National Hot Tea Month

January is National Hot Tea Month.  Until a couple of years ago my hot drink of choice was hot chocolate. Then I stumbled on a series of books written by Laura Childs called the Tea Shop Mysteries.  Each book in the series had a title with a different type of tea.  I love this series and have read everyone of the books in the series and can't wait for the new one to come out in March.  Oops got a little off kilter there.  Anyway, after reading these books..I decided to try hot tea.  I have always been an iced tea drinkers but I never cared for it hot.  I'm not a fan of sweetened tea either.  I would rather have it without sugar.

I am now an avid hot tea drinker!  I love it!

After a trip to the Teavana store in the mall, I fell even more in love.  So many teas to choose from not to mention tons of tea gadgets and gizmos.  My favorite teas from Teavana are the White Ayurvedic Chai, the Maharaja Chai, and the White Chocolate Peppermint.  I really didn't know what to do with the loose tea leaves until a lady that worked there introduced me to the Perfectea Maker.  Everyone should have one of these!  It was so easy to make my tea that I started drinking it all the time.  It is my version of a morning cup of coffee.  My wonderful husband also bought me a Cherry Blossom cast iron tea pot and a set of 4 cast iron tea cups with saucers.

I tend to go a little overboard on buying more tea bags before I run out of the ones I already have.  I've noticed that I also lean more toward the spicy tastes rather than the fruity tastes.  Although, my husband bought me a set of 96 tea bags from Hickory Farms for my birthday last year and my new favorite tea is Earl Grey.  There is just a hint of orange that makes it taste so good.

I usually like to drink a caffeinated tea during the morning and afternoon and then a decaffeinated tea (green or herbal tea) in the evening.

I have not experimented with blending teas together.  Maybe someday when my life isn't so crazy.

 If you have never drank hot tea before and would like to start with one, I would either recommend the Earl Grey or a Vanilla Chai.  If you are a tea drinker, tell me what you favorite is, maybe I would like to try it too!

Now if I could just find a little tea shop like Theodosia Browning's Indigo Tea Shop where I can go for lunch and a nice cup of tea that would just be perfect!

My Perfectea Maker

My Japanese Cast Iron Tea Pot

One of my favorite book series