Cuppa Tea

I do not like hot beverages.  In fact, 98% of the time, you'll find me either drinking ice-cold water (the colder the better), orange juice, or caffeine-free Diet Coke.  However, there is one hot beverage that I do drink... Oolong team.  I love oolong tea, but there are only two occasions when I will drink tea.  The first is when I eat Chinese food.  For some reason, no other beverage works for me except a nice, steaming cup of oolong tea.  The orangy black tea is the perfect compliment to my usual order of almond chicken and pan fried noodles.  The second occasion is when I am sick.  And on this Tuesday, it is the later which had me breaking out the oolong.



I've been battling a virus since Friday.  I'm blaming it on the wacky weather we've been having which has pulled me into this funky, drinky mess.  The inconsistencies - first it is really warm, then suddenly it becomes freezing cold - have sent my body and its immune system into a tizzy, so it was time to break out the kettle and oolong.

Whenever I have my tea, I have to have it in a particular tea cup with a very specific spoon.  However, I do not have anything in my oolong... no sweetener (though my doctor is advocating for a liberal use of honey for my throat) of any kind.  I don't like hot drinks, nor do I like a bitter taste.  It is probably why I don't drink (nor ever have) coffee.  Kind of ironic that I don't drink coffee, since I come from the land of Starbucks.  But while oolong's taste is a tad on the bitter side, there is nothing more soothing to me.  Chamomille is too bland, while ginger tea is too... well, ginger.

So, while I nurse my sixth cup of oolong and inhale deeply in an attempt to let the steam from the beverage work its magic on my sinuses (and pores), I'm grateful that I have this little black tea to keep me company while I battle this stupid ick that is overtaken me.  It loves me no matter how drippy or grumpy I become... which is more than I can say for the family.