of the actual tea, but because of the little glass figurines you received in each box.

It was like the prize in the cereal box!

My tea trinkets collection grew because that was pretty much the only American tea my parents bought.

On the sick occasions I had to have tea my Mom would put a teaspoon of sugar & throw a lemon ring in my cup. Then she would mash the lemon ring with her spoon to extract the juices and flavor.

Best Mom tea, ever! 

(She still does this for me)

And as I grew older and in my 20's I started liking tea.

Not only American tea but Chinese tea as well.

And then I started enjoying iced teas. 

I went from buying instant (powdered) Lipton's Lemon Iced tea - which is super sugary to making fresh iced tea and NO sugar. 

I still enjoy a tall glass of iced tea with no sugar. 

Which brings me to my tea variety I currently have in my cabinets.

CHINESE TEA

All time favorite Chinese tea is what my Mom brought me back from Taiwan.

It is by a company called Ten Ren Tea and the flavor I have is called Osmanthus Supreme.

This tea is a loose leaf Oolong tea scented with fresh Osmanthus flowers.

When you pull open the cardboard top the fragrant scent of the flower comes out.

I use the tea pot that has a removable stainless steel infuser.

Because one box cost $65 I tend to save this for special occasions or when my parents visit.

It's a refreshing delicious light tea.

GREEN TEA

Kirkland (Costco store brand) Signature Green Tea is delightful.

I wasn't a big fan of Green tea until recently and even then, it's hit or miss for me.

I'm not a big fan of Starbucks's green tea unless it's a Green Tea latte or Frappachino.

I enjoy all Green tea ice cream, immensely. 

However, when it comes to the tea version I'm am pretty particular.

So when my Mom sent me home with a couple packets of this brand, I really enjoyed it.

When you buy it at Costco (they sell it on Amazon for non-members of Costco) they sell it in bulk.

I believe you receive 100 packets for under $20.

This tea is a Sencha Green tea with a Matcha blend.

The Matcha blend is a green tea powder that enhances the flavor of the tea.

Each nylon tea bag comes in a sealed packet...

And when you cut open the packet you don't discard it right away.

There is a small nylon tea bag you will place in hot water.

After you're done brewing your tea in your cup - you discard the tea bag and then use the packet to sprinkle the loose Matcha powder a top your hot and ready green tea. 

It gives your green tea a hint of sweetness.

HARNEY & SON'S TEA

I have loved Harney & Son's tea since finding it at Barn's & Nobles many years ago.

Their tin cans caught my eye first and then I browsed which flavor I would enjoy.

The first flavor I tried was their Hot Cinnamon Sunset.

Fell In Love!

It's THAT good.

Barn's & Nobles at the time was the only place I could find this brand.

After awhile I started seeing them at William's Sonoma and other high end stores.

All selling these delicious teas for $12 and up for 20 sachets.

However, Barn's & Nobel's stayed true to their inexpensive pricing and stuck with under $10 price for 30 sachets.

This tea even made one of my earlier YouTube videos from 2009.

(Excuse my shouting in this video...couldn't control the volume of my voice.)

I still have two of the teas I bought from that year.

I like the green tea with coconut, ginger and vanilla 2nd best.

All time favorite is the Hot Cinnamon Sunset...which I need to replenish.

The Holiday tea is alright. It's not one I grab for often.

I recycle the tin cans because it would be a waste to throw them out.

I have one as an ashtray on my patio for guests who smoke.

And another one as a doggy bag holder in my entry way.

And while grocery shopping today at my local market I came across these new flavors that Barn's & Nobles does NOT have.

I have not tried these yet but while taking the pictures they all smelled SO good.

I bought 4 new flavors to try.

Dragon Pearl Jasmine

(Click the picture to see the full size version)

What a unique looking tea. They sort of remind me of small snails.

Hopefully I won't be thinking of small snails while I brew my tea.

Midsummer Peach

(click the picture to view full size)

This is a decaffeinated black tea with a hint of peach.

It smells like fresh peaches. The scent is light and not super sweet.

Black Current

Citron Green

I can smell the lemon & lime of this light tea.

I think this would make a delicious iced tea with slices of fresh lemon, oranges and green limes.

TWINING'S

And finally my Twining's tea that I found recently.

I know these have been around forever.

I think I even tried it when I was a kid...but I was not big into tea or coffee back then.

All I wanted was soda, soda, and more sugary drinks.

But recently I picked up the Irish Breakfast tea at my local grocery store and I became a fan.

I can't remember exactly how much each box cost but it has to be under $8 per box with 20 wrapped tea bags.

I do have to admit the English Breakfast Tea is my least favorite out of the three.

My favorite one is the Irish closely followed by the Lady Grey tea.

The Irish Breakfast tea is a black tea blend.

It has a pretty rich flavor.

Lady Grey tea is a black tea scented with bergamot & citrus notes of orange & lemons.

It reminds me of the Wade Red Rose tea my Mom would make for me.

It has a light flavor and in strength.

And English Breakfast tea is a blend of Kenyan & Assam black teas.

It has a medium flavor but I don't reach for this often.

This tea is decaffeinated...which is probably why I don't reach for it often. 

HA!

As you can see I am a tea addict.

I've run out of space in my cabinet for my ever growing tea collection.

I know I will obtain more as the weather gets cooler.

The only kind of tea I am not fond of is anything with a strong herbal.

The scent of a few super herbal teas really makes my stomach churn.

Thus being said, I am not a big fan of Chamomile tea.

What is your favorite type of tea and how do you like it prepared?