At the Fish Factory I decided a few weeks ago to stop drinking coffee, fresh coffee from a cafetiere. There were a couple of reasons. Firstly it seemed to be doing something to my belly, as my belly is like a little ruler to the rest of my body I have to listen to it. Quite a large ruler with the present size of it. Then secondly because of my disposition. The coffee could of been adding to the excitement of chopping up fishes and maybe not making me so good at concentrating, which I relate to the caffeine content. I haven't stopped taking caffeine, but rather chose to reduce my intake. So I have ventured into the world of different herbal teas. Which may I state are overly expensive if you purchase them from a cafe. A box of twenty costs about £1.20, while a cup of herbal tea in a cafe cost £1.20 in itself. It's a no brainier. Buy the box and make your own with a 90 percent reduction in costs. The net result has been a slightly calmer frame of mind especially when everyone else is losing theirs.
My preference for these teas depends on the time of day. In the morning I like a little bit of a pick me up so usually tend for a lemon and ginger. The ginger has a slight hot tang at the back of my throat and the lemon is so smooth. It is nice. I might have two cups of this in the morning if I really need a boost. Then there is a chamomile and vanilla one, because I'm worth it. The vanilla is a nice sweet taste even though I consume these with no sugar, this tea just has a sweet taste. It feels extravagant and like I am spoiling myself. But this tea is a strictly one cup a day only for it is too rich. There is also a plane chamomile tea, it has no whistles or bells on it but is like a standard cup of tea. It is the marker of all other teas. I also have a green tea and lemon. Green tea tends to generally be a Jasmine tea and has a much closer taste to actual real tea. This one is subtle. I have once tried the mint tea, but for some reason can not get along with it, or was it the peppermint? I don't know. It reminded me of something old ladies would drink and so I have kept it at arms length. I am particular about the ones I try. I just keep them simple, none of the fancy stuff for me. Then the other day I came across fennel tea. Now I've had fennel with pork and therefore knew it would be a kind of aniseed taste. So I tried this one as well, and yes it is slightly liquorish in flavour but it is also quite soothing. It makes me feel calm, like chamomile tea can.
The thing with these teas is they are all in a locker in the Fish Factory and not at home. At home it is a normal tea bag and some milk, then I'll usually go for two cups, one immediately after the other. It's as though a single cup does not fulfill my desire. I can only come to the conclusion my body is at this time craving caffeine and when I take two cups it is being stored up to get me through the rest of the day. However, on looking into my cupboard of spices I noticed fennel seeds. I got to thinking. These are the same things in the tea bags so why not put a few in the bottom of a cup. Poor in some boiling water and see what happens. After all there is hardly going to be any other side effect. I did. The seeds then all floated to the top, they would not sink down. There followed ten minutes of pressing the seeds with a spoon against the side of the cup so they would soak in water and lose any air. They mostly sank in the cup. Viola, it tasted just like the fennel tea bags I had in a locker in the Fish Factory, with quite a nice aftertaste as well.
I wonder if there is such a thing now as basil tea or even oregano? Could this be another adventure into the realms of the unknown, me thinks so. If it works I could go on and make a mint. I meant a lot of dosh, spondoolies etc. All of which and no caffeiine in sight.
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