I’m a creature of habit. I’ve also worked hard to reduce my caffeine habit from 6-8 shots of espresso and practically unlimited sodas a day in the Before Times, before the pandemic (broadly) and before my pregnancy (personally), down to 1 or 2 lungos a day and no caffeinated sodas at all. The trick to this — and to be clear, I’m just reducing caffeine, not ruling it out of my life altogether — is to start and end the day with tea, and use a variety of teas throughout the day to keep it interesting.
So a minute after waking up and rolling out of bed, the kettle’s on for a cup of Stash “Breakfast in Paris” tea. It’s robust but not a smack in the face. If I’m lucky, I can do a little yoga while it’s steeping, before the kiddo wakes up and decides to see if she can climb me when I’m in Triangle Pose.
After that, it depends on the day’s mood and what I’ve got in the tea box. Right now there’s Itoen green tea and Tazo’s Organic Zen for the more contemplative moments, Barry’s Gold and Campbell’s hearty Irish teas for focus blocks, and two samplers for everything else: Zealong organic teas from New Zealand, and a box of Chali tea that was on sale for Chinese New Year’s. Most of these are black, green or oolong tea + fruit/flower/herb/spice. I also have the little Jade Leaf Tea “organic ceremonial matcha stick” packets for when I really need that matcha tea latte and I’m not up for a trip to Starbucks.
And then after the nightly marathon that is a toddler’s bedtime routine, it’s time for the grown-up version of the first tea I ever drank: Celestial Seasonings “Sleepytime Extra”. (Back when I was 4 years old, chamomile was enough to help me settle down for the night, but nowadays I need a little something more to balance out the “productivity=life” mode and the general existential angst that accrues as life goes on and you discover that in spite of appearances and social media feeds, none of us knows what the heck we’re doing.) Is it really a tea, or merely a tisane? Whatever it is, it’s comfort.
The beginning and the ending of the day are fine. It’s the stuff in the middle that I’m looking to play around with — the afternoon tea.
If after reading this you’re thinking: holy shit, this girl’s tea game is weak! Well, yes, I’m a beginner here. It’s why I rely on tea shops and tea friends. I have a toddler and not much cupboard space; tea bags and sturdy mugs are in, teapots and pretty glass things for blooming flowers or lots of tea utensils and gorgeous porcelain vessels and delicate cups are right out. I even find myself pouring herbal tea into plastic toy tea cups for impromptu toddler tea parties — and let me tell you, a cup of tea shared with another human being is the best cup of tea, even if it only lasts for 3 sips.
cascadia teahouse 