So today is the first real day of weather in Los Angeles. Yesterday sprinkled a bit but nothing major. Today it is suppose to rain all day & even get heavy at times. So this brings up the issues: are certain teas seasonal? or is drinking tea in the US seasonal?
The other day someone asked me "do you drink certain teas at certain times of the year?" The funny thing is I drink HOT tea all year round. More iced tea in the summer, but there are certain teas that seem to be winter teas. Here are the two that come to mind. Lapsang Souchong. Cinnamon Almond Flowers.
Lapsang Souchong, or bacon tea as my friend like to call it, always seems like a tea to drink in front of a fire, under a blanket while reading a book. It has a whole image that comes up in my mind. Maybe because this is one of the few teas that I add milk and sugar. It just makes it a cozy cup of tea, that is so relaxing and comforting that it seems to wrap me in warmth as I drink it like a blanket.
Cinnamon Almond Flowers is our Black Tea that has loads of organic fruit, almonds, rose petals and cinnamon. The Cinnamon is what makes me think of the holidays. Maybe it's because of the Christmas Tea blends that have cinnamon or maybe it's that my Mom would bake with cinnamon around the holidays and pull out the Constant Comment Tea in the winter.
I just don't see Lapsang Souchong or Cinnamon Almond Flowers as teas to drink when the air conditioning is running. The heat & maybe even the fire need to be going to drink both of these teas. White teas, green teas, oolongs & pu'erhs are year round teas for me, but certain black teas are better in cold weather. I wonder what teas seem season to you?
I hope as the weather gets colder tea drinking is part of your routine, maybe this is the year to try tea. I know that lots of people think of hot tea as a winter drink, I am not one of them, but I understand the average tea drinker in the US drinks more iced tea than hot tea. I had a gentleman come in and tell me he didn't drink tea, I replied, you probably drink iced tea, and he said he did. For some reason drinking iced tea isn't seen as most people as drinking tea. I think if you like iced tea, you really need to try a good loose leaf hot cup of tea in the winter, you might become a convert. The flavor nuances that come out in hot tea are so much more interesting than that same tea iced. So try an experiment, drink a good cup of tea plain and hot, open your mind, and see what you taste. Maybe it will bring you in touch with this amazing plant that has a rich history in the world. Take a moment to savor and siptea...
