The joys of tagging or how global warming melts my tea blog

Rachel of @iheartteas tagged me! Can you believe it? There I was happily minding my own business while lurkingly reading her post, and I saw it says “I tag @jackie.” What a blow to my blissful state of blog freeze. My own writings have been on ice for months. I got quite used to my posts being so unavailable. And then – wham – Rachel gives me a dose of global warming to melt even the iciest blog.  Sigh. Well, I guess the day had to come along sometime. So here goes. Thanks anyway Mrs C. because it is nice to write a new post:

1) First, let’s start with how you were introduced & fell in love with the wonderful beverage of tea.

I was introduced to tea when I was just a sweet, bouncing embryo. My mother has always been a tea drinker with never a shortage of tea in our house. More often than not it was loose leaf tea. Granted my mother also drank coffee but it is clear that I developed my aversion to the stuff while still in the womb.

2) What was the very first tea blend that you ever tried?

I can’t be sure because “first tea ever” was a very long time ago. Probably English Breakfast but mostly we drank Darjeeling, or Ceylon tea.

3) When did you start your tea blog & what was your hope for creating it?

I started this blog shortly after we created Tea Trade but then everyone else’s blogs take priority over mine. Also, there are other things that are more important than my scribbles.  For example world peace.  Or the meaning of life.  Or the shrinking number of penguins in the South Pole. While writing I’m not giving these very important issues any attention at all.

My hope for my blog was for it to be phenomenally successful without too much effort. I’m quite optimistic still.

4) List one thing most rewarding about your blog & one thing most discouraging.

Most rewarding? The happy feeling that I wrote something because (in theory) I love writing.

The most discouraging? Realizing that one good post requires another one, and then another, and so forth. And that’s when the whole peace and penguins issues arise, and the writing ceases.

5) What type of tea are you most likely to be caught sipping on?

8.9 times out of 10 it’s black loose leaf tea. With a very small amount of milk. And if I had my way it would be Vanilla tea every morning.

6) Favorite tea latte to indulge in?

Ugh. Shudder. I’m not even going to find out what that may be.

7) Favorite treat to pair with your tea?

My husband @peter. If he’s not available then a praline, or a cookie. Actually if I’m really lucky I get Pete and the chocolate. But the chocs do have to be good. None of that stuff that can be found in big colorful bags.

8) If there was one place in the World that you could explore the tea culture at, where would it be & why?

Perhaps Sri Lanka because my family once owned a tea plantation there. A long time ago, long before I was born, or even imagined. My sister traveled there and saw the old (and dilapidated) villa. I don’t know what happened to the plantation, or if it is still there now.

9) Any teatime rituals you have that you’d like to share?

Every morning I start my day with tea. Nothing really happens until I’ve had my first cup.  I wish I had a fully automated tea service right next to my bed. Well, one that isn’t sound asleep I mean. My morning cup is one of the things I look forward to when I go to bed at night.

10) Time of day you enjoy drinking tea the most: Morning, Noon, Night or Anytime?

Not anytime because I don’t want a cup of tea at 3:00 am. I guess anytime I’m awake comes close to it.

11) What’s one thing you wish for tea in the future?

To be so popular that I won’t ever have to bring my own tea to a friend’s house because they’ll have a fully stocked pantry of the finest leaves.

Who do you tag? @bram because I love his blog posts and he’s not on twitter, so doesn’t get as much attention as he deserves. Also @cazort because he always asks questions and prompts you to think.  And @happygaiwan because we miss having him on here while he’s getting himself yet another degree. And @amyoh because her San Fran Tea blog discovered so many new places we knew nothing about.