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OK, this was a whim buy at World Market strictly because the box made me laugh. One side proclaims, BRITAIN WASN’T BUILT ON CAMOMILE. I’ve already deconstructed the box and had a little crafty fun with it.

That said, I expected it to be strong enough to remove nail polish. The artsy preparation tips on the box mentioned “whistling a happy tune for 20 seconds” while waiting for the steep. At 20 seconds, the water was barely tinted. Much better at a proper four minutes; next time we’re going a full five. I wasn’t in the frame of mind to chase down flavor nuances, but the blended teas are from Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda—all of which add nice deep bass notes to the cuppa.

ashmanra sent me a Pinterest-y link with a recipe for applemint/lemon tea, and as our plant is thriving, it inspired me to make my own version. About 3/4 cup of apple mint leaves (left whole; could’ve crushed them), one cut-up lemon, 1/4 cup of sugar, all in a quart jar, topped it off with water and left it overnight in the fridge.

Rather than an apple mint tea, my son and I dubbed it “apple mint lemonade,” and he suggested that I make a gallon as soon as I find the big sun tea jug.

Next time, I’d like to back off the sugar, crush the leaves, and start the steep with boiling water to coax out even more mint.

Simply because the weather forecast was beastly hot and boiling-oil humid, I opted not to bring any bagged or loose tea along on our quick road trip to central Kansas. And then after I thwapped myself on the forehead (what was I thinking?) we landed at a very large Dillons (Kroger offspring) that had several of the Kroger Private Selection teas on sale.

At $2.19 a box, I didn’t expect a lot, especially since I fridge steeped it overnight in a hotel room foam cup. So the resulting chilled morning cuppa was a really pleasant surprise: a decent base tea with enough rose to live up to its name without tasting perfumey or artificial. I liked it so much that way, I put another quart in our fridge as soon as we dribbled home.

Time to use up the remnants of this funny assortment, which has been pretty uniformly delicious on ice, if not flavor-accurate. I fridge-steeped two bags of the “Scotch” label, which never had much of a wood smoke vibe to it; more vanilla-y but really good for a cheap teabag. Life+Style still exists (it’s a wholesaler), the assortment does not , but some of the individual flavors are still around, if you could just figure out what retail outlets they sell to. Hmph.

I’m glad I had enough of this sample from Michelle to make a cup today … I’m bombing myself with preventative medicine as we have some upcoming travel and we’re having a run of the summer cruds at work. One victim whom I sat shoulder to shoulder with yesterday and gave her a hug. (Not regretting it. She had a rough day.)

But, hoping to keep ahead of it, zinc and Vitamin C will be my friends over the next few.

On to the tisane. Some flu-battle blends taste so herby and medicinal you can’t enjoy them much. This one is pleasantly lemony without tasting like you’re chewing dry grass. Would even serve as a nice hot-weather afternooner on ice.

People around here, especially in nasty hot weather, are Sonic (drive-in fast food chain) drink crazy. Addicted crazy. Handed out as work incentives crazy. Today was the latter for our department. Not being a pop drinker, I ordered unsweet iced tea, without expecting a great deal. It was a pleasant surprise to get a large, icy foam cup of tea that tasted like tea and not like citric acid and chemicals. Not stellar, but decent. Just wanted to share should you be driving through Missouri/Kansas and you need something to cool you down lest your eyeballs sunburn. You can find a Sonic in just about any hamlet with a population over 1,000. Of course, your results may vary.

We’re past the halfway point of my 4-ounce packet. Straight up, this is lemon pastry or lemon pudding with meringue on top and absolutely delectable, but there’s enough fluff on top that you do kind of lose the tea base on the bottom end.

Fixed that this morning: half-and-half combo with Charleston Tea Plantation’s Charleston Breakfast (which reminds me of a good quality Ceylon), now on ice. Still plenty of lemony sweetness and a little more strength. Win-win.

Thanks to our encourager and enabler ashmanra, I have fallen toes-over-teacup in love with Brigadoon. I think it’s the cornflower that gives it the little extra starchy sweetness that distinguishes it from conventional breakfast tea.

I’m trying to enjoy it while it’s fresh and new. But since hoarding is hard-wired into my DNA, I was reluctant to shell out enough teaspoons to make iced tea with it. However, it is delicious cold! Smooth and inherently sweet.

A tea named “Handsome Brute” should evoke visions of Jack Sparrow and that captain with the octopus face playing Liars’ Dice. This blend isn’t rum-heavy enough to do that.
The pineapple and coconut beg for a pineapple wedge and a cherry speared with a toothpick served on a tray by a pool boy while you’re listening to the “Pina Colada” song.
Not only do I not have a pool boy, I don’t have a lawn boy, either, so after surviving a sweaty round of mowing, I’m treating this as a lovely tropical mini-vacation, excellent on ice.

One to enjoy in hot weather; not for serious sipping purposes come fall.

We made it through the worst storm season in several years with not even a blip in electrical power; this clear and sunshiny morning, with no earthly-known cause, we went all black two minutes before I had to roll out of bed. Bumbled around getting ready with the aid of camping lights, grabbed an emergency packet of Lord Kensington, and left the house early to get to the work kettle.

I haven’t mentioned this one frequently, but it has become a pantry staple for bleary mornings. The vendor’s description calls it an Assam blend. Its color is a little more orangey-coppery than my favorite straight-up Assams and its flavor is a bit sharper and nippier as well—a feisty Jack Russell terrier skipping alongside the bulldog. I’d try some on ice, but I’m already looking at the bottom of the mug.