Tea, coffee or hot chocolate
How do you take yours?
Another random, eclectic and odd post this Monday, with thanks to
who asked me to explain builders tea, which set me chasing after the rabbits 🐇 . Builders tea is made with at least two strong teabags and brewed for a while until it is a dark brown colour, even with milk. I like mine with a smidgen of milk and a sweetener. I need two large mugs to get me going in the morning before I can face the day. I write in my journal and start my substack as my brain starts to come to life when the tea hits the spot.During the day I like my tea more refined, I’ll admit at times I can be a tea snob I enjoy Darjeeling, Assam or Lapsang Souchong, go to bed with Earl Grey and love a milky cup of, not too sweet, Chai with fresh herbs and spices. Someone I loved dearly, and admired greatly, from my early days in Hertfordshire taught Sarah and me how to make a proper cup of Chai. Sudha Brahmbhatt was an incredible woman, who looked after everybody and gave so much to her community. The link is to her story in her own humble words.
My afternoon tea, if I have one, is made in a pot with the right amount of tea leaves rather than tea bags and not over brewed. In summer I like taking my tea outside and sitting watching the birds go by, a moment of peace and calm. Those days are just around the corner.
As usual Wikipedia has a detailed page on the history of tea and other relevant facts. Therefore, I don’t feel the need to scuttle off down the nearest rabbit 🐇 warren, this morning. If I did I would end up not only going through all the warrens, fox 🦊 dens, badgers 🦡 sets, and otter 🦦 holt, I would end up in a ruddy mongoose’s burrow in Sri Lanka. No I am not swearing that’s their name.
After my builders tea is drained, I surface, take the dogs out for their walks before breakfast, so I can relax into my breakfast without 6 evil eyes staring in my direction. When I come in, I have my bowl of cereal, piece of toast or similar with a cup of freshly brewed Nespresso latte made with two capsules. At the moment I am partial to a banana wrapped in one rasher of streaky bacon grilled until the bacon and the ends of the banana are crispy, at least I get one of my five a day, fruit & veg. This is usually my only cup of coffee at home. I have stopped having instant coffee in the cupboard, not because I don’t like it but because it gets all crusty between uses and has to be thrown out, as I am hopeless at baking a coffee cake there is no alternative use. However, coffee is my drink of choice when I go out, I am not sure why, except it seems wrong to drink tea in a coffee shop. I am much better at drinking decaffeinated coffee these days, as I am not a coffee snob I can really taste the difference.
I realise both the builders tea and strong latte coffee are not ideal for my health in many different ways. I have tried to wean myself off the tea, unfortunately it is something embedded in my psyche, must try harder. I dread to think what the colour of my insides are, and my electric toothbrush does a brilliant job in overtime, my teeth don’t give my dirty secret away, they may not be whitened however, I can still smile.
Chocolate is another drink I love, although, strictly for the cold winter months. It is a guilty pleasure on a Sunday afternoon when I come in from a cold winter’s dog walk and it is already getting dark. I love the feeling of cold hands wrapped around a warm mug of hot chocolate. Maybe I need one this afternoon, it is still cold when the sun goes down in sunny Hertfordshire. As the days are drawing out it may feel a bit late. I like my chocolate, milky, strong sometimes with nutmeg or cinnamon and a spoonful honey or brown sugar if it is not sweetened. I am not a great fan of ann overly fussy mug of hot chocolate. I will very occasionally have a purely indulgent cup piled high with whipped cream and grated chocolate on top. I like eating the cream with a spoon. I do not drink enough chocolate to make recommendations for the best. If you have suggestion please feel free to add into the comments, I would love to know the ultimate hot chocolate brand and/recipe.
I am still looking for alternative to tea, coffee and chocolate. I am not sure whether Horlicks is still around, a malty milky drink, it is one of those childhood memories that make me wince. I am old so I haven’t tried matcha yet, she says tongue in cheek and I couldn’t get on with red bush tea. I am not a great fan of fruit teas, but I am not sure why. There are countless alternative and flavoured teas, my old grey cells get confused by the sheer number. I do like Bird and Blends Dozy Girl Chamomile tea at bedtime but I keep forgetting to reorder it. They do a subscription so you can try different types and blends of tea, but being an old curmudgeon set in her ways , I found the different packets built up in the cupboard. However if you do like, or want to try alternative teas I highly recommend a Bird and Blend subscription. When I finish this post I will go and order some more tea from them. I cannot find an alternative to coffee, particularly after a meal. John used to be partial to a Greek coffee with the gritty coffee grounds sitting at the bottom of the little cup. I am remembering lazy afternoons on a Greek island, or sitting outside the Arocaria restaurant in Crouch End in summer with friends and debating the world tongues lubricated with a glass of 5 star Metaxa.
I didn’t want to make another post about grief, however, I hope you don’t mind me being just a little bit sad and reminiscing. Today would have been our 46th wedding anniversary. John was never a great romantic, in his defence he tried for the first five years of marriage, after that I would occasionally ambush him with an anniversary card to make him feel a little more romantic, or guilty during rough patches. It didn’t often work John being John I would get a grump, but he was my grumpy old man.
Over the last five years before he died he had got more romantic and I actually got cards from him, got taken out and the occasional present. Sarah being the ultimate romantic always sent us anniversary cards. Our best anniversary was our 25th, it coincided with John’s 50th the week before, we had a fabulous combined, ‘surprise’ party for him. We told him the day before when we realised he was likely to do a runner. I cannot believe that is over 20 years ago. The cards never mattered it is the love and care that did, I had that in abundance, with a few, ok loads of, grumps over the forty one years we were together.
Cherish those you love and who love you and care for you, you never know what the future holds.
Prompt
Do you prefer tea, coffee or hot chocolate?
Can you remember your very first cup?
How old were you?
What did it taste like to your younger self?
I cannot thank you all enough for reading my rambling nonsense. I wish I could meet everyone of you in person, Substack is a wonderful community.
If you haven’t already, please do subscribe to my substack and share with others 😘😘
A year ago I weaned myself off of putting sugar in my tea. I found out that the tea was only a vehicle for sugar and, while I still drink it just to have a warm cup in my hand sometimes, I don't really love the tea as I used to. On the plus side, my husband and I will mark 56 years this month. He's not a big romantic but he's the dearest love I've ever had!
I loved reading this, Jo. It made me think about how much hot drinks are part of the rituals in my day. The deliciousness of the first (of many) freshly brewed coffees in the morning. Like you, I need two pretty robust hot drinks to get going first thing, as I empty my head into my journal. I've noticed how much lighter it is in the morning these past two weeks. The coffee pot is on all morning and I punctuate whatever I'm doing with return visits for a fresh cup. In the afternoon, between 3 and 4 o'clock, I want a big mug of tea, one that I can wrap my hands around. Nothing like a builder's tea, quite milky but very hot. And in the evening, a warm milky drink. Recently this has been dark hot chocolate, as I convince myself that I deserve it because it's so miserable outside and we all deserve a treat. The much-anticipated nicer weather deprives me of my justification for this treat, so I'm going to need to find a new reason!