I’ve been drinking a lot of iced tea during this hot summer weather. I’ve tried some herbal teas by Twinings of London and really like them. The three flavors that I’ve enjoyed so far are African Honeybush with Mandarin and Orange, Lemon and Chinese Ginger, and Cherries and Madagascan Cinnamon.

With flavors like that, you really feel like you’re drinking something special!

When I was on the Twinings website checking out their other tea flavors, I discovered that Thomas Twining, the founder of Twinings, opened the very first known tea room in 1706, in London. What’s even more interesting is that it’s still open today, after three centuries! It was called Tom’s Coffee House back then and it was the custom at the time for men, not women, to gather there to have coffee and tea while they socialized and met on business. Tom’s was the only coffee house that sold tea, and tea was growing more and more in popularity at that time, so Mr. Twining did very well with his shop. Today, the shop is still in the same location at 216 Strand, serving and selling tea, coffee, hot cocoa, biscuits, cakes, chocolates, and tea accessories. There’s also a little “museum” with antique teapots on display, highlights about the history of tea, and old photos of the Twinings family.

There are all kinds of teas and tea flavors you can check out on the Twinings website, www.twiningsusashop.com. You’ll even find instructions for brewing tea. Here is their recipe for making Iced Tea:

So have a nice tall glass of iced tea and keep cool this summer! 🙂

Linked to Tea Time Tuesday.