International Teatime

Every so often I fall in and out of a certain habit. It's neither good nor bad, but it does stain the teeth a bit. Did you think I meant coffee? Well you're wrong. I've never been a coffee drinker. I'm talking about the age-old English habit of tea-drinking. My mother always loved a good cup of chamomile or peppermint tea, and so, being a contrary child, I resolved to hate drinking tea and never be a tea-drinker.

That resolve lasted me until the age of 22. I was sailing the lovely MS Maasdam for the second summer in a row and enjoying my time immensely. I'd made a fantastic bunch of friends from all over the globe: a couple of Americans, Canadians, Brits, Aussies and Dutchies. We were all crew members and would all meet up for meals in the ship's buffet, gather our food and retreat to eat away from the mayhem of the passenger world at the tables on the back deck. We'd watch the sea churn by and admire the sunsets,  and sea-life. We'd do "high-low" where we'd talk about our best and worst moments of the day (trust me, always hilarious tales involving passenger craziness!) and after our meals, we'd get ice creams, cheesecake, chocolate, whatever desert we pleased followed by a steaming cup. Then we'd sit outside in the blazing Caribbean, drinking our hot tea. After all, that's what civilized people do. Earl Grey for our lovely Brit, Barker. Various herbal black and green teas for the others. And for myself and the Dutch fellow I was dating: soothing red Rooibos that he'd brought from home. ("The tea on this ship is Terrible!" He'd say, in the completely emphatic, Dutch way of his) I was, at first, resistant to the idea of drinking tea without sugar or cream, but I was persuaded rather easily by the afforementioned highly opinionated (and hot) BF, so I gave it a try.

A beautiful cup of red Rooibos tea. It's South African in case you were wondering.

At first sip: Blech. But by the end of the cup I was hooked. It was lovely and calming.

This morning, after a couple of "dry" years without tea, I was hit with the craving and popped into the coffee shop downstairs for a cup. All of my stress melted away and I found myself, for the first time in weeks, relaxed, one with my work chair.

Now I'm on my second cup and shall endeavor tonight to buy a few boxes of tea to keep with me at work.

Here's to you fellow tea drinkers, enjoy!