hi, tea

So I'm trying to cut back on sugar a bit, and I've been saying for years that I wanted to try honey in my tea. Thanks to a freezing (not literally) morning yesterday, it was the perfect time to try it. I decided to use my old standby, Bigelow's Constant Comment. I grew up on this tea. This is my mom's favorite, so we always had it in the house, along with regular Lipton. These days I like more variety, but I will never not have Constant Comment around. It's perfect for warming up after being out in the cold, or on a morning when my throat's a little scratchy.

I figured this would be the best tea for my little experiment, since I know exactly how sweet I like it. I made the cup of tea first, then squeezed in a little bit of honey and stirred. Nope, not there yet. A teensy bit more. Still too hot to tell, maybe? A little bit more honey. I tasted it again--ugh, that tasted like a spoonful of honey. I realized then that there was still some water left in the teapot, so I topped off my cup. That did it. Just enough sweetness to complement, not mask, the flavor. I drank the whole cup.

I think I can keep doing this.

I still have three teas left over from last fall/winter--Bigelow's Pumpkin Spice, Celestial Seasonings' Sugar Plum Spice, and Twinings' Spiced Apple Chai. Hmm...I guess I like spice. We'll see how they take to honey.

Oh, and I couldn't end this entry without mentioning my all-time favorite seasonal tea, Celestial Seasonings' Gingerbread Spice. This is the best. If you like ginger and you drink tea...well, you see where I'm going with this.