"Novel" teas (what to sip while you're reading)

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert + Chanakara teas or Ayurvedic teas?

http://www.stashtea.com/products/Chanakara+Loose+Leaf+Tins.aspx
http://www.harney.com/Chopra-Teas/products/339/

This topic has been buried for quite a while, but had to make an addition … recently reacquired some comfort reads — the final four of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie series (read my original set till they were paper hash when I was in grade school). Was pleased to be reminded that Pa Ingalls preferred tea: “Now, there’s a man’s drink!”

I tend to brew up a pot of black tea when I sit down to read. Of late I’ve been rereading the Sherlock Holmes stories (I’m addicted to the BBC’s new show Sherlock) so it’s been pots of English Breakfast and some lovely Yun Nan Dian Hong. :)

At long last, I have bookshelves, so I treated myself to a run to a used bookstore to see if I could begin to (cheaply) restock some of my favorite fiction…nabbed two Appalachian ballad mysteries by Sharyn McCrumb (highly, highly recommended) and I am now craving sassafrass tea. Putting Pappy’s Concentrate on the shopping list right now…

Tea can certainly aid the readers senses. I have just finished reading book based in Sweden and so I read it with a few cups of traditional liquorice dream tea from Sweden (a friend was kind enough to send me this). It was wonderful.

Now I am reading Popcorn by Ben Elton and the only tea I can think to go with it is some of the Japanese rice tea (tea pigs have one called popcorn which tastes like the Japanese rice tea).

I’m currently reading Alexander the Great by Robin Lane Fox and Earl Grey is going along with it nicely. :)

I generally go for green teas – the caffeine+l-theanine combination keeps me awake and interested, but not overstimulated like I might get if I drink too much black tea or something like that :-)

Then again, I’m always tempted to drink green tea no matter what I’m doing, so I might be a little bit biased on this one :p

Currently, when I’m not reading junk for grad school, I’ve been reading P.S. I Love You – I’ve found this goes nicely with floral teas such as Jasmine Pearls or with a nice roasty oolong throughout the afternoon.

(Just bringing the topic back up from Davy Jones’ Locker…)

Enjoying a YA sequel, “Return to Treasure Island” by John O’Melveny Woods and wishing I had a bit of Butter Rum or Rum Raisin to swig with it.

Earlier this week, I drank Rainforest Chai (52teas guayasa blend) while reading State of Wonder. It seemed appropriate!