"HotTea" news and stories

Are you a seasonal hot beverage drinker like I am?

I ask this because here we are past the halfway mark of April and I'm still drinking hot tea. This is late for me. I usually stop drinking hot tea around the start of April and start drinking diet soda and iced tea (I don't drink coffee). The weather has been cold and rainy/snowy this month, so my tea drinking has stayed at the same level it was in January. Which I like, of course, but it also worries me because I'd rather switch to drinks like diet soda that won't give me as much daily sugar intake (yeah, I know, I could drink my tea with less sugar or Splenda, but where's the fun in that?). As for hot chocolate, well, that's a fall/winter thing and I stopped that weeks ago.

So readers, are you seasonal hot and cold beverage drinkers too? I remember my mom used to drink hot coffee in the hot summer months too because she read somewhere it was good for you or cooled you down in some way I don't quite understand, but science was never my best subject in school.

I am not a tea drinker -- I would definitely consider myself a coffee addict at three to four cups by noon -- but when I saw this post at Arghyle, I almost considered going out to buy Ineeka teas. Blogger Sal says the tea was good, nothing particularly special, but it was the design of the tea bag that got mine (and his) attention. The tea leaves are not loose, but in individual tea bags that open up with paper arms that can attach to the sides of your cup like a fiter over which you can pour your hot water. So you get the benefit of loose tea leaves, but the convenience of individual bags. Brilliant!

I've always wanted to hold a 1950s-themed party. Have the house decked out in the style of that era, play music from the decade, and even serve food that was popular at parties back then. I don't have my own apartment right now, but when I move in early '07 I think it's something I'll do, probably next December to make it a retro-themed Christmas party.

I came across this recipe for Hot Spiced Orange Tea on a 50s-oriented web site, and it seems perfect for this time of year.