The Tea

I'm a tea guy. Not because it's got less caffeine in it than coffee. Not because studies show that it might help prevent cancer and diabetes and Alzheimer's, that it boosts your immune system, or that it can lower your stress level. Sure, that's all good stuff. But the real reason I'm a tea guy is simple: I love the way it tastes, and I love the way it makes me feel.

And if it's going in my body, I try as best I can to make sure that it's organically grown, and comes from a place that treats their workers with respect. So if your local grocery store, food market, or coffee shop doesn't have good selection of organic and fair trade tea, fear not - Rishi Tea to the rescue!

Loose leaf tea is is usually fresher, healthier, and yummier, than the bagged variety (although, many great brands do make quality tea in bags now). All you need is a tea infuser (like this brewing basket that's made in Germany, and allows the tea leaves to fully expand and release all their goodness), a tea kettle, and tea. Oh, and water. And a cup.

Rishi Tea is a Milwaukee-based company founded in 1997, has an awesome philosophy, super customer service, and most importantly, a huge selection of some seriously stellar tea. They recently won SEVEN awards at the World Tea Championship.



I could go on and on about which are my favorite teas, but everyone's tastes are different, so it's up to YOU to decide which tea(s!) you like the most.

While I normally order 1/4 pound bags from their website, I just picked up their Jamaica Red Rooibos blend - and WOW, what a great change of pace from my normal tea drinking. It's got a a light and full taste, with a refreshing minty aftertaste. And it's caffeine free, as all Red teas are, and full of those lovely antioxidants.

A cup of tea is warm, relaxing, tasty, and... yeah, I guess it's healthy too. But don't let all that boring healthy stuff deter you - get out there and drink some tea already!

The tea kettle.

My old CorningWare tea kettle broke this past winter. I was bummed, as it was passed down to me from my mom. But, as the old saying goes, "when one teapot stops boiling, another one starts"... or something like that.

After several discouraging trips to stores around Chicago, I found out that it's harder to get an old-school tea kettle that's made in the US or Europe... but leave it to my mom to make her picky son happy. Under the Christmas tree this year for me was a brand new tea kettle - called "La Théière" - made in France, by Staub.



This tea kettle works as well as it looks - awesome. It holds 1 quart - enough for 3 cups of tea, or one standard-size French-press - in other words, at least for me, it's the perfect size. It's made out of cast iron, which is then coated in enamel, making it durable and long-lasting - and it doesn't look half bad either. The enamel color is "Grenadine" - a really nice deep red/burgundy. The two stainless steel handles come together to lock the lid into place, so you don't need to worry about holding a lid when pouring hot water. And finally, it comes with a removable large tea infusion ball - large enough for steeping the above-mentioned 3 cups of tea, and can be kept in a drawer if you rarely use it.

If you're in the need of a new tea kettle, and end up with this, or any other cast iron pot, be sure to read up on how to care for cast iron cooking ware - it's easy to care for them and preserve them for years (and years) to come.

I couldn't be more happy with my La Théière tea kettle, and hope this will be the last one I'll ever need. Thanks Mom!

More on tea later - it's a big part of my daily routines, and deserves more than a mention in a post!