Inside my house the temperature is 52 degrees. That is according to the thermostat for the new heating system that is not functioning yet. Outside the temperature is in the 60's. I should be used to this by now, after 8 years of heating with a woodstove, but I am freezing right now! So I made myself a hot mozzarella and pesto grilled cheese and was waiting for water to boil for some hot tea. I opened up the latest post from Foxs Lane and it was about tea! They featured a tea company started by two women in Australia who wanted to do something they love that would be flexible with their family life too. They are offering a give away today, so if you pop over and comment, you'll be in the running to win some tea!
Then I thought about the book that I reading right now, Baking Cakes in Kigali, by Gaile Parkin. I normally read more serious novels and historical non-fiction, but this is a fun and easy read about life in Rwanda post-genocide. It follows the daily life of a woman who bakes cakes. New characters are introduced when customers come to place an order for a cake and most of them have amusing problems and stories. It is an entertaining read. The reason that I am mentioning it here, is that drinking tea plays a prominent role in their society. Every time someone comes to visit, they are offered tea. When there is a problem, they make tea and it gives them time to think while the water is boiling. They drink a sweet, spicy tea made with milk and sometimes honey. It sounded to me like chai and in fact when a new customer from India comes to visit the main character, she says the tea is similar to what they drink in her country.
American culture is focused more on coffee - I think its the go, go, go mentality. I am a chai latte drinker myself, and as much as I hate to admit it, seeing the Green Goddess always gives me a good feeling (except when it is litter on the ground). However, my husband and I have discovered a great tea house that is the total opposite of Starbucks and they still make a good chai latte. Dobra Tea started in Czechoslovakia and has a really fascinating story. We have visited their tea houses in Asheville, Portland (Maine!), and Madison. All really cool, funky places with a feel good vibe.
Oh, and one last comment on tea. When my dad comes to visit us, he can't understand how we can live without a microwave. We just do not need one. We don't eat frozen dinner foods, we have a toaster oven that heats up leftovers just fine, and the thought of all those crazy micro waves zinging around my house freaks me out. (even though they are apparently proven scientifically safe) Yes, we do not have boiling water for tea on demand. When we want some, we actually have to wait 5 minutes for the water to boil on the stove. But isn't that part of the reason that we drink tea - because of the calming, soothing, slow down effect that it has? That is why I drink it.
And to warm me up!