Consider beginning your morning or afternoon book club meeting with a tea tasting. For the evening, pull out the bourbon.

Like bourbon, tea calms the mind, so consider doing the taste testing before your book discussion. You will be in the perfect frame of mind to discuss the book.

There are two primary ways to taste test teas, and for this discussion, we will use Fortnum & Mason tea as the flag brand. It is my favorite. You can order it directly from the U.K. or from Williams Sonoma.

TASTE BY TYPE

Let’s say you would like to taste English Breakfast teas. Get Fortnum & Mason Breakfast tea and find two other loose leaf varieties of English Breakfast from a local tea shop. Ask for the clerk’s favorite. Then test the difference between the brands.

TASTE BY BRAND

Choose a brand of tea or tea from a particular tea shop. If you choose Fortnum & Mason, compare their Breakfast tea with Royal Blend tea with Earl Grey tea.

HOW TO TEST

For the most fun, consider doing blind taste tests, where you do not know what you are tasting. Either you need to be blindfolded or you need to figure out how to hide what you are tasting. A book club partner can hide it for you, or you can do what Pete does. Take three identical cups, and label the bottom of each one with a different tea you will be comparing. Fill each cup with the proper tea, put them on a lazy Susan, and spin the Susan with your eyes closed. Then open your eyes and drink away, peeking under the cup only when you’ve decided which is your favorite.

Of course, you can taste with your eyes wide open and full knowledge of each tea. I have done it both ways and think blind is cooler (though eyes open decreases the chance of making a mess).

Breakfast Tea & Bourbon