4pm: Tea

I've decided that since I'm in England, I might as well adapt some of the weird quirks about the English, but mostly about the boy, that I enjoy.

One of these is the 4pm Cup o' Tea.

Now that the boy has beaten the sugar out of my cup of tea, I like it strong, with a dash a milk so its a nice caramel color. I'm picky about it because I'm not fond of too much milk and weak tea is a waste of my time.

But since the sugar has been taken away with me, I've taken to biscuits (cookies in my book) with an alarming alacrity. I figured that it balances it out nicely, no?

The everyday 4pm cup of tea is not meant to be a nice dainty affair with real china and platters of scones and sandwiches, as much as I'd like it to be, but a reinforcing cup of warmth with a biscuit (or two, or three or four....) to sustain you until dinner. I find it a perfect way to begin thinking about what I'm going to prepare for dinner and not making me so hungry that I want to bite a chunk out of the raw meat I'm preparing.

My tea of choice had been the long held favorite, PG Tips. However, as I find myself just that bit chilly all the time, and craving that hit of hot liquid, I find myself wanting to cut down on the caffeine... just a little. So when the boy brought home the wonderfully retro box of Tick Tock Tea with no caffeine, I was excited... at first. However, upon seeing it rooibos and smelling just that little bit funky, I became apprehensive.

After my sip, I wasn't exactly sold, but I wasn't put off either. Much, much weaker than normal tea, it nevertheless had a comforting aroma and flavor to it. I have surprisingly taken to it quite well and have now cut down to 1 cup of normal tea and three of the Tick Tock Tea.

I have to admit, the cheery box does help.