Tea Time with Sara

[Sara]

[color=#db2007][center][b]Welcome to the cafe![/b]

[URL=http://imageshack.us][IMG]http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/6195/mojoes20outside20windowsz1.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
(image is from [url=http://www.mojoesroscoe.com/]here[/url].)[/center]

After a few comments in the "Who would you like to meet" thread, I thought I would make a post about tea. And coffee. And all that goes with them.

[b]Tell me about your coffee-and-tea drinking habits![/b] Where do you go? What do you buy? What brands do you like? Is there a local cafe you frequent? Do you have a favorite mug, a preferred cream/sugar ratio, a secret recipe, a morning ritual? Do you eat cookies with your tea? Bread? Biscuits?

Lately I've been drinking some tea that a dear friend gave me for my birthday. It has, no joke, Ms. Frizzle on the tin. (See attached image!)

Anyway, it's delicious.[/color]

[DeadSeraphim]

[size=1][color=indigo][font=arial]Coffee, white with two sugars.

Three sugars and two coffees if I'm really ****ing stressed.[/font][/color][/size]

[Malkav]

Starbucks, caramel frappecino, with whip cream. Refreshment for the soul.

[Claire]

[font=arial]The only chance I get to have tea of any kind is when I go to either of my grandparents' houses. Both pairs of them know how to make some amazing sweet tea. I guess it's a southern kind of thing.

As for coffee, I don't think we even own a coffeepot. As far back as I can remember, my parents have never made coffee; my mom always drinks diet coke in the morning. She always orders a cup of decaf when we go out to eat, though.

I don't even remember the last time I went to a coffeeshop. The only place I've ever been is Starbucks, but the last time I went in one of those it was to go to the bathroom (and possibly catch my favorite band buying soy lattes, but I found out they had been in there just before we were. >:[[[).

When I first saw the commercial for the new Starbucks drink thing, I wanted to try it so badly. I never found it in stores, though, and all of my friends told me they didn't like it. Oh weeelll.[/font]

[OMNOMNOMALY]

As far as tea goes, if I'm out, a London Fog (earl grey and steamed milk, with a shot of vanilla for me), but Orange Pekoe or Green tea hit the spot just right when I'm at home and in need of a warm drink.

I love making my own coffee, and I'm a sugar addict, which is gross to most others, but quite delightful to me. I like the flavour of coffee, but I really don't like it black. I recall one instance where I asked the man at Tim Hortons for 4 teaspoons of sugar, and two of cream. He looked at me like I was an alien. So I definitely prefer making it myself or going to places where the cream and sugar is out and you decide how much you get on your own >_>

[Japan]

[COLOR="DarkRed"]I forgot the kind of tea that it is, but I really enjoy this tea called Madagascar Red. I also like green tea. Chai and green teas are the best. As for coffee, I prefer a cold caramel frapiccuno with whipped cream. I also like this coffee latte that is popular at my college cafe. It is called ICP, which stands for armaretto, irish cream, and peach flavoring. Shots from those go in hot coffee with some hot milk. I swear that it tastes just like alcohol. Except, ICP is not alcoholic.[/COLOR]

[desertphoenix]

[SIZE="2"][COLOR="DarkRed"]Madagascar red I think has vanilla in it. I like that a lot, but I really like ginseng more. I'm not much of a coffee person, but I did like those caramel coffee ice cream things from Dairy Queen. I tend to drink tea more later in the day to relieve stress. I like all my teas and coffees sweet. The hotter, the more sugar I can saturate in it:animeswea. [/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Skye]

[size=1][color=indigo]I like coffee. [b]coffeecoffeecoffee[/b]...*happy grin* I drink a mix of French Roast (Maxwell) and Cafe Du Monde Chicory. It's really good. There's actually less caffiene, but it tastes better.

Tea...? Well, if I drink it it's normally just Irish Breakfast Tea, or as we call it, black. Haha. With milk and a spoon or two of sugar.

Hey, anyone heard of bubble tea? And know where I could get some?[/size][/color]

[Fasteriskhead]

Coffee is my lifeblood. I usually go with french vanilla (it tends to mask the cheapness of the flavor, since I can usually only afford budget-brand stuff), brewed [i]very[/i] strong and liberally mixed with a lot of half-and-half and sugar. This is the slow poison that makes it possible for me to function in the mornings.

In the winter I will sometimes forgo the sugar in favor of hot cocoa mix. "Thick" is not a strong enough word for what comes out of this. In summer, on the other hand, I usually go the iced coffee route (try it yourselves!! first make as big and strong a pot of coffee as your 'maker can handle, filling the filter up to right before it hits the point where the grinds'll spill out once they get wet and expand (grinds in iced coffee = no fun); second, turn off the maker, let the pot sit for about two hours, then pour it in a big pitcher; third, add an immense amount of sugar and put the pitcher in the fridge for a few more hours; serve your cold caffinated kick to the head with ice and a generous sploosh of half-and-half).

In spring and fall, especially in the evenings, I'll often forgo coffee in favor of masala chai (which is much lighter and more refreshing - if my normal french vanilla concoction is an M1 Abrams, this stuff is a Lotus Elise). I've seen people make this with all manner of stuff (cinnamon, cloves, [i]black pepper[/i] of all things), but I keep mine conservative. Just a bag of black tea (assam if I can get ahold of it), a good amount of cardamom, boiling water, and cream and sugar (the stuff is even better if, instead of the cream, you replace half the water with boiled milk; I'm usually just too lazy to make it this way). Coffee is the black, soulless fuel I use to keep my body alive for just a little while longer; tea, especially masala, is what I take for comfort and contemplation.

[Semjaza]

I just drink black coffee with some splenda in it. Usually it's iced because I hate feeling hot after drinking something.

I don't have any interesting or heartwarming tales about it. To me it's just a drink and I buy it where ever I'm at that happens to sell it.

[eleanor]

[color=dimgray] The only time I drink tea is when I go to a Chinese restaurant and they pour you jasmine tea to drown out all the oil, lol. It's yummy, but I've never thought to go out a buy it.[/color]

[Retribution]

[size=1]I used to be hooked on this black pepper chai, which I'd fix with french vanilla and sugar. I broke the addiction though, and currently I stay away from coffee or tea.

At work though, my throat was sore so I made some Earl Grey.[/size]

[Zen]

[color=darkred][size=1]

I'm from the American south, and down here we have a special delicacy called Southern Sweet Tea.

8 teabags of Orange Pekoe in a gallon pot. Boil, pour into two one gallon containters, add a cup of sugar to each container, stir, add water, stir again. Serve cold over ice.

This all results in heaven.

I rarely drink coffee because I'm a complete wuss. But I did have an awesome concoction with my girlfriend at a coffee shop recently called a Milky Way Dream... I dunno what was in it exactly, but I figure it was some kind of Mocha mix with whipped cream. Delicious.[/color][/size]

[DeathKnight]

[color=crimson]Whole lotta ice tea gets tossed around in Texas so I drink tons of that. I also brew chai, green, earl grey and random teas that I pick up at the local stores.

I own a french press and a grinder so I just grind up enough for a cup or two or three depending on company or what I need to drink. My parents drink a great lot of instant and that stuff is actually mediocre and not too terrible. I usually drink it black or with a bit of cream or splenda in it.

At Starbucks I get chai tea lattes constantly. It's the only thing I get there, lol.[/color]

[Nerdsy]

[color=deeppink]Tea, Earl Grey. Hot.

I usually take it with some milk or cream because I find it too bitter without, but lately I've grown accustomed to it plain.

I get Twinnings brand, but that's really because of a random choice. I've not experiemented with other kinds.

I'll drink chamomile pretty often too. word of advice: chamomile cures all ailments.[/color]

[Allamorph]

[quote name='The Boss'][color=darkred][size=1]I'm from the American south, and down here we have a special delicacy called Southern Sweet Tea.[/color][/size][/QUOTE]
[FONT=Arial]Quoted for truth, superiority, and emphasis. Also, please note that the sugar measurement is usually general, and that by [I]cup[/I] we usually mean [I]coffee mug[/I].

Darn Yankees don't have a clue what they're missing. :p[/FONT]

[Retribution]

[quote name='Allamorph'][FONT=Arial]Quoted for truth, superiority, and emphasis. Also, please note that the sugar measurement is usually general, and that by [I]cup[/I] we usually mean [I]coffee mug[/I].

Darn Yankees don't have a clue what they're missing. :p[/FONT][/QUOTE]
[size=1]Is Maryland south or north? I always feel lost... because we're south of the Mason-Dixon line and we do have a fair deal of southern culture. But at the same time, our politics are heavily northern.

Sweet tea is awesome, but don't ever buy it in NYC. Terrible.[/size]

[Dagger]

[quote name='Retribution'][size=1]Is Maryland south or north?[/size][/QUOTE]
I'd say the South begins with Virginia.

[quote name='Malkav']Starbucks, caramel frappecino, with whip cream. Refreshment for the soul.[/QUOTE]
Starbucks, mocha frappuccino, occasionally with whipped cream. Gets me buzzed every time. It's probably a good thing I don't drink regular tea or coffee.

~Dagger~

[Sara]

[quote name='Nerdsy'][color=deeppink]Tea, Earl Grey. Hot.[/color][/QUOTE][color=#db2007]Ah, Nerdsy. You never disappoint me.[/color]

[Tibby]

I drink my coffee black and strong! I drink french-pressed coffee in the mornings, and espresso the rest of the day. I usually use Illy beans, and I grind them myself. I used to have a favorite coffee shop. It was owned by an Italian family. He knew just how to make my espresso! Every other shop makes espresso too weak, and some places try to serve it in a huge cardboard cup! They would also order extra bags of Lav Azza beans for any of their regulars who wanted them. Sadly, the Italians sold the shop to non-Italians who couldn't make good espresso. So, I currently do not have a favorite shop. Sorry to all you Starbuck's fans, but for a true coffee connoisseur, Starbuck's is horrible!

Since I was raised on coffee, I don't know much about tea. My fiance is Japanese, and drinks tea. He's made me some, but I don't like it. It's so weak! He's given up on getting me to drink tea, and I've given up on getting him to drink coffee. I've grown up in a family that has always drunk coffee. We have people over, we always serve coffee. We sit around the kitchen table, relax, and chat over coffee. Whenever I have people to my house, the first thing I ask is if they want coffee. My friends often come over just to relax and chat over coffee and espresso, because they say, since the Italians sold the shop, I make the best coffee and espresso in town! Coffee and espresso also help me to quiet down my brain, and focus on what I need to do. Coffee, to me, isn't merely a drink to keep me awake!

[Anakoni Stark]

[SIZE=1] I usually drink hot chocolate with three spoons of sugar when I'm not working on anything, but during the work week I usually drink instant coffee, I preffer that vanilla flavour or the cinnamon flavour.

when I craved something during lunch break, my girlfriend and I walked out to Berritree a local joint only a 5 minute walk from our school, when we were there I usually ordered whatever she ordered cos the names were confusing to remember.

but since we're [physically] seperated now I go to strabucks, because my little sister wouldnt shut up about the place so I went with her, and I ordered a chocolate chip frap, the first few times I went, but later on I ordered the Dulce De Leche which has become my staple drink, but I only drink out there when I'm with company.

[B] EDIT[/B]: I used drink twinnings with milk, but now I'm drinking this honey citron tea my father imported from South Korea, it's not bad, as long as you add the three spoons of sugar and some milk.
I drink all my beverages in a mug that reads: I dont need the [B] AGGRIVATION[/B], however I do need the money. [/SIZE]

[Aaryanna_Mom]

Coffee has never appealed to me. So other than to have it a time or two I've never been one to drink it. But tea?[quote name='DeathKnight'][color=crimson]Whole lotta ice tea gets tossed around in Texas so I drink tons of that. I also brew chai, green, earl grey and random teas that I pick up at the local stores. [/color][/QUOTE]It's just as DeathKnight says. Iced Tea is practically a staple in Texas. At least it was where I was raised. And though it pains me to say it, most of the time it was the only way to drink water since it tastes so terrible down there. You had to turn it into tea!

Though now that I'm in Utah I've turned into an Iced Water drinker. The spring water from the surrounding mountains is great stuff and on some levels I prefer it over tea. That and I've had to give up a lot of things that I like. I have to be careful about what I get in any type of tea or any other drink for that matter.

I've been reduced to only having it occasionally when I use to always drink it. And when I do I have one it's a type of herbal tea that is either lemon or raspberry flavored.

[Ezekiel]

[SIZE="1"]Being English, there is only one type of tea for me:

[B]Tetley Tea[/B].

[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E22PvBxtALM"][[B]link[/B]][/URL] for one of their ads if anyone is interested, which makes me smile for some odd reason.

Stuff all that European rubbish, I'm very happy with a teabag dipped in water for about ten seconds, before drowning it with milk and about three sugars.

In an interesting contrast, I have no milk or sugar in my coffee, and a large spoonful of granuals. Usually I drink Columbian, but Arabic has a certain aroma about it that I just really like. If I have sugar in my coffee it seems far too sweet to me, and I really like the bitter taste it has.[/SIZE]

[Raiyuu]

Am I the only one that thinks Starbucks coffee tastes like a hot, watery oil slick?

Is it just because I'm British...?

I prefer Coffee Republic, or BB's Coffee and Muffins. Black, but not overly strong - and if I feel like it, with a dash of hazelnut syrup. Just as a safeguard against the occasional vileness of high-street coffee - it takes the bite off if the barrista's made me a duff cup.

[r2vq]

[color=#007520]I can't drink tea in any form.
I've tried [color=black]Black[/color], [color=green]Green[/color], [color=red]Red[/color], [color=brown]Iced[/color], or even [color=purple]Bu[color=black]b[/color]b[color=black]l[/color]e [color=black]T[/color]ea[/color] are all disgusting. I don't know why I don't like them, most of my friends drink the stuff like it's water...

There's a stereotype that Asian people always drink hot water, or iced tea. I wish I could say it weren't true, but I have a lot of asian friends, and I serve a lot of asian guests...

[quote name='Nerdsy'][color=deeppink]Tea, Earl Grey. Hot.[/color][/QUOTE]Such a nerd. XP

[quote name='Anomaly']I recall one instance where I asked the man at Tim Hortons for 4 teaspoons of sugar, and two of cream. He looked at me like I was an alien.[/QUOTE]Canadian, are we? Either way, don't consider yourself too weird. I've seen someone order coffee with no less than [b][i]thirteen sugars[/i][/b].

Personally, I don't like coffee. It's just so bitter. Even with sugar and milk added... I [i]do[/i] drink it twice a week; on days that I open the restaurant and need a kick to wake me up. I take it double double and sip on it for a half hour. I first tried it with 6 creamers and 6 sugars, but that just seemed silly.

-r2[/color]