A Cup of Tea and a Good Book

One of the simple pleasures that nearly anyone can enjoy is sipping a cup of hot tea and settling into a favorite chair with a good book. There have been many books that mention tea in their prose. Following is a selection of some of the best literary mentions of tea, and suggestions of loose teas that you might want to try to recreate the feeling in the scenes.

Tennyson

The great man wrote: "Tea-cup times of hood and hoop,
And when the patch was worn."

This is in reference to the style of the day where both men and women had to conform to rigorous morals and dressed in powdered wigs and elaborate clothing. You might want to recreate Tennyson's England with a selection of English loose teas. English Breakfast, Earl Grey organic teas and others are available, and could be served with traditional British teatime foods such as scones and clotted cream.

Proust

French novelist Marcel Proust wrote a wonderful story called "Swann's Way," part of a novel in seven volumes which he penned. He made famous madeleines, scallop-shaped tiny sponge-cake cookies, which in the book are eaten with tea. You can recreate madeleine recipes at home with special madeleine pans that can be purchased at cookware stores, and serve them with a variety of loose teas, including white tea. White tea is made from the same plant from which black and green loose teas are made, but the process is different. The fresh tea leaves are allowed to wilt before further processing, giving the white tea a less grassy taste than green loose teas. Several varieties of white tea are available, including Ceylon white tea, Darjeeling white tea, Assam white tea, and African white.

Peter Cotton Tail

After his unpleasant experience of being chased by Mr. MacGregor, Peter Cotton Tail's mother put him to bed and gave him a cup of chamomile tea. Chamomile tea is made from the dried flowers of the plant, and is a wonderfully soothing tea. Pair this with some shortbread cookies or ginger snaps for a great snack to go along with your wintertime reading.

The Hundred and One Dalmatians

Written by children's novelist Dode Smith, The Hundred and One Dalmatians, a weary Pongo and Missis are given some tea and hot toast to eat when they are aided by a dog friend on their search for their missing puppies. Hot organic teas and toast are a classic breakfast pairing. Choose from a variety of delicious breads, such a cinnamon-raisin or sourdough, to go along with your hot tea.

organic teas are widely available online from quality online dried tea and herb stores.