Tea Time

I love tea.  It's my only guilty pleasure, drink wise.  I quit drinking soft drinks years ago and I drink a coffee from Starbucks maybe once a month, if that (and if you can even call it "coffee" after all the "skinny" add-ins I do in the coffee there).  Teas, both hot and cold, are my only vice.  The health benefits from Green Tea got me started drinking it.  Now I love it so much I drink at least a cup a day. 

Lately, I've branched out a bit and found two new types of tea that I can't live without. So I have to share these with my blog peeps.

I battle some serious inner demons that crave chocolate.  In this house, nothing sweet is safe with me lurking around.  In fact, the biggest reason that I don't have a lot of posts about baking sweets on my blog is because I have NO CONTROL.  If you find me baking it's because I'm going somewhere to take them or have someone in mind unload all the calories on (as a gift, of course).

After dinner, when we post up like a couple of couch potatoes to watch TV is when I start craving a sweet treat.  I think I crave something at that time mostly out of boredom.  Jim flips over to baseball (~gag~) on commercial breaks leaving my mind to wander...and my mind always wanders back to food.  Lately though, I've had a new secret weapon to keep my craving at bay.  Honey Vanilla Chamomile Tea, by Celestial Seasoning.

A friend let me try a sip of her cup of tea at a the spa a couple of weeks ago.  I was blown away at how satisfying a sip of tea could be!  The lady that brewed the cup shared with me it was this Celestial brand, and she adds honey to the cup after brewing.  I made a dash to the tea isle the following day. 

To make a cup I follow brewing instructions, plus I add in one teaspoon of raw honey after taking out the tea bag.  This tea gives me just enough sweet taste to satisfy.  Plus, the only calories involved are from the added honey.  That's much less that the other sweets I manage to rummage up for a late night treat.  If you get the late night munchies like I do, give it a try.      

My other new tea obsession is this brand of cold brewed Mint Green Tea.

I've blown tons of cash over the summer on "One iced green tea, unsweetened" from Starbucks.  My friend Larua got me started on the iced green tea and I've been addicted all summer.  It's the most refreshing, thirst-quenching drink on a hot day. 

But at $2.65 each at Starbucks, I had to start looking for other (cheaper) options.  I could brew a pitcher of green tea here at home...but I always drink only half the pitcher.  I hate waste, so I kept searching for a solution. 

Enter, Cold Brew Green Tea.

Whoa, I knew Iced Green Teas were refreshing, but THIS takes refreshing to a whole new level!  All you have to do is pour cold water over the tea bag in a glass.  Five minutes later, a liquid delight!  The hint of mint added into the slightly bitter green tea is what my iced green teas were missing all along.

I found this brand in Wal-Mart over the weekend.  I've already had three glasses between Sunday afternoon and this morning.  I'm that hooked!

Am I the only one this obsessed with teas?  Let me know if you have a favorite brand of tea, hot or cold.   

Surely I'm not the only non-coffee drinker out there.  Right?