As some of you may know, I'm a high school English teacher. This year, in my ongoing efforts to make my classroom more comfortable and spacious (ha), I rearranged the furniture and brought in a small coffee pot. Although it's small, the pot is digital and comes with a timed brewing feature, so I set it to begin brewing about 10 minutes before I arrive at school in the morning. I can't begin to explain how comforting it is to walk into my classroom and smell freshly brewed coffee. It's like having my very own coffee house (I keep the milk and a selection of creamers in the mini fridge behind my desk). =]
Lately, though, I have been using my coffee pot to brew tea and have served it hot or cold depending on the weather. Although I dearly love plain old black tea (Lipton, please), I have discovered how good some of the flavored teas are, particularly those from the Republic of Tea collection. I originally found these teas at St. Louis Bread Co. (Panera to all you non-St. Louisans). Since then I have seen the brand in a variety of specialty shops, but sadly, not in any local grocery stores.
My favorite of all these is the ginger peach tea. I have tried other peach teas and none are as flavorful or aromatic as this one. It purports itself as being able to boost one's longevity. I'm always up for something that will help me live longer/better! ;]
Anyway, the best way I have found to brew Ginger Peach tea is to run water through my coffee maker and drop a single tea bag into the coffee pot. The tea can steep for a few minutes and then I pour it into my favorite mug and sip the morning away. Inevitably I find myself brewing multiple cups per day, which is when the decaf version of this tea comes in handy. Recently, as the weather has gotten a bit warmer (and the boilers in the school continue to churn at full power), I have been craving a cool drink. I brew my tea as always, but then stash it in my mini fridge until it is cool enough to be refreshing. Hot or cold, it's delicious!
More on other favorite teas in future posts!
Tara used to boil us water in her hotpot below her desk. I'm surprised we didn't burn anything down. Have you ever tried the Tazo tea Wildsweet Orange? It's one of my favorites!
ReplyDeleteI havne't tried that one yet. I'm such a stick-in-the-mud about tea. Once I find one I like, I drink it non-stop. I have a great one for fall though. But since it's the topic of my nex tpost, I won't share...yet. =] I'll have to try the Tazo though -- I love oranges!
ReplyDeleteI just discovered a new type of orange, it's called the CARA orange? I'm not sure if you have those at your store or not. They are slightly more pink than your basic orange but they are so good.
ReplyDeleteNope, we have your basic orange varieties, and some tangelos, whihc intimidate me. I'm not exactly sure what they are...we also carry something called the ugli fruit. All I can say is that it's true to advertising: it's UGLY! =]
ReplyDeleteGot a coffee today and thought of you: I forgot my travel mug and so was careful to not chip any teeth while sipping! Yay for the sip saver (or whatever those little sticks are called).