Tea

Leandra and I just thought we'd share a find of ours recently. Since the New Year, we both resolved to only drink coffee on the weekends. I had developed a 4 cup-a-day routine, and Leandra and developed a 4-buck-mocha-a-day routine, neither of which were very good on our bodies or wallets. So, we made coffee a treat for ourselves--only for weekends. On days we shoot a wedding it is definitely a necessity, but for lazy Sundays and wedding-free Saturdays, we've been having some nice, work-free coffee dates.

All's well and good for the weekends, and we're drinking a lot less money coffee. For the rest of the week, we've just started drinking a lot of tea. (And by a lot, I mean, a lot. Especially when this idea of ours first started.) Last week, we discovered Zhena's, which we've really been enjoying. It seemed like it was hard enough finding a coffee that was fair-trade certified, and teas are no different. Zhena's is fair trade and organic... and the price reflects it. (It also makes a lot of promises about aromatherapy, but as long as it smells "good," I'm fine. I don't expect any higher-enlightenment from tea aromas.) Unlike other fair-trade and/or organic teas though, the container is reusable and refillable with large refill bags that you can order online to help defray the cost a bit. On top of that, even though 30 cents a tea-bag is pretty expensive for tea, it's nothing compared to our previous coffee-shop fare. So, here it is, our favorite thing this week:

We bought the Chai and Earl Grey varieties, both of which are very good. What's that resting on top of our mugs? Well, those are Anna's Ginger Thins, the best thing to come from Sweden since Dancing Queen! The mug on the left was made by yours truly, but the one on the right was purchased at one of many kitschy road-side Bigfoot shrines in Northern California. I was there about a year ago for a little photo trip in Humboldt County, which was perhaps just as breathtaking but a bit more reality-based than some other trips that supposedly happen there. I love Bigfoot's nonchalance as he's walking across the mug, as well as an equally corny paragraph about the legend of bigfoot on the other side. Here are a few favorites from the (photo) trip:





The last one's Leandra's favorite, and it'll be going on our wall soon. I left the border off of them because I've enjoyed using them as my computer background--it's a nice change from grey Michigan winters--and thought I'd include a link to download full-sized versions if you'd like to also.

Here's one, two, three, and four. Enjoy!