The charming new magazine The Simple Things has a brilliant regular slot called My Day in Cups of Tea, in which someone takes the reader through her day through all the cups of tea she drinks, from first cup at breakfast to the last cup at night. The magazine has only been going for two issues but so far, the participants seem to drink quite a lot of tea, which is comforting, because so do I. So I thought I'd try it myself. Mine's strong, lots of milk, half a sugar please.
8-8.30am: The first cup of the day. This is CRUCIAL. Without this cup of tea, I basically can't function. Drinking it while reading a magazine sets me up for the day. I savour this cup of tea. In fact, sometimes I find myself looking forward to it as I go to bed the night before.
11am-12pm I work from home and I don't allow myself my second cup until after I've left the house. Even if it's just a short walk to the shops, I reward myself with the second cup of the day. Like all at home workers, I have to be disciplined, otherwise I'd basically mainline tea all day. It's all about pacing. I tend to have this tea at the kitchen table. Hey, it's basically my elevenses.
2pm The post-lunch cup. The caffeine and sugar (or agave syrup, to be exact) is necessary to keep my energy levels up while I work. At least that's what I tell myself. This tea is always drunk at my desk.
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5-6pm Officially the last cup of the day. Already I'm heading into the over-caffeinated zone. But I need that soothing tea! Actually, it's 5.15 as I write this and I haven't had that cup yet. *runs off to put kettle on*
Right, I'm back now, tea by my side. Ah. Ready to pay homage to what really is....
8pm The last cup of the day - but it doesn't count. Because at this stage I try to drink decaf tea. Not herbal tea. Decaf "normal" black tea. You can always tell the difference and yet I continue to drink it, because it at least gives me the illusion of having one more cup of tea without keeping me running to the loo/lying awake all night.
Obviously, not all my days are the same. Sometimes there are more cups of tea (there are never fewer). So how about you? How does your daily tea consumption go?
Are you loyal to a particular brand - Barrys or Lyons say? Or does coffee float your boat? Do tell!
