Recently, I’ve found myself in a tea rut. Every morning before work, I make myself a pot of the Georgian Village black tea I love from Tea Embassy, pour most of it into my travel mug, and drink the rest while I finish getting ready. At work, I drink various Harney & Sons tea 
sachets by the cup because I find making pots of loose tea challenging at work. And on weekends, I make a pot of some kind of flavored black tea and drink it through the morning, finishing it as iced tea if I don’t get through it all right away.
While this is not a bad routine, and I enjoy every cup of tea, I realized recently that I was completely stuck in a rut. I hadn’t touched any of my oolong or green teas in ages, and hadn’t even sampled some Darjeeling tea a friend brought me from a trip to India. I have a big cabinet full of teas, and yet I was reaching for the same ones over and over again. Tea is such a comforting beverage, I think sometimes I get stuck on the soothing qualities of one particular tea, and then I forget to switch gears every once in a while.
Maybe it happens when there is a lot going on in my life, and tea becomes a safe harbor – the one thing that doesn’t change. I think back to times of great upheaval in my life, and I know I’ve always had my tea to get me through. It’s interesting to me, though, that in those times, I tend to drink exactly the same types of teas every day. I know when I have a lot of change going on, I like to have at least one small thing that’s under my control, and I guess by keeping my tea routine “routine,” I can exert a modicum of control.
Having realized this, however, I’ve vowed to keep my tea routine more fluid, changing among my favorites more often. I made myself a pot of a wonderful charcoal-roasted Tung Ting oolong from Red Blossom Tea that felt an old friend. I missed the complex flavor and roasted notes of this gorgeous oolong. I even bought a lovely lemon-vanilla white tea from The Steeping Room the other day, and interrupted my weekend flavored black tea routine to fit it in. It was a fresh, clean taste to welcome the warmer weather.
I’m going to try the Darjeeling tea my friend brought me, and incorporate it into my roster of teas. And since it’s spring, I may even order some first flush Darjeelings for myself, because they are a treat I haven’t had in a long while. So it’s like the old song says: “Make new friends, but keep the old … one is silver, but the other’s gold.” I’ll make some new tea friends, but keep my old standbys on tap to keep myself grounded.
As I was reading your post Nancy, I realized I do the exact same thing. My pleasure is green tea however. I tend to drink the same 2-3 favorites and neglect all the other samples that are waiting patiently for me in my cabinet. I’m thinking that week-ends will be the ideal time to experiment and expand. I don’t want to shift out of my week-day ritual as I suspect I need it to ground me. My old favorites provide comfort as I start the day and remind me that all is well, despite the challenges of the day that faces me.
Thanks for your astute observations. We humans are indeed creatures of habit.
Thanks, Michelle! I’m going to keep rotating my teas as well, but I know I’ll keep my old favorites in the mix.