AUTUMN LEAVES
You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to see me.—C.S. Lewis
Tea and books belong together, and they both belong especially to autumn. Here are a few book and tea pairings for the season: nourishing leaves for the mind and for the body. There is something for every mood and inclination, and these are just a few suggestions.
{PICTURE BOOK}
You are wrapped against the cold and dark in a cocoon of quilts washed and washed to softest softness. Cuddly brothers, a rollicking story, and cups of milky tea brighten the evening with fun and laughter.
PAGOO {Holling C. Holling}
Vanilla Caramel Chai {TAZO}
Ingredients: black teas, cinnamon, natural flavors, licorice root, ginger, black pepper, cloves
{NOVEL}
You want humor brisk and bracing as the autumn winds, which means you want Wodehouse. His metaphors sparkle and snap; ludicrous situations whirl and rattle like golden mahogany leaves racing to the end of the walk. Try my favorite Wodehouse, and chase it with a bright Earl Grey.
Leave It to Psmith {P.G. Wodehouse}
Earl Grey {Tazo Teas}
Ingredients: black tea blended with the essence of bergamot
{NONFICTION}
The weather has turned, and there are new birds in the neighborhood: orioles, cardinals, and goldfinches rare as gold. You begin to feel restless, and wonder where an autumn breeze would take you. Follow it south with Mr. and Mrs. Teale...
Autumn Across America {Edwin Way Teale}
Wild Apple Ginger {Tea Forté}
Ingredients: organic apple pieces, organic white tea, organic ginger, organic sweet blackberry leaves, organic raspberries, natural flavors
{POETRY}
You bike across the bridge one early morning. Jasmine-scented mists shroud the water, and shafts of morning sunlight struggle dimly through. One almost expects a plumed helmet to emerge from the gossamer, or a fair maiden to float past on a barge. It is the time of fairy-tales.
Fierce Wars and Faithful Loves {Edmund Spenser, ed. Roy Maynard}
Silver Rose {Desta’s Blend}
Ingredients: organic white tea, organic holy basil, organic rose petals, organic lavender
{PLAY}
You are feeling very sophisticated, because it is concert season and you have tickets. You saunter out in red high heels after dark, to attend a choral performance or to take a tour of the opera stage. On nights in, Shakespeare seems just right. You spoil your suavity by laughing at jokes written for groundlings. An innuendo-laced argument about the Dauphin’s horse has you snickering indecorously between sips of darjeeling, the champagne of tea.
Henry V {William Shakespeare}
Organic Darjeeling {TAZO}
Ingredients: organic white tea and natural honeysuckle flavoring
October 9, 2015