Vanilla Tea (Comfort in a Cup)

Most mornings my coffee machine gets put to good use. I’ve squirreled away far too many bags of a coffee called Sweetie Pie, a pumpkin pie flavored grind, to not let my machine gurgle happily every day. But late weekend mornings, when I find myself cuddled up in blankets and pillows reading a book, or obsessively Pinteresting, I want a beverage that is a little tamer. Maybe a little less get-up-and-go. For those days I make a healthier version of something that I tried during my study abroad in England, and loved ever since. Vanilla tea with milk and sugar (except I make it with vanilla almond milk and stevia). Those Brits LOVE milk and sugar in their tea, and the Chinese do too coincidently. I remember my Chinese grandfather making me what he called cha chow, meaning “milk tea” when I was small, for those days when it was too cold outside to play. I later found out that my grandfather’s tea is a Hong Kong-style milk tea, which actually originates from the influence of British colonial rule over Hong Kong in the early 1840s. I refer to my vanilla tea with vanilla almond milk and stevia as my “liquid sugar cookie tea,” but C thinks it should be called “cupcake tea,” as it smells like a sugary vanilla confection, but isn’t! The aroma is instant comfort, and almost certainly guarantees that if you make it, anyone within nose-shot is going to either want you to make them a cup, or cuddle with you.

Here’s what I use:

Tea kettle of boiling water

Bigelow French Vanilla Tea (caffeinated or decaf, it’s the best vanilla tea I’ve come across, and I’ve tried a lot)

Silk vanilla almond milk (this doubles the vanilla flavor, but you could use milk and a splash of vanilla extract if you want)

Truvia (or sugar, but hey, I’m trying to be healthy here!)

Optional:

Low fat (or even non-dairy) whipped cream

Cinnamon

Performance:

I begin by sleepily wandering into the kitchen, filling the kettle with water to my desired amount, then plopping myself back in bed with a book. Once summoned by the kettle’s siren song, I grab my favorite mug (you know you have one too) and fill it mostly with hot water, leaving some space at the top for the vanilla almond milk. Pop in your vanilla tea bag, and let it steep for as long as you can stand it (I tend to be extremely impatient though). Then, I add my preferred amount of Truvia, and some vanilla almond milk. At this point I usually stir and enjoy, but if I’m feeling fancy that morning I’ll add a swirl of low fat whipped cream and a dusting of cinnamon.

P.S. I just found this amazing tea by a company called the Republic of Tea. It’s a Red Velvet Cupcake tea, and oh my stars, is it amazing. I prepare this tea the same way I make Bigelow’s French Vanilla, and it tastes just like red velvet cupcakes. It’s also super healthy and is blended with rooibos, chocolate, and beet root bits. As the company says, you can now, “Have your cake and sip it too!”

Find it here: http://www.republicoftea.com/red-velvet-chocolate-herbal-tea-bags/p/V02157/

Cheers!