Summer -- a good time for tea?

Sorry it's been awhile -- I graduated and am getting married and moving across the country this summer! But, in an effort to revive this blog, I'm going to explain to y'all and myself why summer is a great time to drink tea. Yes, HOT tea.

What, you think it's not a good idea? It's too hot out? In China and South Korea (and probably more places) they drink tea to cool down in those sweltering summer evenings. It keeps your hydrated, which allows you to sweat, which cools you off, and heating up your interior body temperature leads your body to take action to maintain homeostasis and cool itself off.

So if hot tea makes your body cooler, what happens when you eat ice cream in the summer? You body responds by trying to warm itself up, making you warmer overall, and leading you to eat more ice cream! Never a bad thing, right?

Long Time No Tea

It's been awhile. It's been too well-heated in my dorm recently to drink tea, and the last time I tried to, I was punished for the aforementioned sin of heating water via microwave, because I spilled it on my legs and gave myself a couple second degree burns through my jeans!

We live and learn.

I'm still on my Sowmee white tea kick, probably because it has less caffeine. My SO is into Keemun Panda (Keemun is a region in China; it's a black tea.) and since we've found favorites, we're not terribly tempted to switch.

Trivia Time!

What do you think this utensil is for?

It's a honey spoon. The ridge lets you set your spoon (filled with honey) on the rim of nearly and tea cup or mug so it dissolves into the tea and doesn't sink down to the bottom all at once. How awesome is that? I saw this in a store and it took me forever to figure out what it was for!

Almost Famous

I've run into hundreds of people (and by hundreds I mean less than five) who have said to me, "I hear you write a tea blog!" Yes! I do! They also want to know what I write about. I gave a brief scattered summary, and realized quite promptly that this blog is not terribly focused. I mean, we have our niche, obviously, but is there any limit to the things we can write about tea?

No, I say! No limit! I will, however, be taking suggestions.

And so that this post has some actual content, I will make this note.

I learned in a tea class that Chinese tea cups have no handles because if the cup is too hot to hold, the tea is too hot to drink! While this is sensible, I rather like the handle for everyday use, especially since I sin egregiously by microwaving my water!

I have found that while handles are useful for not dropping and breaking things, there is something pleasant about wrapping your hands around a nice warm mug, especially a bulbous one that fits your hands perfectly! Everyone is different, so I hope you find a mug that fits your hand someday, as my favorite mug does mine!