• Most people would like at least part of
• People could enjoy during the event or shortly after
• They wouldn’t need to take home and give to GoodWill
• Was easy to assemble and acquire

We bought about a gazillion Ferrero Roches at Sam’s Club (gold was one of our colors – yeah!) and also tons of Andes candies at Wal-Mart. (We’re still eating them.) But how to pick just one tea? And what kind? Black, green, white, oolong? Loose or bagged? I toyed with the idea of getting a custom blend and putting it in little custom tea tins – but really that was way too much work!

To meet our requirements of things that most people would like and were easy to acquire we decided on a mix of:

• Twinings Earl Grey
• Stash Chai
• Stash Pomegranate Green

All lovely teas. A little variety so folks could trade if they wanted. Easy to acquire at our local Giant Eagle Market District. AND best of all — in our colors of gold and wine! ;-] Add a cute tag, some ribbon, and simple favor bags from Joann’s and viola! I loved them.

Tea and Chocolate favors (Image by Joanna Fassinger)

So what do you do with them? I have 19 tea bags here of Apple Raspberry tea, licorice tea, and vanilla chai. Don’t get me wrong. I adore Chai. I love vanilla. But not in tea. And not together!!

I don’t know what to do with them all…. Perhaps I’ll take them to work and hope people will aggressively steal them. If only I knew some needy tea drinkers out there that were just craving a nice Decaf Hazelnut?? Anyone?

Or perhaps they’ll collect dust until I think of a better use for them.

When I’m at work, I love to go for a walk to cute little coffee shops nearby. Not particularly because I love coffee but because I love walks and coffee shops. (although coffee is pretty great – please don’t stone me for straying from the tea fold…) Now that it’s a bit warmer, I can get iced tea and walk around casually and get back to the office without my fingers falling off.

And there’s so many great ways to have iced tea! I absolutely adore a nice black tea with a little sweetener in it – and very cold. Lots of ice! But teas other than a classic orange pekoe can also be delicious, like Lemon Ginger or a nice Earl Grey. =) mmmm…..

And any iced tea loves a bit of fruit juice, lemon, or mint! Ahh, my first spring flowers are blooming–that’s close enough to summer for me! Time for the iced tea….

Goal for summer: figure out how mom made such fabulous sun tea.

A pound (or so) of coffee might brew 50 cups, where as a pound of tea can brew more than 200.

Check out this site for a comparison of caffeine content across lots of yummy things.

Pretty sweet. (Unless you like it black.)

The Taste of Tea

“…a description someone gives of a song involved in one of the film’s many detours neatly summarizes the movie itself: ‘It’s more cool than weird, and it stays in your head.’”

To the top of the queue it goes! =)

1. The better the tea, the better the cup. Although I love them all….
2. It’s got to be not too weak, but not too strong. I often err on the side of too strong, though. Check out the TeaTimer, if you forget about your brewing like me.
3. Just the right amount of sweetness: 2 sugar cubes or half a Sweet N Low.
4. If it’s hot and black… a dash (or much more!) of milk. Cream will do, but it’s nothing compared to milk.

Black Tea

Black tea is everywhere, from iced tea at restaurants to your grandmother’s Victorian tea cup. It may have the widest range of all teas as well, from simple Lipton to delicately refined varieties Mariage Frères. My personal favorites lie somewhere in the middle. Black tea also has a huge number of blended and flavored varieties. These include teas like Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Chai, Darjeeling, and many others.

Black tea is called black because – unlike other teas – it is fermented in addition to being withered and dried. This gives you the rich amber color that’s so warm and yummy.

Find out more about Black Tea, at:

• Wikipedia
• Celestial Seasonings

Green Tea

Legend has it that green tea is the oldest of all teas, and it also has the rep of being healthiest for you, although recent studies have suggested that black tea might be just as good. Green tea is wonderful pure and is sometimes blended with things like jasmine or chamomile or flavored (especially with fruit like orange, pomegranate or apricot). Refined varieties include Gunpowder green tea and Dragon Well. You will find green tea in your local supermarket, sushi bar, or Japanese tea ceremony.

Green tea is less processed than black tea, and it is never fermented – only withered and dried (which is why it retains its green color). It can be sweeter, lighter, or more delicate and usually has a pale green or a soft golden color.

More about green tea, from:

• Wikipedia
• Salada.

Oolong Tea

Oolong tea is popular in China, as well as Chinese restaurants. Nothing goes as good with a fortune cookie to me. Oolong tea has a distinctive taste, and can be intensely pungent.

Something of a blend between green and black tea in both coloring and flavor, oolong tea is partially fermented, as well as withered and dried.

Go more in depth about oolong at:

• Tea Muse
• Wikipedia

White tea

White tea is increasingly more available due to beverage companies’ ongoing quest for a drink that’s new and different. Once rare, you can now get Lipton Diet White Tea with Raspberry at the convenience store. Of course, finer white teas with poetic names like silver needle and white cloud do not taste exactly the same…. White tea is the sweetest tea and usually has a very pale golden color. It may also be even healthier for you than green tea.

Like green tea, it is never fermented; it is only withered and dried. The difference is that the leaves for white tea are picked while they are still “babies” – young leaves that have not quite opened yet.

Find out more at:

• Wikipedia
• White Tea Guide

Herbal Teas

Strictly speaking, herbal teas are not teas, but “herbal infusions” or tisanes. This is mostly because they actually contain no tea. Popular favorites such as Peppermint, Lemon, or Orange Spice are enjoyed in much the same way that true teas are, though, and so I think they are sister drinks, at least. Part of the same family. As long as you know the difference, I see no reason to deny anyone the pleasure of a nice Lemon Ginger just because it has no camellia sinensis in it.

More about herbal teas at:

• Wikipedia

Red tea is also not really a tea, because it is actually made from a different bush, grown mostly in Africa. It is very sweet, slightly nutty, and the brew is (you guessed it) red.

More about red tea at:

• about.com