Tea Queen

Iced, hot, flavored, herbal, black. There are so many ways to make it. There are so many styles. There are so many types to choose from, but I love all of them and know just how they are to be made. I am the Tea Queen. Very few understand this drink the way I do.

Tea has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. It is part of my heritage and culture. I love hot tea, iced tea, and warm tea. I love flavored teas, herbal teas, and black tea. I love sweet tea and unsweet tea, though the style of the tea will determine whether or not a sweetener is allowed. I love tea that is strong, not weak, otherwise “this tea is nothing more than hot leaf juice,” as Uncle Iroh once said. Especially when other people make the tea wrong. I hate it when that happens. They just don’t understand how making tea is an art and is to be done just so. Tea is meant to be treated as sacred, unlike coffee which is enjoyed solely for the caffeine. Yuck.

I love tea, but recently I have not had as much access to it.

When I was younger, living with my parents, I made tea every day. My parents had to restrict me on how many pitchers, kettles, or tea pots I could use. I always stained these items with how often I made tea. I learned the secrets of how to make each flavor of tea the perfect brew. I learned which teas must be steeped the longest and which hardly need to be steeped at all. I learned the proper temperatures to heat the water for each flavor. I learned which teas can be chilled and which should remain hot. I made the tea for every meal, for every party, for every event. We ran out almost instantly. I had to teach the rest of my family how to make tea so that less pressure was on me. Though they tried, everyone agreed that my brews were always the best. I became the master of the tea. The Tea Queen.

I live on my own now. On campus with only myself to look after. I crave my tea but I can not make it here the way I used to. Here I do not have all of the resources as I once did at home. I do not have measuring cups. I do not have tea pots or large pitchers. I do not have an ice machine in the refrigerator. I do not have measuring cups or a large assortment of tea bags, herbs, and sweeteners. I only have a few things to call my own. There is a minifridge with a small ice cube tray. I have a handheld water filter, a small drink pitcher, and a Keurig machine to heat my water. I have a small sugar container and a small bottle of honey as my only sweeteners. I do not have tea bags, only cups of premade drinks for the Keurig machine. This is not much to go on for making my tea, but I try my hardest to make it work.

I choose which flavor to brew in the Keurig. You can never go wrong with black, that is unless you heat the water too much so that the tea leaves burn rather than brew. I use the Keurig machine to brew the tea, hoping the machine does enough justice that the brew will be worth my time. I wash the small pitcher by hand in the sink, making sure nothing left over from the previous brew will affect this one. As the Keurig runs, I pour some sugar into the pitcher. Just enough to coat the bottom. I add some honey to the sugar, just to make sure that the brew will be sweet enough, and mix the two sweeteners. The combination had worked in the past, though without the right measurements, which I could not properly check, could easily throw off the entire brew. I made sure not to put too much sweetener in the pitcher, just in case.

The Keurig finished brewing and poured the tea into the mug I placed underneath. I pour the contents of the mug into the pitcher and mix the tea until the sweeteners dissolve completely. A quick taste...sweet enough. I have the Keurig run again to extract more tea from the tea bag inside. Meanwhile, I take out the ice cube tray and breaking the ice frozen there, pour the ice into the pitcher. Then stir thoroughly. The Keurig is done once again and I pour the brew into the pitcher. After a thorough mix, the ice has melted and the brew requires a taste. Not sweet enough. The caffeine is making the brew too bitter. Needs to be balanced out to achieve the right flavor.

I act carefully, adding a little more sugar. Not too much, I hope. Just enough to counteract the bitterness. Mix until dissolved. Another taste. Much better. Not too sweet, not too bitter. Almost perfect. I pour freshly steamed water from my water filter into the ice cube tray and place the tray back into the freezer for later. I turn back to the pitcher and pour the rest of the filtered water into the pitcher until it is full. One last quick taste. Good enough. This particular brew is meant to be chilled, I have discovered in previous attempts, and place the pitcher into the fridge to chill. I use a cup to pour more water from the sink into the water filter. I throw away the teabag and clean the spoons I used for stirring in the sink. I set the spoons on a towel for drying and put things away.

Once enough time has passed for the tea to finish chilling, I take the pitcher out and pour myself a cup. Here goes nothing. Not bad. The brew is not as amazing as those I used to make when I had all of my resources, but the brew is good enough to be satisfying. I place the pitcher back into the fridge to keep it chilled and enjoy the cup I have poured.

Though my reign as Tea Queen has been reduced in status, my title has not left me. My tea is still enjoyable to all who drink it, but those who do have not experienced what my gifts can truly produce. Until I once again can gain access to all the resources I require, I shall accept what I am still capable of brewing. One day, I will once again wear my crown in public, brewing my famous tea for all to enjoy, but for now I keep my head bear and brew in secret. Until such a time as my gifts are needed, my gift will remain hidden in the secret of my dorm room.