Tea!!!

I'm so excited. I had a kind of Eureka moment a few days ago and I've been dying to take action.

I have been a die hard coffee drinker for years and years and years. Started realizing sometime last summer that I was sick of being on the coffee rollercoaster, you know, that rollercoaster that plummets in the afternoon into a pit of malcontent. Coffee makes me scream-y at my children-y and I also discovered that I could drink caffeinated tea instead my energy would ebb and flow a lot smoother... the tea pony ride rather than the coffee rollercoaster. And I discovered Zhi Tea which is in my 'hood and I quickly became addicted to the finest tea has to offer because that Zhi Tea is fi-i-i-i-i-i-ine. I thought this all evened out at first because I took my coffee very seriously and spent many bucks each month on Ruta Maya coffee beans and organic half and half. Suddenly I'm not shelling out those shekels so I have some $$ to burn at Zhi tea. And if I can't afford the Zhi tea I can just buy a lower grade tea when the coffers are low, right? Well, no, not exactly, because as it turns out that once you're hooked to the good stuff there's just no going back. So suddenly I'm burning through premium tea at an alarming rate... yes my moods are more mellow but the coffers, they're empty. What to do?

I'm not really a purist either and rather than just singing the praises of an oolong or an assam I like some other interesting flavors in there and then some black or green leaves for a little kick of caffeine. My most beloved flavor which I can drink by the barrelful is Cacao Chai... chai with delicious cacao nibs etc.... really pretty much orgasmic. But I also kind of desire something else which I am always searching for... something with kind of a red berry with citrus notes thrown in with the black tea somewhere... I haven't been able to find the right combo, anywhere. I know it might seem painfully obvious but I finally just realized I could make it my own self! That and so much more! I've been dying to get over to Central Market and I finally had a baby-free morning on which to peruse the various and sundry dried herbs and such. I procured dried cherries, hibiscus, (fresh) ginger, dried goji berries, cacao nibs, peppermint, pink rose buds, dried cranberries, lemongrass, pink peppercorns, dried pomegranate seeds, cardamom, and rosehips. Oh and a big bag of green tea and a big bag of black tea. I'm so excited to play around with this! I just made myself some tea with black tea, pink peppercorn, goji berries and rosehips. I can't say it was exactly a winner but I'm willing to press on til I find that masterful combination that I just know is out there. Excited to try a green tea with perhaps peppermint, lemongrass, and ginger... and a chai of course... can't say I exactly saved money at this point but hopefully at some point it will all even out... oh the price I pay to stay caffeinated.