Always time for tea

On reading that it's Hot Tea Month, my first thought was: Hooray! I know exactly how to celebrate that.

My second was: Hang on, when isn't is it?

To me, you see, every day of the year is the perfect day for the everyday magic of tea.

A mug of tea is a smile (the bigger the better). It is feeling at home. Tea is knowing you’ll feel better in a little while. It is steam clearing from your spectacles. It can be a celebration of now, a kindness, a daily act of love. Tea is attentiveness rewarded. It is solving that problem while the kettle boils. A sip of tea is a moment taken to really understand and appreciate what you're reading/dreaming. Tea is warming your hands around the mug, just to warm another's hands.

Assam for boldness.

Yorkshire for bluntness.

Earl Grey for poise.

Lady Grey for revery.

Lapsang souchong for irony.

Ginger for ebullience.

Rooibos for contentment.

Yogi for quizziness.

Would you like a cup of tea, Jenny? Actually I've just finished one. So, yes please.

‘The proper, wise balancing of one's whole life may depend upon the feasibility of a cup of tea at an unusual hour.’ Arnold Bennett