Fall Tea Favorites

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned it somewhere before but I'm a rather avid tea drinker. I've been raised in a family where the tradition of a digestive hot black sweetened tea with lemon was celebrated every evening without fail and while nowadays I see how most tea lovers wouldn't even call such a concotion 'tea', it certainly made me appreciate the ritual of steeping and sipping a hot drink, especially on cold, rainy days.

I love discovering and trying new brands and varieties of tea, so I thought I'd share my favorites with you in the hopes that you might reciprocate with yours... Do we have a deal?

Let me start by saying that on a day-to-day basis, I don't have time nor patience to steep loose leaf teas - as much as I love the result, the process is just a bit too messy, same as with loose pigments in make-up. Instead, I bastardize the ritual by using tea bags so that's what I'll be describing in this post. I really want to go to Teavana some time soon and get some nice loose leaf teas but for now this is it!

The first two favorites are actually caffeine-free so they technically should be referred to as teasanes, not teas. I drink the Tazo Passion Herbal Infusion and Tazo Honeybush Herbal Infusion the most often as I'm not very big on caffeine in general, mostly because I tend to get dehydrated very easily. The Passion has a very distinct fruity flavor and a lovely deep garnet shade when steeped; it tastes light and refreshing and not very herbal at all, so tea haters rejoice! Honeybush is a name of a plant that can be infused much in the same way as tea but it has a much lighter aroma and no caffeine; the Tazo one is additionally flavored with fruit and floral notes. I always have some sort of herbal tea in rotation, mostly rooibos and occasionally honeybush or tulsi.

Next we have two white teas; the basic difference between the white and black teas is the level of oxidation they go through after the leaves are being picked from the bushes. If you've never had white tea, it is somewhat similar to green tea but more subtle and with less of the slightly bitter/nutty aftertaste, which is why I prefer them. The Tazo Berryblossom White has a beautiful blueberry aroma and a very slightly fruity taste whereas the Numi Orange Spice is a lot warmer and spicier with a distinct orange peel note. It's a bit like orange pomander in a tea form so it'd be perfect as we're getting closer to Christmas.

The last pair are black teas in a 'chai' variety, meaning that they have warming spices such as black pepper, cardamom and cloves added to them. These two adorable cans are from Zhena's Gypsy Tea; we have Hazelnut Chai and Coconut Chai here. I like drinking both with a little bit of tea to enhance their creamier taste; the Hazelnut almost tastes a bit like a Viennese coffee, and the Coconut has just a hint of buttery sweetness to it. I've probably repurchased the Coconut Chai at least three times now, it's one of my all-time favorites!

I usually get all of my teas at Whole Foods, they have a wonderful selection, especially of the Numi teas that me and Mr drink the most of overall. Other good places to look for yummy teas in the US would be the above-mentioned Teavana or Cost Plus World Market; and while you're there, I recommend you pick up some delicious Greek halva or Austrian marzipan.

Are you a tea lover? What are your favorite brands and varieties?