My Tea Collection! (The Obsession Continues.)

If you know me in person, then you're probably rolling your eyes at the fact that I made this blog post. And you know what? I don't blame you. 

It's no secret that I'm obsessed with tea. My friends and family like to make fun of me because I will probably never drink everything I had even if I tried. But you know what? There are different teas for different scenarios--you definitely don't want to have one all-purpose tea. Would you really want to relax before bed with a caffeinated cup of tea, or try to wake yourself up in the morning with a soothing bedtime  tea? What if you want to settle your stomach? You probably wouldn't want something crazy-flavored, would you? Of course you wouldn't. 

Yes, I know I have a lot of tea. I have more tea now than I could probably ever use in my entire lifetime, and I have more than I did a year ago. I know I have a severe problem. However, I'm sure there are people out there with more than I have. Let's all just get along for a second and admire the pretty pictures I took of my tea collection, conveniently broken up into categories. (You're welcome?)

Black Tea

It's actually pretty funny - out of all the teas I drink, I find that I reach for black teas the least (maybe it's because I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for herbal teas?) - and it's the category I've got the most in. 

• Twinings' French Vanilla Chai. This is so delicious. I don't know if it's truly chai or not, but it is good. I love pairing this tea with Italian sesame cookies. 
• Twinings Ceylon Orange Pekoe. My favorite basic black tea. I'm not sure you can taste that much orange in it, but it isn't a plain, boring black tea.
• Celestial Seasonings' Sweet Harvest Pumpkin. Smells like pumpkin pie, tastes delicately of pumpkin spice. A wonderful holiday tea, although I confess I didn't reach for it often last autumn.
• Trader Joe's Vanilla and Cinnamon Black Tea. I featured this in my December Lifestyle favorites blog post, and I'm still just as obsessed with it: it's my weapon of choice when I need caffeine. It is deliciously sweet with just enough cinnamon to not be overpowering. I hear this is very similar to Celestial Seasonings' Nutcracker Sweet tea. 
• Lipton Vanilla Caramel Truffle. I'm not a huge fan of this because of the artificial caramel flavor, but I haven't tried it in over a year so I guess I could try it again sometime. 
• Salada Decaffinated Black. Sometimes you just want tea without all the fuss of caffeine or of different flavors. In those times, I reach for this tea. I really like adding vanilla soymilk to it sometimes because it adds a gentle sweetness to it. 

Chamomile

This is my absolute favorite kind of tea. It's delicious on it's own, but it's also really good mixed in with other herbs for other tea blends. 

• Celestial Seasonings' Chamomile. A gorgeous, nice chamomile tea. I bought this package because it had a free Celestial Seasonings tin inside of it, and I love collecting them. Besides, I go through a lot of chamomile anyway.
• Celestial Seasonings' Honey Vanilla Chamomile. Chamomile delicately sweetened with honey and a hint of vanilla. This is too rich to have most of the time, so I save it for when my throat bothers me or if I just really want honey. 
• Bigelow Cozy Chamomile. Your basic, everyday chamomile. I love it because they're individually wrapped so I can throw some in my backpack and make a cup when I'm in the dining hall. 

Sleepytime

This was the first tea that I ever had. I must have been in elementary school when my mom let me have a cup while she made one for herself. (I know you're reading this, mom, I hope you realize how big of a mistake that was.) And yes, it's a little sad that I've got so many of these. 

• Celestial Seasonings' Sleepytime. A classic, and for good reason. I love the spearmint, chamomile, and lemongrass blend. One of my all-time favorites.
• Celestial Seasonings' Sleepytime Peach. A delicious spin-off of the classic Sleepytime with a fruity, peach kick. Not one I reach for often, but still nice.
• Celestial Seasonings' Sleepytime Vanilla. I consider this one to be just as good as the original. The vanilla complements it perfectly.
• Celestial Seasonings' Sleepytime Extra. Before you freak out, there aren't any drugs in this. There is, however, valerian root, which encourages sleep. And yes, it really does work. The flavor is noticeably different than the original in that it tastes a little bolder, but it is not off-putting.

Peppermint
I can't say that peppermint teas are my favorite (because I have a soft spot for Spearmint instead) but they are still great to have.

• Celestial Seasonings' Candy Cane Lane. A wonderful holiday green tea with peppermint and a little bit of vanilla, cinnamon, and orange peel. It tastes like a liquid cup of candy canes, but not in a disgustingly sweet way.
• Celestial Seasonings' Peppermint. A wonderful, basic peppermint. I've been drinking a lot of this lately when I don't know what kind tea I want, but I know that I want tea. It's a staple in our house.
• Numi by Aspretto's Moroccan Mint. This is the mint tea offered in our college's dining hall. It's nice, but nothing really special.

Fruit Tea
These aren't always my favorite thing to reach for (except one in particular), but that's probably because it's too cold out right now. These are much more enjoyable in the summer.

• Celestial Seasonings' True Blueberry. A nice, delicate blueberry flavor. Delicious with a little bit of sweetener.
• Lipton Blackberry Vanilla. Similar to True Blueberry, but not as sweet. 
• Bigelow Perfect Peach. A basic, true peach flavor.
• Celestial Seasonings' Tangerine Orange Zinger. A recent addition, and a recent favorite. Smells like oranges and tastes as amazing as it sounds. 
• Bigelow Green Tea with Mango. Not my favorite, as I prefer Bentley's version, but still pretty good. Green tea and mango were meant to go together, you know?
• Celestial Seasonings' Mandarin Orange Spice. A nice, smoky orange tea. It reminds me a lot of Chinese teas, but without the caffeine. 

I'm not sure if you think I'm totally crazy or not for having this many teas, but at this point it's really out of my control (as is my tea collection?). Since I don't have as many loose leaf teas, I decided to not include them. Maybe I'll include them once I am more well-versed in the art of loose tea leaves and have a bigger selection of them!

What are you favorite kinds of tea? Any specific favorites of yours that you think I should try? Let's chat in the comments.

Oh, and if you're a coffee person, I totally applaud you for making it through this post alive.