‌☕‌ 🍵‌ International Tea Day 🍵‌ ‌☕‌

[RafaC]

Hi everyone!

Tomorrow is the International Tea Day and as the tea-lover that I am, I thought it'd be nice to start a topic about it on the community 🍃

Despite tea being the most consumed drink in the world (after water), it's not huge where I grew up (Sao Paulo, Brazil) as, most of you may know, Brazil is quite famous for its excellent coffee. But I'm not a coffee-drinker and I consider myself to be lucky to have a tea-loving mum.

I grew up drinking a lot of tea (well, actually most of it was infusions: spearmint, lemongrass and above it all, mate tea). No, mate tea is not tea for your mates, but tea made with erva mate (or, in Spanish, yerba mate). Calling it "tea" may be technically wrong as it's not made out of Camelia Sinensis - the tea plant - but we call it tea down there anyway. Mate tea is hugely popular in South America but it's consumed in different forms throughout the continent: in Argentina and Uruguay, it's consumed as chimarrão, hot and served with a metal straw in a container usually made from a calabash gourd and that same way of drinking it applies to the extreme South of Brazil. 

In Sao Paulo, you can enjoy it hot or cold, with or without milk, served in regular cups and in Rio de Janeiro, they only have it when served cold, most of the times with lemon juice mixed to it on a regular glass.  I'm actually drinking some mate tea that my partner brought from Brazil whilst I'm writing this piece 😄

I honestly like all the ways of drinking it, and as a tea-lover I like most types of tea and infusions. I'm crazy about Chinese and Japanese green and white teas, but I'm also a huge fan of the blends of black tea made here in the UK. The one that I drink the most has to be Yorkshire Tea. Love some of the classic blends from Whittard as well. 

The International Tea Day also exists to raise awareness of everything that revolves around a simple cup of tea: from its social and environment impact to its cultural and historical importance. 

By the way, did you know that you can grab a free tea from Greggs with Priority? (It can be coffee though, but if you're like me you'd go for the tea)

What's your favourite tea? Is it the one you drink the most or do you save it for special occasions? I also have to ask the dreaded question: milk before or after? Please share your tea thoughts on the comment section below whilst sipping your favourite cuppa.

[RafaC]

@Pipstop78  That’s one of the beauties of drinking tea - you can adjust it according to your taste. Thanks for sharing your preference here with us 😊

[RafaC]

@RunrigForever  glad you like it
Love the story about collecting PG Tips’ cards. My ex-boss only used to have PG as well, it’s quite nice!

I’ve never tried Yorkshire Tea de-caff, is it good then? I was thinking of trying it as sometimes I’d like to have a regular cuppa before bed, but I can’t drink caffeine after 5pm as it really affects my sleep. 

[RafaC]

@blissgirl love some fruit teas too, I just don’t like them when they are too sweet. 

[Cleoriff]

My tea is always decaffeinated @RafaC  After surgery (over 5 years ago) I was told to avoid as much caffeine as possible. TBH, I now no longer notice the difference.

[RafaC]

Glad to hear that it you cannot note a difference anymore @Cleoriff, I might start drinking de-caff tea then.

[RunrigForever]

Have you tried Yorkshire tea Red or Gold label ? The Gold label is very rich. The Red label is more medium. Thought of you @Cleoriff and @RafaC when checking into Pennington Hotel, Ravenglass. The refreshment tray has PG Tips tea, those individual sachets xx

[RafaC]

I love both @RunrigForever, the red label is probably my favourite everyday tea, although now I've leveraged a sale of the gold one on a supermarket nearby and that's what I've been drinking lately.

Ohhh that's sweet, it's nice to be remembered that way 😊

[Cleoriff]

Hope you had a good day @RunrigForever?

I try to drink decaffeinated tea now. As I drink lots of tea, it stops restlessness, agitation and hyperactivity. I never drink energy drinks either as they are full of caffeine.

[RunrigForever]

Thank you @Cleoriff I am having a lovely breakaway. Enjoyed my evening meal yesterday and Salmon Benedict with fruit juice, plenty of toast and jam. Started with prunes / grapefruit / apricots. Travelled to Eskdale on La'al Ratty narrow gauge steam train. The hotel packed me up a lunch. The Eskdale steam train complex is spectacular - all done out in traditional maroon, cream & gold. Delightful fresh sea air. 

[RafaC]

That sounds lovely @RunrigForever thanks for sharing it with us. I really want to visit Lake District at some point 🌄