I am very excited about this giveaway! Can you guess what it is? I’ll give you a hint – it’s not a soggy bowl of Bircher muesli, or a copy of Pual Theroux’s The Mosquito Coast, nor is it a square-shaped bowl or a personalized mug.

If you’ve been keeping up with my food diary, you may have noticed the pink feline teapot that seems to follow my breakfast wherever it goes. The “Cattitude iPot” by Hues&Brews is my delivery device of choice for rooibos tea. This teapot is awesome – a little tea basket fits inside the top for loose leaf tea and it has a nice pour with minimal drippage.

Now, you too can start the day right with a fine cuppa tea and a Cattitude iPot. The fine folks at Hues&Brews have have generously donated one of their ipots to SmarterFitter to be given away to one of you lucky readers!

Random Tea Facts

“There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.” -Henry James

The ritual of high tea was once a pastime of the idle rich but quickly caught on with the working class who needed a little 5 o’clock snack to get them through the long hours between lunch and supper. Also interesting is the turn of phrase:

“Meat tea” or “High tea”, as it was called because of the standard table height where it was partaken, became the modern day dinner. The late meal was dropped all together because a meat tea quickly consisted of that as well as potatoes, vegetables, breads, sweets, and of course tea. Tea was the foundation of the evening ritual because it tasted so good that it made the bland foods eaten by the lower classes nicer to consume.

Tea bags were invented in 1908 and now make up 96% of the British market.

Loose leaf vs bags. Not only does loose leaf tea produce a better brew, but it is also much cheaper than bags. Yes, we’re all about helping you survive the credit crunch, and a good cup of tea is NOT one of the things you should sacrifice during the financial crisis.

Among its many potential affects on health, tea may protect the body from cancer, increase metabolic rate, boost mental alertness, lower stress hormones, and inhibit that bacteria that causes bad breath. Tea may also make you feel better if you’ve contracted the plague.

There’s a whole slew of tea blogs out there, including Tea Guy Speaks, TeaCritic and NiceCupofTeaandASitdown. Why not make yourself a nice cup of tea and go visit them?

Cattitude iPot Givaway

To win a teapot, all you have to do is leave a comment and I’ll pick a winner at random on Wednesday, November 12th. Good luck!