I don't quite remember when I fell in love with tea but I do remember the most special moments of me drinking tea. I was eighteen years old and I went to live with my biological mother for four months. I had just met her months earlier and it was awkward for both of us. She and her ex-husband lived a very quiet life in Boulder, Colorado. He was a professor at one of the universities and she was a housewife. After years of drug addiction and being in and out of jail, she deserved the break. I was homeless so she and her husband agreed to let me come live with them. Each evening my mother and I would find a spot in the living room with a cup of tea and a book.

Now, years later, I'm a self proclaimed tea expert. I start each day with a wonderful English Breakfast tea to get me going. As the day progresses, who knows what wonderful tea I will crown queen. But for sure, I have at least three cups of tea a day. And yes, when I can, I have tea everyday at about 3:00 P. M. I love to invite my friends over for tea and cupcakes and so far everyone thinks it’s a delightful experience. I am always in search of the best blend of tea. Yes, I’m a tea snob, I prefer loose tea but I do like some bags also. I have learned not to judge a book by it’s cover. Some bags can be quite nice. And yes again, any Diva knows, what you drink your tea out of is very important.

Tea for me is a way of life. It's wellness for the mind body and spirit. Here, I will explore every expect of tea possible, with a high concentration on wellness. I will review the best teas, the best places to have tea, the best ways to brew tea, the best tea accessories, what tea goes best with what foods, and the list goes on and on. I plan to share my passion for tea with you. And I've been told, nothing I do is ever boring so be prepared to go on this tea journey with me.





RLT Collection Tea Ball Frosted Clear Beads!

Mint Medley by The Persimmon Tree Tea Company

About This Tea:

Until recently I had never drank Peppermint Tea made with loose leaves. And Honestly, I will probably never go back. The freshness of loose Peppermint Tea cannot be denied. When I open the can of Mint Medley, From The Persimmon Tree Tea Company, I feel as if I stepped into a garden of peppermint leaves. It is a perfect blend of organic peppermint and spearmint leaves grown in the US.

Mint Medley has become a favorite and I find myself reaching for this tea tin almost everyday. It is great for on-going nausea. The health benefits and endless. It relieves muscle aches, headaches, migraines, stress. And now that it feels like someone is sitting on my chest and I have a mean cough, I'm sure it will help to relieve some of this congestion in my chest. Mint Medley has been in my tea cup more than any tea as of late. It has really helped with my winter cough, congestion related to this bout of pneumonia. You can read my full review on The Persimmon Tree Tea Company Mint Teas.


RLT Collection AIDS Awareness Tea Ball!




Welcome to my world of books! As an pre-teen books changed my world. I fell in love with the writers of the Harlem Renaissance period and the more I read the more I wanted to read. The fiction of this period was powerful and empowering all at the same time. It spoke to my own degradation and gave me hope for a better tomorrow. It gave me purpose for my own life and the courage to fight the good fight and never surrender.

I love to read! Inside a book I escape into someone else's life. There is something wonderful about turning to the next page of a wonderful story. Something intoxicating about the smell of the book and the story it brings to life. Reading brings me joy, and these days with my health in the balance, I find solace in my books.

I spent hours in my bedroom sequestered with the door closed reading the classics from the Harlem Renaissance, Hughes, Larsen, Hurston, Wright and Baldwin. Books became my escape and my salvation. The fiction of this period was powerful and empowering all at the same time. It gave me purpose for my own life and the courage to fight the good fight and never surrender.

Reading is the one thing that the pain of my life could never take away from me. It was the thing that helped to make it better. And even today, living with AIDS, books continue to be the safest place for me. It’s the one thing that belongs to me that AIDS cannot take away from me.The RLTReads book club will be books that I choose. It’s me sharing a part of me with you that has nothing to do with AIDS. It’s actually in spite of AIDS.

The RLTReads book club will be books that I choose. It’s me sharing a part of me with you that has nothing to do with AIDS. It’s actually in spite of AIDS. I have read hundreds of books from many different genres and I will pick the best of my reads over the years. I warn you, it will not be exclusively white or black, male or female, fiction or non fiction, it will be all of them.

I’m so excited and I’m grateful to everyone who wants to be a part of this venture. We already have 110 Book Club Members. You can email me @ RLTReads@raelewisthornton.com. The Twitter hashtag is #RLTReads. We can make this book club as wonderful as we want to make it. Who says that Oprah has to have the only ownership to a wonderful book club?

This Month We are Reading In My Fathers House by E Lynn Harris


Read along and join our discussion July 19th at 7 pm CST







For more Tea with Rae "Vlogs" Click here to visit her youtube channel

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Tea With Rae: Two Ways to Brew Your Loose Tea!

I'm always a Diva... So much so that I decided to design and add to RLT Collection wonderful hand beaded Tea Stainers because absolutely everything I ever saw to strain tea was boring. Yes, my Tea Bracelets are fab! So when I received these t-sac tea filters from The Persimmon Tree Tea Company I was not impressed. I don't even buy paper plates or use paper napkins... Honest to God. Just ask anyone who knows me well. So paper filters for my premium loose tea just seemed out of the question.

But two weeks ago, I had pneumonia. It felt like someone was sitting on my chest. And to make matters worse, I had a temp of 102, which felt like I was sitting inside an oven.

Needless to say I was one sick woman. I started drinking my favorite Mint Tea like 80 going north. If you have not tried this mint tea, do so. OMG! Spearmint and peppermint mixed. Honestly, I have found nothing like it yet. That's why it's still posted in What's In My Cup. But anyway, back to my point.

The mint is great to help relieve congestion so I was drinking it like crazy. The problem was I had no energy. So after I had used the three tea bracelets I have for my personal use, I found myself leaning over the sink trying to clean out the old brewed tea to make a new cuppa. Then it hit me, I had those darn tea filters. So I put my Diva aside and the rest was history.

These t-sac filters are wonderful! Easy to use and dispose of, these paper filters are eco-friendly, all natural and unbleached. Yes, I'm using disposable. Yikes! But the best part for me is that these paper filters contain no artificial ingredients so it will not taint the flavor of the tea. And, at the end of the day, that's really the most important thing, maintaining the integrity of the tea.
This tea journey that I am on has reminded me to always have an open mind. T-sac tea filters are pretty good. For the disposable person t-sac is the most perfect invention. And they come in four sizes. You can use them for a cup of tea or a pot of tea. Will I ever give up my fancy tea bracelets? Of course not! But now I know that I have an alternative that will maintain the integrity of my premium teas. And for you loose tea newbee's, t-sac is the perfect fit. Not a lot of fuss, just scoop and brew. And for you sophisticated people don't forget my Tea Bracelets.




Monday, March 7th I'm launching Tea With Rae: Wellness For The Mind, Body and Spirit Blog Talk Radio. In honor of Women's History Month, I will be exploring issues about women for women. Please join me on Monday's at 8 p.m. cst.

Grab a cup of tea and sip wellness and talk wellness with me. My show will be talk radio to the max! So I need you to tune in and talk back. I see this show as an extension of my ministry and work as well as building on my work around social media. Blog Talk Radio was the next natural step. Yes, it will be candid, honest and transparent. Take a look and please follow my  Blog Talk page. #IcannotdoitAlone.

at 10:45 AM
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