Sunday 27 February 2011

My perfect cup of tea

I sit on the sofa with a computer in my lap and a cup of my favourite tea in hand. Choco power is black tea with chocolate flavour and it’s perfect with a glimmer of milk. It smells wonderful and you can easily detect the chocolate scent which isn’t too strong despite the fact thatit is a chocolate tea.

But tea wasn’t always my favourite drink, not that I didn’t like it, I just didn’t drink it very often. As a child I usually only drank it when I was ill; my Mum would put a tea bag in the cup and pour boiling water over it. After a couple of minutes she would take out the tea bag and add four tea spoons of sugar; she knew that I wouldn’t drink it if it wasn’t sweet enough. Then she would put the cup on my night stand if I was in my room or on the coffee table in front of the sofa if I was in the living room. Usually I forgot about the fruit flavoured tea waiting for me and I would notice it when it was already cold.

When I was healthy I would drink cold cocoa; I drank hot cocoa only if I was visiting my late grandmother. She had a special recipe for my hot cocoa and she knew I wouldn’t drink it any other way; the way she made it for me was perfect. She removed the kettle from the stove just before the milk boiled and poured it in the cup with about five big spoons of cocoa already in it. Then she added three tea spoons of sugar and voila, there was my perfect hot cocoa.

In high school we would drink coffee. We weren’t children anymore so it was only appropriate for us to drink all sorts of coffee; usually it was cappuccino or caffè latte but on special occasions we went to a cafe where they served all sorts of flavoured coffees in huge glasses – you could have vanilla, coconut, chocolate, marzipan, you name it. Once a week I would go there with my girlfriends on our way from the train station; we would drink the delicious coffee, chat and laugh.  

I continued to drink coffee when I went to university but I realised that I drank way too much of the “black devil” when I had exams so I decided to stop drinking it. I started drinking black tea with milk and now I can’t imagine my day without it.

I enjoy going to the tea shop where they have a big wall covered with shelves, full of huge silver boxes that are filled with tea. I can choose between green tea, black tea, white tea and a lot of different flavours. I usually check out their website and decide on which flavours I want to try out. Then I smell the tea in the shop and each time I’m confronted with a hard decision - I would love to buy them all. Instead, I always buy my favourite Choco power and also choose a different tea with a new flavour which I haven’t had before. The last time I was there I chose hazelnut flavoured tea but when I came home I discovered that it smelled a bit too much like marzipan. I put on my brave face and prepared it; it wasn’t that bad but it was the only time I actually drank it.  

I enjoy preparing my tea; you have to follow a strict procedure for the tea to be perfect. I boil the water and put the bits of tea (I drink realtea) in a strainer. It usually takes me a couple of seconds to decide which cup I want to drink from and when I choose it I put the strainer in and pour the water over. After 7-8 minutes I take the strainer out, add two tea spoons of sugar and a little bit of milk. Then I sit down and enjoy drinking my perfect tea. 

15 comments:

  1. There's a certain zen in tea, that's for sure. I drink mine in what I was once told is more of an Asian style, which is to say without cream or sugar. The exception to that be herbal teas or chai. Like you, I cannot imagine going a day without a cup or six. It's been that way for years.

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  2. Try Blueberry tea next time if they have it. It is good. But try it without the milk. I usually always put milk in but not with the blueberry. Sugar, yes.
    Enjoyed the post, you made a picture in my mind of the process.

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  3. Well now, Ms Starlight, you just inspired me to make some StarBux coffee- House Blend! I will grind the whole beans,then brew, adding some half and half to give it just the right flavor. Sounds like you take your Coco Tea just as serious as I take my coffee. Have a good day.

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  4. I love the hot tea at chinese restaurants, but typically I take mine sweet and iced. its yum. I remember the days when I enjoyed my coffe... But without cigarettes, it just isn't the same *cries* lovely post!

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  5. I don't drink tea and coffee upsets my stomach.What a bummer.

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  6. Thanks for visiting my blog, it is good to 'meet' you. The name of your blog alone make me interested and I will certainly be back.

    Niether my husband or myself like ordinary tea; we are very fond of citrus teas though our favourite is Ginger & Lemon. I drink very little coffee if I have one a month it is alot!!
    Hope to see you back at my blog, take care. Diane

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  7. mmmm.....makes me want to drink a cup of tea myself....I am normally a coffee person, though I enjoy an occassional cup of green tea with a spoon of sugar.....

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  8. MMMmmm. Tea. It's just wonderful isn't it!? All that choice, and sometimes a black tea with milk just can't be beaten! A great post!

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  9. Ha @ R K Lambert, Starlight has already read about your coffee grinder crisis!
    @Starlight, hope you are feeling better today!

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  10. I nod through each of the paragraphs and sentences, I didn't realize we had so much in common. The line about not noticing the tea until it turned cold, the drinking coffee in college to feel more grown up, and going to tea shops, and, and, and...

    Great piece, I enjoyed it a lot. Sweet and lingering, just like tea.

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  11. Good to see you and Diane getting to know each other, you are both lovely bloggers. I absolutely love tea it is one of the few things in life I could not imagine giving up. Green and English Breakfast are my favourites. Really enjoyed this post.

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  12. I like cold (refrigerated) green tea with honey...but I never got into the groove of coffee or hot tea.

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  13. I'm a coffee drinker at present and I make it so sweet it's almost like candy (three packets of artificial sweetener and 5 - 6 tablespoons of flavored creamer). Thank God I only drink 2 cups a day or I'd be the size of a house. I did see an article where someone mentioned licorice flavored tea, that I would like to try. Good post.

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  14. Yummy its tea very very hot and testy . really i loved that and great your idea .Very nice details of tea , Black tea, Green tea etc. shared in the post. i like it. Fantastic your recently post and i loved tea.thanks

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  15. @Robbie - I would like to drink my tea without sugar and milk but it's better this way so I'm sticking with it :)

    @Barbara - I will definitively try the Blueberry tea if I'll find it anywhere, thanks for recommendation.

    @Keith - I take my Choco power just as serious as you take your coffee. I've heard about your coffee crisis and I'm glad that you got yourself a new coffee machine :)

    @Doria - I'm glad that you liked this post.

    @WCOTFT - Awww, I feel really bad for you...

    @Diane - Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I would love to try Ginger & Lemon tea, will try to find it somewhere :) You'll see me on your blog again for sure!

    @Caterpillar - I'm glad that I "inspired" you for drinking tea :)

    @Bth - Black tea with milk is my favourite. Can't resist it!

    @Shopgirl - I'm glad that you liked the post. And it's really nice to "hear" that we have so much in common. :)

    @Happy Frog and I - Thanks for "introducing" us, I really enjoy Diane's blog. Sadly I don't have a lot of time lately so I don't read blogs as much as I would like.

    @Chief - When I'll come to the States I'll pop by and you can make me your tea :)

    @Sandy - I drank my coffee very very sweet, so I totally understand you. =)

    @Romantic Dinner - Thanks, I'm glad that you liked my post :)

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