Move over earl gray. We have a wide world of new teas to play with.
Jasmine, Green, Herbal, and all kinds of new teas are out there for the taking. You can buy a huge range of teas at almost any grocery store — from Lipton to Chai and back again, you should be able to find something new to try. I have even found local, herbal teas at many farmers markets!
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So how do you know what to try? Or how much to spend? Or how to make it once you get it? There are some really complicated, expensive teas out there, but most of them are straight forward add-hot-water-and-relax-with-a-cup teas.
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If you want to be adventurous, I suggest investing in something to put your tea in. This will let you try some of the most beautiful, fragrant teas that can’t be put in a bag. The teas in the picture above are a variety of green tea leaves, rolled jasmine blossoms, an herbal ‘sangria’ tea, and combinations those. The big, green and pink balls you see are essentially carefully dried flowers, with their petals wrapped inside the the flower’s leaves and a small bundle of tea leaves delicately placed inside. Sure beats the boring old english breakfast tea!
You can find a variety of reusable bags, strainers, and balls anywhere from Target to a specialty tea shop (probably shoppe, since they’re fancy). I use a little device that hangs on the side of your tea cup and has holes in it that let the leaves steep; it works similar to a K-cup for a Keurig coffee maker (oh yeah! You can use a reusable K-cup if you have one! Just stick the tea inside and dunk the whole thing in hot water — just be sure it’s clean so your tea doesn’t taste like coffee). You can also get little steeping pots that make a concentrated tea you put the leaves directly into.
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Every tea is different — in color, taste, and aroma. Don’t get overwhelmed by the number of choices — just grab one that sounds interesting and, if you like it, buy some more! There’s no need to be an afficionado about it. Unlike wines, the quality isn’t going to relate to the price (plus, no hangover from drinking cheap tea). A good tea is simply one you like drinking, so go find the best one! Below are two of my favorites — a honey green tea made from tea blossoms from China (I made it with the strainer on the right in the picture above), and a sangria herbal tea from Spain (made in the small tea pot on the left in the pic above).
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If you wanna try a new tea but aren’t ready to invest in a (really cheap) tea strainer, you can always just place the tea leaves at the bottom of your cup. It’s a bit messier but hey, it works!
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Tagged: food & drink, picking tea, snack, tea Image may be NSFW.
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