TEA. You thought I was going to say coffee, didn’t you.
I like tea. I love tea. I drink it hot, iced, even room temperature. It just has to be a little sweet. Okay, sometimes it’s a lot sweet. I don’t know how coffee drinkers get excited about drinking the same thing day after day after day after day. “Mmmmm, coffeee….” They make a pot using the same blend like the movie Groundhog Day, repeating the routine over and over and over. At least Bill Murray figured out how to end his cycle. I don’t get it. Sure you can go to a coffee shop and get a French Roast instead of a Breakfast or House Blend, but how many coffee drinkers have, I don’t know …uhh, 20 different flavors within reach at home on any given day? Well, they don’t. I have a cupboard and shelf packed with teas: tins, boxes, and now pouches, bags, sachets, and loose leaf in tins and pouches. I have black tea, green tea, herbal tea, white tea, oolong tea, matcha tea, flavored herbal, flavored black, flavored green. You get the picture.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not hating on coffee, or coffee drinkers. Okay, well maybe a little. I love the smell of coffee beans. I could bury my face into a bag of coffee and breathe deeply until I pass out. I like the smell of fresh brewed coffee. There is a richness to the aroma that only coffee has. I just can’t stand the flavor. All I taste is burnt bitterness. My dear hubs, now he is a coffee drinker. He always made it for himself, mostly because I didn’t know how. I think we were married 10 years before I didn’t have to ask him how to make a pot in a Mr Coffee coffee maker. Go ahead, laugh a little. It is kinda ridiculous because it is pretty easy. He taught the kids to drink coffee. I taught them to drink tea. They prefer coffee though.
This summer I was introduced to The Tea Spot through the fitness clothing brand, Skirt Sports. [Full disclosure: I’m a Brand Ambassador for them.] There was a retreat for Ambassadors and The Tea Spot was a sponsor/ featured brand that weekend. I won’t retell the company’s story, but please mosey over for all the details. The condensed version is: it was founded in 2004, and is a woman owned business. They blend their own flavored teas in small batches in-house. Maria, the founder, wrote a book called Cancer Hates Tea (when I’ve finished reading it I will write a review) and designed her own brand of Steepware(R) to help make the best possible cuppa you can.
There is a reason I’m suddenly smitten with this company; my usual tea retailer is closing all its walk-in storefronts soon, and they will not be offering their selections through an online storefront. I needed a new source for my tea! The Tea Spot has a storefront in Boulder, Colorado, where you can go in and smell all the goodness in person. Or you can order online and they currently ship to all 50 US states and Canada. When making your selections there are package sizes to choose from. Bulk teas are offered most often in 2oz (56g), 4 oz (112g) and/or half-pound (450g) pouches. Even better: a sample size is offered for nearly all of the varieties on the website for a nominal price. The samples will brew up 5 servings, or about 40 oz (1.2L) of tea. It is just enough tea to try it out, and you don’t spend a lot to do it. Bonus with every order is a free single serving sample of one of the teas. Just when I didn’t think I could like the company any more (did I mention they donate a percentage of all sales to charity?) The Tea Spot launched a subscription box just this week. Of course I signed up! I have one from this month’s box in my mug next to me right now.
Each monthly shipment includes five to six loose leaf teas distinctly paired with the current season, and arrives in a cute box with a tea education postcard. Bonus Steepware® in select shipments throughout the year.
How much fun is this! Come back next time for my thoughts on the teas that came in the November box. I promise there will be no cheesy ‘unboxing’ videos, but there may be pictures.
My Own Little Soap-box 