I am a tea fanatic.
All of my friends know this, and they know not to take me in to a tea store unless they're willing to spend a solid hour there while I peruse the shelves, smell the samples, and look longingly at all of the accessories.
I would conservatively estimate that in the winter, 80% of the water I drink is in the form of tea. During undergrad, one of the biggest appeals of living on campus was that I could return to my room often to re-fill my travel mug. My study sessions in the library were not limited by how long I could last without amusement; they were limited by how long I could last without tea.
In my last year in Kingston, I discovered iced tea. I distinctly remember trying a free iced tea sample from David's Tea, and it was nothing like I was expecting.
It was so. SO. GOOD.
Previously, my only experience with iced tea were a small number of isolated moments during my childhood. Whenever iced tea was offered, it was always Nestle Iced Tea -- the powdered sugar crystals kind. It tasted horrible to me. So at the educated age of 6, I vowed to never drink iced tea, deciding that in the official rankings of beverages, it sat rock bottom, below beet juice.
It stayed there for quite some time, until one day while walking downtown, I was really hot but really wanted tea, and I thought to myself: surely, if tea is good hot, it couldn't be that bad cold, right? I was used to room-temperature tea -- we've all experienced it once, I think. You know the story:
1) Make tea.
2) Forget about tea.
3) Re-discover tea 4 hours later.
I made my way to David's Tea in the blistering heat, where they were using iced tea samples to pluck sweaty shoppers off the sidewalk and into their air-conditioned store. Like an obedient consumer, I tried the tea sample, smiled at the employee, said thanks, tossed the sample cup in the bin, and headed into the store. Calm and collected on the outside, right? But on the inside...
MIND. BLOWN.
That was ICED TEA?!? I knew I loved tea for a reason! That Nestle junk had nothing on real iced tea! This tea was sweet, fruity, light, and refreshing. Exactly what I needed for the summer! I should have known that if I loved tea already, the enthusiasm I'd throw at iced tea was going to be similar.
This summer, I'm easing into my iced tea consumption like a (more) normal person. Who knew so much joy could stem from dried leaves?*
*This sentence makes me giggle for more than one reason!
All of my friends know this, and they know not to take me in to a tea store unless they're willing to spend a solid hour there while I peruse the shelves, smell the samples, and look longingly at all of the accessories.
I would conservatively estimate that in the winter, 80% of the water I drink is in the form of tea. During undergrad, one of the biggest appeals of living on campus was that I could return to my room often to re-fill my travel mug. My study sessions in the library were not limited by how long I could last without amusement; they were limited by how long I could last without tea.
In my last year in Kingston, I discovered iced tea. I distinctly remember trying a free iced tea sample from David's Tea, and it was nothing like I was expecting.
It was so. SO. GOOD.
Previously, my only experience with iced tea were a small number of isolated moments during my childhood. Whenever iced tea was offered, it was always Nestle Iced Tea -- the powdered sugar crystals kind. It tasted horrible to me. So at the educated age of 6, I vowed to never drink iced tea, deciding that in the official rankings of beverages, it sat rock bottom, below beet juice.
It stayed there for quite some time, until one day while walking downtown, I was really hot but really wanted tea, and I thought to myself: surely, if tea is good hot, it couldn't be that bad cold, right? I was used to room-temperature tea -- we've all experienced it once, I think. You know the story:
1) Make tea.
2) Forget about tea.
3) Re-discover tea 4 hours later.
I made my way to David's Tea in the blistering heat, where they were using iced tea samples to pluck sweaty shoppers off the sidewalk and into their air-conditioned store. Like an obedient consumer, I tried the tea sample, smiled at the employee, said thanks, tossed the sample cup in the bin, and headed into the store. Calm and collected on the outside, right? But on the inside...
MIND. BLOWN.
That was ICED TEA?!? I knew I loved tea for a reason! That Nestle junk had nothing on real iced tea! This tea was sweet, fruity, light, and refreshing. Exactly what I needed for the summer! I should have known that if I loved tea already, the enthusiasm I'd throw at iced tea was going to be similar.
This summer, I'm easing into my iced tea consumption like a (more) normal person. Who knew so much joy could stem from dried leaves?*
*This sentence makes me giggle for more than one reason!