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, November 29, 2012

RLT Holiday Gift Guide: Fight HIV Stigma

I'm kicking off the first installment of my Holiday Gift Guide with HIV/AIDS Awareness product. It's so important to support the cause.

When you use a mug at work that has an AIDS Ribbon on it, you are taking a public stand in support of people living with HIV/AIDS.

You have no idea how a mug could have such power. You have no idea who is infected or affected around you. When you wear or use products that display the Red AIDS ribbon you send a message loud and clear! There is no Shame, Just Compassion!

Stigma around HIV/AIDS has caused so much shame and hopelessness in people living with this disease. Your support means a lot, but your support visually helps to fight sigma. Just think how much further alone we would be if the Red Awareness Ribbon had the same popularity as the Pink Awareness Ribbon.

Here are my recommendations:

I simply Love this mug and have ordered this year for myself and as Christmas gifts. The proceeds goes to support AmFar, which is one of the oldest HIV/AIDS organization working in this cause. When you purchase this mug through West Elm, they will give 50% of the proceeds to AmFar and shipping is FREE!  Click Here


Next up, are designs by Emmy Award Winning AIDS Activist Rae Lewis-Thornton from her RLT Collection. When you purchase her product it helps her to continue the work she personally does in the fight against HIV/ AIDS. Especially her work in Social Media, since she does not have sponsors.  That's me :)

People always asked me to support events that raise money for other HIV organizations, but never consider that I need funds to continue the work that I do, this is one way to support me.

First up is my AIDS Awareness Tea Ball for the lose tea drinkers of the world, it matches the mug up top perfectly.  Made with Fire Polish Czech Glass and adorned with an enamel AIDS Awareness Ribbon. Click Here!


Let's Not Forget my  RLT Collection Diva AIDS Awareness Bracelet Designed with Freshwater Pearls and a pave' red AIDS Awareness Ribbon encamped in Sterling Silver. Click Here!


Newly Designs Spiritual AIDS Awareness Necklaces




Before anyone was making AIDS Awareness Jewelry, Until There Is A Cure was the long Solider in this fight! While I love my designs, I also love Until There's Cure for their commitment and the designs are great.

This is the original Bracelet that I own and wear often! It comes in 5 different types of metal with a wide variety in price. This is the Sterling Silver with a 18kt Gold AIDS Awareness Ribbon Click Here!


What I love about Until There is a Cure is they continued to evolve with the times. I love this craved bracelet. They also have other awareness bracelets you might like. Take a peek!

This bracelet is hand-carved in the Ovahimba tribal tradition by villagers in Namibia, no two African Art bracelets are alike. Each bracelet features a representation of the AIDS ribbon, and each is a poignant work of wearable art imaginatively and resourcefully crafted from recycled PVC pipe. 

 Your purchase of this unique bracelet provides care services, food, and schooling for children of this Namibian village and other areas of Africa ravaged by AIDS. Click Here!


To broaden your mind, pick up AIDS Activist, Actress, Author Sheryl Lee Ralph's new book, Redefining Diva!


She has been in this fight a long time, first with her longest running variety show fundraiser each year and now with her one woman show Sometimes I Cry. Sheryl Lee should be supported for her unyielding support in this HIV/AIDS Fight! She's had great reviews and I'm just picking it up to read it for myself Click Here!


Lastly, The Politics of Respectability! This is my latest book and everyone who has read it, couldn't but it down.

For an Autographed Copy Click Here:
The Kindle From Amazon Click Here
The Paperback from Amazon Click Here
Happy Shopping!



at 2:30 PM
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