Jubilee Tea: For the Love of Tea

Today’s Tea: Ruby Grey (Earl Grey + Florals & Vanilla)

Once upon a time this tea lady did not like tea. As a child in Texas, tea did not taste good. In our household it was unsweetened, and not fancy at all. It was a simple teabag thrown in a pot of previously boiling water, and it stewed until someone remembered to dump it in a pitcher with ice.

In my high school years sweet tea began to pop up in all the restaurants (where I spent quite a lot of time). At first, the only tea I allowed was jazzed up with pumps of liquid sugar flavored like peaches or blackberries. Once I realized I could tolerate flavored tea, I started picking it as my beverage of choice at gas stations in an aluminum can for 99 cents. Then it was drive-thru sweet teas the size of a small child. It is fair to say I was not enjoying tea, but instead had a very solid addiction to sugar.

I really did not experience tea until my semester in Europe as a college student, in a land far far away from sweet tea by the gallon or 99 cent gas station tea.

One weekend a group of us planned a trip to Cinque Terre, Italy. When we arrived we found out the hostel was booked, and there were no other housing options. We sat outside all night and enjoyed a beautiful sunrise over the sea. When shops opened, we found a restaurant with a patio situated above the beach with a gorgeous view.

Exhausted, I ordered a tea. I was given a menu to pick which tea, of which was filled with Italian words I did not know. I noticed a word similar to chamomile, which sounded nice, thinking it was an added flavor. When my tea arrived in a teapot and I looked inside to see a bunch of yellow flowers softly diffusing, I was shocked. I complained to my friends that they just gave me flowers to drink, but they just laughed at me. I guess they all knew I was ordering hot flowers.

I had never thought about tea being the result of something organic or beautiful. It had always been ground up stuff hidden away in a bag.

The tea was far beyond fabulous. Though so simple, it was enchanting. I know this sounds dramatic, but I was truly astonished. You might know chamomile as a sleepy tea, but I didn’t. It was uplifting, and got me through a day of hiking the cliff-line and walking on the beach after absolutely zero sleep.

I started ordering more tea, curious what I had been missing. In Vienna I made several trips to the teahouse, I believe it was Haas&Haas. I loved being in a teahouse. There was no pressure to leave. And as this was pre-everyone-has-a-smartphone era, there was plenty of opportunity to daydream.

I left Europe with bags of loose leaf tea and a new appreciation for infusion possibilities. I have since visited every teahouse I can find. The most special was in South Africa. It was a joy to try new teas, and learn all about Rooibos tea, but more than anything the teahouse felt like home. We had been in Africa away from our normal for months, and at the teahouse it was easy to decompress and plan our next steps.

The only way I enjoy tea now is simply tea. No pumps of liquid sugar, no milk, no sweetener, and no flavors. When we moved to a home with an acre this year, we decided we can finally grow a tea garden. It’s a process, but every step we take feels like the next right one. As we watch the snow fall and melt we are planning out the greenhouses that will grow lemongrass, ginger, lemon verbena, many types of mints, flowers, and herbs.