What Tea Are You Drinking Today?

I found I was getting low on tea, so went looking midst some of my travel packs. Whenever Jim and I travel I carry a variety of tea bags with me. Many motels now provide a coffee maker in the room, so I can heat water and make my tea, even if they don't have tea bags available.

As I browsed through my travel stash, I discovered black tea, green tea, peach tea, Earl Grey tea, lemon tea, Zen tea, green tea with lemon, English breakfast tea, and rosehip tea.

So I have many to choose from and will refresh my travel pack before our next trip.

What tea are you drinking today? I think I'll make a cup of peach tea now.

(Image: sxc.hu)

Carry Your Tea Bag with You when Traveling

Whenever I travel, I carry tea bags along. Then when I encounter situations where they don't serve tea, I usually can get a cup of hot water and make my own. I'll also have my favorite flavors with me.

Many motels/hotels nowadays have a coffee maker in the room. Usually they don't provde tea bags. Sometimes they don't even have tea bags in the lobby where they might serve coffee. If I have tea bags with me, I can enjoy my cup o' tea.

Also, I've discovered that many fast food places and coffee bars will give you a free cup of hot water, or at least charge you no more than the cost of the cup. Then I can add my tea bag and make my own, very inexpensively. I always offer to pay for they do have the cost of cups and heating water.

Do you have any tea bag traveling tips?

Tea in Cold Cups

One of my pet peeves (is that a term that dates me?) is asking for hot tea at a restaurant and being served it lukewarm. This might be due to several reasons:

*The water is only lukewarm when it comes to my table. Either it was only warm to start with, not piping hot, or sat in the tea pot too long.

*Perhaps the pot was cold, so the hot water cooled.

*Then the waitress might bring a pot of very hot water to the table, but present me with a cold cup. Sometimes it seems the cup has come from the refrigerator. I sit there with the cup in my hands, trying to warm it slightly, so the water won't get cold as soon as I pour it.

I like my cup of tea to start out hot. Then if it cools, it's my choice.

Books About Daylight Saving Time & Spring

Discover facts and figures (the curious and the ordinary) about Spring and Daylight Saving Time

Seize the Daylight: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Saving Time by David Prerau
Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time by Michael Downing
Crafting Springtime Gifts: 25 Adorable Projects Featuring Bunnies, Chicks, Lambs & Other Springtime Favorites by Tone Finnanger
Time for Change: Setting Clocks Forward by One Hour Thorughout the Year by Mayer Hillman
The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle

Discover Some Food Blogger Delights for Tea Time

Take a look at these delights contributed by the Food Bloggers you may like to try for tea time...and for your meals. There also are some cooking gadget ideas.

Chicken in Red Curry An easy, delicious curry with chicken and vegetables, served with rice.

Cooking Gadgets Would you like to get your pressure cooker out of the box?

Finding Food Memories in Community Cookbooks Mary Emma at Country Kitchen reminisces about food memories she finds in cookbooks of earlier days.

Nighttime Noshing: Getting Back on Track Jean had her first slip in the battle to lose the six ugly extra pounds she put on last year. And it was a biggie!

Plan Now For Summer Grilling With the proper planning your garden can be a great source for delicious summer grilling.

White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookies Delicious, easy cookies with white chocolate chips,cranberries and pecans

Do You Prefer Hot or Iced Tea?

Depending on the part of the country or the world where you live, you may be more accustomed to hot or cold tea. Hot tea is my preference, although I don't mind iced tea, especially in hot weather.

However, I find a cup of hot tea more refreshing, relaxing and reviving than a glass of iced tea. Perhaps that's because hot tea was more common in our household and my grandmother's when I was growing up.

I have found that when we travel in southern regions of the United States, it's more difficult to get hot tea served in restaurants. In fact, some don't serve it at all.

"We can heat up some sweet tea in the microwave," one waitress told me.

I appreciated her attempt to be helpful but that's not what I wanted for my breakfast. I also don't like sugar in my tea, so it heated sweet tea did not appeal.

If I travel with my own tea bags, I generally can get a cup of hot water when hot tea isn't served. So that has been one solution.

Which do you prefer, hot or iced tea? Or don't you care? Perhaps you don't drink tea at all.

Tea Time Notes Blogger Published

Tea Time Notes blogger, Mary Emma Allen has stories featured in the new release, Eternally Yours, an anthology of poetry, light essays, devotions and meditations, edited by Mary Ellen Grisham and published by Xulon Press.

Featuring some of the best Christian writers on the Internet, this book represents work that has appeared in the Eternal Ink E-zine since it’s inception in 1999.

In addition, Mary gives presentations and teaches workshops at schools, libraries, writers’ conferences, and for other groups. Some of her talks include topics such as Alzheimer's and caregiving, quilt history and quiltmaking, New Hampshire history, and writing.

I was pleased when Ms. Grisham selected some of my stories for inclusion in this anthology. It's exciting to encourage and inspire others with my writing.

Tea Parties of the Boston Type

Tea as a beverage for drinking and tea as a protest...it's been used both ways in American history.

Today, tea is brewing as a protest against President Obama's policies, reminiscent of the Boston Tea Party, when colonists rebelled against British rule and taxation without representation. Tea parties are cropping up all over the U.S.A. as citizens speak out against policies that will lead to greater taxation.

The power of tea! As a calming beverage when you're stressed, a social beverage for gatherings among friends or a symbolic one with overtures of protest as exhibited by the American colonists and citizens today.

Groundswell of Obama Opposition Called a "Tea Party"

More Tea Parties Are Brewing Along with Investigations into Obama's Birth