To Tea, or Not to Tea

This morning I made myself a cup of Earl Grey tea. Haven't had a cup of tea in the morning for years, maybe decades. Tea is a night time drink before bed. Maureen makes some for each of us as we watch TV. As I steeped the tea I stated thinking of when I used to drink tea exclusively, no coffee. You could tie this in with the usual winter go into hibernation feeling I get this time of year, but this time there was some nostalgia and the experience of me as a young man learning something new.

College was one new experience after another. I went from a small provincial town to the local county seat to a larger college town 300 miles away at the almost other end of the state. I met many people along the way and some became roommates and lifelong friends. It was within this setting that I was introduced to tea and Red Zinger was the gateway tea.

First off it was red. Not the brown of Grandma's tea. It also didn't have the acidic bite that something like an Earl Grey or a common Lipton's. After that initial introduction to Red Zinger I discovered that the maker, Celestial Seasonings, had many other offerings in so many other flavors and colors. It was a mind blowing experience for this small town young man. I learned much and enjoyed much. I think from time to time about that friend and roommate, GS, that taught me of tea, Midwestern tea with cream and sugar, bagels and cream cheese and all sorts of life rearranging food items.

The tea changed after I met a young woman that changed me in other ways. She and her family were coffee drinkers, and that began another part of my life that continues today. But she also drinks tea, and that makes all the difference.