Tea! One of the many wonders of the food world!

I have yet to post about my love affair with tea!

I actually have a love affair with many warm beverages (I love hot cider as you saw in my earlier post and a good cup of hot chocolate brings me right back to my childhood)

Tea is definitely at the top of the list for me. Here are some of the several teas I enjoy drinking:

White Tea: This is a baby tea leaf. Drinking white tea makes me visit the restroom quite a bit but it is a great youthful fresh tea!

Green Tea: This is a nice green tea leaf and the leaves have not browned from oxidation.

Black Tea: This tea has browned through oxidation and is often heated to release some of the flavors in the leaf. This is the tea your grandmother used to drink. She would steep it for like 5 minutes and then squeeze the bag making this bitter drink that needed lots of milk and sugar to taste halfway decent. Next time you break out a standard Lipton or Tetley tea bag...leave the bag in for only like a minute or two....it makes a great cup of tea.

Herbal Tea: This typically contains no tea leaves. For example, chamomile tea is actually just hot water poured over dried chamomile flowers. Most herbal teas come in a variety of flavors and many people boast about the healing properties of many of these herbs. They are quite an adventure!

All of this information was implanted into my brain from a very good friend of mine Bil Siliker (that is right it is Bil with only one L). He operates the local tea house that is pictured above. You can usually find me there on friday nights or sunday afternoons. He is a good guy and knows a lot about tea. If you are ever in Newburyport, MA find Middle Street and visit the Licorice and Sloe Teahouse (http://www.licoriceandsloe.com/)

Some other Teahouses of note

The Dushanbe Tea House in Boulder, CO

http://www.boulderteahouse.com/

Dobra Tea house in Burlington, VT
http://www.dobratea.com/

As always....Stay Positive,

matthew