In Praise of Tea

I woke up this morning with a sore throat.

I hate it when that happens, because you know it's either that you shouted too much the night before (this is possible, considering how loud the bar was) or that you're starting to come down with something (this is possible, considering the crap I put my immune system through last week).




I'm hoping it's the former. But drugging myself for two (not even very) long car rides, sitting in close proximity to a thousand strangers in an arena, and four visits to the bar to fill myself up with immune-suppressing alcohol probably leads to the latter this time.

The one thing that always makes me feel better, no matter how awful my throat or my head or my stomach hurts is tea. Don't get me wrong now. I'm a coffee drinker, every morning. Love the stuff. I drink it black. I drink it with milk and sugar. I drink it with a shot of Bailey's while sitting in free upgraded first class on an airplane (my personal favorite). I drink flavored lattes and those silly drinks from Starbucks.

Gorgeous colors in this collection.

But honestly. I love tea. It's hard to be one of those people that can't fit into the categories we like to put ourselves into. I've switched from cat to dog person more times than I can count. I'm still not sure if I'm a girly girl who watches sports or a tomboy with a nail polish and shoe obsession. So of course I'd fall right on the border of coffee and tea.

Today, though, with this sore throat, it's all about the tea for me. Right now I'm drinking Decaffeinated Earl Grey from Twinings, one of my absolute favorites. However, when it's not nearly evening, you'll find me drinking a much wider selection. Fruits like peach and raspberry, herbals like chamomile, peppermint, and ginger, blacks like Darjeeling and English breakfast, even the occasional green (usually iced and sweetened with a little bit of honey).

Yeah I drink my tea from a Mason jar, what's it to ya?

I'm definitely a fan of iced tea. Sometimes I buy the powders, as long as they aren't creepily artificially sweetened. I'll drink sweet tea when it feels right (there's a little Southern Belle deep inside me). Usually, though, I brew my own and then put it in a leftover Chinese soup container in the fridge. Perfect iced tea, not watered down.

My favorite is Earl Grey with a scoop of lemonade powder. Tastes just like they make it Earl of Sandwich. Love that place.

One of these days, I'm sure I'll rave about my love of coffee, but as I can feel the soreness of my throat slowly melting away with each boiling hot sip, I can honestly say: today is a tea day.