In high school it became glaringly obvious that I would never be an avid coffee drinker. After play practice or a show it was common for my girls and me to gather at Perkins for a late night, celebratory snack. Being on high school budgets we typically ordered sides of fries or shared an order of mozzarella sticks, and for our beverage we chose something refillable and inexpensive. While Jess, Sam, Amanda, and Elena would order coffee, warming their hands on their ceramic mugs, I would sit there with my soda. And although the effervescence ticked my nose and the taste was sweet as I sipped, on a cold winter evening it lacked the warmth I craved. It was then I discovered the joys of tea.
It began with Lipton Black Tea, seeing as that was the singular option at Perkins in the late 90’s. However, by the time I went to college Perkins had evolved: an assortment of Bigelow teas was available. Finally, when late night study sessions and writer’s groups happened I was able to choose the tea that best fit my mood and not be drinking plain, black tea. Additionally, Noah’s Coffee was located only a few blocks from campus housing and the tea selection there was fair as well; allowing me to drink a beverage I enjoyed rather than coffee while I wrote my poetry or listened to the performance of an acoustic guitar player. By my junior year I was also buying tea to keep at home in my apartment cupboards. Primarily I bought tea blends consisting of star anise and cinnamon: my voice instructor had recommended it for medicinal reasons, seeing as it could coat and sooth overworked vocal cords, and I soon found myself loving the licorice flavor and spiced aroma. The summer before my senior year, during my travels to Senegal, I discovered that I even enjoyed tea when it was dry and over 100 degrees outside: the tribesmen claimed that warming up the inside of a body made it seem cooler outside.
Now, years later, I still find myself enjoying tea almost every day. With time I have become more finicky about the tea I drink—caring more about which herbs, flowers, leaves, spices, and combinations of those four are used. Currently, much of the tea I enjoy I brew at home. When in the mood for hot tea I pull out my French press, my electric kettle, and my Stash tea that I ordered loose for Oregon. I find the methodical moves of making tea peaceful and quaint: there is a calm to filling the kettle, waiting for it to boil, measuring the tea, waiting for it to steep, and then pouring a fragrant mug of tea. For years it was only hot tea, but my tea addiction has grown. In an effort to drink less soda, I began to search for other cold drinks that I enjoyed that were also cool and refreshing. Again I settled on tea; iced tea. Primarily, I crave Hawaiian mango black iced tea: my addiction to it has become such that my future in-laws, Hawaiian residents, have grown accustomed to bringing me a few containers of it when they travel to the mainland. The crisp, subtle sweetness of the mango balances the acidic black tea and together create a refreshing balance. While most typically carry around water in their Sigg bottles, inside mine one will find mango black tea.
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