In the beginning!!!

In the beginning there was a word and the word was Mother. And it was good. It all started for me through out my whole life. My mother is a living breathing talking walking pair of Ruby Slippers but you don't even have to click your heels at all to be home. She makes everything home. And magical. And she's impervious to evil.

Since I can remember she's been making tea and putting it on a silver tray with one candle, milk, sugar and tea cups that we made or otherwise. No matter if it was Tuesday at 3 AM and we can't sleep or Sunday with guests, it was always as if the queen might be showing up for a cuppa. This experience is deep within me and I want to give it to the world. And I will. Once cup at a time. So I guess it starts there. From my tea classes in Manchester England to the Bellevue Hotel in Darjeeling India, my rubby-slippers-mother has been with me.

Although I agree with Erik that Muscatel is the greatest tea ever, this morning, like most mornings for me summer and winter alike, I'm enjoying a hairy black brew. I like 'em strong. With milk. Today I went for the loose English Breakfast we got from McNulty's Tea & Coffee Company and if you're ever in the West Village you can't pass it up. McNulty's is my very favorite. They've been selling tea since the word Mother and they have a satisfying collection of loose teas in the exact old world looking environment that you want to buy it in. It's the best. Plus, their website has great pictures and a comprehensive explanation of "What tea is."

McNulty's English Breakfast is made with Chinese black tea as part of it's blend (Assam tea from India and Ceylon tea from Sri Lanka being the other two more consistent components of EB). It gives it that sort of wine/whine flavor, which is why I think I like it so much. The trick is, if you like strong tea, use MORE tea in the bag instead of more TIME brewing it. I brewed this fat sack of leaves in the spring green painted tea pot my Mom painted for me. It drips everywhere and it's only decoration is a darker green swirl she painted on the top, but the bottom says "To Lauren Rose, Love Mom." It's the best tea pot of my life.

In the end of this beginning, on this Monday day off, I'm happy drinking McNulty's English Breakfast from this short and stout.

light light light, Lauren.