Tea Essentials

We all dream of owning DavidsTea’s wall of tea; long shelves decorating our kitchen wall, where we can stack tins upon tins of tea. On that dreamy wall, a tea could be found for any occasion. Or better yet, a walk-in pantry exclusively for tea boxes, with floor to ceiling displays of fragrant tea bags. Gosh, I would spend my days in that pantry, just sitting on the floor and looking around in amazement... 

But these are just tea fanatic fantasies. In real life, most of us only have a small cupboard or a drawer to store our beloved tea. Anyone else having to exert serious control on the tea shopping because of a lack of space? 

​No matter the space that I have, there are a couple of tea essentials that I always always have on hand. These are the products I stock up on or buy as soon as they start to run low. They are my tea holy grail, and I thought I would share them with you. These are also great articles to start your tea collection with.

​A Couple of Fruit Infusions
Fruit infusions tend to be put on the back shelf during the winter, but they become front and center as soon as the warm season hits. They are great poured over ice or cold brewed. They also can be used to add a little flavor to plain iced tea. I love to keep a few citrus or berries infusions on hand, to serve as an afternoon thirst quencher or for guests who are not big on tea.

​Ginger Tea
Full disclosure, I don’t enjoy the strong taste of ginger tea all that much. What I do love are its beneficial effects on digestion. I often feel bloated after a meal, and I also tend to feel nauseous quite easily. Ginger tea is amazing to relief heartburns, bloating and nausea. Even just brewing a cup and breathing in the scent can help dramatically. Ginger tea often comes with a lemon twist, so it’s definitely a go-to after a big meal or a stressful day.

​Peppermint Tea
Just like ginger, peppermint has a wide array of health benefits; it helps to relieve muscle rigidity (goodbye headaches!), unclog sinuses, relieve menstrual cramps, fight infections and improve sleep. In short, peppermint tea is a little magical concoction. I always turn to it when I suffer from headaches or really bad PMS. Additionally, just like ginger tea, it is great for after a meal or to unwind for the night.

Plain Black Tea
If you like your tea the traditional way, then plain Orange Pekoe tea is your best friend. I enjoy it with a splash of milk. It’s also a great base for other beverages, like a London Fog, sweet tea, a large pitcher of iced tea… The options are practically endless. I like to buy the highest grade of black tea I can find (Orange Pekoe), because lower grade black tea tends to taste like burned dust and you’ll be able to taste it in any drink you make with it.

​Earl Grey
This is just a personal preference, because I absolutely adore Earl Grey tea (call me grandma!). It’s a little hard to do from plain black tea, so I like to keep a few bags of Earl Grey on hand at all times. 

​High-Caffeine Tea
If you’re decidedly on the “all tea, no coffee” team, it’s possible that you’re having a bit of a hard time waking up in the morning. That’s why I like to start my day with day that is high in caffeine– usually black or green tea. This is where more traditional teas come into play, like Earl Grey, London Fog, English or Irish Breakfast… For example, English Breakfast being a blend a different black tea, it tends to be extremely high in caffeine. It’s like an alarm clock, but better! 

​Tea Bags
If you’re used to having a cup of tea every morning or night, it can be tempting to bring some with you when you spent the night someplace else. Whether we are staying at a hotel, at a friend’s house or with family, I always bring a few tea bags, just in case the host doesn’t have tea and I find myself craving some. Truth be told, making tea is practically a coping mechanism for me, so I tend to have tea on me at all times (yes, I always carry tea bags in my purse). I recommend buying a few boxes of bagged tea – even if you much prefer loose leaf tea – because they are individually wrapped to remain fresh and are easier to carry around. Filling up an empty tea bag with your favorite loose leaf tea is great if you know that you’re going to be drinking that tea is less than a few hours. Otherwise, don’t risk it, as the tea will lose its freshness in a matter of hours, unprotected and exposed to the elements. 

​Gourmand Tea
My favorite! Gourmand tea is tea that tastes like dessert. Usually made with lots of fruits, and few plants or flowers. They usually have a fruit infusion, white tea or rooibos base. You can get them from tea companies like DavidsTea, Tealish, Teapigs, etc. Those decadent infusions are great to replace dessert and make your sweet tooth happy. Often, I still want sugar after I’ve eaten dessert; I usually turn to these to satisfy that craving. With flavors like Strawberry Shortcake, Chocolate Almonds or Lemon Pie, they’re also great to impress or spoil your guests. In all honesty, they’re what makes tea so much fun. 

​These are my absolute tea essentials, teas that my household cannot function without. To that is usually added a few superfluous elements, like matcha tea and seasonal tea. Let me know what your tea essentials are, down in the comments section! Do you like your tea more sweet, or with floral notes? 

Have a tea-licious week!

Much love,