Tea Revolution

I used to be a coffee drinker. I would go pretty much cold turkey whenever I found out I was pregnant. I know one can usually get away with one cup of coffee a day, but my ob/gyn was a stickler about it. Of course, I didn't always follow his advice (he also said no chocolate), but for the most part, I was a good girl.

Then, one of my girlfriends (yes, I do have more than one) introduced me to tea. You see, she grew up in a different country where they drink tea all the time, and if I wanted to entertain her, I needed to have my own stash of tea. Now, I had tried tea before, but for the most part dismissed it as an occasional fruity concoction that I would have with a scone or something. I never realized how serious tea was.

Or how addicted I would become.

I had never really had unflavored black tea before, but my friend showed me that with a little milk and sugar, it was quite tasty. Then it happened, quite unexpectedly.

I had chai.

Never before had I tasted anything so incredibly... incredible! The spices, the milk, the tea.

The strong tea. I was in heaven. I was hooked, and I have never looked back.

Yes, I do still have my coffeemaker in my house for the infidels in my life who still prefer coffee, but for my part, I want to share with you five good reasons to drink tea over coffee.

• Tea is so much easier to make than coffee. It takes less time, and you don't have to grind anything.
  
  
• You can make just one cup. I know there are single serving coffeemakers out there, but for the most part, they still take a bit of time.
  
  
• You can make chai. Not the same with coffee. At all. I've tried it.
  
  
• Afternoon coffee and afternoon tea mean totally different things. If you've never had afternoon tea, I am so sorry...
  
  
• Although tea does stimulate you, it relaxes you at the same time. It doesn't affect you like coffee does. Also, it doesn't have as much caffeine, so if you're counting mg's of caffeine, you can have 2 1/2 cups of tea to equal one cup of coffee.

Now, I have to say that loose leaf tea is a lot of fun to drink, a lot like coffee in how you make it. My usual throughout the day, though, is bagged tea (sorry, Mari). For special occasions, I make my secret special chai tea, and I always use loose leaf tea. You can check out Tea and Traditions, and peruse their site, if you wish.

Now I will tell you how to make the most incredible chai in the world. I have had many willing guinea pigs tell me this is way better than what Starbucks offers.

First, you need about 4-5 cups of really strong black tea.

Then... Ah, if you want the rest of the recipe, make a comment, and I will send it to you. After all, it is a secret!