Most people tend to fall into two categories: coffee drinkers or tea drinkers. I myself have had a lifelong love affair with tea. It began in my teens when I made milky cups of Lipton's in the lime green and bright yellow plastic 70s kitchen of my childhood home. There was something about pouring boiling water from the kettle that made me feel like a grown up for the first time. Drinking caffeine is one of those rituals that initiate you into adulthood, yes? I progressed from Lipton's into a 20 year relationship with Earl Grey. Possibly the longest I've had to date. (Does that sound sad to you? I hope not. I'm not sad.) Early Grey is one of those love 'em or hate 'em brands. I have known pregnant women who would vomit at the mere sniff of the stuff. Whereas I was addicted. Always milky. Always weak. Then a couple of years ago just after I gave up my pathetic attempts to be a coffee drinker as well (I used to ask for a cappuccino so weak my barista called it coffee flavored milk) I switched allegiance to chai. Not sure how this came about. It certainly couldn't have been due to my experience of those disgusting powdered chai lattes they sell in cafes. I vaguely remember a hippy mate brewing up a batch for me. And suddenly I was in love again and my new mistress was chai tea. My body seems to feel healthier after drinking the stuff. All those nourishing spices counteract the nutrient stripping element of caffeine. In the process of pursuing this affair I have invented a new drink. Being a frothy milk lover from way back I top my brewed chai tea with the same and have named it the chaiccino. It is my steady companion. Although, I am also partial to a bit of lemongrass and ginger at the end of the day. I'm drinking the old herbal now in a china cup. It is mind-blowing how much better tea tastes in china. I didn't work this out until my forties (cough, splutter, that's giving a lady's game away, what?) but I'm passing this lesson onto you now so you can learn from my youthful folly.
Anyway, to get to the point: A cup of tea goes with Tarot cards like Fred Astaire goes with Ginger Rogers or Toast with Vegemite. Gypsy fortunetellers in the movies always have a cup of tea at hand in the back of their wagon when they're reading someone's cards. (Although, maybe that's in case they need to read the tea leaves as a back-up?)
What about you? What is your drink of choice when reading the cards? Or even, when not...
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