Tea has always been associated with hospitality in my mind and in the minds of so many others. When a visitor comes into your home it is courtesy to offer him or her a drink and a little something to eat. In my home when I was growing up there was always a pot of tea made for visitors along with some of you mother’s home baked oatmeal cookies. Oh how I loved those cookies. They were just the right side of sweet for my taste buds. They were so filling and so huge. Either that or I was just tiny but whatever it was, I loved those times. In my own home nowadays I always carry on the family tradition of being as hospitable to guests as possible. Now though rather than only serving plain black tea with a little tray of milk and sugar as my other did, I have a selection of teas to offer guests. I am a real tea aficionado. I love nothing better than testing out all the latest teas. I really enjoy herbal and fruit teas but I guess that these are technically not tea as there is no tea in them. The proper word for these is actually ‘tisane’ however I tend not to bore people with that! Buying tea I am such a tea geek that it is unbelievable. I have traveled to many different places and have even booked vacations to places I have heard serve good tea! I went all the way to southern Turkey for a few years running each summer as I had sampled some Turkish tea which I found to be delicately balanced and beautifully flavored. My favorite there was apple and cinnamon tea. The Turkish tea shops were amazing places filled with all manner of sweet treats and delights. No wonder I kept going back! Thankfully I eventually managed to wean myself off my expensive traveling habit however! I have also got a huge liking for Chinese tea and I try to purchase oolong tea as often as I possibly can. There are many different subtypes of this particular tea and I prefer the spicier ones. All however are lovely and extremely palatable. Serving your tea Whilst I was on one of my Turkish trips I purchased some little glass tea sets in different colors. These are so attractive and really make the tea drinking experience one to remember. If you are serving a special tea, there is no point in insulting it by using an old mug. No, a good tea deserves to be presented beautifully and to be savored and every time I purchase oolong tea I make sure that I do it justice in my presentation. Looking to purchase oolong tea? The team at Mountain Tea can help. In the business since 1977 growing and selling their own teas from their tea gardens in Taiwan, Mountaintea.com is the only one stop shop for all you tea purchasing needs.
