Tea Snob

I drink tea all the time. When the air conditioning is too cold in the summer, I have tea. Whenever I'm cold in the winter, I have tea. When I need comfort, I have tea. When...well you get the picture.

But...I have stomach issues that make my caffeine intake limited. So I try to mostly drink decaf.

Most the time when I say this to someone they say, "No problem, I have herbal." These are words that make me cringe. I am a tea snob. I don't want berries and herbs; I want tea.  Now, if I'm truly honest, I do drink some herbals, peppermint for instance. I don't like hibiscus and for some reason this seems to be a primary ingredient in nearly all herbals, especially Celestial Seasonings. I don't like chamomile; I'll drink it but not a big fan of grassy flavors.

Not really a big fan of green tea, but if it is weak I like it okay. Red tea also known as Rooibos that is an herb from Africa. I kind of think it comes from a tree because it tastes woody. (I have no idea if that is true.) I don't mind the wood flavor and if they add cinnamon, vanilla or other nice flavors to it, it's pretty good. And naturally caffeine free.

This whole naturally decaf thing perplexes me. What I really want is black tea that is decaf in a host of flavors. But lately everyone is in to naturally decaf, but then everyone is into natural organic everything.  I just want Earl or Lady Grey, English, Irish Breakfast, Cinnamon, and others in BLACK tea. Decaf.

But in a pinch, I go for green which has less caffeine. White tea has even less caffeine and I go there too, it's not as common to find though. They add flowery flavors to it too, but it has some nice options. It's usually expensive.

And please for all you coffee drinkers out there, for the love of all hot beverages, do not serve me tea out of a coffee pot or carafe that has been used for coffee. It tastes like coffee. I'm just saying. Yes, I'm a tea snob.