Monday 22 February 2016

Tea for Two, and Two For Tea

Not long ago I wrote a post about my favourite tea, as part of my frugal ways. It was one that really did have totally biodegradable teabags and packaging, when so many don't. Almost as soon as that post left my fingertips they stopped making it! Since then I have been buying loose tea and making my own mix (of Earl Grey and green tea), and using a little metal plunger. But I can't find loose tea in biodegradable packaging except for one at $18 for a small bag. I'm not going back to work so that I can drink my favourite tea!
So my solution is...

Tea Plants - Camelia Sinesis 

I found a couple of these at the local garden centre.


So hopefully soon I will be able to produce the green tea portion of my brew, and just got a little more self sufficient in the process. Then I will just have to figure how to make Earl Grey tea. I have read that black tea comes from a different variety of tea plant (which is not what the label on my new tea plant says), and the bergamot flavouring is not from the herb bergamot, but from an orange. It might be a bit harder to perfect, but I love a good challenge.
Oh, and I found a coffee plant while I was there, which we have the ideal under-cover environment for.

Reducing the plastic in our lives is a constant. Can you believe how we have all embraced the use of this material without actually thinking about what happens to it in the end - that it never goes away.
If you have glass shower doors you probably have one of these to keep the glass looking good...


They don't last very long before they need replacing. No more replacing. We now use an old towel to wipe down the shower after use. It works perfectly well, saves money and is better for the environment.

And a good few hours of work yesterday saw me picking peaches from son and daughter-in-law's place and preserving them.


The peaches were just falling off the tree, unwanted. Amy wants me to teach her how to bottle fruit one day, but they are in the process of moving house, so not this year. 
I just love being able to help the younger generation learn these skills.

4 comments:

  1. I can't wait to see how the tea making goes!
    Could you teach us how to bottle peaches too, that is something I have never tackled!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sure Cheryl, I might have to go and pick some more peaches I think. The way I do it is pretty easy, it's what my Mum used to do.

      Delete
  2. How lucky you are having access to free peaches! Fruit is so expensive here even when it's in season. I sure do miss my apple and cherry trees and raspberry bushes back in Minnesota.
    And growing your own tea!!! Brilliant! You can make all sorts of wonderful combinations. I order mine from Amazon by the pound. It comes in a brown paper bag but the bag is lined or impregnated with plastic unfortunately. It's the best I can do though. And sometimes that's the best you can do!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes we are lucky, I feel we live in a land of plenty. It can become a full time job growing and processing it - which is the choice I happily made.

      Delete

Hey, thanks for visiting my blog - it is just great when you leave me a comment.