{"id":4091,"date":"2020-01-06T17:30:42","date_gmt":"2020-01-06T17:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/?p=4091"},"modified":"2021-05-08T14:21:36","modified_gmt":"2021-05-08T14:21:36","slug":"two-bags","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/two-bags\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Bags"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The first time I went to my friend Cynthia\u2019s place was after a string quartet concert at a church last April.<\/p>\n

It snowed. Being April in Chicago, this was not surprising.<\/p>\n

When the concert ended, it was too early to go out for dinner and the weather made us both crave something warm. After driving her home, Cynthia, asked me inside for a cup of tea.<\/p>\n

Options were offered (she had quite a collection in her pantry), and I witnessed her setting out porcelain cups and saucers along with fancy European biscuits on her small glass-topped table.<\/p>\n

Not quite a tea ceremony, she seemed \u00a0to perform these hospitality tasks ceremoniously. I chose to join her in a passion fruit infusion, something I don\u2019t keep in my cupboard and, apparently, one of her favorites.<\/p>\n

She put two bags in each cup before carefully filling the cups with steaming water from an old-fashioned kettle.<\/p>\n

How odd, I thought, to use two bags in such small cups. In barely a few seconds, I watched the hot water turn a deep shade of purple. Still too hot to drink, I took in the perfume-like aroma and started filling the quiet with banter about why I love string quartets.<\/p>\n

I was afraid I would clumsily slosh or spill a thimbleful of purple tea over my cup\u2019s brim and stain something irreparably.<\/p>\n

Surprising to think that it\u2019s been several months since this occasion, but during a visit last week, when I was asked what my beverage of choice was and chose tea, mint tea, again I observed Cynthia placing two bags in my cup.<\/p>\n

The hot water turned brown quickly, not quite the color of coffee but an earthy hue, for sure. She brought out a small bowl of chocolate covered ginger to nibble on while I waited for the tea to cool a bit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy do you use two bags in a cup of tea?\u201d I asked her.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t want to sound flippant or ungracious. If I have hot tea at Starbucks, they\u2019ll put two bags in a nested set of paper cups, but their cups are bladder-blaster sized, so it never has stirred a second thought.<\/p>\n

At home, I just use one tea bag in a mug of hot water. Sometimes, if the water is very hot, I will take the bag out in a minute or two, after I notice the water has taken on a good color, and I\u2019ll place it in a small dish. I do this with the thought of maybe getting a second cup out of one bag.<\/p>\n

Without hesitation, Cynthia remarked, \u201cIt makes the tea more flavorful.\u201d<\/p>\n

I had to think about this. I suppose there are some types of tea that you wouldn\u2019t want to steep too long as they might grow bitter or too acidic, but why should I try to get multiple cups of tea from one bag?<\/p>\n

I try to be a conscious consumer and not waste, but I recognize I leave lights on when I go out (I tell myself this is for my dog), and I’ll buy favorite premium<\/em><\/strong> brands of items when there are lower cost options.<\/p>\n

This idea that I can treat-myself well, that I can add flavor<\/strong> to my life without breaking the bank, grew on me. I deserve to be treated well. I certainly can do more to demonstrate to myself that I take this to heart; that I believe I deserve to be treated well.<\/p>\n