Anyone for tea?

I LOVE TEA.  Almost everyone else loves their morning coffee. . .but for me it is tea. I brew and drink a pot every morning. 

As little girls, our brother Don introduced my sister Micki and I to tea drinking.  When he babysat for us one of our special treats was making tea sweetened with lots of sugar.  We thought it was so fun to watch the water turn to a dark rich mahogany color as we bobbed the tea bags in our cups.  The funny part of this story is he is a huge coffee drinker and I don’t think he ever drank tea and both of us are still tea drinkers.

I love my electric Cuisinart tea maker.

In the past I have owned several Mrs. Tea, a simple, very adequate (and cute) tea maker which was introduced in 1995 by Mr. Coffee but has been discontinued.

I liked this Russell Hobbs tea maker but it took too much of the limited counter space in my 5th wheel home.)

My daughter Kelle, also a tea lover, has the Cadillac of tea makers, a Breville One Touch maker but, at $249, its a little rich for my blood!

I dig out my old stainless tea kettle when we don’t have electricity. (In RV lingo it’s known as boondocking)

Somehow I have managed to assemble this collection (isn’t it funny how collections just happen – one minute you have a couple of “something” and then suddenly that “couple of somethings” are a collection!) of  infusers which I really do use for brewing one cup of tea.  I particularly like the art deco diamond-shaped infuser that Don found when he and Lee moved into their  home.

A present from grandson Jorden is this Martha Stewart stack set of cup and teapot.

Found this art deco cup and saucer in a thrift store.  I use it to store sweeteners. I also have a large collection of old tea cup and saucer sets in storage. (No room in the 5th wheel)

My favorite everyday tea mugs. This morning I chose the Café du Monde mug.

My tea tools:  sea star tea bag/infuser drip dish, tea-theme measuring spoon, little blue container for my bulk sweetener (and gift from Zella a long time ago.)  The vintage salt spoon is perfect for measuring an exact amount of sweetener.

Of most importance is the tea!  I order loose tea from Upton Tea Imports.  My preference is for Earl Grey blends: Earl Grey Blue Flower, Earl Grey Supreme, and Season’s Pick Earl Grey Crème Vanilla.  I also really like Vanilla and sometimes order English or Irish Breakfast.

Cuppa tea anyone?