Tea with a Capital T

I am very proud to say that I have been  holding strong without Diet Mountain Dew. I haven't bought any in months. I fell off the the pop-free wagon at Christmas, tempted by my mom's stacks of bottled goodness calling me from her chilly garage. I've guiltily popped open a can at my in-laws' house.

However, I have not bought any for myself.

Instead, I have been exploring tea.

The world is full of bazillions of types of tea.

 Here is my unsolicited, novice tea drinking review of a few of my latest tasting experiments.

BERRY ZINGERS
Any of the berry zingers by Celestial Seasonings are delectable. Sipping a warm cup is like drinking a berry pie. No sugar needed. They are all caffeine free, so I like to have a cup instead of dessert. (Or with strawberries on ice cream!)

CHAMOMILE
In my quest for zen, I have tried a plethora of chamomile teas. Kroger makes a pretty cheap one that is all right, but TAZO is my favorite. A lot of chamomiles taste really grasses to me, like tea a cow would crave. This "calm chamomile" is more flowery than some of the cheaper steeps.


SLEEPYTIME KIDS
This was a coupon inspired whim. It was on sale, too. My mom would be proud. This is a grape flavored chamomile tea. It is sweetened with stevia. If tea and grape Kool Aid had a love child, it would taste like this. Nora loves it.

LACTATION TEA
My sister told me about this stuff, and I decided to give it a swig. The taste is how I think of a traditional tea. It is supposed to be a natural way to boost your milk supply while nursing. I don't have supply issues, so I hope it doesn't make me fill up like a water balloon. It is a snowy day tea to sip with your baby on your lap.


CHAI
I was steeped in curiosity about this popular pick me up. I made a cup of chai like a normal cup of tea the first time I tried it. It was awful. Chai has a peppery burn of a back taste. It was so strong, I checked my chest for hair. After googling chai recipes, I added a whole bunch of milk to my cup, which made it much more palatable. I think some honey would have made it almost good. Chai's bold punch is not for the casual tea taster. My taste buds were so traumatized from their first experience that I haven't really tried it again.

What is your favorite tea?