You Collect What?

After debating whether this qualified as a Nerdom post, I landed on the fact that nerds collect things. And I just so happened to want to show you mine.

I collect a lot of things. My grandmother used to joke as I was growing up that I just liked collecting collections. As I have gotten older, and the fear of becoming a hoarder has more potential as an adult, I've narrowed in on my interests when it comes to collecting. I collect art work, books, video games, and other things of that nature. But by far, my largest and most prominent collection I have invested in is: tea.

Don't worry, you read that right, I collect tea. So much so that I have a menu. This winter I finally broke my record and goal all at once. Expanding my menu to over 100 different teas. Let me be the first to say, that 100 is far too many, but here we are. But, how did we get here? Let me take you on my tea journey for a moment. Growing up my grandmother always made tea and the smell of it always eased me. As I got older, unlike most people, I hated coffee but continued to love tea. At the time, I was only used to drinking plain black tea, which ironically is all my younger sister drinks now as well. But then I went to college. In college a friend introduced me to loose leaf teas and I fell in love. James took to tea around that time as well. On our honeymoon, the first purchase we made was in a small tea shop in Galena, Illinois. We bought our very first tea pot, all white (shown below), and our first loose leaf teas. It became something we bonded over. Hard day at work? Make tea. Nice relaxing day? Make tea. Stressed? Happy? Sad? We have a tea for that.

From there we made friends who also loved tea but had different tastes then ours. So, naturally, we got some to accommodate them as well. Then for birthdays and Christmas, people knowing our love for tea, would get us custom blends. And so our collection grew and grew, leading us here 5 years later with over 100 teas. Not to mention the different teapots, steepers, mugs, teaspoons, tea boxes and many other tea accessories we have been gifted. We, undoubtedly, have been very blessed. One of my favorite tea gifts we ever received was a beautiful teapot and sugar dish set (shown below) from our friends Adrian and Emma.

But I digress, other than a couple left from our newest Christmas batch, I have tried every tea we own. James and I, have researched tea a lot in our passion for it. To understand how it is made, blended and how to serve it. There is still a lot to learn but in the mean time, I thought I would share with you some of my favorites from our collection.

Favorite Bagged Tea

My favorite bagged tea brand is actually a classic, Bigelow. Even if you are not a tea drinker, you have probably seen this brand. They are popular for a reason. They are robust and very flavorful for a bagged tea which is hard to find. A very close runner up would be Stash which makes beautiful and unique blends for a bagged tea brand. But if I had to pick one at the moment, I would have to go with Lemon Lift which you can see here in my tea box on the top, far right hand side. It is very smooth and awakening. I drink it at work often for a nice pick me up and is something I would recommend during daytime hours. A close second would be Constant Comment, which is also featured above, top row second from the left. I am not big on heavily spiced teas but this one warms me from the inside out and is a fall and winter time favorite for me. I also drink this at work when I'm a bit more stressed and am looking to calm down a little. Different teas can have different effects thanks to the different flowers and spices used. I find that people who enjoy aroma therapy options also enjoy more flavorful teas, which is something to keep in mind if you want to explore teas some more.

Favorite Loose Leaf [From A Shop]

This loose leaf tea is from the same little shop James and I visited on our honeymoon: The Great Galena Peddlery. I adore this shop and have never been disappointed with any tea I have gotten from there. This one is probably my favorite though: Cherry Rose Green Tea. Even James, who has never been a fan of rose based teas enjoys the freshness this blend provides. Like most green teas, I find that it feels like taking a breath of fresh air. Green tea opens you up and makes it easier to breathe. Green tea is great for your health and has a higher caffeine content if that is something you are looking for. It has a fresh natural flavor and isn't weighed down by fillers like you see in big name loose leaf blenders like Teavanna. That is a big reason why I like small town shops, you get more product with little to no filler or carriers. If you want to see what I mean take a look at any of Teavanna's blend, most of them have high apple contents. Dried apples don't really add as much flavor on their own, instead they take up space and absorb the flavor of the ingredients around them. But this blend is almost nothing but leaves, flowers, and dried cherry's. That's it! No long bulky list of ingredients, just simple tea at its finest.

Favorite Loose Leaf [From Adagio-Fandom Blends]

Adagio is another big name tea company similar to Teavanna. However, I like Adagio A LOT. Their blends are honestly divine. If you ever have a chance to go inside one of their shops you will not be disappointed. They have quality blends and they are very generous with their samples and their awards. They always give me free tea when I'm in store or order online. They are just genuinely nice, tea loving people. The blends I am about to review though are actually not Adagio blends but almost a subgenre of blends that the company offers. Fandom Blends are tea blends made by tea loving nerds such as myself, though I have never tried my hand at it. You make your blend, name it, and make art for it. It is all fan made and the company blends and ships it. The picture above shows all the sets I own from Fandom Blends by Adagio, all of these beautiful sets are courtesy of our amazing friend Nick who is unfortunately allergic to tea but loves our love for it and constantly spoils us with his nerdy love. I am going to tell you my favorites from each one since they are all so unique. Though Fandom Blends can be a little ingredient heavy [and I just spoke against that], I do consider these the stars of our collection. I might not always find all the ingredients in these blends necessary, I am in love with all their flavor, design, and nerdy passion.

First up is our Harry Potter Fandom Blend Set. All the teas are named after different drinks and potions from the books, which my nerdy soul loves. This is the first set and first tea in general we ever got from Adagio. We love them. They are all very delicious and fit their theme beautifully. They are mostly spiced teas as well as a couple sweeter ones, like the winner of this set, Draught of Peace.

Draught of Peace is exactly how you would expect, peaceful. It is one of the sweeter teas of the set but not overly so. It is well balanced with calming flavors but not to put you to sleep like a Sleepy Time blend, more of just for relaxing purposes. It is a tea I go to when I have had a bad day and just need some time to unwind. This teas main ingredients include apricot, cream, and vanilla. It is also accented with marigold flowers. I was really tied between this one and the Veritaserum which is also a calming tea. But ultimately I couldn't get past the smoothness of this blend.

Our second set from Fandom Blends: Doctor Who. This was actually a custom set, Nick took two different sets and smashed them together. Rory Williams Pond, Amy Pond, and River Song were from one set and 11, 10, and 9 were from another, as you can probably tell from the different art styles. I am so glad he did this because I love them all. The art on these are so cute, I love both styles completely and really feel they reflect well on the characters. This set however, is one where though they taste wonderfully the ingredients aren't always necessary. So, if teas with filler bother you, I would not recommend this set. But again they taste great and have some bold flavors. And as some fans might expect, it will be River Song who swings in for the win.

This is a great tea, honestly. This blend includes: earl grey moonlight, coconut, and rooibos lemon cloud. If some of those words don't mean anything to you, let me translate: earl grey moonlight is a type of black tea, its more of a classic tea flavor and rooibos is a spiced tea, this particular blend of rooibos also has citrus in it from the lemon. Pair these two with some coconut and you have some big flavor. This tea is fun and is something I would serve when hosting, it is an upbeat tea with a high caffeine content. If you are someone who is big on reviews, this tea is rated very well on Adagio. This tea is both elegant and bouncy just like the character it represents and I wouldn't have it any other way.

From book/movies, to tv, and now to video games. Our third set from Fandom Blends is another custom revolving around The Legend of Zelda. Listen! and Epona's Song are from one set and the remaining four are from another. I love both art styles for different reasons and the tea as well. I was sad to find out that neither of these sets are available on Adagio anymore. That will just make me cherish them all the more. Either way, we have to have a winner and that winner is: Silent Princess (featured in the top right hand corner).

Princess Zelda stands strong and so does this tea. It is blended with black, green, and honeybush tea with strong accents of lavender. It also has hints of cream, vanilla, ginseng, orange, ginger and bergamont flavors. A busy tea for a busy girl. Don't worry though it doesn't taste as busy as it might sound. This tea balances out and you will find the flavors very complimenting. This tea as well as others on this list has a high caffeine content and is very warming. This is a great tea to drink when you are feeling under the weather and are needing a nice pick me up. I typically drink a straight green tea when I am sick but right before or after a cold, this does the trick. Princess Zelda will protect you when you're down, no worries.

Our final and most recent set! Nick knows me so well. I have been talking about Fruits Basket all year and Nick was here to deliver. My only anime set and the art isn't drawn but photographed. I don't say that as a disappointment either, I found the change very endearing and the characters were portrayed perfectly. I believe this set was also considered custom but unlike the other custom sets, all six of these were created by the same person. And let me just say, they did a fantastic job. I had a bit of a harder time picking a favorite from this batch, not because I didn't have a favorite already but because I haven't gotten to drink as much of the others as I would have like. Don't mistake me, I have tried all six but I have definitely drank more of some than others and am feeling a little biased for this review at the moment. But isn't that the point? As Shigure would say "Que sera, sera." The winner is Psychic Freak, inspired by the character Saki Hanajima.

It isn't until now that I am realizing that this blend has a lot of similarities to my Doctor Who pick, River Song. They both contain earl grey moonlight and coconut. Hmm, I am learning about myself now. Regardless, I stand by my decision! This is a beautiful tea and I am probably going through it a lot faster than I have with any other loose leaf tea. This blend, while it does contain earl grey moonlight and coconut, also has blackberry in it and its delicious. I am usually hesitant towards berry teas, as they are finicky and can become bitter very quickly. Berry teas will turn bitter if they are over steeped or if the water temperature is too high and the leaves become scorched. This means that unless you are paying close attention you are going to have a sour tea on your hands. Well, more precisely in your mouth, which is even more unpleasant. However, I, a notorious over steeper, have had zero problems with this tea. It tastes bright rather than bitter and I can't get enough of it. I drink this tea when I am feeling down because it is an amazing pick me up. It brightens my mood considerably and though it has a high caffeine content, I find it to be a very relaxing drink. Another beautiful rendition to another beautiful character. My nerdy heart is pleased.

James' Choice

One more for ya! James liked the topic I was writing about this week and wanted to participate. He had only two teas on his brain when I told him to pick. To be fair I had him look through our teas to make sure his decision was final and he could not be swayed. James' top pick from our collection is *drum roll please*: Earl Grey Classic + Citrus by Rishi. To be honest, this was almost my top pick for my favorite lose leaf from a shop. We found this brand at a small coffee & tea shop in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. If he had not picked it I probably would have. This is one of my favorite teas to serve because it is a classic with a modern twist and applies to a lot of different tea drinkers because of that. It is simple yet robust in flavor and I will be with out a doubt buying this tea again. I don't see us ever not having it in our collection, that is how highly we recommend it. For those of you who are curious as to what James' second choice was, since I said he had two on the brain, it was Amy Pond from the Doctor Who collection. He has been drinking it all week.

That is it folks, those are currently some of my favorite teas in our collection, though I will say I have been chasing after a White Plum Tea for ages so if you see one don't ask questions just buy it! I'll Venmo you later. Also, if you ever need tea recommendations you can also hit me up for that and I will be happy to assist with your special tea-cation. Ahh yes, and with that, thank you for humoring me.

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Thank you so much for tuning into this calmer addition of Nerdom here on My Mess. I know it has been high energy lately with so much going on in the nerdy world so I enjoyed getting to show a quieter side to it all. I hope you enjoyed it as well! I would love to hear about your favorite teas and what you are passionate about collecting! Feel free to message me here or on social media! I hope to see you back this Sunday for The Mess. I missed you all this past Sunday, I hope your team won, I know Paul Rudd's did (that is all my sister has been talking about; She loves Paul Rudd). Make sure your week finishes out strong and never forget: stay nerdy and stay messy my friends.

Bonus Photos & Facts:

My Winnie the Pooh set that I found at a resale shop for I want to say $18 for the whole set. So stinking cute, I love it. Fun fact: we have 6 tea pots. In order we have: #1) Our all white tea pot we bought on our honey moon. #2) A tiny yellow pot that only serves 2 cups, we also bought that on our honey moon. #3) A thin clear glass blooming tea pot for blooming teas. This pot is actually our second one like it because my dad shattered the first one which was a gift from my grandmother. #4) This fun Winnie the Pooh pot which I found at a resale shop. I bought it cause my nickname growing up was Pooh Bear and it was such a fun pot. #5) Our beautiful blue bird pot from Adrian and Emma that was featured in the article above. And finally, #6) On one of our last trips to Adagio we bought a new mid ranged pot with a built in infuser which I swore I would not open until we moved so it has not been touched yet but ooh baby I am itching to use it. And that is our entire tea pot family!

Tuesday night I was struggling with a couple of my choices so I ended up making 5 cups of tea for me to taste test against each other and then James requested a cup as well. I set them up and after making my decisions I had my younger sister, Chase, go down the line and try them. Mainly because she hates anything besides straight black Lipton tea and I thought it would be funny to see her reaction to these. Her verdict? "Not bad" with puckered lips and eyes that screamed she would never drink these teas again. All laughs aside, I have some pretty cute steepers.