While coffee holds a large chunk of my heart, hot tea has captured a section of it in the past few years. (I say, “hot tea” because as a Southerner, sweet iced tea has always been a glorious thing, though I usually only drink it now as a special occasion due to the sugar content.) Though I drank it semi-regularly before, after going to Laura’s Tea Room in the small town of Ridgeway, SC, my love for the beverage became more enthusiastic. There’s something about a tea party, the variety of teas, the little sandwiches and cakes, dressing up and wearing hats, pretending that you’re drinking with the Queen … or pretending that you are the Queen, that ushers in such happiness. Now, I often use tea to wind down my day, to signify that it’s time to stop eating, snacking, extending dessert and start preparing for bed.
I’ve recently become obsessed with the Republic of Tea website, so a lot of the teas on this list come from there. They have great teas and its just a fun web store. I’m not a paid advertiser for them, I just appreciate them. If you do get inspired to try some different teas, use my referral link to help me get more tea.
Here’s my list of favorite teas right now.
This tea has a rich berry taste without it being a berry focused tea. It’s a black tea, so I like to add a little bit of half and half or milk, which makes this already creamy tea (it doesn’t have lactose in it, so I don’t know why or how it feels creamy to me before, but it just does) divine. Get this tea.
I’m not usually really into the herbal teas, but this one is surprisingly wonderful. It has Thai ginger and lemongrass, so it has kind of a lemonade taste to it. I just add about 1/4 teaspoon of honey to it and it is quickly becoming my favorite evening wind down tea. Get this tea.
Cream Irish Tea from Metropolitan Tea Co.
The only tea this go around that’s NOT from the Republic of Tea, I can only find this specific tea at Laura’s Tea Room, which makes me sad. I’m down to just a little bit of loose leaf tea left in my tin and am clinging to the memories. This is definitely a tea to add cream or milk. It’s practically coffee. I’m also a fan of Irish Cream flavors, so it’s pretty perfect.
I love almond flavored things. I love vanilla flavored things. Put them together and it’s like the perfect marriage. These partners never tire of each other and I never tire of them. I don’t know what else to say. It’s delightful. Get this tea.
It’s seriously like drinking cake. Add some cream to it and you won’t even need to eat dessert. There are no calories in this tea, which feels nuts. When I’m really trying to curb my sugar intake, I drink this when I get a bad sugar craving. Also, funny story. This is also the same tea as the Downton Abbey Mrs. Patmore’s Pudding Tea. I did not realize that and ordered both of them once, thinking that I was ordering two different teas! I paid less and got more tea in the Caramel Vanilla Cuppa Cake tin. Not to say that I don’t enjoy my Downton Abbey tin, just know that you’re definitely paying for the name. Get this tea.