• May. 6, 2007
I Do So Love My Electric Tea Kettle!
"When moving house, the first item to be unpacked is the electric kettle. Tea in conjuction with sitting down is so important in British culture that its consumption after unifying and world-shaping events (such as moon landings, cup finals, and the shooting of J.R. Ewing) results in millions of extra kilowatts of electricity being generated to cope with ten million British households putting the kettle on." --From Nicey and Wifey's "Nice Cup of Tea and a Sit Down"
When we headed over to this side of the pond, coffee was my drink of choice. To be more precise, a tall non-fat mocha extra hot with whipped cream from Starbucks, please. I enjoyed a nice Starbucks at least 3 times a week. Please don't try to calculate how much that equals in added pounds! 
It really didn't help that the local Target housed a Starbucks. I mean, I was in that place at least once a week, and the Starbucks smelled soooo good as soon as you entered the "home of the Spot". I was almost always suckered into buying one.
But, alas, being in the land of tea, I thought I'd try it out. Not that I haven't had tea before. I'm a big iced tea drinker back home. And, on rare occasion (and I do mean rare), I have been known to get a Tazo at Starbucks, but for the most part, I'm a coffee girl. Hubby and I decided to try tea during our first week here, after visiting the Princess Di Memorial Playground with the kids. They were having ice cream (in very chilly, windy weather, I might add!), and so we opted for a spot of tea. Now, hubby had been here for a month previous to work, so he schooled me on the preparations of tea. Add lots of milk. And some sugar. Milk? Doesn't that go in coffee? But, "when in Rome, right? So, I added the milk and sugar. And do you know what? It really hit the spot. It was good in a gentle sort of way that coffee is not and cannot be because of coffee's inherent bitterness.
So, pretty much every afternoon now, I fill up my electric kettle (finally figured out what the thing was after 6 weeks being here) and have tea. I have a little individual stainless steel pot to pour from and I love it. I also give my children tea about 3 times a week. They also enjoy it. I think they feel so grown up, drinking out of the real china cups and all. Although, as soon as this box of tea is gone, I will be buying decaf from now on. They love the biscuts much more than the tea, but still. They do enjoy it.
And do you know what? I'm definitely bringing an electric kettle back to the States. Voltage differences or not, I'm bringin' me home a kettle. What would I do without it now?
Comments
• May. 6, 2007
Untitled Comment
Posted by 2peter318
What kind of tea do you drink? Is it herbal tea, green tea, black tea? Like lipton's bag tea? It sounds good, just trying to figure what it is. :)
JoAnn
• May. 7, 2007
tea and stuff
Posted by Kimmie
Hi Joni
I also bit the tea bug while in England...some mornings now I lay in bed wondering...coffee or tea this morning.
We always fill our suitcase upon coming home with oodles of tea from the market (try several brands to find your favorite) (My Pastor's wife like Pujana...I like anything really strong...sometimes I use two bags to attain the cup I like.) P and G Tips you can also find here in the states at the grocery...but still pondering filling up the suitcases with your favorite before coming over the pond. ;-)
I got my electric tea pot at Target, they had two models...cost about $30.00 and so worth it.
I think most high end kitchen stores would also have one or two models to chose from-so don't lug one home...as you very well might have a wattage issue once you try to plug that baby in!
Hugs!
Kimmie
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http://overthemoonwithjoy.blogspot.com
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