To partake in this glorious affair a few tea essentials are necessary:
• Tea kettle (microwaves devalue the whole tea experience)
• A cute tea cup (a feeling of specialness is important)
• Loose leaf tea (NO Tea bags, "full capacity specialness" isn't reached)
• (optional) Tea enhancing items (No need to be a "purist" )
Just being silly when I said "no tea bags". It really is just a matter of personal choice (very useful when your are in a rush out the door!). There are even little disposable pouches for your loose leaf enjoyment. That being said, a choice in your tea strainer is very important. I found that the tea ball infusers, circular or heart shaped (seen in the Right photo), tend to not hold very well. At least the one's that I had purchased in the past have never lasted too long and were not fun to clean out.
For comfort, an open strainer has had great tea enjoyment success. Easy to clean, never have to worry about loose tea leaf falling out, and it sits on your cup in a very cute way (+bonus styling points). Make sure to check if it is stainless steel (longevity saves you).
Today, I enjoyed a lovely tea by Hina's called White Pearl of Fujian. It's fun to support your local shops and this is a wonderful place to stop in (Thank you Susan for finding it!). They have an entire wall just lined with assortment of loose leaf teas for you to choose from. You can smell all the different teas that they have found and are packaged well.
The advantage to loose leaf tea is that you can control how much you use allowing you to choose how strong your tea will be and (+bonus) controlling how long your tea last.
I have a few different selections from Hina's and it has lasted me more then 6 months making tea an afforadable and money effecient investment.
Today's mixture:
White Pearl of Fujian + Spoonful of raw honey + Milk
= Hmmm Yummy!
For comfort, an open strainer has had great tea enjoyment success. Easy to clean, never have to worry about loose tea leaf falling out, and it sits on your cup in a very cute way (+bonus styling points). Make sure to check if it is stainless steel (longevity saves you).
The advantage to loose leaf tea is that you can control how much you use allowing you to choose how strong your tea will be and (+bonus) controlling how long your tea last.
I have a few different selections from Hina's and it has lasted me more then 6 months making tea an afforadable and money effecient investment.
White Pearl of Fujian + Spoonful of raw honey + Milk
= Hmmm Yummy!