Tea

Its about time I got around to talking a bit about tea. I love drinking tea and I especially love teapots. Is there any other useful object that has inspired so many to flights of fancy, endless explorations of form and function, or to nostalgia for the almost mythical comfort of the cozy hearth? The teapot is all these and more. It is a canvas for the artist, icon for the homesick, company in the darkest hours, boon companion in contentment, care for the ailing in body or spirit, sympathy in grief, conspirator in schemes and gossip, repository for omens of the future. (If you have visited my website: thrumsend.com, you might recognize this last bit, but I like it so I will repeat it.)
I have been known to drink coffee, especially since a decent cup of tea is not often to be found whilst on the road, but, if I am weary in body, mind or soul- it must be tea. And, due to the advances of time and age, decaffeinated tea (sigh.) But there are some decent decaf Earl Grey teas out there and that is my brew of choice- milky in the morning, straight after noon. I have some dear friends in London who drink a brew of 1/2 darjeeling and 1/2 Earl Grey which is quite nice too. I am also very fond of iced-tea any time of the year- but not that horrid overly-sweetened fruity concoction that some people seem to think is iced-tea. Brewed, unsweetned darjeeling or ceylon. Lemon in the winter, mint and lemon in the hot weather, both with just a touch of sweetening, thank you very much. I have never understood the taste for teas like Lapsang Souchong, but I have also never eschewed the idea that I am not that refined.
This is one of those times of the year when I drink quite a bit of tea- it is cold, icy, rainy, sleety, and muddy out there- just on the brink of the change of seasons. I am hungry for spring, but if I can't have spring yet - and in these days of climate change, I would rather be hungry for spring than have it thrust upon me prematurely- I can have a lovely steaming mug of tea and a biscuit while I read the seed catalogs.
The teapots? I will talk about them later- the kettle is almost at the boil, must run....