tea time

Lately I've been trying to find new things to try; the post-op diet can get a little routine sometimes:  eat breakfast, drink a ton of water, pee, eat lunch, pee, drink a ton of water, pee, drink some more water, pee, pee, pee, eat dinner, pee, drink a ton of water, pee, get up during the night to pee...you get the picture.

Now that I'm back on track, I want to stay there. I find that I struggle at work mostly.  It just seems like such a long day at my desk and I keep wanting to eat all my snacks by 10:00 am.  Not because I'm hungry, but because I want something to break up the monotony of work and drinking water all day long.  One thing I've found that helps me through the workday is to add in a couple cups of flavored tea throughout the day.  It gives me something to do (walking to the cafeteria to get the hot water) and I get to enjoy something other than plain old water.  There are virtually no calories, no sugar, and very little caffeine.  Also, it makes me feel like I'm having a treat.

I've been trying different teas in search of one that just does it for me; that's the only way I can explain it.  I'm finding that many flavored teas smell great while brewing, but they just don't taste the way they smell.  And that's disappointing, especially in the case of the chocolate mint tea (below). Gets expensive, too, and money is tight right now.

I've tried several different ones:

• Harney & Sons Chocolate Mint:  This smelled delicious, like Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies, but I didn't taste the chocolate in the tea, just mint.  I'd buy it again, though.  Even if it's just to make my office smell like chocolate mint. 
• Harney & Sons Vanilla Comoro:  again, smelled delicious, but I didn't really taste any vanilla at all.  And I was surprised at how much it tasted like black tea.  I wouldn't get this one again.
• Twinings Pure Peppermint: with this one I was trying to find a substitute for Trader's Joe peppermint tea that I'd had years ago and loved.  This fell short.  It's a decent stand-in, but not overly minty.
• Twinings Irish Breakfast:  Because I'm Irish.  This is good, and I like the deep copper color.  I may buy it again if I'm in the mood for it.
• Trader Joe's Peppermint:  There's a Trader Joe's on my way home from work so I decided to stop and see if they had the delicious tea I remember.  It was pretty good, better than Twinings, but I still feel like it could use a bit more mint flavor.  
• London Fruit & Herb Co. Strawberry & Vanilla Fool:  I bought this the other night at Ocean State Job Lot for $2.29.  I was apprehensive; I've never tried fruit teas before.  I was very surprised at the strong strawberry flavor.  I didn't taste much vanilla, but I still enjoyed it.  It actualled tasted like strawberries and not black tea with a hint of strawberry.  I could easily make this into an iced tea and be very happy with it. Plus, look at the pretty color! (below)  I added only 1 packet of Nutrasweet and nothing else.

So, anyone have any suggestions for me for teas to try?  I got some good suggestions from friends, but anything you have for me is welcomed. Just post a comment.

I think the ladybug in the background matches the color of the tea perfectly!  We have swarms of these things right now.