I’m sitting here all cozy, drinking my hot cuppa tea, and I realize that I must thank Debbie for introducing Rand, and by extension, me, to The Tea Emporium.

The Tea Emporium is a wonderful little tea shop with three locations in the Toronto area. They sell loose tea, which is kept in tins behind the counter. They will bring out anything you like so that you can smell it before purchasing. Rand had been there twice already, but I got to go for the first time on our recent trip to Toronto.

We bought Chocolate Chai, Vanilla Rooibos, Margaret’s Hope (Darjeeling), and some fruity-type flavors that promise to make wonderful iced tea. We haven’t sampled the fruit ones yet, but everything else is absolutely amazing. I’m already wishing we’d gotten more of the Margaret’s Hope.

On his last trip there, Rand bought Spearmint and Peppermint, which I haven’t tried, but they smell lovely.

Needless to say, I’ve become a complete tea snob. My love of tea started when I was dating X. His parents were from Great Britain, and it was impossible to visit his house without drinking several cups of tea. (the tea was served with sugar and milk, of course.)

But up until the past couple of years, I was content drinking bagged tea. Not anymore, though. We’ve accumulated quite a collection of tea accessories.

First, there’s the Teavana Perfect Tea Maker, quite possibly the coolest invention ever.

You put the loose tea in the cup and pour water into the cup. Let the tea steep, then drain the water by placing the cup on top of your mug. The water drains, leaving the soaked tea leaves inside.

Then there’s the T-Fal Vitesse kettle, sort of like a hot pot, only better. I believe the one we have is the 7-cup high speed, which appears to be unavaliable on Amazon right now. You put the water in, put the kettle on the stand, and push down the button to start boiling. When it’s ready, the button pops up, both letting you know the water’s ready and shutting off the power.

If I didn’t enjoy the atmosphere of the coffee shop so much, I would never go out for a cup of tea again. 😉

As far as types of teas, I find that I like black teas best, and I especially love chai. Herbal teas are good sometimes, but I usually reserve those for when I’m not feeling well. I like my tea with honey or sugar, and a little bit of milk or cream. I usually do my chai latte-style, with lots of milk.

Are you a tea drinker? If so, what’s your favorite? I’m always looking for new things to try!