An Ode to tea

A friend came to visit on Sunday afternoon and I offered him a cup of tea with his cookies, mince pies and cupcake. I opened the cupboard and listed what we had: Assam, Darjeeling, Lapsang Souchong, Yorkshire tea, PG Tips and various herbal and caffeine free options. It was then that I realised my love affair with tea is getting out of hand. Having a variety of teas is fine, rivalling the East India Company is going a bit too far.

It actually started when I realised that I was down to my last few teabags and panicked. As I was going to work I popped into Sainsburys and bought some emergency packs of Yorkshire tea and Twinings Everyday tea. Then the next time I was in Waitrose they had an offer on Twinings so I got some Lapsang Souchong, Earl Grey and Assam. There was a free tin with one of them so that was alright. Then I got home and found some Assam and Darjeeling in the back of the cupboard so they came to the front.

So now my daily schedule of tea is thus: PG tips for breakfast, Assam or Yorkshire for morning cuppa while baby sleeps, Darjeeling after lunch while baby sleeps, random selection for afternoon tea. Assam as evening cup and again random for last tea of the day. It's all very bohemian when I throw in a Honeybush or Moonlight Jasmine green tea for a change. It sounds silly, but having so many types of tea has given me a new appreciation for the taste and experience of drinking tea. My palate has become attuned to the slightly tinny nature of Assam, the mild, but ultimately strong perfume of Darjeeling (the champagne of teas no less !) and the sweet comfort of Honeybush caffeine free.

The downside is that now I'm home full time I'm averaging around 6-7 cups a day and before long I'll rival Tony Benn in the tea drinking stakes. Add to this my return to pre-Christmas baking and it is a seriously dangerous combination that ultimately will lead to an expanded waistline and me grumbling that I'm too fat. Hubbie will mumble something about how I'm not and look sympathetic while polishing off the oat and raisin cookies to help me out. It's far too stressful to think about - I'm off for a brew.