Tea or Coffee, both or nothing? Which one is your cup?

Hey dears,

Whoever is reading this blog, I know you are either my family member or my friends, not a stranger.

It’s 2:40 AM in the morning, I have been sipping my chamomile tea and listening to jazz on Spotify for a while, just trying to bring my sleep schedule back to normal after 14 days of quarantine. Now it’s been almost 10 days since my quarantine ended and I am still having a hard time coming back to the regular schedule. 

Anyways, while sipping the cup, this idea came, why don't I write something about my love for tea and coffee. 

And here I am..

People either love tea or coffee, though I know people who hate both. I love both of them, it just depends on my mood which one I would like to have.

Let's start with teas. I love these green leaves.

Darjeeling Tea.

I tasted a large variety of tea, ranging from fine Darjeeling to masala chai, from nimbu chai to green tea. I cannot afford first flush yet, I have the second flush. But I like all of them. If it's a summer morning, I love to start my day with either Darjeeling tea or any other tea without milk and sugar. Green tea is my favorite, after-meal drink. Lemon tea is the best on any summer afternoon. If it rains or say a winter evening, the warmth of masala chai with milk and sugar melts away all my stiffness. I am also very fond of teas that my mother prepares with fresh rose petals or with lemongrass or with the homemade masala. 

Except for these regular cups, I also tasted oolong tea and white tea, those are refreshing with low caffeine, but, yah, there is a but…, those are a bit expensive. So those don't come in the routine.

Pure Blues!

Other than these authentic teas, which are made of tea leaves, I also fascinate a lot about herbal tea. Herbal teas are made of herbs, as the name goes. You can prepare them just like any other tea i.e., by soaking in hot water. I had a big fight with one of my friends whether we should call herbal tea, tea at all, as they don't come from tea trees. He is from Darjeeling, and he thinks it's his responsibility to fight for the authenticity of the term ‘tea’. Dear friend, I have found a better name for herbal tea, it’s called tisane, tea-sans-tea.

So, among tisane, or whatever you call it, I tried hibiscus tea, blue tea, and chamomile tea. I didn't like hibiscus tea much, it was a bit tangy in the taste. I couldn't even finish all the tea bags I bought, those are still in my office drawer! But I like blue tea, and chamomile is my favorite tisane.

A cup of indigo.

Green tea is not purely green but Blue tea is indeed blue, just like Ujala!. It’s in fact dry Aparajita (blue pea flower). Dip a couple of flowers in hot water for 3-4 minutes, and surprise… it's ready for you. The fun fact is that if you have Aparajita flowers at home, don't need to buy them. You can just pluck few flowers, wash it properly, boil it for a few minutes and you are done.

Pure chamomile!

Last but not the least, my chamomile tea. It is my new love. Having a cup of chamomile tea, and reading a storybook just before bed is a new routine. Sochkehi nind a jati hain. I had chamomile tea before but in a tea bag mixed with teas. This time, I am having only dried chamomile petals. It gives a soothing effect. It's so amazing!

Ginger-mint tea.

I have never seen fresh chamomile flowers. I think it is not very common in India unless you are in hilly areas. A year back, I visited a Lebanese restaurant and after the meal, I first ordered chamomile tea, they didn't have it, so I changed my order to ginger-mint tea. To my surprise, they handed me a cup of green tea with raw mint leaves, lemon, and ginger slices. I never had ginger tea like that before. I wonder if they would have served chamomile tea, they should have probably served fresh flowers! Oh, I missed seeing fresh chamomile flowers, just my luck!

Let's come to coffee now. Though I love coffee, I don't have them very often due to the high caffeine content in them and I am prone to insomnia. I drink coffee only when it rains, or really cold, or sometimes after lunch to avoid dozing.

Lazy Sunday morning.

To keep me awake I like the CCD coffee, that's the coffee shop near my office. And, I believe a lot can happen over caffeine. Other times, I like ready-made Nescafe powder with a lot of milk and sugar.

I didn't explore coffee much, I had only Nescafe, Brookbond, Lavazza, CCD, and Starbucks coffee. The only variation I tried was green coffee, omg!, it was a total disaster. I bought a 200g pack, tried only twice, and then threw away the whole pack.

I am caffeine-addicted. Wait a second, am I? I wish to have a caffeine corner at home where my nomadic life will end.

I also have a handy tea maker :)

Well, Yah... that's for now.. I will surely write if I try any more variation. If you are also a caffeine lover, you can share your story in the comment box below.

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Bye for now. Stay away, stay safe.

Oh shit, it is 4 AM now, I have an early morning meeting tomorrow, which means I will sleep for a few hours now then I will start my new day with a hot, dark cup of Lavazza.