Lately, I have become a bit obsessed with tea. It all started about six weeks ago- a dear friend sent me an Adagio IngenuiTEA.

ingenuitea

It’s a little tea diffuser that makes the perfect cup of tea using water and two teaspoons of loose tea. And along with the IngenuiTEA came a variety of little tins of tea. Each sampler tin makes about ten cups, so I had a few weeks of tea to experiment with and taste and try.

I’ve always liked tea, but never tried loose tea. And it’s REALLY different, but in a good way. It’s much more flavorful and rich and doesn’t have that weird tangy aftertaste bagged tea sometimes leaves behind. And, of course, after I figured out how to use the IngenuiTEA, I went ahead and ordered more tea samples from Adagio. I picked mostly flavored teas, thinking the black teas were probably all the same (I was *very* wrong about that). This morning I ordered a few refills and a few more samples- this time all traditional black teas.

I have a few favorites: Irish Breakfast, Yunnan Jig, Lemon Soleil, Vanilla Oolong, Jasmine Rooibos, Candy Apple, and Candy Cane.

I also found a few I don’t like or flat out despise: Earl Grey Bravo and Cocomint Rooibos (the Cocomint was just awful- it tastes like something a doctor might make you drink before a colonoscopy). I was surprised that I didn’t like the chocolate teas at all. I’m a HUGE chocolate fan and figured tea and chocolate would be a wonderful combo. But it doesn’t work for me.

(image from getty)

I have two cups of tea every day, one in the morning and one in the early evening. It’s like a little ritual I’ve created just for myself. I love sipping at the tea and relaxing, and just taking a break from everything. It’s amazing how a little tiny change to your regular life (like a cup of tea every day) can really affect the quality of your life in general.