Sometimes you ask us questions, and sometimes we have actual answers! This one is very appropriate for the upcoming cold season.
Q: Do you drink tea? And if you do, what kind of tea do you like and recommend someone who has just discovered the magical world of tea?
Dear Formspring questioner - I don't think Laneia drinks that much tea but HOO BOY DO I EVER. Let me just talk about this for a minute, okay?
There are roughly five kinds of tea: black, green, white, red, and oolong. Black tea is the easiest kind of tea, b/c that is like Lipton and whatever it is they give you at diners when you just ask for "hot tea please," but green tea is The Best Tea. It is super good for you and also delicious. Like really, it's fucking fantastic. There are many crazed internet sources that will claim this but instead I will link you to Andrew Weil on HuffPo because people seem to think that is 'reputable.' Anyways. Drink green tea. Also drink black tea if you like it. I do. If you drink black tea it should be Earl Grey or else we can't be friends. Put cream or lemon in it if you need to but really just drink that ok? I also really like red/rooibos tea, but that is just me, and I am unclear as to its possible amazing health benefits.
As for kinds of tea, the best is loose-leaf tea. It maybe seems pretentious/expensive at first but really it tastes so much better, I can't even tell you. It's like a different, magical drink. I like to buy mine from a locally based retailer, MEM Imports, that is really really good, their Earl Grey and Flower teas are my favorites. I've also gotten tea from Rishi that was super good, I like their Jasmine Pearl tea a lot. You can buy some in a big bag, and then choose how ever much or little you like depending on how strong you like your tea, and then put it in a tea ball or your own tea bags and go to town. Once you're sold on the loose tea thing I am also really into ForLife products; Taylor and Kelsey gave me one of these once and they are like the best-designed product I've ever seen. I want one of these pots really badly.
If you're not sold on the loose tea thing, Republic of Tea is my favorite tea that still comes mostly in bags, although it's not necessarily any cheaper. In particular I like their Ginseng Peppermint and their Ginger Peach, both the black and green kinds. They also have a nice line of "apothecary" teas that are supposed to make parts of you feel better; I have had particular success with their "Get A Grip" PMS tea, because sometimes you just wanna put your Midol in a to-go cup, yannow?
ANYWAYS Anon I hope that helped or at least was really overwhelming and made me come off as weird and obsessed. If you have any other questions let me know, clearly this is a topic I am pleased to elaborate on at length.
Thanks very much for your recommendation!
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