Tea Drinkin’

Lately I have been drinking tea more often than usual. The tea I have been drinking at work (and some-what at home) is the ‘Argentine Mate Green’. It’s the closest thing they had to a white tea, but it works well.  We got our teas from the Lupicia at Valley Fair in San Jose. The selection of teas are very broad.  Their China-Green Tea’s are pretty expensive though. Last weekend, I picked up a bag of Earl Grey and Breakfast Earl Grey for both work and home.  I’ve been a big fan of Earl Grey for a while (yah, yah, I know — “Tea, Earl Grey.  Hot!”).

See Article: The Different Types of Tea in a Nutshell

The Argentine Mate Green is a tea that is very earthy.  The taste itself is not horrible, but very natural tasting .  I don’t think it has a lot if any caffeine in it, but if steeped too long it will become pretty bitter.

The Earl Grey’s are .. well.. Earl Grey.  By themselves they have a distinct taste and smell to them.  In the beginning, they tend to be an acquired taste. If steeped for too long, it tends to be very potent in it’s flavor.  Earl Grey is high in caffeine which makes it a great coffee substitute.

Anyway, I started drinking tea around 2002ish.  I was back in school at the time and I used green tea in massive doses to ensure my caffeine intake.  I used to add a lot of sugar to make the taste more pleasurable for my palate. I think it was when I was working at FedExKinkosOffice around 2004 in which I started drinking Earl Grey without anything.  Being in a high stress job, you tend to look over additives and just go for the gusto.

I have developed an appreciation for the pure brew and I am pretty glad it’s worked out that way.