You are my cup of tea means something you like.

I like my cup of tea, particularly mid-morning.

The rhythm of my day starts with espresso from my Bialetti Moka Express. I love my Bialetti. It’s the closest I can get to European coffee.

But by mid-morning, I’m ready for tea. Loose-leaf, black, steeped in my “magic” Teavana maker. It makes a nice cup of tea. It, too, reminds me of Europe – of Portugal, particularly.

I’m not sure when exactly I started drinking hot tea. But I do remember when I became obsessed with finding the perfect cup of tea – after I had it and lost it.

Finding my cup of tea

It was in Portugal. I know what you’re thinking. I was in Europe where I could get the perfect cup of coffee (espresso) – uno café solo, as I learned to order it in Spain. But as much as a I love espresso, I can’t drink it all day.

There was a little coffee shop just a block from our hotel. It became my go-to spot when I had a time to spare. The TV behind the cash register played a soccer match, if that was your cup of tea. The pastry display made your mouth water. Large windows let in light and views for people who sat at little tables or along the counter.

The shop owner didn’t speak much English — and I only had the basics of Portuguese, such as please, thank you, pardon — but he recommended a tea for me to try.

It was perfect. After my first cup, I asked for the name of the tea. As I’ve learned since, there are a lot of tea names that really don’t mean anything except to get you to buy them. Recently, I bought a black/herbal blend called “Under the Stars,” because I liked how it smelled — and I liked the name.

Then I asked what was in it. The owner opened the tea tin, and I inhaled. Oh, it was lovely. He scooped a little out so we could inspect it. Despite our lack of common language, we figured out what likely was giving it that special flavor. He tried to spell it. Finally, I had him write it down for me: cravinho. He said it was a spice usually used for cooking.

Not my cup of tea

Regardless, it was delicious. And that’s when I made my mistake: I raved about it.

I was in Portugal with a friend whose son was playing soccer. We were there with a lot of other soccer moms (and dads). Many of the moms were missing their Starbucks and chai lattes. When I told them about the chai-style tea at the nearby coffee shop, they flocked to it.

Within two days, that delicious, perfect tea was gone, used up in milk-based, iced drinks by a bunch of soccer moms. (Glad I’m not bitter about it, but that’s just not my cup of tea.)

When I requested it, the owner shook his head and showed me the empty tea tin.

Portugal is my cup of tea

Looking for that tea became an obsession — not life-altering, but any time I’d go someplace with tea, I was looking for it. I tried some internet searches, but I didn’t think to try a Portuguese translation of the word – although I finally recognized the “special” ingredient as cloves. (I never cooked with cloves, so I wasn’t familiar with it.)

While I never found that tea exactly, my search allowed me to try a lot of different teas and to explore a new world of flavors in search of the perfect cup of tea.

Now, I’m more likely to want tea than coffee. I suppose I’m still searching for that perfect cup of tea I had in Portugal. Maybe it’s a memory thing – the memory of it is sweeter than the reality.

If that’s the case, that’s OK. It’s a great memory from a wonderful experience. When I move to Portugal, I may just have to look up that little coffee shop, for memory’s sake – or for a nice cup of tea.

Related links

• Teavana was bought out by Starbucks, so there aren’t any more stores selling tea or products. You can still get Teavana tea in bottles or sachets.
• Diversi-Tea in Stevens Point offers a nice selection of loose-leaf teas and tea-making products. I purchased “Under the Stars” there, as well as a couple of my other favorite teas, Capri and American Chai.
• My favorite bagged tea right now is Good Earth’s Sweet & Spicy caffeine free.  It’s available at many retail locations, including Family Natural Foods, where I first found it.