Tea Time with JAGStorm

a reply to: JAGStorm

Question for you tea aficionados...Does tea have to have "tea" leaves in it to be tea, or does herbal tea with other than tea leaves qualify as tea?

As for fall, it has always been my favorite time of year. I wish it could be fall all year round. Fall is the most relaxing season. It also seems ​like the quietest season to me. You can hear sounds in fall which you never hear any other time of year, the sound just travels better. Fall is a time of contemplation, and a time of preparation.

I remember my first realization of "fall" as a kid. Dad and I went up north to cut some firewood. Our truck was old, and the roads were muddy. The sky was overcast, and the mist periodically spit flakes of snow. I remember being a little afraid at first, afraid that we'd never make it out of that deep back country before winter swept over us. I was afraid to get out of the truck (( was like 5). When I finally did get out I realized that it was just a beautiful fall day. The smells, the crunching of the leaves under my feet, the sounds of the forest creatures...and even the sounds of the chainsaws breaking the silence were all part of it.

I love fall!

I love tea.

I'm partial to blends that have mint in them. I don't know why. I also love a good Earl Grey.

Ginger blends are wonderful when I go for herbal teas, and I've gotten ahold of a few with actual licorice root in them and while they take getting used to, they settle out and I do actually like them.

I've had some jasmine blends that are nice and delicate that I enjoyed. I fit them somewhere on the spectrum with a good chamomile in terms of delicate flavor. There but so unobtrusive.

I use hot tea a lot as a soother when I have raw throats and when I'm stuffed up with a cold. I also just plain enjoy it when I'm cold on a deep winter day. There's something about holding the warm to hot mug in my hands and inhaling the steam that I really, really enjoy.

I like tea, but have to have it sweet. Be it honey or sugar, it has to be sweet. I remember my grandmother making us tea when we were very small children. She would stir it up and tell us "the bubbles is money". She died when we were still very young, so to have such a vivid memory of her is very meaningful. But best I can figure, she meant pennies. I'm still good with that. But thanks for sparking a memory.

a reply to: network dude

I like my sweet tea with beer. Hold the tea.

a reply to: crayzeed

It's the boring plainness of water!!!!
I need to have it flavored with something.
And sometimes that flavor need to be without caffeine or alcohol

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Question for you tea aficionados...Does tea have to have "tea" leaves in it to be tea, or does herbal tea with other than tea leaves qualify as tea?

I believe true tea must be of a leaf nature, but you can call everything else
Herbal tea, or the name and then tea, barley tea etc.

originally posted by: network dude
I like tea, but have to have it sweet. Be it honey or sugar, it has to be sweet. I remember my grandmother making us tea when we were very small children. She would stir it up and tell us "the bubbles is money". She died when we were still very young, so to have such a vivid memory of her is very meaningful. But best I can figure, she meant pennies. I'm still good with that. But thanks for sparking a memory.

What a sweet memory.
I absolutely love tea and most people seeing me might assume I got that from my mom - Asian, but in reality she hated tea. My dad, a country boy loved hot tea. When I was a child he would ask me to make him a cup. One time I was being lazy and cheated. I just took ice tea and heated it in the microwave. He said the tea tasted off and I told him what I did, and we both cracked up. Even though he was a military man (think Full Metal Jacket) he never scolded me.

Sounds like you had great memories of your grandma like that. I know some future tellers see things in the tea leaves, wonder if the bubbles was part of that.

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

For summer time I do citrus mint green tea and ice it.

It's got green tea, lemon grass, and spearmint. It's refreshing with a little bit of caffeine to brighten you up.

It's loose tea still from Adagio. That site is the best, awesome blacks, oolong, green and blends. They tell you what region it came from and comments will let you know if they did anything interesting (some teas are really good on the second brew).

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

The four main teas, black, green, oolong, and white all come from the same plant.

Green is as it comes, black is oxidized, white is young green, and oolong is fermented. Almost everything else is herbal.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

The four main teas, black, green, oolong, and white all come from the same plant.

Love them all!!!

Love me some oolong tea, and the right black breakfast tea with that sharp astringent quality, and the softness of white tea, and green tea…. Oh poor green tea gets a bad rap. I love the flavor of green tea, but I hear from so many people that they hate it. I even like green tea “flavored” products.

My daughter introduced me to a new tea item. Tea syrup. It’s made for bubble teas or milk teas. It is like super extra concentrated tea syrup. I didn’t think I was going to like it, but it is seriously good.

a reply to: JAGStorm

Oolong is one of my favorites too. Full bodied and rich. That's the best for the fall and winter flavors like Chai IMO.

I like green. It's for when I want something lighter in flavor than black tea, but still with a bit of caffeine in it. A local convenience chain has a papaya green tea that I seriously love.

originally posted by: JAGStorm
Friends pull up a chair. Outside the trees are putting on quite the show. The Autumn blaze looks as if it could start a fire, the Sugar maples have every color of fall imaginable. The River Birches are rustling in the wind, raining perfect yellow leaves with each gust. Birds are pecking at all the dried up sunflowers heads, greedily eating every seed possible. The wooly bear caterpillar tell us it will be a mild winter.
The faint smell of smoke is in the crisp air. The deer are running everywhere getting fat for the winter. The squirrels are just as busy, hiding their little seeds and nuts. The clouds and skies are magnificent, it’s as if I am looking at a live painting.


To my ATS friends, I send you my warmest fall wishes 🫖

I prefer water when really thirsty
usually iced tea with meals
I like a cup of hot tea in cool evenings. just plain tea, no Earl Gray or Chamomile or Venezuelan Beaver Tea.

a reply to: ElGoobero

Venezuelan Beaver Tea.

Don’t drink Rooibos because that’s what I imagine it tastes like

a reply to: CriticalStinker

Yous summer tea sounds so refreshing.

I'll check out Adagio, thanks.

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

Take some time to explore the site. There's a lot of gems on there and you can get little sampler sizes of stuff on a big order to try them out with the free shipping.

Also, loose tea is higher quality IMO and usually cheaper than tea bags.

Also makes great gifts and people feel like they got something super luxurious without breaking the bank.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

Thanks, I will.
My sister is a huge tea fan, I'll have to let her know about this site.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

Also makes great gifts and people feel like they got something super luxurious without breaking the bank.

Loose teas taste soooo much better!