My 10 Favorite Tea Blends

When I traveled to England for the first time 14 years ago, I was not yet a fan of tea.  I generally ordered “still water” when eating at cafes on that trip, which was, apparently, a very American thing to do.  (They typically serve hot tea or mineral water in the UK, which has quite an unusual flavor.)  But after coming back to the States, I started steeping mugs of hot tea until I was a full-fledged tea afficianado.  I’ve now had afternoon tea at close to 20 hotels and tea rooms, and on every trip we take I scoop up a tin of tea to take home as a reminder of our travels.

Every day, rain or shine, I make my husband and myself a hot mug of tea in the morning.  I typically have another mug in the afternoon, and we often have a pot in the evenings.  It refreshes and recharges me, whether it’s an herbal tea, green tea, or black tea.  (Tip: If you want to add milk to your tea, black tea is the best option.  Most herbal and green teas will not work with milk – it will just curdle.)  If I’m stressed tea calms me down, and if I’m tired it gives me a boost of energy.

Here are my 10 favorite tea blends that I find to be the best little luxuries for every day:

1. Lavender Earl Grey Tea by Twinings (black tea) – The most wonderful way to start my day – a steaming cup of lavender earl grey with cream or milk makes me feel that all is right with the world…  (unless I read the news just afterwards).

2. Strawberry Vanilla Rooibos Tea by Republic of Tea  (red tea) – This sweet, comforting tea tastes almost like strawberry shortcake.  I drink it piping hot, but it could likely make a lovely iced tea as well.  A splash of milk is a good addition to this one.  It’s perfect for an afternoon pick me up.  (I’ve served this at tea events I’ve hosted and it’s always a favorite, even for little girls.)

3. Cream Earl Grey by Good Earth Tea Company (black tea) – A strong but wonderfully flavored black tea sprinkled with blue cornflowers… Good for first thing in the day, or for later on with a bit of milk.  (A slightly more masculine sort of tea.)

4. Wedding Tea by Harney & Sons (white tea) – Heaven in a tea cup.  This delicate tea has lemon, rosebuds, and vanilla flavor that makes you want to sip away at it all afternoon.  White tea must be steeped at a lower temperature using less-than-boiling water, so be mindful of that to achieve the optimal flavor.

5. Lady Grey Tea by Twinings (black tea) – Did you know that Earl Grey tea was named after a real person, who was called – (what else?) – Earl Grey?  Earl Grey is one of the best known tea flavors around the world, and the classic British tea company Twinings created this slightly lighter, feminine twist with a delightful citrus flavor.

({Our tea cabinet is lined with this floral wallpaper.})

6. Peppermint Tea by Stash (herbal tea) – My husband and I did a taste-test of every peppermint we could get our hands on, and this one won.  We tried every blend from Highgrove organic peppermint (from King Charles’ private estate), to Fortnum & Mason’s peppermint tea…  But this one, grown in the Pacific Northwest, has the best flavor we think.  It is wonderful for cold weather season, or for when you need to relax a bit.

7. Chocolate Tea by Piper & Leaf (black tea) – Piper & Leaf has wonderfully unique blends – (someone behind the scenes has a true gift for combining flavors) – and it’s hard to choose just one to recommend.  But anything that tastes like chocolate and has almost zero calories is a great idea, don’t you think?  This one tastes best either as an iced tea with lots of sugar, or hot with sugar & milk.

9.  Raspberry Truffle by Pinky Up Tea (yerba mate/herbal tea) With its beautifully packaged tea tin, this luxurious blend would make a wonderful gift for a tea-drinking friend.  It really does taste like drinking a chocolatey, raspberry confection.  It’s unusually sweet all on its own, so no need to add sugar.

10. Custom Tea Blend by Fortnum & Mason (black tea) – I experimented with the bespoke (custom) tea blending service at Fortnum & Mason in London a couple years ago, and we loved the tin of tea we brought home to the States!  The code for the custom blend I made is “5062794“, though I’m not sure they’re taking custom blend orders online at the moment. It’s loose leaf, so I recommend scooping the tea directly into your teapot and using tea strainers over your teacups or mugs.

{The above photo shows this teacup, this tea strainer, and these gold tea spoons for stirring.  The cream pitcher is from my wedding china by Lenox.}

So there you have my 10 favorite tea blends!  Tea is one of those things that takes just a few minutes to prepare and enjoy, but it makes a tremendous difference in how I feel…  If you have a favorite tea, feel free to share it in the comments below.

Till next time,

Katrina

{Some links in this post are affiliate links, and some links are not.  This post is not sponsored and all tea products mentioned were purchased by us.}