Top Ten Tuesday: what’s a good book without a cup of tea?

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and The Bookish in 2010 and was moved to Artsy Reader Girl in 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each week a new topic is chosen, this week’s is: Favorite Things to Eat/Drink While Reading.

Now, I spent quite a bit of time thinking about this one. I don’t usually eat while reading because I’m the neurotic weirdo that doesn’t even want to CHANCE food stains on my books but I do tend to drink a lot of tea with them! So I thought I’d make a list of my favourite tea + book combos. Since I didn’t want to bore you to death with a million (TEN) teas I’ve decided to only do my favourite five.

Who says tea can’t make an already good book better? It adds to the atmosphere! All I need next is a fireplace and a cold winter’s night..

Here they are:

AS SWEET AS CHAI

MY ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE TEA AND FAVOURITE BOOK GENRE. What could be a better match than chai and romance? They’re both delightfully sweet and fluffy with just the right amount of spice added in to pique your interest. I honestly think they’re the perfect match for when you’re feeling down and just need that little extra dose of happiness added to your day!

IN LOVE WITH THE EARL (GREY)

So I know this is technically the same as the topic beforehand but I tend to see Historical Romance as a separate genre. It’s just that little bit more refined and indulgent. Like the full-bodied aroma of Earl Grey, a good historical romance can take away the stress of your day and leave you wishing for your own Mr. Darcy!

MELBOURNE BREAKFAST FOR THE SOUL

Did you ever read those Chicken Soup for the Soul books when you were a teen? No? Neither did we! Instead, Nen and I spent our YA years reading… well, YA books. The angst and drama wasn’t as apparent to us then. Most likely because we were in the midst of experiencing OUR OWN drama but we still love reading the genre today.

As Nen’s favourite tea we absolutely had to have it on the list, as well as the fact that YA books’ bitter angst and the sweetness of first love so perfectly relate! For those of you who aren’t familiar with our Aussie fav it’s BLACK TEA + VANILLA.

FRUITY, FUN AND COLOURFUL

Yes, we’re talking about HERBAL tea! They come in a myriad of colours, combinations and yet are always FUN to try out. We couldn’t think of a better match for our most recent book genre addiction: Graphic Novels. We’ve only recently been getting in to this genre and there’s such a great range included in it… we can’t wait to have the time to explore and try them all!

MATCHA OBLIGED

As a recent fan of Matcha tea, I’m slowly learning to appreciate the value of something foreign, different and yet delightfully interesting. It’s a new flavour that I hadn’t encountered before but fell in love with! The same can be said of books that showcase alternate cultures and immigration experiences, to my own. Books portraying different customs, norms, religions and societies.

What really impacted me from these books were the stories of immigration. Of the struggle during the adjustment period in forming a hybrid culture. Not quite wholly apart of one, or the other. This was something I struggled a lot with growing up as an immigrant and often relate to in these books. Of experiencing culture shock and slowly becoming more of a native of our second homeland than my parents. It’s not always an easy experience and books don’t often do it justice. These were my favourites!

Like my first attempt at trying this tea, the immigrant journey can be a bit daunting and intimidating but eventually you learn to love and appreciate something that was once so different from what you had always known.

// do you drink tea with books? what’s your favourite book/food/drink combo? //

Jen