Craving a cuppa

When living in England, tea played a bigger part in my life than any other moment I can recall. Somehow the region has that kind of effect on people. I know only because my American flat mates were ditching their daily double lattes for tea; specifically the bagged variety from Waitrose. Or Sainsbury's, for those who cared to save a dime or 2. "Let's have tea and biscuits," they used to say simply as if it were something they'd normally say. And I'd cringed deep down inside knowing they would rather have said "cookies."

For me, it wasn't a drastic change as I'd always chosen tea over coffee -- as well as known for the most part of my life that biscuits and cookies could mean the same thing. This came naturally because at a very young age, my mom told me that coffee made kids stupid and that somehow stuck.

Now at almost mid-twenty something (eep!) I find tea more desirable than ever. It's not just because I've had 4 colds this year, or because I no longer work in the financial district where Peet's, and sadly Starbucks, were in abundance. Mind you, there were exactly 5 of the latter within 20 feet from all degrees of our building. And let's just forget how coffee leaves me jittery and capricious within seconds of ingestion.

It's because I love the warmth of the mug I hold in my hands, and the clarity of the antioxidant-rich liquid that flows down my throat. And the enjoyable sipping motion in which is inevitable with any hot liquid drink. Not to mention, EVERYone holds a teacup with the utmost elegance. And they come in so many different shapes and sizes! I meant the teacups, but the variety of tea out there can't be beat either. Rose. Earl grey. Chamomile. Marrakesh mint. Green. Black. Red. Chinese. Japanese. Russian. And most importantly, the accompaniment of these tea I speak of. You know where I'm getting at.

The cookies or biscuits whichever you prefer. The home made scones with clotted cream. Sliced mousse-layered cakes, cupcakes, biscotti, shortbread, and tarts. Lightly buttered tea sandwiches. Macaroons! And if all fails (or when you're p-p-p-peckish) the Penguins or the McVitie's digestives. Right now as I bite into the melted chocolate glaze on my tea-dipped Penguin, I can't help but feel like the luckiest person on earth.