So, each of us has some basic things we are known for. I am not talking about anything flashy, just something on the daily. For me, one of these things is tea. I drink lots of tea. I am a tea teetotaler, I drink all kinds from chamomile to Earl Grey to chai and everything in between. The electric tea kettle in my house is an absolutely indispensable pillar of daily life. I think there is no nicer ritual of friendship than sharing a nice cup of tea and a chat.

Maybe, my love for tea stems from spending a lot of time in England, growing up. My family lived in a small village called Pyrford near the town of West Byfleet, about an hour’s train outside of London, from the early 1980s until the early 1990s. These were my growing up years, (I graduated high school in’92) and I surely absorbed this important cultural ritual from the Brits. Or maybe the cool and often damp climate just necessitates constant hot beverages.

Growing up, I remember watching once a week episodes of The Golden Girls and Dynasty with such glee, its funny how we used to time everything around our favorite shows back then. Even more so in England when we had only four channels on TV. Now we binge watch classic British shows like Masterpiece Theatre.

Anyway, I digress. These days, I live in an extremely hot climate around Houston, Texas. But that does not stop me from drinking copious amounts of tea! In recent years I have switched largely to non caffeinated teas, but I prefer hot beverages over cold ones almost all the time. That’s just my nature- or my nurture…