Dear LPG,

I have done my research and found that we in England are still the nation known to be the second largest tea drinkers in the world.  Well I suppose that it depends on which website you look at but we are up there with the best of them.  I also know that it is the oldies that are upholding the tradition and with that in mind I want to tell you a short story… 

About eight years ago my mum and I decided that it would be a good idea for her to move in with me.  She was an eighty–something-year-old at the time and lived alone while I had just retired.  For some reason I was suddenly much more aware of being alone when I stopped working so the plan suited both of us and still does.

As I looked forward to the big move I thought about how nice it would be to wake her up with a nice cup of tea each morning; a luxury that she has never really experienced before in her very busy life.   Morning number one came and I made her a cup of good old fashioned tea which she told me was really appreciated and so the week continued.  By day number three her reaction to my wake up routine was met with, ‘that is really nice but I would have preferred Peppermint this morning’.  I tried peppermint the next morning but she told me that she would have preferred apple and cinnamon and on the next morning the cup of apple and cinnamon I took her was met with a wish for a cup of dandelion tea.  When I took a proper look I realised that she had moved in with 12 varieties of tea.  And at that point I started to wake her and ask what sort of tea she wanted.  Now she makes her own so my original vision of being able to do that little thing for her each day went down the pan.

The irony is that when I was much younger I decided that I would never actually drink tea again, but my mum’s morning habit got me wondering about all the different varieties there are around the world.  I did a bit of Googling and found a couple of interesting quizzes, some of which have been put there by companies who are trying to sell the stuff online, and I am now warming to starting the day with a concoction of Lemongrass & Ginger Tea.  It has been an education and I hope that a few readers try the online tests.  They may discover a new infusion to add to their collection of preferred beverages. 

GW, Downham

GW has asked us to share the quizzes found…

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…and we have found a few facts about some alternative varieties of tea that may be of interest…

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