Some people switch out their home decor when the weather warms up: lightening the color palette, swapping cozy winter fabrics for fresh summer ones. I have a friend who changes bath and body products with the seasons; several of my girlfriends trade out their candle scents. Me? I swap out my teas.
I’m a year-round hot tea drinker, though I’ll admit it sounds better when it’s 30 or 50 degrees out than when it’s 90. (Abilene summer mornings, I’m looking at you.) Despite being Southern, I don’t really like iced tea, and I want something warm and comforting in the morning, to help me wake up (and ward off the chill of office air-conditioning). But the blends I drink do shift when the mercury starts to creep up.
In the winter, I drink black teas flavored with citrus and spices, and names like Holiday Tea, Hot Cinnamon Spice, Cranberry Autumn, Spice Imperial and Spiced Chai. They’re dark, strong and fortifying; they help warm me to my toes when said toes are shivering in thick tights, cozy socks and sturdy boots. (These are also the months for chai, hot chocolate and cider – the last preferably simmered on the stove and sipped around a fire, or in the glow of twinkle lights.)
My summer teas are also black and flavored – but fruity. Blackberry Sage, Ginger Peach, Apricot, Raspberry Earl Grey – the fruits on display at the farmer’s markets often pop up in my morning cuppa. They still give me a little caffeine boost, but they taste lighter, brighter, and go better with freckles and sandals and painted toenails, sunny mornings and bare legs under flowy skirts.
According to the calendar, it’s nearly time for summer teas. Colleges are out! Schools will be out soon! Trees and flowers are blooming, visitors are coming, weddings are approaching, and I’m craving all the delights of summertime. But Monday’s high here in Boston was 50. Yesterday’s was 55. The forecast for this whole week? Rain, rain, rain.
So, dear readers, what should I do? Order the fruity teas, sip them blithely and pretend it’s summer? Or try to enjoy the last few weeks of perfect Hot Cinnamon Spice weather, and wearing the new tights and long-sleeved tops I found on clearance the other day? Leave your wise advice in the comments, and tell me how you weather these pesky seasonal transitions.
It’s been rainy and chilly here as well… the other day I insisted on wearing shorts and very nearly froze to death! So I’ve decided to curl up with hot coffee and a cozy sweater and relish one last creatively gray day before summer hits with all it’s glory. 🙂
being a fellow bostonian, i vote for enjoy the last of the ‘winter’ teas. rest assured you’ll be drinking the ‘summer’ teas well into September and maybe even part of October.
you know the old saying about new england, if you don’t like the weather, wait 5 minutes. 😉
Oh goodness, do I hear you with the chilly temps and rain!! I’ve been pairing some new (clearance) long sleeve shirts with skirts and boots lately and eagerly looking forward to hopeful 70’s next week.
I have a tea for you to try – I actually have an unopened box I’d love to send you. I get it in Romania and it’s a fruit tea – mixed berries of some sort – but I’ve been unable to find anything like it here. I’ve come close, but I’m curious if you have ever had anything like it! If you send me an e-mail with your address I’ll mail it out to you. 🙂
Tough call; our weather keeps vascillating between warm and rainy. I say keep both types of tea out so you’re ready for summer at a moment’s notice!
What about lemon or orange flavor? It goes with hot and cold weather.
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