Homemade Tea: 2010 Blend

Confession: I’m a very highbrow, sophisticated tea drinker. When sitting with tea, people are not allowed to look me in the eye. Some have claimed to experience an “intellectual high” while in my tea-drinking presence. Yes.

My mom loves tea and, more and more, it’s becoming my drink of choice. Brain juice! In 2008, I made my first attempt at creating a tea from scratch. It seemed like 1) a fun activity, and 2) a great gift idea. I selected some Chinese green tea and combined it with dried pear and a very little bit of lavender. I think it was a big hit.

This year I made my best friend a 2010 blend using Chinese green tea, dried papaya and dried pineapple. Essentially, you can combine any flavors that you think might mingle well together. With the selection of the herbs or fruits or any other flavoring you just want to make sure that you choose food-grade products (not, um, potpourri). Throw a spoonful  of your mix into each teabag (many coffee shops or tea houses carry the empty satchels).

By far the most fun to be had here is the “design” portion. I found a small box, designed a cute label and placed my tea bags inside. Each teabag is sewn shut with just a few stitches of regular thread and topped off with a tiny cardstock tag. Previously, I illustrated little objects onto each individual tag. This year I used my typewriter to personalize them with my buddy’s nickname. Ta-dah.

Drink up, nerd badasses!