Ironically, I quickly grew out of that mindset in Taipei as many restaurants, especially hole-in-the-wall spots, only offered tea or plain water. I immediately realized that traditional Chinese teas were nothing like the horrible Lipton yellow tea bags mom used to make iced tea from (sorry Mom).

Since that point, I couldn’t get enough tea. I’d order wholesale tea everywhere, I’d buy it anywhere, and I’d drink it all day. I think my love affair with tea was superseding my obsession with wine. And with that, I took the time to start learning more about the different types and qualities of tea, justifying why it was ok to spend $50 or more on a high-end award-winning option. From that point forward, anywhere I travel, I look not only for local wines and coffee, but now tea as well.

Although I am no longer living in Asia and focusing on Chinese teas, I am continuing to learn more about all teas’ properties, benefits, and the important cultural aspects that often come into play.

We’d like to introduce a new series on Our Tasty Travels called Tea Tuesday. I want to start sharing some of these awesome finds we’ve encountered in our travels and hopefully ignite some passion for tea in others.

And to kick Tea Tuesday off, here’ s our first post on a very unique find: Grapefruit Chili Pepper Green and White Tea — found in a Netherlands grocery store of all places!