My Little Tea Story

I reminisce a yellow paper box with teabags sitting all alone in our cupboard for years. (I guess we were a healthy family). The only time we thought of giving the yellow box a visit was with watery eyes and runny noses. With feverish hands we grabbed the last straw of hope to be well again, "a tea bag that is". We plopped the tea bag into a cup of tepid water and hoped for a speedy recovery. It did not taste good. My god, how could it! Back then, so little I know about tea.

Years later, living in New York City with the high pace of life, always on the go. Rush hours and constantly a quick "coffee to go" in my hand, there was no time to even think about tea. Those were the days before tea rooms started to pop up like mushrooms, and if you wanted tea in a fancy restaurant, your one and only choice was a dangling, dull teabag.

One day during my last years in New York, my dear friends invited me to the St.Regis for an Afternoon Ladies Tea. My childhood imaginary tea party had finally come true. The beauty, elegance and exquisite in this lovely tea room exceeded all of my expectations. The guests all dressed up, nibbling on dainty finger sandwiches and savoring each mouthful of enticing, rich cakes, while drinking their loose leaf tea from beautiful tea cups. No dangling tea bag in sight!

I had never tasted tea so good. It was at that moment I understood, the essential feature to a "nice cup of tea" is the tea itself. The importance of the quality of the tea and how its prepared was certainly far more important, than the beautiful floral tea cup in it self. I was hooked.

 Almost two decades later, my love for tea has grown. I'm an avid tea drinker and a tea enthusiast. I have become just like Miss Marple, very fussy about my tea, and how my tea is prepared.

Today, there is no lonely, yellow tea box sitting in my cupboard. Instead there are now huge varieties of loose leaf tea and loose herbal teas. During the years I have learned a lot, and have been searching high and low for the absolute best quality and taste.

Now, spending much time in Greece, my herbal tea knowledge has also grown. This country is a hive where Mother Nature thrives. When you are walking through endless acres of breathtaking flora and fauna, you understand that Greek herbs are unique. Herbal teas are loved all over Greece, and have been part of the Greek culture since the time of Hippocrates, the "Greek father of medicine". Furthermore, it's a tradition that has been carried on from generation to generation up to this day.

Only with the knowledge that I do something good and healthy to my body by drinking loose leaf tea and herbal tisane, gives me a dignified jolt of energy.

Thank you for reading, 

Sannel