Do, Ra, Me, Fa, So, La…

Ti…

Well, tea.

My mother and I went shopping today, our monthly ritual.  While I was in the Apple store, looking for ways to spend money I really didn’t have, my mom chatted up her sister-in-law in the only place she could get cell phone signal… on a bench, across from what would become our new favorite store… Teavana.

As I get older, I realize I have these little nuances, as does everyone.  But what I never put together, is where I get these nuances from.  Long story short — I walk out of the Apple store $60 later, and my mom says, “let’s go here,” as she points to Teavana.  I say, “you don’t even like tea.” She keeps walking, and announces as she’s walks into the store, “I need a tea specialist.”  A young man, who we soon began to call T.J. approached us, seemingly on a caffeine low… odd, due to the fact that he worked at a Tea store.  My mother explained to T.J. that she wanted a tea, that didn’t taste like tea - because she doesn’t like the the taste… of tea, that is.  While T.J.’s initial reaction was amusing, what was more amusing was that my mom had the same half-baked tea notion that I did.  Five years worth of wondering why I didn’t like tea… five years of crazy looks when I asked for “non-tea-tasting tea…”  — it all made sense now.

Anyway, T.J. introduced my mother and I - the only two tea craving but anti tea tasting tea fanatics in the world - to some amazing teas.  It gave us great joy to know that such a thing existed in such high quantity. Thirty minutes, 5 samples and over $100 later, we walked out of Teavana like giddy teenagers.

Always an adventure with that woman.  Gotta love her.

P.S. In case you were wondering, the two teas that we purchased were:

Rooibos Chai: made from Aspalathus linoaris, a South African plant that gives it a rich, red color. The red Rooibos is naturally caffeine-free and filled with vitamin C, minerals, and proteins and combined with cinnamon, vanilla, ginger, and lemongrass.

Rooibos Tropica: blend of Green and Red Rooibos, strawberry, peach, sunflower and cornflower petals, and orange peel.