No one who visits our house could ever doubt that we love tea! The signs are everywhere you look.

First, in the firm belief that two mugs are not enough for the two of us and in celebration of the seemingly endless creativity that abounds out there among mug makers, we exchange our hard-earned cash for whatever design catches our eye when perusing the shop shelves. This is especially true when we travel. We have mugs from about everywhere we’ve been, both before we met and since that happy day. Sometimes a restaurant will have mugs for sale that are emblazoned with their logo. Our collection sports several.

Then, there are the teacup and saucer sets. We haven’t gotten too carried away with buying those — at least, not yet. They certainly add a distinguished air of refinement to our tea tastings and have “starred” in several photos.

When entering the kitchen, the first thing people see is the tea station in its place of honor on the countertop. (Of course, we have to keep those “interlopers” at bay — the cheese grater that thinks it’s a teapot, the garlic keeper that thinks it’s a sugar bowl, etc.) There is usually a pot of tea being kept warm in its cozy. We make a fresh pot every morning and another later in the day.

There are also packages of tea with sender addresses from all over the U.S. and several other countries where tea is an important part of their economy. Getting to taste these teas has been quite an adventure. It has also been at least partially responsible for the fact that our tea pantry is now overflowing and has taxed my skills at organization to their utmost. The space for the Oolongs is full, and the chai area has just doubled.

Let’s not forget the various tea paraphernalia (phernalias always travel in pairs – ha!). Strainers of various sizes stand at the ready, available at a moment’s notice to keep those nasty little bits out of the teacups. Tea infuser balls and baskets sit forlornly in a dusty corner, tried once and then relegated to this tea no-man’s land. A bevy of teapots, from the 6-cup Blue Betty to the 1½ cup simple white pot, stand like soldiers ready to do their duty. Tea tins that were once filled with fragrant teas now sit in empty but watchful repose on shelves in-between various members of our mug collection. A host of various tea-related odds and ends stay close at hand to fulfill their destiny at assuring we have a superb teatime — and they haven’t failed us yet!

One of my favorite items is The Collectible Teapot calendar, something I have bought every year for quite some time now. Hubby and I even make a bit of a ceremony out of changing to the next month. A drum roll, a bit of vocal fanfare, and — ta da! — we change to the next month. Then, we take a few minutes to read through the tidbits of information on that month’s page.

Yes, there’s no mistaking that a couple of tea lovers live here. And we’re proud of it!

Make sure to stop by A.C.’s blog, Tea Time with A.C. Cargill!