Day 7 of Thanksgiving

Today I am thankful for tea. I drink tea nearly every day. Now, don't get your feathers in a fluff, coffee-lovers, I love coffee too (very much!) but my tummy can't handle it every day so I save it for weekends (my favorite coffee is the New Orleans style chicory coffee. I also like fancy-pants local coffeehouse coffee, but I don't do that very often.)

But tea I can handle every day, and can usually handle a cup in the afternoon too. I like all kinds: black, green, red, herbal, oolong, bagged, loose, Chinese, Japanese, Lipton... I'll drink any of it.

Currently at home we have the following:

1 box Celestial Seasonings Mint Magic (bagged)

1 box Celestial Seasonings Madagascar Vanilla Red (bagged)

1 box Celestial Seasonings Vanilla Strawberry Rose (bagged)

1 box Celestial Seasonings Almond Sunset (bagged)

1 box Celestial Seasonings Vanilla Hazelnut (bagged)

1 tin Peet's (decaf) English Breakfast (loose)

1 tin Peet's Irish Breakfast (loose)

1 tin Peet's Holiday Blend (loose)

2 tins Republic of Tea Queen of Hearts Rose (loose)

1 tin Republic of Tea Cardamom Cinnamon (loose)

3 tins Peet's Jasmine Green Tea (loose)

I think that's it. I probably missed one. Oh wait, I did. Also:

1 box PG Tips (bagged)

This does not include the tea I have at work, which includes:

1 box Twinings Four Red Fruits

1 box Tazo Awake

(and a few boxes of Almond Sunset and Four Red Fruits, since I ordered from Amazon so you get six at once)

Terri is even more of a tea-drinker than I am, but she drinks Peet's Jasmine Green Tea almost exclusively. I like a variety (um, clearly).

A few notes about my favorites:

Twinings Four Red Fruits: My exchange-student best friend D'Arcy and I discovered this tea in Finland, and fell in love with it. It is perfect -- light, sweet, interesting, yummy plain or with sugar and milk. It remains my comfort tea. If I am having a bad day, a nice cup of Four Red Fruits with a bit of sweetener helps me get back into a peaceful frame of mind. It's delicious. It's kind of hard to find, but worth the search.

Republic of Tea Queen of Hearts: This is a lovely loose black tea, filled with actual dried rosebuds and leaves, so it's really pretty. It's wonderfully scented with rose and makes a very amazing cup of tea, especially in a teapot. They only come out with it in February so I usually get a tin or two at that time because it's really special. Actually, Terri knows it's a favorite so she usually gets one for me. Thank you, sweetie!

Republic of Tea Cardamom and Cinnamon: There is actually a funny story with this one. Last year, on this really really bad day, I went out in a huff and ended up at this fancy-foods grocery store and bought this tea on a whim, and a loaf of fresh olive bread. The bread was amazing, but the tea has brought me much joy. It's the perfect chai, spicy and full-flavored and perfect for the holidays. As with all Republic of Teas, it's also pricey so this one tin has lasted me all year... but it's almost time to get another one!

Celestial Seasonings Mint Magic: I have a bit of a tricky tummy, and sometimes you just need a cup of mint tea to soothe everything. This is my favorite mint tea. I especially love the packaging (which is why I buy most Celestial Seasoning teas -- the packaging. I love their boxes! Can I come work for you, please?)

PG Tips: This is Mr. Workaday Black Tea. It's not terribly expensive and it makes a really nice cup of plain tea, and it has cool pyramid teabags. I also like the box for some reason. It has a nice little lid that makes me happy.

Another favorite which I don't currently have (you can only have so much tea, and I think I've reached our household limit) is Peet's Russian Caravan: Peet's is a local coffee and tea chain, and they make AMAZING coffee and tea. It's the only brand of tea Terri drinks, because it's so lovely and just a nice everyday luxury. I love this Russian Caravan -- it's dark and smoky and super-duper cozy. It's the perfect curl-up-and-read tea. I might have to use up one of my other teas and get a tin for the holiday season.

You know what's funny is that when we moved, I threw out so many boxes and bags of old tea and resolved to only have maybe two or three varieties of tea at any one time. Because how much tea do you really need, right? So... didn't do too well on that resolution, did I? Oh well. Tea is a small indulgence and has disproportionatly delightful payoff, so I feel okay about it. Although seeing the entire list is a bit sobering.

(yes, we have an entire drawer devoted to tea)

(and a little bit of shelf space too)

...

...

(um, and some countertop space, too.)