3rd April, 2007: From Beer To Bigelow Tea!
I drink a lot. Not “a lot” in the sense that I have a problem, but in the sense that my default nighttime drink is beer. How this came about is not important, but the short version is that I live in a college town and drinking is just what you do.
Unfortunately, for the last couple of months or so, I’ve been getting over beer. Don’t get me wrong, I still love it, but what with the growth of my belly and the shrinking of my bank account, it seems ill-advised to kill a six-pack of micro-brew every night (with help from my love and my neighbors). Which is why Dawn and I have been searching for a replacement.
Soda doesn’t work because it gives me a stomach-ache. Dawn does the fruit juice thing and I love a glass of lemonade, but I never want more than a glass, which isn’t enough to get me through the night. For the last couple of months, despite the desire to stop drinking beer every night, my taste for other beverages just wouldn’t match up with my need to constantly have some sort of liquid within arm’s reach.
But that all changed last week, and I gotta tell ‘ya, Dawn and I couldn’t be happier.
What happened was, I finally started liking tea. For the last 29 (almost 30) years, I have not been a tea drinker. I didn’t like hot tea and I didn’t like iced tea. As with all of my food-related quirks, I blame my mother. We never had iced tea in the house growing up, and I’ve never seen either of my parents brew a cup of tea. If you asked my brothers (and you can, since they read this blog), I don’t think they drink tea either. Come to think of it, I don’t remember seeing anyone in my family — except maybe the clan in Connecticut — ever drinking a cup of tea. We’re Callahans. We don’t drink tea. We drink alcohol.
But last week, Dawn got sick. I had been sick the week before, and as soon as I was back on my feet, she came down with it. Where I had only wanted to curl up in the fetal position and wait for the pain to pass, Dawn wanted to have herself a warm cup of tea. Being the great boyfriend that I am, I went out and bought a box of herbal tea. I came home and brewed her a cup, but then…something happened. I don’t know what it was. Perhaps it was the fact that I was still only operating at about 65% of healthy me, but whatever it was, it made that cup of tea smell absolutely delicious. So I brewed myself a cup, and lo and behold, I now love tea.
Since that day, I’ve been drinking about four or five cups of herbal tea per night. I’ve made lemon tea, mint tea, chamomile tea, Earl Grey, green, orange spice, and well, almost the whole product line of Bigelow Tea. At first, I was nervous that drinking so much tea would be bad for me (in the sense that a lot of anything is usually bad for you), but the worst thing that seems to be in tea is caffeine. Fortunately, I’ve been drinking mostly herbal tea, which doesn’t contain any caffeine, but even if caffeine is the worst thing, my morning coffee-drinking (about four or five mugs) has already made me addicted to caffeine, so a little more won’t hurt.
What’s even better than acquiring the taste for tea is the introduction of the tea brewing process into my evening. I spend most nights either curled up with a book or writing on my computer. Both of those activities are more enjoyable when I take regular breaks for about 10 or 15 minutes at a time. When I was drinking beer, that 10 or 15 minute break was taken in walking to the fridge, cracking open a new bottle of beer, and (depending on what Dawn was doing) either spending a few minutes talking or spending a few more minutes surfing the web.
But with tea, that process is taken up by putting on the water, choosing a flavor, rinsing my already-used mug, opening the tea packet, and then standing over the stove and waiting for the water to boil. If Dawn wants a cup too, the whole process is accompanied by an enjoyable conversation. When the water is done and the cup poured, I either go back to what I was doing or continue talking to Dawn while waiting for the tea to steep. By this point, the air has become more aromatic and the mood in the entire apartment more homey.
To enhance our new habit, earlier today Dawn and I invested in a new tea kettle. I can’t wait to see how it improves not the quality of the tea (hot water is hot water, after all), but the quality of our tea-drinking lives. How much more enjoyable the process will be when the happy moment is announced by a whistle!
I gotta tell you, I’m thoroughly enjoying my shift in habit.
Kyle Callahan, fluidimagination.com/blog
Posted by Liesl at 6:00 am |
4 Comments »
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Dear Mr. Callahan (boyfriend of Dawn),
I just cannot tell you how excited I was to read your recent blog talking about your conversion to tea. It was so cool to hear about your old ritual and now see how Bigelow Tea is part of your new ritual.
Bigelow Tea is a family company, started by my grandmother over 60 years ago. It is still 100% family owned and operated…we are passionate about tea!
Well, reading your blog, you carry that same passion which we totally appreciate! I will make sure I share your blog post with all our employees as I know how great it will make them feel…thanx for making our day at Bigelow Tea.
With warmest wishes,
Cindi
Comment by Cindi Bigelow — April 3, 2007 @ 9:15 am
What a wonderful story! I admire your courage to at least “try” tea! Most people don’t know what they’re missing simply because they haven’t tried it. It’s just tea…not some toxic brew!
Enjoy your new found nightly ritual. You’ll be much healthier as well.
Comment by Heidi — April 7, 2007 @ 9:56 am
Kyle, Welcome to tea land! Some wisdom ffrom a 60 year old granny…depending on where you live, your cup of tea will be affected by the quality of your water supply. One surefire way to get maximum enjoyment from the tea, regardless of the type you have chosen, is to use distilled water. You will be surprised at the difference in the taste and the appearence of your drink. No water purifying attachments, no city water treatment plant can void the chemical taste of water out of the tap. Try it, have a tasting party. Blessings, grandmamaddie06@yahoo.com
Comment by Madelene Gibson — April 8, 2007 @ 5:02 pm
Grandma Maddie,
Thanks for your tips on water useage for making tips…very useful!
Happy Tea drinking!
Valorie for Bigelow Tea
Comment by Valorie — April 9, 2007 @ 11:56 am