Did you know that the month of January is National Hot Tea Month and that January 12 is National Hot Tea Day? If you’re a tea-lover, that’s something to celebrate! And in honor of these events, I found a recipe for a Turmeric Golden Milk Tea Latte over at StashTea.com—it inspired me to make my own version, and I’m sharing it with you in this post so you can enjoy it and get in on the celebration! 🙂

If you’re a tea-lover, you’re probably familiar with the Stash Tea™ brand, which offers over 150 different quality teas to choose from, including loose teas and tea bags—a tea-lover’s dream! Stash Tea™ sent me some tea samples and information about tea that I learned a lot from and I’ll share some of that info here too! What better time than the start of a new year to celebrate and learn more about tea and even create some tea rituals of your own! There are definitely a lot of tea-lovers out there—tea is actually the second most consumed beverage in the world, second to water!

For me, teatime means a little break in the day where I can relax and enjoy some quiet from a busy schedule. It’s a time of refreshment…of feeling revived and energized for whatever the rest of the day holds. Sometimes teatime may be in the early or mid-morning, sometimes in the afternoon, and even sometimes in the evening on especially busy days. But the main thing is to make some time for teatime!

In the cold winter months, a hot cup of tea is so soothing. If you need some tips on brewing tea, Stash Tea™ offers some helpful tips in their Hot Tea Brewing Guide. Here are a few that I found helpful:

• Tea should be brewed at least one full minute. Most teas have a brew time of 3 to 5 minutes, except for green tea, which is 1 to 3 minutes.
• To make tea stronger, don’t steep it longer unless it’s herbal tea. Other types of teas will get bitter if the steeping is longer. Instead, add more tea leaves or bags.
• Some teas are good for a second steeping and doing this can even bring out more of the flavor of the tea. This works for oolong, green tea, white tea, and pu-erh tea.

I also learned more about the main tea types there are…there are a couple of these I hadn’t heard of before…

• White Tea, the least processed of all tea varieties.
• Green Tea, which goes through a few processing steps to retain its green color.
• Yellow Tea, one I hadn’t heard of, is limited outside regions in China. It has a less “grassy” flavor than green tea.
• Black Tea, the most widely consumed type of tea worldwide, goes through an oxidation process which gives the leaves a dark color and brisk flavor.
• Oolong Tea, a cross between green and black teas, offers another option to tea drinkers of those varieties—it’s intermediate in color and flavor.
• Pu-erh Tea, another variety I hadn’t heard of, is most closely related to green tea but processed a little differently to include the use of fermentation, which gives it a richer, deeper flavor.

The heath benefits of tea are good to know about too! Here are a few:

• Tea is packed with antioxidants that help keep our bodies “young” and protect them from toxins.
• Research shows a correlation between tea and heart health. A recent study says people who drink tea have a 20% less chance of having a stroke or heart attack than those who don’t.
• Tea is an immune system booster. Studies show that tea helps immune cells reach their targets more quickly.
• Research has shown daily green tea consumption can reduce the risk of certain types of cancers

Hope you find this info as interesting as I did! And here’s the recipe I mentioned at the beginning of the post—Turmeric Golden Milk Tea Latte. Both turmeric and golden milk are popular for their health benefits, but they also make a great latte that Stash Tea™ describes as “a creamy, dreamy treat” with “peppery turmeric flavor as well as traditional warming chai spices.” I made some changes from the recipe on the Stash Tea™ site so you may want to take a look at both at see what you think! For my version, you’ll need the Stash Golden Turmeric Chai, along with a few other ingredients, like coconut milk for creaminess and pure maple syrup for sweetness. It really is a delicious hot beverage!

Some of my personal favorite Stash Tea™ flavors include the Ginger Peach and Pomegranate Raspberry green tea & matcha; the Asian Pear Harmony green tea; the Orange Spice, Breakfast in Paris, and Decaf Vanilla Chai black teas; the Coconut Mango and Chocolate Mint oolong teas; and the Cinnamon Apple Chamomile, Lemon Ginger, Blueberry Superfruit, and Golden Turmeric Chai herbal teas. Just a note if you like chai tea like I do—Stash Tea™ really has a good variety of chai tea flavors!

Are you a tea drinker? What is your favorite flavor and type of tea?

Sharing at Meal Plan Monday, Grace at Home, Full Plate Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Wow Me Wednesdays, Homestead Blog Hop, Lou Lou Girls Fabulous Party, Wonderful Wednesday, Inspire Me Monday.