Ah, wonderful tea! Tea has been a soothing beverage in my family for generations. I can remember drinking tea as young as four years old (perhaps even younger!). Putting "kettle on" and grabbing a "cuppa" is as natural for us as drinking water...perhaps more so. The tea of choice in my home has always been black tea (Orange Pekoe) steeped strong with lots of milk, no sugar. In England it would be referred to as "White Tea" (ie: black tea made "white" with milk). Oh I've tried a variety of green teas and herbals teas but nothing quite compares to good ol' black leaf tea. I can drink a good cuppa morning, noon and night, finish a cup before bed and still sleep like a baby.
One of the many joys of tea is it's versatility. Taking tea can be as casual as pouring boiled water straight into a mug, or as ornate as setting out one's finest china cups with matching tea pot alongside scones, sandwhiches, cookies and cakes. I had always believed that Queen Victoria had been the one to appoint High Teas in England. It had been said that one of her ladies in waiting suggested a meal between lunch and supper to qwell the hunger pangs felt between the two repasts, but further research shows that tea came to England as early as the 17th century when King Charles II and his wife Catherine de Braganza from Portugal both drank tea at court.
Either way, it's so much fun to make an occassion of "taking tea". I can remember playing with a friend as a young girl, dressing up in lace hats and gloves and serving tea out of my mother's antique Royal Doulton tea cups (a fact she never knew about...until now! Uh oh!) But what fun we had, mimicking British accents, nibbling on cucumber sandwhiches and raisin scones between delicate sips. Today I still love to visit tea rooms - a vanishing art - to enjoy the delights of this simple yet beautiful beverage.
Whatever your preference, whether Tetley, English Breakfast or Earl Grey, from kettle to mug or pot to cup, I hope you will commit to carving out some special time for yourself each day to enjoy a good cup of tea. The ritual of tea; boiling the water, pouring the cups and sitting down to sip the steaming liquid, has proven psychological benefits (not to mention the proven physical benefits of anti-oxidants found in tea leaves).
Now all this chatter about tea has my throat mighty dry - best go put kettle on for a cuppa before bed!
*For more information on the history of tea, take a peek at the following site: www.victorianbazaar.com/tea.html
