Constant Comment Green (From Bigelow)

According to my mother Constant Comment Green tea is very hard to find. The black tea version of Constant Comment is more widely available. Constant Comment holds an important place in our household because as a child it was the first tea my mother tried that wasn't Lipton. Constant Comment is flavored with orange rinds and a variety of spices that make it seem like mulled cider's tea-born cousin. Overall it is a lovely drink to sip if you-like me- don't believe that pumpkin is an appropriate flavor for everything edible in the month of November.

The mug shown above is one of my favorites. It features a hebrew blessing for coffee that some delightful potter made up. The direct translation is "Blessed is the one who gives coffee to the weary."

Tea-ja Vu

In my youth I would often prepare my tea in a microwave and when I engaged in this habit late at night I was witness to a slightly annoying phenomenon. I would place a cup of water with a teabag into the microwave, I would turn on the microwave and then when the microwave finished I would be doing something else so I would put off collecting my tea. Then I would completely forget about it for a short amount of time. I would only remember the tea after thinking to myself I wish I had tea right now, then after putting another tea bag in a cup of water and opening the microwave I would discover that I  already had tea. Naturally I didn't want to put the second tea bag back, it was already wet so I would just make another cup and alternate drinking both teas. My sister and I named this phenomenon "Tea-ja Vu."

Even now in my post-microwave tea drinking I encounter similar phenomena: I usually make my first cup of tea soon after waking up. I then carry said tea with me as I leave the warm cocoon of my kitchen and attempt make my way in the world. The problem occurs when I leave my tea on the counter to steep and forget to take it with me upon leaving. I am then very tired and I usually convince myself that my best option is buying tea. I am still pleasantly surprised when I come home and my first cup of tea is there waiting for me.

(I found the image above painted on an electrical box, it seemed appropriate.)

Chrysanthemum Tea (From TenRen and From Asha Tea House)

My preconception of chrysanthemum tea was that it was weird. I had somewhat thoughtlessly come to this conclusion after one of my friends looked at my herbal tea sampler from TenRen and asked me if I had tried the chrysanthemum tea. I answered, "Not yet." Said friend relied, "Oh, well chrysanthemum tea is weird."

Intrigued by this response I tried the chrysanthemum tea about a week later. It was a bit weird, at least compared to your run of the mill green or black tea. Yet I found the taste strangely pleasing, especially when a form of sweetener was applied generously.

Today marked the first time I tried chrysanthemum tea unsweetened. I was taken to Asha Tea house and I couldn't decided which tea to try. I decided on an herbal tea and since there had been chrysanthemums in the short story I had read earlier chrysanthemum tea seemed like an appropriate choice. Without sweetening the chrysanthemum tea definitely had more of a general weirdness. In other words, it was slightly bitter and had a very distinct chrysanthemum flavor, but for the most part I still found it pleasing. I would recommend chrysanthemum tea to people who want to go beyond the average herbal teas, despite its color chrysanthemum tea is nothing like your standard chamomile.

(Disclaimer: the image above does not depict the process of making chrysanthemum tea. I just happened to find a chrysanthemum and I though this depiction would be aesthetically pleasing.)