I once knew a couple when I was way younger. Let’s call them Shalynn and Mike. Mike used to always tell us, “Shalynn makes the best tea, it’s really good”. Everytime we had a gathering of friends anywhere they would always volunteer to bring tea and always with the remark that Shalynn makes the best tea as if it were some kind of big deal.
My husband and I would always look at each other wondering if this was some kind of inside joke we were not privy to because isn’t tea pretty much just boiling water? After a while it became our inside joke for all things that we considered mindless activity. For example, “Look I brought the mail in, it wasn’t as easy as making tea, but here it is.”
That was close to 30 years ago and it took me a while but I think I have not only perfected the art of boiling water but I am pretty sure I am finally in the running for some kind of top tea maker award. Of course, I don’t expect to beat Shalynn and her Lipton and hot water miracle brew but surely Im at least in the top ten.
Here are a few fun things I do with tea to earn me the accolades from my husband like Mike used to say about Shalynn.
- Always put a ½ tablespoon of baking soda in a half gallon of tea. It reduces the tannins and takes away that slightly bitter taste of stronger teas. It will also reduce gas in your digestive system created by whatever you had for dinner. Finally, it balances the Ph in your blood which is great because a balanced Ph means cancer cant thrive.
- Use honey to sweeten tea instead of sugar. I always try to use foods that are less processed and while sugar is not as processed as other things, honey still wins the race for most natural.
- Add an unexpected flavor like fresh strawberries, peaches, raspberries or mangos in the glass, or if you are more traditional, lemon or orange. Ive stolen the idea of cucumber or apple from a hotel I stayed in once. Fruits offer a sweet aftertaste that lingers longer than the tea.
- Never underestimate the power of spices. Spices have a lot of herbal benefits to your health. I like to add cinnamon, cardamom, mint, vanilla and others. Recently I added Pumpkin Pie Spice because I couldn’t find my cinnamon and it was amazing.
- Lipton is not the King of Tea. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find standard tea in my house. In Scotland and at my mothers house, black tea is the answer to everything. In the Land of Lori Logic you will find a wide array of herbal teas. Some I bought on trips to far away places like Israel, France, Canada, Mexico, Scotland, Montana and other places Ive been just because I was in a tourist trap and couldn’t help myself. Others I bought because I read some internet article about how good it is for whatever ails me. A few were gifted to me by sweet friends who know me well enough to know I have a tea hoarding problem and truly delight in the simple gift of a teabag.
- Boiling water is not the only way to make tea. Some teas are delicate and the boiling process actually makes the tea taste worse. Even if the box doesn’t say “cold brew” you can usually just put the tea in and let it soak and it will be just as good as boiling. There are a select few teas that need to be seeped in hot water to release the full flavor and benefit but it is not an end all, beat all, method.
That’s it, easy peasy, better than Shaylnns tea tricks. Right? Well, no, theres more. I don’t usually pick on tea and run with it, that would be too simple. I mean, I didn’t come here to boil water and add a tea bag and act like I’m suddenly the Queen of tea. This morning I made tea and added Pine Needle Bark tea, Anise Tea, Peppermint tea, Jasmine Tea, Huckleberry Tea, fresh mango, a teeny tiny bit of honey, baking soda and a dash of Cinnamon. Next week it will be a whole other thing and the week after that something else entirely. Sometimes people ask me how I made the tea and I have to admit I have no idea because my tea making game is more about randomly throwing an assortment of drinkable things together and calling it a masterpiece. It is my one daily victory before the rush of reality hits. I may not be the Queen of Tea, Shaylynn can keep her title, but I do think I am at least a contender for second place after Shaylynn.