Tea Affair

As a person who drinks more than 12 cups of tea a day (and sometimes, if I’m honest, a fair-few more than the dozen), I thought it about time that I submit my ‘Ode to Tea’ – especially given my current geographic abode…

tea –noun the dried and prepared leaves of a shrub, Camellia sinensis, from which a somewhat bitter, aromatic beverage is prepared by infusion in hot water.

Now before you all post comments about the dangers of too much caffeine, fear not – I mix my cups up with herbal varieties: peppermint, chamomile, Lipton fruit varieties, and green… oh, but that one’s caffeinated, isn’t it?! How I do love a good cuppa black with milk, no sugar.

Moving into my flat, I knew I had found home when my soon-to-be-flattie asked in her sing-song English twang, “You want a cup of tea, hun?” Oh yes, please! And it was always so comforting starting new temp jobs when on orientation I was shown to the kitchen and pointed in the direction of the cupboard full of the obligatory bags of Tetley… Having never been a smoker, I can only equate the addiction they must feel to how I react to my first cup of tea for the day. Total calm. If anyone remembers the Tetley ads in Oz where the cartoon Tetley worker comes into the scene looking pale, and then upon taking his first sip, his colour replenishes, and he sighs, “Ahhh, Tetley, that’s my cuppa tea!” Well, I’m that cartoon man… only in the flesh, and with a better hair-do and a fabric wardrobe.

For those interested, there are four main types of tea are black tea, oolong tea, green tea and white tea (in order from most processed to least). I have recently become a fan of Clipper’s Organic White Tea with Peppermint (produced in the UK, see clipper-teas.com) – it has the caffeine to give me the buzz I love, and the peppermint to aid my digestion. White tea is the least processed and has the highest levels of caffeine, owing to the fact that the blend contains buds and leaves (black, oolong and green only use the tea leaves). If you haven’t tried it, give it a go… although it’s slightly more expensive than good ol’ Tetley. I figure I’m worth it.