Wednesday 14 December 2011

A Year's Supply

What sort of drinking habits do you have?  I'm referring not to alcohol because I have a feeling that  that would be courting disaster.  Just your ordinary daily beverages.  For example I usually drink green tea with lemon when I get up in the morning.  Sometimes I get a bit rash and have Lady Grey (black tea scented with oil of bergamot, lemon peel and orange).  At lunchtime I drink Red Bush Tea.  At other times I drink Earl Grey or Lapsang Souchong (Lapsang is distinct from all other types of tea because lapsang leaves are traditionally smoke-dried over pinewood fires, taking on a distinctive smoky flavour).  Sometimes I mix Lapsang with mixed with ordinary tea.  Why am I telling you this?  Well I like my tea weak and am frequently made fun of for that preference.  My dear friend Anna's New Zealand son yesterday decided to give me a present of a year's supply of tea.    I thought he was being a tad cheeky.


PS I never take milk or sugar in tea or coffee and when I'm not drinking tea I drink coffee.

8 comments:

  1. I begin each day with three cups of black coffee...trying, without success to reduce that to two cups. It takes three cups to get me through the NYT daily crossword puzzle. For lunch I indulge in a glass of light white wine, usually with cheese and fruit, then in late afternoon I have a spot of 'the creature' to ease off the pains of the day. Nothing after 5 pm. So, since you weren't asking about alcoholic imbibing, I guess I am limited to coffee and water.

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  2. love it...

    I have an enormous selection of teas - herbal and other, mainly for the visitors as I forget to drink it myself, being too busy feeding my coffee addiction. However, when Johnsons the grocer reopened in town at the Container Mall, i went in with my parents and we indulged ourselves with loose leaf Lady Grey and Lapsang.... some things are just important to have available to indulge in :) I got my lemon sherbert bon bons too of course....

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  3. It's Chai for me on highdays and holidays otherwise Typhoo.

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  4. Not sure I could accommodate your tea preferences from out cupboard, but at least you drink coffee black so I wouldn't have to worry if there was milk in the fridge and I almost never run out of coffee.

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  5. My bet is that even if you like your tea weak you are not in the habit of using the same tea bag twice. (??)

    This post also gives me a reason to ask: When you say 'green tea with lemon' do you mean lemon-flavoured green tea, or neutral green tea with fresh lemon?

    I don't drink coffee at all but I love tea. I usually buy loose-leaf tea in a shop which sells little else (they do also sell coffee, marmalade, choclates and bread). I usually have 4-5 cups of tea in a day. Often black tea in the morning and at lunch-time, green tea or red bush tea in the evening. I don't take milk and usually no sugar (maybe if I'm not eating anything). I tend to prefer fruity teas in the summer and more spicy ones in the winter. Just now Green Christmas Tea which is only sold this time of year. I like my tea "medium" strong I guess - not too weak but not so strong that it tastes bitter.

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  6. I decided against alcohol Jill because it can be a delicate subject. The last serious hangover I had was when I was 18 and I vowed 'never again' and I've kept that promise to myself. However I rarely have a day without a glass of wine. I measured it over a month quite truthfully one year when my annual well-man clinic was due. The Doc was well satisfied. The nurse (who lives near me on Lewis and is a strict Free Church member) lectured me on my over-indulgence. But you see I would very rarely drink wine at lunchtime and would regard that as a real luxury for occasional partaking if I was out somewhere with friends.

    Fiona: In the early 1970s I had a PA who was married to a naturopath (was much older than me and terrorised me albeit well-meaningly) and who refused to allow me to drink the amount of coffee to which I had become accustomed and I've been a 'light user' ever since. Problem is that I'm a recovering chocoholic and I have to have chocolate with strong coffee. Sherbert lemons!!! You can still buy them? Wow.

    Adrian. Chai? You amaze me. It's one of the few things I really do not like even though I occasionally buy it just to check.. Did you know that some coffee shops now sell Chai lattés?

    Monica I'm sorry to disappoint you but not only would I use a teabag twice but three is a not-uncommon number for my pre-breakfast cuppas. I drink Green Tea with Lemon or with Ginger and Citrus and, if I'm here where I can pick lemons off the trees in the orchard I also use fresh lemon slices as well. I'm not keen on Green Tea alone. Your medium would probably be too strong for me.

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  7. I can resist the chocolate ... but wont say no if offered.
    I am like that with a few treats... must work harder on that.

    Wine... plenty at home but never drink it alone - like to offer it to visitors though.

    Chai Latte is my current addiction./ fad Whether it is tea coffee syrup or whatever, I have it ... cinnamon and all. Weird cos I hate cinnamon on cappuccinos.

    Like all things, my taste will change again soon. Probably after the anaesthetic tomorrow in fact!

    Although lemon sherberts have ben a lifelong taste and yes you can get them at English specialty shops... for huge dollars.

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  8. Now you shock me! Good for me I didn't specify the consequences of my bet, since I lost it. ;) Did you ever try white tea? I bought some but found it too weak for my taste.

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