Time For Tea?

Fun fact, I’ve been drinking tea for a LONG time. I think I was four when I had my first cup. My grandma was visiting and she would always make tea and pb&j on toast every morning. It became our thing to do. Mind you that cup was more milk and sugar and not a lot of tea. It was also Lipton…yuck. Don’t get me wrong, if Lipton is your jam go for it. For me, I learned that there was so much more than bagged tea out there.

In fact, I might even go as far as to call tea a fandom. At the very least it’s an umbrella for a lot of fandoms. More about that later. As I mentioned I started with Lipton and kept with it and other bagged teas through college (both times). Then one night a friend asked if I’d heard of Teavana teas? I had not, which lead to a trip to the mall that very day. I’m pretty sure I left with a pound of their chai mix. If you can tell me what was in that mix I’ll love you forever.

For a long time, Teavana was my go-to place for tea. I mean all of my tea was from their stores. But then I realized their teas had a lot of sugar added that I didn’t need and some sales associates were making statements about the properties of the teas that just didn’t sit well with me. Around this time I also started going to tea conventions/expos. Which exposed me to so many more types of teas and ways to prepare them.

I enjoyed learning about tea and tea preparation that I opened my own tea business in the Fall of 2011. Now the business didn’t last, but my love of tea did. I continued to drink tea, blend my own, and find new companies who sold new and different blends I liked. Adagio Teas was one, especially the teas by artists Cara McGee and Bran Mydwiner (seriously check out their Sherlock blends). But Adagio has blends for every fandom and I do mean EVERY fandom. Yes, there are teas for BBC Sherlock, Doctor Who, Steven Universe, but there are also teas based on LUSH products. Like I said something for everyone.

I also found other geeky tea blenders like Grimoire Teas. Her teas cover fandoms like Harry Potter, Gilmore Girls, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and so many more. But one of my favorite teas is the one seen here, Anxietea. The name is in a word perfect. Plus its caffeine free so good to enjoy anytime you need to relax. I love that she does small-batch teas, but it’s hard to get them because she only stocks a few of each tea for each stocking. So when she says a stocking goes live at 8pm, be ready or miss out!

I’ve talked to you about fandom blends which always tend to be flavored teas. But if you prefer straight teas with no flavor, just tea I’ve got the place for you, UNYTeas. Owned and operated by Jeff and his bride Cassandra in Western NY. UNYTeas source and sell teas from all over the world. Personally, when I want a non-flavored tea they’re who I turn too. You can also catch Jeff daily live on Instagram with the tea of the day.

Do you drink tea? If so what kind do you drink? Where do you get it from? Need a recommendation? send me an email or drop me a message on Facebook. I’m always happy to help a tea geek out!