I am not personally a fan of tea. At least I never was until I had a specially flavorful raspberry iced tea served to me at a restaurant one afternoon two years ago. It was rather a nice surprise: I was expecting boring old iced tea with the obligatory lemon wedge (which I always stuck on the side of my plate right away). And then I took a sip and heard myself declare, “Yum, this is in truth good”. The next day I went on a mission to the grocery store: Find numerous raspberry flavored tea so I could replicate this newly found drink at home and have it whenever I wanted!

Another pleasant surprise was in store: I didn’t just find raspberry tea, I found a plethora of flavors. Between the four or five mutual tea brands there are without apparent effort 200 selections of teas at practically any store you choose. You may find black teas, green teas, and white teas; caffeinated or decaffeinated; fruits or flowers; herbal and organic; and drink them hot or cold. One of my new hobbies when journeying is to undertake to find a new flavor of tea that I haven’t tried. Just take a new glimpse down the tea aisle of your favored grocery store and you’ll be as amazed as I was to find the potpourri that awaits you. If you have access to an oriental market there are a whole host of brands and flavors dissimilar from those in your local supermarket. The stores that cater to health foods and organic foods have other lines of teas that infer claims to aid alleviate your ailments, with names such as “calm” or “energize”, or “restore”.

Let me just share with you a few of my bestloved brands and what I have in my cupboard this week.

The Fruits: Like I mentioned, I’m not a fan of lemon with tea, but I do like a great deal of of the other fruit flavors. Right now I have some boxes that are called ‘samplers’ and have an array of fruit flavors. Among them, peach, wild berry zinger, cinnamon apple, passion fruit & mango, red raspberry, and a special I found in the fall, “pumpkin spice”.

The Flowers: Sometimes I like something mild and relaxing, and I find that with dissimilar flowered flavors. My favored is a rose tea my sister sends me from Israel. I haven’t found any other rose tea like it here, even though I have tried a few other brands. I likewise have a lovely jasmin tea I found in an oriental market.

The Mints: Mint flavors are standard in tea and it’s easy to find peppermint tea in any of the mutual brands.

Others: Here’s a huge category. Some of my favorites are the ‘relaxing’ teas like Bigelow’s “sweet dreams” and Celestial Seasoning’s “tension tamer”. Stash makes a outstanding spiced tea called “chai” in a dark red packet. Stash has what I consider to be the most distinguishable varieties: amongst my best finds are their black licorice flavor, and caramel (which I could only find in Canada). Twining makes one called “voyage” that takes me away to a good deal of tropical island with it is hint of coconut around the more inviolable pineapple flavor–a bit remindful of the odor of a pleasant sun tan lotion. And around the holidays a co-worker brought in some delightful “gingerbread spice” and “nutcracker suite” blends, which I believe were from Celestial Seasonings.

My favored brands are the Stash teas or Bigelow because each bag is on an individual basis packaged. While Celestial Seasonings teas taste great, the box holds loose tea bags so they’re not commodious to carry out of the house. The person packages I may take with me when I travel, or even carry in my purse for when I find myself out at a restaurant, craving galore caramel iced tea. For the most distinctive varieties, distinguishing trait stores trade their own mixes in bulk. You need to buy a particular tea strainer, but it’s easy to make your own cup, or pot, at home.

Iced or Hot: If you like iced tea, just get a few ounces of hot water in which to steep the tea bag, then pour it over ice and add some cold water. In a restaurant I’ll ask for a glass of ice and a cup of hot water, brew my own little cup of tea in two minutes, and (carefully) pour it over the ice (slowly so as not to crack the glass from the drastic change in temperature). If you need a little sweetener you may add any to taste, of course. (Remember a teaspoon of sugar or honey only has 15 calories). At home I make a pitcher of a dissimilar flavor each day, or receive pleasure from a hot cup of any of a dozen flavors for the duration of the afternoon, and another in the evening. I know I’m taking in the fluids I need for the duration of the day, with no calories. Now give a go at hydrating yourself, and take delight in your new found tasty teas!

Celestial Seasonings Fruit Tea Sampler 5 Flavors 18count Image

Celestial Seasonings Fruit Tea Sampler 5 Flavors 18count Picture

Celestial Seasonings Fruit Tea Sampler 5 Flavors 18count Image

Celestial Seasonings Fruit Tea Sampler 5 Flavors 18count Image

Celestial Seasonings Fruit Tea Sampler 5 Flavors 18count Picture

Celestial Seasonings Fruit Tea Sampler 5 Flavors 18count Pic