• He has at least 17 different varieties of tea, green tea, rice tea, jasmine tea, rose tea, mango tea etc 8 books on tea, 2 videos, countless print outs on the benefits of tea, tea maker, innumerable tea cups, glasses, 5 tea strainers, tea bags all this and more! But did I mention NO black tea?

• He returns back from his business trip to Toronto one late Thursday evening and after a while goes to empty his suitcase. You hear sounds of paper shuffling, stuff taken out, re-arranging etc. You get curious and take a peek; you see two paper bags and a gif t bag. Your hopes and expectations are raised, you feel glowing warmth only to be quashed in an instant when you see 5 more tea varieties pop out of the bags. And the gift bag? 2 more tea bags pop out of that too and thanks for asking, they were given by his colleagues as a gift for his outstanding work. Arghhh!

• Saturday evening he insists on going to Whole Foods Grocery. You are startled as he usually hates doing the grocery. But then you seize the opportunity and tag along. You get caught up ogling at the luscious Tres leches cake in the frozen isle, only to find the husband and toddler missing when you turn back. You think you know where to find them, you head to the tea aisle but behold they are NOT there. You comb the entire grocery only to find them in the aisle where flavorings are sold. The husband is busy buying lemon grass, orange peels, lemon peels, dried chrysanthemum etc all this and more to flavor his new found tea favorite, the orange pekoe tea.

• Late in the evening, you see him watch his least favorite “Food Network” channel. You recall his old statement “The only channel worth watching is History Channel; Food Network is boring and has the most annoying people”. You decide to tease him a bit, when you hear Alton Brown spread prophecies about Tea, its benefits, its preparation etc in his own quirky way. Duh! What else did you expect?



• “What is the best color that goes with our kitchen décor?” he asks. You instantly reply “Brown”. Your heart leaps with joy. You think that he is finally paying attention to the kitchen granite countertops you have been pestering upon. Three days later a package arrives and out comes a small, heavy funky looking cast iron teapot. No prizes for guessing the color right! What does dear husband have to say? For one, it is not a teapot but a Testubin and keeps water hot for a longer time. He can then keep pouring it over tea leves in intervals to relish. Sigh!

 He has now proclaimed himself to be a “Tea Connoisseur” and is still apparently on the lookout for that perfect tea and tea utensil to complete his collection. Until then life goes on!