January is Hot Tea Month! Celebrate at home, the office or tea room!

Celebrating Hot Tea Month at Pemberly Pines tea garden

Although January - and hot tea month - are almost over, there's still time to celebrate! 

Certainly, hot tea is welcome any time of the year,  but there's something refreshing and re-energizing about a simple cuppa after the festive indulgences of the holidays. And, even though Michiganders will always welcome a warming brew in the winter, this January, we weren't the only ones experiencing chillier-than-usual temperatures. So, surely, a good month for all to partake in celebrating hot tea.

We honored the month devoted to our favorite drink in a number of ways.

Hot tea month begins with homemade pecan scones and Homestead Harvest jam

Starting in early January, I began sampling new teas I received over the holidays and paired them with home baked scones. My husband whipped up a batch of pecan scones using the basic recipe (with cream!) from Joy of Cooking and adding Georgia pecans, a traditional Christmas gift from my BTS buddy, Pam. They are delicious straight up, or super scrumptious with a spoonful of  black raspberry jam from Detroit's own Homestead Harvest.

We started Hot Tea month with a flourish, but were very soon to be outdone - on January 12th, to be exact. For those of you who may not be aware, January 12th is Hot Tea Day and I was reminded of that by Barb Tabb, my highly informed tea friend. (How did I not know that???). Barb texted me to send  "Hot Tea Day greetings" along with a few incredible pictures of how she brought the celebration to her office.

Barb T. brings Hot Tea Day to the office with homemade scones, jams and tea

Barb brought homemade scones, jams, several types of tea and an electric tea kettle to work.

Barb wore her tea charm necklace for the special day.

Even her accessories carried on the holiday theme!

We at BTS are inspired; next January 12th we will share the joys of tea time in similar fashion.

Loretta and Barb G. at Tea Totallers in Traverse City. (There's a secret inside!)

A week after Hot Tea Day, I visited my bestie from junior high, Loretta, who recently moved to a new home in northern Michigan. She made reservations for us at TeaTotallers, a unique tea room in downtown Traverse City. There's a secret to be unfolded here, but suffice to say, the ambiance is "pure parlor" and the drinks warm you to the core.

Enjoy Hot Tea Month at home; curl up by the fireplace with a new Tea Time

Even though there are only a few days left of January, there's still time to tea-partay! No matter how you honor Hot Tea Month - at a tea room, at the office or at home - a teapot full of hot tea is always a reason to celebrate.