Chai Tea and Me

This was supposed to be the first post. Alas, I have been "off" the last few weeks.

I think about the quirky things people get known for. Aside from my quirky mind, I am known for my tea. You see, I drink tea made from whole leaf. Yes, at work -- as nuts as that is. Instead of mindlessly droning out to the coffee machine (ok, sometimes I mindlessly drone out to the coffee machine) I do the whole process of using a tea-ball to fill with tea, traipse over to the kitchenette/copier area and douse with almost hot water and steep, steep, steep.

Tea is about the navel. You Milumet people will know what I mean. It's about process, ritual, and groundedness. And, of course, it's important to choose the right tea to drink.

Never mind health benefits. Although they are important, I am all about the taste and the experience. My favorite tea right now is Chai tea. It's a black tea from India traditionally made with milk & honey. It's very rich and sweet and very spicy. Not hot spicy -- it has cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, star anise, pepper, and other spices light in it. It's very fragrant (especially in whole leaf form) and wonderful to drink!

Of course at work, I can't make it with milk & honey -- hot water and one cinnamon creamer and sugar is the best I can do. No matter -- the chai takes over. It's not like a cup of chai tea on the porch at home with Dawn or my friend Patricia, but it sure makes the day better.

In any case, I recommend Goldenmoon Tea for their Kashmiri Chai: it is most excellent and you can't find better customer service. Also, I recommend Tazo for the Tazo Chai they sell at various retailers.

Enough writing about chai. It's getting cold sitting on my desk. Must drink. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh....