12 Cups of Tea

I am so excited!! After sighing over The Republic of Tea's overwhelming assortment of divine teas for way too long, I found the sampler page and went to town. This is so fun! You can choose either the 12 bag assortment (6.95) or the 24 bag assortment (13.90). There are other sampler options, but these two are the most affordable options for budgeted tea-junkies like me. =D

I chose the 12 bag box and dove in. I was initially disappointed because you can't choose from EVERY flavor they have, but once I scrolled through the sampler selections a few times, I had no difficulty filling my box!

Here are my selections (and yes, I am going to fill you in on my personal commentary. Beware!)

#1 - Earl Greyer

I have no idea what makes this Earl Grey greyer than your traditional grey, but that is not for me to question. All I know is that I LOVE Earl Grey tea. It's my morning tea because it's caffeinated and wakes me up. I usually brew it overnight until the oils come to the top (not because I prefer the oils but because I'm usually in bed by the time it's done brewing) and then stir in milk and honey. I've tried a lot of Earl Greys (my favorite being Ahmad's loose leaf brand, but Twinings is delicious too) and am really excited to see how the Earl Greyer compares.

#2 - Hibiscus with Coconut

This is the first of the 3 Hibiscus sisters. I've never had coconut in my tea, so this should be interesting.

#3 - Hibiscus with Pineapple/Lychee

 This is a lychee:

I have no idea what it tastes like by itself, or if you're supposed to eat the middle thing, the white stuff (the pink stuff looks inedible) or all of it, but it looks really cool. The pineapple is what really caught my interest, though. Pineapple Hibiscus tea...with bonus lychees!

#4 - Hibiscus with Key Lime

I am in the hopes that this will really, really taste like lime.

#5 - Blackberry Sage

This was the bag I was most excited about. Sage seems so...dusty. I'm curious to see how they make it taste good with blackberries in tea!

#6 - British Breakfast

I'm a black-tea junkie but I haven't yet found a good English tea that I love (except for the kind I had at a ladies tea years and years ago and didn't get the brand - one of my greatest regrets). We shall see what The Republic of Tea can do. It's tea time, chaps!

#7 - Twenty Herbs

20, huh? Let's take a gander at the ingredients: Rooibos (not sure what that is, but I've seen it in a lot of teas), allspice leaves (I know allspice - generic name, isn't it?), cinnamon (check), black limon (I'm thinking that's not a typo for "lemon"...), peppermint (hmm...hope it doesn't overpower everything else), wintergreen (this might taste like gum!), birchbark (what kind of flavor will that add??), hibiscus (ooh, red!), lemon balm (why add the balm?), allspice berries (ok, we've got leaves and berries. Isn't that sort of cheating?), chamomile (hopefully the other 19 herbs will overpower it), carob (wait, chocolate?), vanilla extract (good, good), lemon grass (lemon grows grass? Who knew!?), anise seeds (oh great. Licorice. They have to sneak that into everything.), sweet blackberry leaves (as opposed to sour blackberry leaves?), chicory (I've heard of that but am not sure what it tastes like), rose petals (haha, good luck tasting those), eleuthero (sounds like a Greek god), linden flowers (Der Lindenbaum: a famous poem by Wilhelm Muller. Here is an English translation.) 

This is going to be one very interesting cup of tea. I can tell already.

#8 - Coconut Cocoa

The Republic of Tea's chocolate mate tea is one of my favorites. I'm assuming this is the same thing but with coconut. What can be better??

#9 - Strawberry Chocolate

Another flavor I'm dying to try. I see they've snuck Rooibos into this too. I'm thinking I ought to educate myself. Since you're already here, you might as well be educated too. From Wikipeidia: Rooibos is a broom-like member of the legume family of plants growing in South Africa's fynbos... And then again, they do say that ignorance is bliss...

#10 - Cranberry Blood Orange

I have high hopes for this one. I don't know why, but I do. 

#11 - Honey Ginseng

I am not sure how they get honey into tea before you put it in yourself, but I'll be cautious when opening this overwrap...

#12 - Ginger Peach Green

I've had the black version - in large quantities :-/ - so I'm curious to see if the green tastes any different. Maybe it'll be better!

Well, now that I have actually photographed all of these for you and cropped them and edited them and found them all in my hard drive...

I can finally drink one!!!

Till next time!

19th Century Remedies for 19th Century Headaches

Getting bit by the writing bug after 3+ months of lackadaisical pretending is a lot harder than it sounds.

I'm having issues with one-dimensional characters who give me the silent treatment because they're a. not the only hero in the book or b. tired of crying all the time. I am to be reminded often and sternly that my heroine does actually have some dignity that I haven't given her myself. (Well, if I didn't give it to her then where did she get it?)

*sigh*

It seemed, as Mr. Bennett says, "a hopeless business" until several things came to my rescue in the nick of time.

Here are my new and improved {and completely indispensable} writing buddies PLUS a sneak peek at the headquarters of my writing life. =)

#1 - Tea Tray

Vastly superior to the single cup, the tea tray eliminates the need to break up inspiration {if such inspiration exists}

 by running upstairs for numerous and time-consuming refills. Plus, it's very cozy and convenient to have such a large quantity nearby. Especially if it's Republic of Tea's Ginger-Peach tea.

 #2 - Period Dramas

Nothing helps stimulate 19th century inspiration like 19th century chick flicks!

#3 - Anne of Green Gables soundtrack

In case Cranford proves too distracting...=)

#4 - Candles

My absolute favorite candle: White Barn French Baguette. It smells DIVINE. 

 #5 - Headquarters!

 By splitting screens, I can watch Cranford on one side and write on the other. Ingenious arrangement to distract myself from bickering characters and tangled plot-lines.

But it helps.

Especially at 1 or 2 in the morning.

Till next time!