Most people are drinking hotdogs

Until I started educating myself about tea, the different types, tools, techniques and varieties thereof, I knew what I had grown up with: bagged tea (aka: Lipton)

Tea is made of leaves. Tea needs to steep, that is, to let the dried leaves unfurl , thus releasing the flavor and taste. What you get in tea bags is not leaves, but the chopped up bits of tea (often called fannings and dust). Imagine someone snuck into a tea processing factory, and using their hands, swept the loose scraps off the table, put it bags and called it tea.

Well, the truth is, cheap tea companies, who assume you know nothing about tea (and, for many years I didn't) package up the leftovers and call it tea, and market it to the unknowing consumer. Companies selling you that schwag (aka: nasty bits of tea) are basically selling you hotdogs - leftovers that have been reprocessed and sold as its own entity.

I like the "loose tea in a bag" that a number of companies are experimenting with.
Sounds contradicatory, I know...but an innovative concept indeed, a bag that starts off with loose tea and is designed with more room so the tea can unfurl.

BIG PLUG: The Mighty Leaf Tea Company - I'd like to thank them for their excellent tea bags. While I don't buy them for my house, I breathe a sigh of relief when in my travels and faced with a selection of tea, I can have a Mighty Tea!!!

So if I could bring this to a close, it would be to advise people to be aware of what they are drinking....after all, life's too short to drink hotdogs.

Paul Simon's Cold Care

Struck down by the miserable strain of bronchitis has delayed my blogging. But on the other hand I have had lots of time and reason for copious amount of tea! I find that when you are sick, drinking THYME tea works wonders for breaking up the lung sludge and fighting whatever nasty bacterial/viral meanies are wreaking havoc in your system. ROSEMARY also is instrumental in recovering from sickness as it is relieves your nervous system and lungs and restores the heart and mind. SAGE is a fantstic herb! In addition to the realm of clarity that its soothing properties can bring, it is antiseptic, antibiotic, antispasmodic. It can be used as a tea, a throat gargle or herbal-infused steam and inhaled to relieve sinus congestion (I love burning a pinch of sage before falling asleep). and lastly....let's not forget PARSLEY, packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, this tonic type tea is good for cleansing the liver, glands, gall bladder, and is a natural antihistamine.

So what does this have to do with Paul Simon? (you ask)

Well, have you been to Scarsbourough Fair?

PARSLEY, SAGE, ROSEMARY and THYME

Now combining these 4 herbs tastes a bit "herb-y". Like you're drinking a garden (dirt included) so I usually make variations of this tea. Sometimes omitting the sage or parsley, or adding something fun like anise, which has a sweetness to it.

COMMENT REQUEST: What's your favorite "Cold Care" remedy?

In the Leaves....

I would love to work in the tea industry. I love tea, everything about it. I love the varieties, the pots and accessories, the brewing ritual. I love the way it makes me feel, I love what it can do for me. I love the endless blends and tastes you can create.

I started innocently enough by throwing an orange peel and cinnamon into some water -- after reading the side of a Celestial Seasonings box.

So, from time to time, when I have something to report, a new tea, a new company, ideas for the tea cafe that I would LOVE to open....I'll blog it.

So, brew yourself a cup and share your thoughts and comments along the way...